Beijing - or 'northern capital' - is one of the main gateways to China, and what better place to begin than in the capital?
I landed at the airport (good place to land), cleared immigration and customs and headed to the subway to make my way to my hostel, which was within walking distances of Tiananmen Square; I could have stayed in cheaper accommodation, but decided I'd rather be close to places I wanted to visit than constantly have to travel into the city centre.
I left my luggage at the hostel and went out for a walk (no time to waste!). My first impressions of the city - which didn't alter during my time there - were of a clean, spacious and fairly modern city with pockets of more traditional life. I found a park, so paid to go in and spent a very pleasant couple of hours wandering along the lake, through the trees and up to a temple, enjoying the atmosphere and watching people relaxing and doing dancing and Tai Chi in small groups throughout the park. I then felt tired and thirsty, so returned to the hostel to sit and enjoy a beer until I was able to check in.
An hour later and I was out again, this time to Tiananmen Square and to see the Forbidden City from the Square. It was strange to be standing in a spot that I had seen so many times on the news. I then went to eat buns and then back to the hostel; I was in bed by 10 pm.
The next day I got up leisurely, walked to the Drum and Bell Towers and then took the subway to where I was meeting a Mubus in the early afternoon to go to Mutianyu, a partly-restored part of the Great Wall. It was a great price, and a pleasant drive north of Beijing, but the guide was pushing people to pay extra for the cable car or chair lift to the wall from the car park; to one tower there was a cable car up and down, and to a different tower a chair lift up and toboggan down. I wanted to walk; I like walking. He was insistent that it would take me 3 hours in total to walk up to the wall and down again, leaving me only an hour on the wall itself. I didn't care though: I already knew I was going to an unrestored part of the wall two days later, so I resisted and walked up (which took me 30 minutes). Say no more! It was a lovely walk up, and amazing on the wall itself, with great views of the wall snaking over the hills.
Once I returned to Beijing I got the subway to the Drum Tower and went for a meal in a small restaurant I'd noticed in the morning. The staff were lovely, the food amazing and very cheap (the beer was good too).
The following morning I got up fairly early and walked to the Forbidden City (aka Imperial Palace Museum). I had booked online with klook and was told that my entry ticket was, in effect, my passport; I handed it over at the entrance, it was scanned and I was admitted. Amazing! The museum was lovely: it consists of many buildings over a vast area, and it was also possible to walk along part of the external walls. I then walked around the nearby Hutongs (old alleys), visiting more around Haohai Lake that evening.
I got up to drizzle the next morning, which was a shame as it was the day I was walking the Wild Wall with Beijing Hikers. It was one of the absolute highlights of my trip: a group of 6 walkers and 2 guides, we had the wall to ourselves. The scenery was amazing, the wall wild and totally unrestored, making it a bit dangerous in part, especially with the rain making the stones slippery. It was followed by lunch in a farmhouse; delicious! That evening I went for a walk to find a night market and eat Peking Duck; I succeeded in the latter but not the former, but still had a great time.
Thursday was my final day, so I packed and left my rucksack and the hostel, then headed to the Park of Heavenly Peace. The walk itself was lovely, and the park and temples beautiful. I took some lovely pictures - but, as you know, lost them all.
That evening I headed to Beijing West railway station to take my sleeper train to Xi'an.
Highlights of Beijing:
Travel on the subway was really simple - and cheap;
I visited the Great Wall twice: once to a restored part with Mubus, for about £13 (transport and entrance) and then a hike in the rain on an unrestored (and very crumbling) section with Beijing Hikers for about £50. Both represented excellent value for money;
Parks and Hutongs - lovely to wander around and watch people go about their daily lives - and Beijing has loads of parks;
The people - very helpful and friendly, even with my very basic Chinese;
Food - delicious!
Lowlights of Beijing:
None. I felt safe at all times, found it easy to get around and loved my time here.
I left on an overnight sleeper train to Xi'an, which would have been the subject of a separate post except I have no photos to illustrate it. If anyone would like details, please email me.