Crazy in Beijing

I imagined Beijing to be too crowded to move, that there would be hardly any space, that people would be rude... I could not have been more wrong. Beijing is huge, and there is so much space and so much to see. In fact, I would say so far on this around-the-world trip of mine, Beijing is my favourite city!

It has managed to balance the old and new. Though Mcdonald’s and Pizza Hut are everywhere, they have managed to retain their traditions and culture, which so many places seem to be loosing these days. Highlights are of course The Great Wall, The Forbidden City, Tian'anmen Square, Houhai Lake, and the Silk Market.

Quick Tips:

Best Way To Get Around:

Walking is probably best at first just to get a feel of the vastness, atmosphere, and culture of the city. It is easier to comprehend how much space there really is by walking. Taxis are really, really cheap, so I wouldn't hesitate to hail one.

Oh, by the way, when you first step out of the airport, you'll have random dodgy Chinese men come up to you and trying to make you get into their taxi. Do not go with these guys. Use the taxi rank by arrivals; it's more then what these guys are offering, but the taxis are licensed and it's safe.

This hotel was advertised as a four-star hotel, and they weren’t wrong. Our room was huge. It lacked character, but the size and facilities made up for this. This hotel is only a 5- to 8-minute walk to Tian'anmen Square, so it was conveniently located to the major sights.

Their standard room rate, though, was RMB 1,080, which is ridiculous. We got it for half of that on the Internet. Just type in Beijing Hotels on Google. We paid under £40, just over $80, a night. The hotel has a café, shops, and a beauty centre, which do excellent massages. I totally recommend you get one of those. I have had really funny times at this hotel. Only one person spoke excellent English, so if you needed to ask a question, you had to hope you'd get her. Otherwise you were in trouble.

This is a two-star hotel located just off the shopping plazas of Wangfujing Golden Street, which is not too far from the Forbidden City and about 10 minutes from Tian'anmen Square. The hotel contains 56 rooms with air-conditioning, though the budget one that we stayed in was very basic. It, however, suited our needs and pockets. The price includes breakfast. They have a booking centre and an Internet café.

When you're fed up with special fried rice and sweet-and-sour pork, this is the place to come. The huge portions of quality German food, such as pork schnitzel and bratwurst with sauerkraut, are just amazing. This place is such a find, though a little on the pricey side. The beers are, of course, great too, and they have live music most nights.

Afunti is a sanitised Uighur restaurant that has established a reputation for excellent Uighur food. It is a bit of an institution in Beijing, so tourists now outnumber locals. The reputation for the post-meal dancing on the trestle tables, the Uighur music, and the... err... cabaret performance have pulled in the punters. Sadly, the excellent food is rushed in order to get the tables cleared away so the dancing can begin. For this reason, you need to arrive early - no later than 6:30pm - to allow time to eat. It also closes early, and once it is down to a handful of remaining drunken revellers, the music slacks off (you can't really whoop it up on a table to Greensleeves) and you are ushered out into the night. Houhai or Sanlitun beckons. It is not the most typical of Xijiang or Uighur restaurants, but it is the easiest.

Don't miss the yang rou chuanr (barbecued lamb skewers), lamian (long noodles with tomato sauce), naan (flatbread with garlic), and roasted leg of mutton. Forget about chopsticks. Forget about cutlery. Even the plate may be optional. Just gnaw. Unusually for Muslim restaurants (except in China), they serve alcohol, and everyone drinks. This could be the reason that anyone is even prepared to contemplate dancing on a trestle table to Greensleeves.

Imperial cuisine in a palace--you can't beat that! Fangshan Resturant offers the ordinary folks like us a taste of what a typical meal is like in the royal palace, and therefore, it's not surprising to hear that this is one of the more exclusive restaurants in Beijing. Court Cuisine originates from the imperial kitchen, which cooked food for the emperor and his family. After the fall of the Qing Dynasty, some chefs from the imperial kitchen opened restaurants in the capital to introduce the special food once only eaten by the imperial family. The restaurant itself is situated on the edge of a lake in a large, sprawling traditional building and is terribly romantic. When we came in, they had a group of ladies dressed as Qing dynasty courtesans dancing in the main courtyard. It certainly was a VERY interesting dinner that included turtle, deer, and other rare imperial treats. The dishes seemed to be meticulously prepared with rare and expensive foodstuffs, such as bird nests and shark fins, and the restaurant is also known for its pastries, including pea-flour cakes, kidney bean-flour rolls, miniature corn buns, and sesame-seed buns with chopped meat filling.

I would recommend this as a must-do activity! You could really splurge and book an Emperor's Banquet, which you get to dress up as an Emperor for--you need to reserve and order well in advance for this. A bit touristy, perhaps, but lots of fun. The dumplings, by the way, are excellent.

We met a Swedish guy named Kimmo, and we talked about eating a Beijing Duck. He had heard about a great place with great food that was cheap, and he knew where it was! Great! I'm ready to splurge on a meal!!

We made our way to the place. I was surprised to see a small line of people who hadn't made it inside yet--wow! This place must be popular! The Qianmen Quanjude Roast Duck Restaurant, established in 1864, is nationally famous for its roast duck, reputed to be China's No. 1 delicacy. Ever since its establishment, the restaurant has kept the traditional method of roasting duck: the duck is hung on a pole over a wood fire until the skin turns golden-brown and crisp. Customers can enjoy the special taste of Quanjude duck by covering the slices with sweet paste and green-onion shreds on a soft flatbread. The Qianmen Quanjude Restaurant also offers duck-shaped pastries and a variety of tempting dishes featuring different parts of the duck, including abalone and duck breast with chili sauce, eel with duck breast in casserole, and stewed mullet egg with duck tongue. It doesn't just sound great; the food really was exceptional. When our duck arrived, it was so moist, and it just melted in our mouths!! We were so full when we left. This entire meal for both of us cost only 28 RMB (US$5.32). I still dream about this meal from time to time!! A spacious, relaxed setting and superb service will add to your pleasant dining experience at this restaurant. Truly good.

This really is a fab market, though the name is deceptive. Although it does sell silk scarves, ties, etc., just about every stall sells purses and bags, rip-off Armani Jeans, and of course, polo shirts. I've rummaged through the markets of Hong Kong, Bali, and the notorious night market, Patpong, in Bangkok and seen all the fake Gucci, Dior, and Armani rip-offs, but this market certainly is one of the best for its quality and range of merchandise. This is a must, but remember to bargain hard!

This place is extremely well-known both to locals and expats alike. It gets packed to the rafters and is a lot of fun, not to mention cheap. A vodka and orange drink set me a back a mere 70p - that’s around $1.25! Be warned, though - with drinks this cheap, it's not long before you find yourself absolutely plastered and dancing around like a manic with the rest of the bar.

They even have real toilets!

This tea house is so romantic. It's also steeped in tradition and feels of a world that once was. You walk in and the hostess seats you at your own private area. You are given a menu with various types of teas, and after you choose one, she soon brings a clear teapot of water and two cups full of tea leaves. A long scroll is rolled down to the ground, replacing a door, and you are left alone with your date to chat away and remember that, years before stepped in here, this was not only where meeting places were held and important decisions made but also an integral part of the Chinese culture.

The mysterious Forbidden City, a place of cultural pride for the Oriental world, was once known for its refusal of foreign visitors in the 19th century, which is kind of ironic today when hoards of tourists, tour guides, and Chinese flock en masse into the city walls from which their ancestors were once denied.

The Forbidden City is divided into two parts. The southern section, or the Outer Court, was where the emperor exercised his supreme power over the nation. The northern section, or the Inner Court, was where he lived with his royal family. Until 1924, when the last emperor of China was driven from the Inner Court, 14 emperors of the Ming Dynasty and 10 emperors of the Qing Dynasty reigned here.

Having been the imperial palace for some 5 centuries, it houses numerous rare treasures and curiosities. Listed by UNESCO as a World Cultural Heritage Site in 1987, the Palace Museum is now one of the most popular tourist attractions worldwide. A definite must-see!

The first thing to realise about Beijing is that you won't see it all in a week, or even two. The whopping scale of China's capital means that many visitors are limited to doing the obligatory rounds of famous, and admittedly dazzling sights including the Forbidden City, the Great wall, the Temple of Heaven, and the Ming tombs. The 2nd thing to know is that inital impressions of the place, generally acquired through a car window while hurtling down the airport expressway, will do little to inspire a longer stay. Recent affluence and preparations for the 2008 Olympics have created a frenzey of demolition and development, with the inevitable construction-site dustbowls. The city's new roads, absorbing new cars at an estimated rate of 30,000 each month, now experience jams of almost Bangkok-ian magnitude.

Other aspects of city life are making giant leaps forward and living standards are rising fast. Beijing's notoriously gritty, dank air is improving, the number of clear blue sky days is up more than 200 each year. Beijing is also coming of retail age. Shopping has yet to reach the sophistication of say, Hong Kong, but even so it's hard to leave the city empty handed. The city's markets are attractions in themselves. practice your haggling skills at Pearl market. sift through the treasure and trash at Panjiayuan market during a weekend. For bargain clothes, shoes, and leather goods, Yashow market is the place to be.

There are plently of other low-key sights, too, and some are undeservedly overlooked. While the masses trail through the Yonghe Gong temple for example, it's possible to have the Ancient Architecture museum to yourself. This interesting museum is situated in a renovated temple complex at 21 Dongjing Lu, Xuanwu district.

Sometimes, the best places to hang out are just near or around the famous sights, along the wall that surrounds the Forbidden City, for example, you can spot old men fishing in the moat.You can catch glimpses of the iconic Temple of Heaven through the 500-year-old thuja trees in the vast tranquil Tiantan Park. Just after sunrise, this park fills with locals meeting to exercise, dance, play checkers, or practice traditional opera.

Getting the most from a visit in Beijing isn't difficult, but it does require some planning. The use of English is limited, so buy a decent guide book beforehand. A good map is vital too, with streets and sights marked in English and Chinese too.