Beijing: A Truly Magnificent City

I think this one needs no introduction – a place shut off to outsiders for over a century – one of the most important cities of the modern world – the capital of China – Beijing. Five days was the amount of time that I would be in Beijing, and besides the Forbidden City, Tiananmen Square, and the Great Wall, I didn’t really have a plan. However, I anticipated that a city of the size and relevance of Beijing would have plenty to offer.

Forbidden City, Beijing

I arrived late at night and first impressions were not great as the hotel I booked did not accept foreigners; in fact, no hotels in Beijing are supposed to accept foreigners unless they have a special license. Therefore, I needed to take a slight diversion and head to a more seedier hotel that I knew would be able to let a foreigner stay… for the right price.

One thing that I soon realized about Beijing was that the best way to get around was to cycle; the roads are as flat as pancakes and they all have their own dedicated cycling lanes. On one day alone I racked up four hours on one of the shared bikes just meandering around the place. If you’re relatively fit, you can easily cycle from tourist attraction to tourist attraction and stop at interesting places that you discover along the way - this is how I discovered Houhai Lake.

The biggest disappointment of the trip to Beijing was the Forbidden City; I thought that a place built for the ruling families throughout the Ming and Qing Dynasties would have some real special features to it, but it was just a vast complex surrounded by water with lots of different buildings built for all the different members of these Dynasties. I also found it very strange to see thousands of Chinese tourists going to visit a place that was specifically built to keep them away from the ruling elite. Tiananmen Square on the other hand was a much better experience; I was able to ride a bike past Tiananmen Square at around 10pm, and because it was a Sunday I got to see all the people camping out to watch the flag raising ceremony at 8am the following morning. The time that I spent in and around Tiananmen Square also made me realise just how proud the Chinese people are of their country and the revolution.

Although I was able to cycle to all of the places mentioned so far, there was one place that was just too far for the bike to take me: The Great Wall of China. Obviously the Great Wall is absolutely immense, but there are only so many entrance points to it because most of the wall is in inhospitable terrain. I was recommended to avoid the touristy area of the wall and opt for a less popular but more challenging and spectacular entrance called Juyong Pass. This turned out to be a very short but steep hike of around 50 minutes and it contained some of the most breath-taking views of the beautiful mountains that define northern China. This hike/climb is a must do for anyone who wants to actually climb the Great Wall and not just stand in crowds like you do in Badaling.

Beijing has been the best city that I have visited in China thus far because it is as futuristic as other huge Chinese cities, but it also has a nice, relaxed feel to it. I would also recommend an area of Beijing called Soho for those travellers keen to explore the nightlife.