On the first day of the year of the Rabbit, Caren and I packed our bags for a trip to Northern China. First was a city break in Beijing, then skiing at Duolemedi in Hebei province. During Spring Festival, we found it really hard to get a taxi in the Higher Education town, so we loaded two people, a big suitcase, snowboard bag and a couple of backpacks onto the electric scooter and headed to the high speed train station at Yuan Qu.
Tiananmen is an imposing public space, in the middle of which is Mao's mausoleum, where it is possible to see the preserved body of the man himself. Unfortunately it was closed for spring festival. Leaving Tiananmen to the north, you walk straight into the impressive Forbidden City:
The Electric Scooter Loaded with Luggage
From Yuan Qu, we caught the train to Shanghai and from there a flight to Beijing. We arrived early in the evening and headed straight out for dinner and drinks..Chinese New Year celebrations don't stop on New Year's day (as I write this four days later, I can sill here fireworks going off), and Beijing was alive wih fireworks.
A Well-Stocked Firework Stall in Beijing
Afer a great Indian meal at Ganges, we headed down to Glen Bar for some Japanese and Scotch Single-malt whiskies. I would highly recommend both.
Good Whisky at Glen Bar
The following day, we walked from our hotel to Tianenmen Square, where Caren tried the legendary Peking Duck (now Beijing Duck). Afer a hearty meal, we toured Tiananmen:
The Imposing South Gate
Revolutionary Statues
South of Tiananmen, Portrait of Mao
Tiananmen is an imposing public space, in the middle of which is Mao's mausoleum, where it is possible to see the preserved body of the man himself. Unfortunately it was closed for spring festival. Leaving Tiananmen to the north, you walk straight into the impressive Forbidden City:
Entering the Forbidden City
The First Square
Heading North through the City
Royal Chambers
Pagoda on a Hill to the North of the Forbidden City
The following day we intended to visit the great wall, but unfortunately, we couldn't get a train ticket, so instead we visited the excellent Beijing art district, where we bought ourselves an orginal oil painting. Here are some of the more outlandsih highlights:
Want a Sports Car? Build your Own out of Bricks!
Angry Naked Westerner!
A Drunken Rabbit.
After two and a half hectic days we left Beijing for northern Hebei province... stay tuned for photos of our ski trip.
Hi Danny,
ReplyDeleteGreat to see you're doing well in China! On a stopover in Shanghai next week, but too short for any tourism unfortunately. Hope to see you soon.
Cheers
Francois