The scorching 40 degrees of summer heat in China did not stop us from going to the Great Wall. We went through great lengths to reach there though. We had a 5-hour early train journey to travel from Shanghai to Beijing where the Great Wall is. This is about 800 miles. We arrived at Xiyuan Hotel shortly after lunch time.
After few minutes of shifting gears we wandered around Beijing's historical districts: The Forbidden City, Tiananmen Square and Wangfujing. The three spots were more than enough to keep us occupied until we retired at our Beijing Hotel.
Forbidden City An event was taking place while we were there so we did not have a chance to look inside. Its facade however, gave us a glimpse of this historical site. The Forbidden City is China’s largest and best-preserved collection of ancient buildings, and the largest palace complex in the world. It was named "Forbidden City" because it was off limits for 500 years. It is also known as the Palace Museum.
Tiananmen Square
It's the sixth largest city square in the world (and the fourth largest in China [Dec. 2015]), at 440,000 square meters, and can hold about one million people for public celebrations or gatherings. The square holds the following: Tiananmen Tower, Monument to the People's Heroes, Great Hall of the People and Chairman Mao Zedong Memorial Hall.
Wangfujing District
This is a lively and large pedestrian shopping street that hosts a beehive of activity, especially during the warm months when sidewalk cafes flourish. “Wangfujing” literally means “prince residence well”. There used to live 10 princes in these areas in Ming Dynasty (1368 – 1644), hence the street name “Wangfu Street”. Later in Qing Dynasty (1644 – 1911), a sweet water well was dug here, then the street was renamed “Wangfujing”, which has been kept till today (Source: Tour Beijing). It is a great scenery for pictures.
Great Wall
The next morning was another interesting piece as we headed on our self-guided expedition to the Wall. Armed with logistics how-to guides, rail maps, printed Chinese words for buying train tickets, we were at the train station at 6:00 AM to get into the 8:00 AM train to the Badaling section of the Great Wall. There are different sections of the Great Wall; most are fully-restored and are accessible to tourists while others are considerably dangerous to go to. We chose the Badaling section of the wall since it is the most well-known and closest to Beijing, about 70 km northwest of Beijing with travel time of only 2 hours. It is the earliest section to open to tourists and has complete facilities including cable cars, souvenir shops and restaurants.
In the sea of tourists, we were the first ones in the queue. Excitingly confident that we can pick the best seats on the train. Alas, the boarding gates opened! Our excitement turned into massive panic as everyone behind us, foreign and locals alike, went for a mad rush to the train, a kilometre away from where we were standing.
We started to run, like running for our lives. We finally reached the train and everyone started laughing. There was absolutely no need to run :) as there were plenty of empty seats! It was like we ran because we needed to blend in with the crowd. And so on to another 2-hour journey. One of UNESCO's World Heritage Sites, the Great Wall was continuously built from the 3rd century BC to the 17th century AD as the great military defence project of successive Chinese Empires. The Great Wall Facts (Sources: China Highlights and TravelChinaGuide)
Great Wall of China in our Bucket List: Checked!
We walked through the North and South sections of the Wall for about 2 hours, visited shops and museum and had souvenir photos taken. We flew back to Shanghai on the same day.
Alipay & Taobao
China may not have the best Internet access in the world (it is fire-walled) and some sites (like Facebook) are blocked. But from what I've seen, their Internet speed was impressive for E-commerce (such as mobile payments, online shopping, etc.). My work colleagues took me to a restaurant and when we asked for the bill, the server handed us a slip of paper with a QR code printed on it. We opened the scanner and paid via the Alipay apps. Taobao is a magic word in China. This is a Chinese online shopping website like eBay and Amazon that is operated in Hangzhou, Zhejiang by Alibaba Group. Though I have not used it for shopping, they said that you can order and have it delivered on the same day. Hospitality at its Best Though I'm also an Asian, I still braced myself for a possible element of cultural shock. It helped that I have friends at work who made the transition easier for me. I guess it's the universal law of nature. People will be friendly to you if you show genuine interest in other people and their culture. Coming back from China, my luggage was filled with moon cakes, gifts and souvenirs. Our friends showed us Chinese hospitality at its very best. Remedy for Language Barrier Although many Chinese do not speak English and communication seem difficult, do not get frustrated. When posed with situations that are new to you, use them as opportunities to harness your strengths and develop new skills. Eventually, you will manage and walk through them with flying colors. In restaurants, I looked at the pictures and got some help from other diners when placing orders. When doing grocery shopping, I listed items with their Chinese names. I always made it a point to bring my hotel's business card in Chinese to show to taxi drivers in case I get lost. I once went to a bank to buy Yuan (Chinese Currency) without uttering a word. I just handed a paper printed with English & Chinese: "I want to change my 100 Euro to Chinese Yuan. Thank you." "我想把我的100欧元换成人民币。 谢谢。" It worked ... thanks to Google Translate! My stay in China was not perfect at all. There were days that pollution was very bad and masks were needed. Joey had an allergic reaction to food. Yet still, it was a fantastic experience all throughout. Never a dull moment. Gained a lot of friends, and weight :). Picked up Chinese words and had a better understanding of their culture. In The Press Published in Roots & Wings Magazine (Stockholm, Sweden) Winter 2018 Issue, Pages 28 to 33 Check the PDF File here.
Published in Zafigo.com (Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia)
September 18, 2018 A Filipino Expat in China View my other Travel Tales here: Lorna Real-Del Rosario on Zafigo |
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About MeI am a software engineer based in Ireland; a qualified accountant who made a 360-degree career shift to Information Technology during the Y2K era. Joey (my husband) and I have big appetites for travelling, learning new cultures, and a passion for experiencing varied cuisines. Follow us as we chronicle life's little perks! |