Travel Diary: Beijing Part I

Postcards from Beijing, CHINA

For my first time in Beijing, how could I overlook the two biggest historical and cultural attractions that China has to offer- The Great Wall of China and The Forbidden City. I went during Winter when the mercury goes below 0 degrees Celsius and so I made the decision to go to the Summer Palace another time.   

The Great Wall of China

So there were a lot of cats on the top of the Great Wall...

Forget the original purpose of the wall keeping out the Xiong Nus or rabbit jokes because the issue at hand is CATS.

OMG I'm dying from the climb but first let me take a selfie

Almond milk

WATCH YOUR KIDS 

because this inclination is crazy

 TIPS:

• In winter: prepare a beanie (or some headwear), scarves, etc because the wind is strong and more importantly icy cold.
• Try to pack lightly because the inclination is crazy and climbing the wall is a work out in its own right
• Wear good shoes and by that I mean ditch the heels- stilettos in particular- this may sound obvious but people were there in heels
• If you're driving down (I was) there will be people guiding you to a car space, be prepared for they will try to sell you stuff.
• There's a small kiosk near the top that sells drinks and instant noodles, food and beverage options are limited and they don't take bargaining. The almond milk I bought usually costs 2 RMB and here you'll need to pay 10 RMB
• If you get lazy and don't want to walk down, there is a cable car, costs 80 RMB ($16) one way.

Forbidden City 

The actual sky.....

Confession the others had a blue sky, I just made them a bluer but this one is just grey

So I took this using my tripod meaning I only had 10 seconds to get into position but clearly the passerbys had no idea that they weren't meant to be in my shot. 

TIP:

• Go there pretty early because the sunrise is something else, unfortunately I didn't which means that next time, come 8 am I'm there!
• If you decide to play dress ups by wearing the Qing costumes be very careful about what you're going to pay because the advertised price is never the price you pay. The advertised price will get you a fairly standard looking costume but the prettier ones cost more, including the head pieces. 

 Yangqi Lake 

This is where the latest APEC Summit was held, yes it's beautiful but it is in the middle of nowhere relative to the city. Oh and almost every Chinese tourist place requires an admission ticket and this place is no exception.