We arrived in Beijing on the Trans-Siberian railway, and now it was time for us to experience the bustling capital of China. We tell you about the sights in Beijing and our experiences in China.
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On the Trans-Siberian railway to Beijing
The actual train journey on the Trans-Siberian railway took six days, and on top of that we spent a few days in New York. Moscow, i Irkutsk, at Lake Baikal and in Mongolia. But now it was time to explore the Chinese capital!
Great Wall of China
"How do you plan to get to the Great Wall of China?", we asked the Norwegian group of oil platform workers we had travelled with on the train. "We've hired a big bus", they replied. And of course they had a few extra seats. Perfect!
We went to perhaps the most common place to see the wall, namely Badaling. Full of tourists and sales of course, but still it is fascinating to see this wall. The remaining parts of the wall are 600 kilometres (!) which is a staggering distance. It is not a small wall if you say so!
Tiananmen Square
We also took the opportunity to visit Tiananmen Square. This square was built in the 1950s with the help of Soviet experts and modelled on Moscow's Red Square. It is best remembered for the student demonstrations in 1989, when hundreds or thousands of students were murdered by the regime's soldiers.
The Forbidden City
Of course, you can't be in Beijing without seeing the Forbidden City! This is the largest palace in the world and is said to have 9999.5 rooms - not to mention the 10,000 rooms that can only be found in heaven! However, the real number of rooms is only 9371, according to Wikipedia.
A total of 24 emperors ruled China from the Forbidden City between 1421 and 1911. Inside the walls, they lived with thousands of concubines and eunuchs who looked after them. Today, this is one of the most popular sights in Beijing, with lots of tourists.
Bike taxis among the hutongs
We also took a bike taxi to check out the hutongs, the narrow old alleys in Beijing. The hutongs date back to the 13th century when the Mongols founded the road network that exists today.
Wangfujing Avenue and Peking Duck
We also had time to stroll up and down Wangfujing avenue, which is a major shopping street in Beijing. There are lots of modern shopping centres and shops and somewhere here we bought a new camera (after a horse stepped on the previous one).
We also took the opportunity to eat Peking duck, which is one of my favourites. absolute favourites. The duck (prepared in a special way) is cut up at the table and then pieces of duck are wrapped in a steamed pancake together with green Chinese onions and a sweet sauce. Soooo good!
So, what did we do on the trip? Did we go home? No, we flew to Bangkokand there we met Peter's two sons who had flown in from Sweden.
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Ama de casa says:
Beijing is really a fascinating city and the Great Wall of China is incredibly impressive. Although we cheated and flew instead of taking the train there 😉.
Peking duck is one of my favourites too 🙂
Have a nice Sunday!
11 February 2018 - 9:52
Helena says:
Haha, I've never heard before that flying is "cheating" but that's one way to look at it 😉.
11 February 2018 - 14:51
Veiken says:
You did everything we did in Beijing - we flew there, of course, while you took the train. I like travelling by train! 😉
11 February 2018 - 10:10
Helena says:
We did some "classics", but you want to have time for them 🙂 .
11 February 2018 - 14:52
Ditte says:
Pekong has a special place in my heart after spending almost four years there. Everything feels familiar and there are so many favourite places in the city.
When it comes to the Great Wall of China, it is easy for a tourist to end up at Badaling. After all, it is a little closer to Beijing than the other places where the wall is located. A real experience is to walk on the more unspoilt parts where the tourists are few. But you can't do everything in a short visit. The whole city is like a museum in itself.
Nice to join you on your little tour of the city and certainly I recognised myself. Will be a reunion now in March. Really looking forward to it.
11 February 2018 - 10:14
Helena says:
I understand that Beijing has a special place in your heart Ditte! Exciting that you're going there again! I can imagine that it's better to see the wall somewhere else, but we didn't have much time either.
11 February 2018 - 15:00
Johnny Friskilä says:
I also took the train there, just like you, and I still remember my first meal in Beijing. It was not Peking duck, but on the menu I could read "crispy little duck". In came a plate with a piece of fried mini duck. Even the head was there fried on the plate but separated from the actual duck body. Very strange, but extremely tasty!
11 February 2018 - 10:34
Helena says:
Haha, what a memory! Luckily it was good anyway 🙂
11 February 2018 - 15:07
Åke says:
As I said, there is much to see and do in Beijing. 2 weeks was far too little for this city of culture and people. We arrived by train in the autumn of 1989 a few months after the Tiananmen Square massacre,
I shudder to think of the young people who knew a little English sneaking up and quietly asking if anything has been published about what happened at the student demonstrations.
11 February 2018 - 11:43
Helena says:
What a special experience it must have been to get there at that moment! Terrible event in the square. So difficult to understand.
11 February 2018 - 15:09
Rolle o Carina says:
Incredible construction of the long wall!
Take care...
11 February 2018 - 11:56
Helena says:
Fascinating! 🙂
11 February 2018 - 17:33
åsa i åsele says:
China is somehow an odd country 😉 yes, don't get me wrong... a very large country, a lot of people and yet somehow, despite the year 2018, it feels like the country is both modern and very outdated with strange traditions.
This is also the case in the former eastern states, such as Russia... or North Korea 😉 A large part of the country's economy is spent on military rearmament, the people are starving and at the same time there is a part of the country's population that is very well off.
China is an intriguing country and seems to have preserved memories of ancient times.
In short, I am jealous of those of you who have travelled the Trans-Siberian Railway and experienced something so fantastic 🙂.
11 February 2018 - 12:02
Helena says:
China is a large country so the differences around it are certainly large, but it is also a country that has developed a lot in recent decades. Would love to see more of the country! 🙂
11 February 2018 - 17:37
Steve says:
I'm getting a bit tired just reading about all your amazing experiences on that tearful trip.
11 February 2018 - 13:55
Steve says:
The train journey, of course.
11 February 2018 - 16:41
Helena says:
Haha, I realised you meant the train trip 😉 Yes, it was a lot of experiences!
11 February 2018 - 17:37
BP says:
I've said it a number of times before, but it bears repeating: I love travelling with you. No need to sit on the railway for days;-)
Beijing is big. and the 6,000 kilometre (sounds longer than miles;-) )-long wall is really quite incredible that they built it.
I also like Peking duck, although I've never had your version. Yummy:-)
11 February 2018 - 17:22
Helena says:
Haha, well now you've had to free ride the entire transmongolian railway, and it went much faster than it does in reality 😉 As far as I know, we ate the classic variant of the dish Peking duck, but it can certainly be eaten in other ways as well.
11 February 2018 - 17:39
JoY says:
We were visiting friends in Korea and took the opportunity to fly over to Beijing for a few days. A fantastic city we thought and had a couple of packed days experiencing everything you should.
Hugs
11 February 2018 - 20:24
åsa i åsele says:
Considering that China still imprisons dissidents - as does Russia, for example - it is a country ruled by a dictatorship.
11 February 2018 - 21:07
Christine - 29° says:
Wow! So delicious and interesting. 🙂
12 February 2018 - 1:41
Lena - gott för själen says:
Truly staggering, "600 miles is what's left"! Absolutely fascinating!
Hug Lena
12 February 2018 - 6:09
Liniz Travel says:
I also liked Beijing! The Great Wall of China was awesome 😉 hugs
12 February 2018 - 8:43
Marias Memoarer says:
The Great Wall of China would be really impressive to see IRL! But how do you define half a room...? Either it's a room, or it's not 😉.
20 February 2018 - 23:14