The Boy and the Bulldog: Beijing Retrospect

Six months ago today, we were in Beijing, wrapping up our third full day of sightseeing. That would mean we were on The Great Wall right about now, fully enjoying the 30 degree plus 60MPH wind chill. We chose to scale the more difficult of the two sections to miss the throngs of other tourists. What a great idea, since it meant our section was the one with vertical "climbs" and the steepest, but most uneven steps I've ever seen.

In Rome, everything was engineered with astonishing accuracy, almost state of the art given the time period in which they were built. Without factoring in wear and tear, bricks were exactly the same height, width, and length throughout a structure. Steps were designed so the number of steps was exactly the same in every staircase of a building or structure…and the number of steps or bricks in an arch meant something. Pillars were a particular circumference for a reason, and even the grout had significance. This was not so much the case on The Wall. It was obvious that there was no project manager overseeing the tasks involved in the building of this enormous fortress, and I suspect the workers didn't care for their foreman, considering the defiance that can be detected in the ridiculous grade and height of some of the stairs and staircases. It was almost comical at times.

In reflection overall, Beijing was a great introduction to Chinese culture, but not what I would call "real" China… The China of rolling hills, lakes, etc. I hear from so many people that they hated Beijing, its traffic, smog, dirt, and overall big city feel that seems to go for days. There's no doubt that it's crowded and huge. That would be an understatement. However, we were in a nice hotel, had a great guide, and saw exactly what we needed to see there. The concept of going to Beijing in the first place was simply to acclimate to the air, food, time, and get yuckies in and out of our systems before heading to Hangzhou…THE destination.

As it turned out, we thoroughly enjoyed packing a week's worth of sightseeing into three days. Our guide was a waif of a girl, barely 5 feet tall and young. She was a college student studying English and Politics, which is a popular combination among the youth in China. The 20-30 age group seems to be very forward thinking…possibly the first generation of its kind in China. I wouldn't be surprised to see things shift significantly in government, in the next 10 to 20 years.

Anyway, she had us on our toes the entire time. We could have spent DAYS in The Forbidden City and not caught everything, but she had us through there in a couple of hours.

Although the Temple of Heaven, Summer Palace, Acrobatic Show, and Ming's Tomb are all worth seeing (Summer Palace, just for the amazing art throughout and Temple of Heaven for the expanse of the park and people playing games and dancing everywhere), but the next huge attraction for us was the Hutong Tour. I could write all day and miss most of the reasons for why it was so memorable. It really is a must for anyone visiting China who really wants to learn the Cliff Notes version of how people used to live (and still do in many areas) in China. There is so much to learn and see in the Hutongs. We would have stayed all day if our guide and driver didn't have somewhere to be.

Almost as memorable as all of those sites, was a phenomenal Szechuan meal at a nameless restaurant somewhere between The Wall and the tea ceremony place just outside Beijing. We could probably never find it again if we tried, but it was so worth it. Chicken with hot peppers, garlic broccoli, and dumplings… The best meal of our entire trip hands down.

Overall, Beijing was great. Would we go to Beijing again? Probably not. It's a city you only really need to see once. Except for a view of the wall from another vantage point, I think we soaked up as much as is necessary in those 3 full days. If I had to choose an entrance point "next time", it would most likely be Shanghai or Hong Kong…Two cities we missed, but regret horribly.

Veering completely off topic, I don't see how Beijing can support the Olympics. I'm expecting it to be exciting, but possibly something of a disaster. Water conditions alone would shock the average Westerner, no matter how well travelled. Air quality in August will be difficult to navigate. I envision athletes getting sick or at the very least impacting some "breathing dependent" sports. In addition, the waste produced by so many visitors to an already bulging population will be staggering and will most likely have global after effects. We shall see. Logistically, after spending just a few days there, we were left with a new understanding of just how spoiled we are here…and anytime I am about to buy a bottle of water (when I have a filter on my tap) or when I get cranky because traffic slows just a little…I think of Beijing and how good we really have it in comparison to most of the world.

So, what would we do if we were to the Beijing trip again? We would skip the Llama temple. There are plenty of opportunities to see Buddhist temples. We had no way of knowing that Hangzhou would have one of the most beautiful in all of China. We also would have skipped Ming's Tomb. The Sacred Way leading up to the Tomb was neat, but not worth the drive just to see that.

We also would have skipped the planned duck dinner and found someplace off the beaten path that was more geared toward the locals. The duck we tried...was yuck. We would have found a Hot Pot restaurant and tried that as well. We talked about it leading up to the trip and never did get to have any. We're still disappointed in ourselves for that. I also would have gone up to Behai Park/Gardens, and would have worried less about our guide's schedule. It's her job and she probably paid for an entire semester of school from what we paid her.

I think we also would have spent more time in the Hutong village. There were some neat shops and restaurants lining the river and the parks were just filled with people dancing and exercising...the national pass time of those about 50+.

We would have skipped the Jade factory as well as the Tea Ceremony. Depending on the other destinations, there's plenty of those government run tourist traps in other provinces or small shops offering the same stuff for a fraction of the price.

Below are a few highlights of Beijing. For those who followed our trip, these are repeats…But for many, these will look new (or a déjà vu of your past or future trips).