Hello from Japan!

Day 15: Beijing

Having finished most of our packing the previous night — successfully cramming everything into our two original suitcases and a couple of carry-ons to avoid the complication of purchasing a third bag — we awoke Sunday morning to make a final trip to nearby Wangfujing Street shopping district, find some breakfast, and spend our last handful of Yuan before returning to the Peninsula to check out.

One more delicious bakery meal

Breakfast was at a bakery in the food court of the Oriental Plaza Mall, home to many of our previous dining choices. After enjoying the blueberry, peach and raisin offerings, we strolled through a few more department stores and gift shops buying last-minute souvenirs.  Our last stop before heading back was McDonalds, where we bought two banana pies (and wondered if there were other flavors we were still missing…)

Success! Just as good as Sweet Taro pie

Upon returning to the hotel, we grabbed our bags, checked out, and hailed a taxi to Beijing’s Capital International Airport.  Forty-five minutes later, we arrived at Terminal 3 (built in 2008) which is one of the most ridiculously large airport terminals we’ve ever seen.  Turns out that is because Terminal 3 is the second-largest airport terminal in the world after one at Dubai International Airport.  (Thanks Wikipedia.)

Glimpse of the Central Chinese Television building en route to airport

After locating the Continental Airlines counter and enduring a few more slow-moving lines, we were informed our 3:45 PM flight to Newark was delayed and would probably take off sometime after 5 PM.  The agent offered to move our connecting flight to Monday morning in Newark, but after some quick deliberation, we decided to stick with our existing itinerary and take our chances with an more English-fluent agent after our arrival in the U.S.

Pondering the slow line and flight delays

After making our way through security and finding our gate, we browsed a couple gift shops where we discovered some of the most bold price inflation in the history of retail sales.  For example, at the Terracotta Warriors Museum in Xi’an, we could get a box of warrior statues for 10 Yuan.  At this gift shop, the price was 230! Even better, a larger statuette that sold for 20 Yuan in Xi’an was going for 670.  After the currency conversion, that’s $3 vs $100.

Hanging out at gate E12

In addition to the gift shops, we also looked for a place to grab a bite to eat and found only Pizza Hut. Probably due to a large influx of delayed travellers, our waiter told us they were out of pizza — really?!? — and we settled for pasta and waffle fries instead.  (It is also possible we fell victim to China’s new “out of pizza scam” as other customers began ordering pizza again shortly thereafter.)

Finally, the plane boarded and after waiting another 20 minutes on the tarmac thanks to the rain (obviously we were not getting out of China without a little more rain), we were on our way to Newark.

Five or six in-flight movies later, we arrived.  And they had good news for us – thanks to a Chinese tour group that was also on our connecting flight to Chicago, Continental had delayed the flight and we had plenty of time to pass through customs, re-do security (back to the no-shoes nonsense of American airports, sigh) and find our gate.

The final leg

The two-and-a-half hour flight to O’Hare was uneventful and we arrived with luggage in tow at 11 PM.  We knew we were back in Chicago when the taxi line was actually a line and it was barely cracking 40 degrees outside.  Welcome home!

Day 14: Beijing

We slept in this morning, then decided to have lunch at Huang Ting, the Peninsula’s Cantonese restaurant. We took advantage of their weekend dim sum buffet – nearly 40 items, as much as we wanted – and enjoyed a great lunch of spring rolls, dumplings, fried noodles, and more.

Delicious dim sum lunch at Peninsula

Finishing our shopping was the goal of today, so we took a taxi to Panjiayuan Antique Market, an enormous open-air flea market with over 3000 vendors. Furniture, jewelry, statues, trinkets, silk, you name it – it was here, and we had a great time walking around and bargaining some good prices for a variety of items.

Panjiayuan Market in southeast Beijing

Quite an assortment of statues

Waiting for customers

The amount of stuff for sale was staggering; there were marble lions the size of small cars, a ton of Mao paraphernalia, beautiful Tibetan furniture, a huge book bazaar, and piles of beads in every color imaginable. Around 5:00, the market began to close down, with vendors boxing up their wares and loading them onto the backs of their bicycle carts. This was one-stop-shopping at its finest.

Lots of Mao-themed items

Don't try to pick these up - you can't

This kid was ready for the camera

Endless stalls

We managed to hail a cab among the departing bicycle carts and dropped off our purchases back at the hotel before heading back out for dinner. We stopped at a department store where I bought a Chinese-style cleaver similar to the one we used at the Yangshuo cooking class.

Walking to dinner

Then we headed back to Da Dong, where we had a reservation for one more delicious roast duck dinner. This time we sat by the open kitchen, watching the roasted ducks come out of the fire. Our meal was as good as it had been the other night, and this time we ordered a dessert we’d seen at another table: fruit “dandelions”, sugar-coated fruits surrounded by a “fluff” of cotton candy.

Roasting the world-famous ducks

One last great meal in China

Cool fruit "dandelions" for dessert

We walked back to the hotel to start packing and see if we’d bought so many souvenirs we’d need another bag. Tomorrow morning is our last chance to shop, and Matt swears he saw someone eating a McDonalds banana pie, so we might have to go check that out, too… 🙂

Day 13: Beijing

We were up at 5:30 AM, on the train by 6:15, and by 7:00 we were eating Egg McMuffins on the bus to the Great Wall. Finding the bus stop the day before had been a smart thing to do; the station was very busy but we knew exactly where to go. Hiring a car for the day would have cost around $100; a round-trip bus ticket was $3.50. After an hour and a half we arrived in the city of Huairou, where we took a 15-minute taxi ride the rest of the way to the Great Wall.

Can't read much on this sign but all we needed to know was "Bus 916"

There are several sections of the Great Wall open to visitors; I chose Mutianyu after reading numerous positive trip reports about its scenery and lack of tourists.  Our ticket included admission, a ropeway ticket up to the wall, and a toboggan ride back down (this was another reason I chose this spot).  The ropeway was just like a ski-lift; after five minutes, we were on the wall and greeted by a souvenir vendor who immediately took our picture.

Like the hats?

The weather was gorgeous: 60 degrees, sunny, and clear.  FINALLY.  We decided to walk north, then turn around and come back to the toboggan slide.  Since we arrived so early, there were only a few others up there with us as we started the hike.

View from near our starting point

We wore too many layers for the beautiful weather

As expected, the views were incredible.  The wall sloped up and down through the mountains, sometimes very steeply, though there were usually steps to help out.  It seemed impossible to take a bad picture; everywhere we looked was amazing.  Like at the rice terraces, it’s hard to describe the views in words; pictures are better…

Looking back south along Great Wall

Great Wall nature

Uphill climbing ahead

Stationed along the wall were watchtowers, some of which we could climb for a better view.  Vendors set up small stands with water and postcards, and we eventually passed a second access point that featured enclosed gondola cars instead of our ski-lift method.  We took a break and shared a Snickers bar looking out from one of the towers.

Matt on his way up the wall

The last set of steps before we reached the end of the hike looked steep from a distance and even more so when we got to the base of them.  After about 500 steps we were at the highest point and could walk no further along this section of the wall.  (Which was fine – we were tired.)

At the highest point of the wall - that staircase is steeper than it looks

We earned our "I Climbed the Great Wall" t-shirts

It took us almost two hours to hike this stretch of the wall; we walked back a little faster so we’d be able to meet our taxi driver at the agreed time.  By now there were many more people around; we were glad to have arrived early to avoid most of them.  We thought one Chinese family was asking us to take their picture; actually, they wanted to take one with me! 

Passing others on the way back

Looking north along wall

Heading south back to starting point

Afternoon clouds

Almost to the end

When we got back to our starting point, we took a toboggan ride down to the village below.  It was so much fun; we wish the ride had been longer!  At the bottom, we made our way through a throng of aggressive souvenir vendors where we bought the customary “I Climbed the Great Wall” t-shirts (Initial quoted price: $50!  Post-bargaining price: $8). 

Tobogganing IS so simple

Zooming down the mountain

When we finished shopping, our taxi driver took us back to the bus station.  Ninety minutes later, we were back where we started and proud of ourselves for successfully navigating Beijing’s bus system.   We stopped at McDonalds for a snack, where Matt discovered the wonders of their Sweet Taro Pie (two for a dollar or one for 80 cents, just like the crazy pricing structure at home).

Would not mind if these catch on in the US

We went back to the hotel for a swim in the pool before dinner.  We had reservations at South Beauty, a Sichuan restaurant I read about online, and when we arrived we were shown to our own little alcove with a sunken table and sheepskin carpet.  The food was fantastic; we had kung pao chicken, pork and pepper stirfry, roasted green beans with minced pork, and Beijing-style dumplings. 

Delicious Sichuan food at South Beauty

Just as good as the dumplings in Shanghai... well, except Yang's

After dinner, we did a little shopping before walking back to the hotel, tired but happy about our great day at the Great Wall.

Day 12: Beijing

Waking up to yet another rainstorm, we decided to make it an “inside day” and check out some of Beijing’s indoor shopping markets.  For lunch, we wanted to try a restaurant called Noodle Loft that we had seen on TV; one branch was located near a train stop, so we took our first trip on Beijing’s Metro.  Beijing’s train system is excellent; though it’s quite crowded all hours of the day, it’s reliable, easy to figure out, and fast. 

Maybe signs like these are the reasons we see so few foreigners on the subway

After a couple wrong turns in search of the restaurant, we found it only to discover – for the second time this trip – that it was closed.  Too hungry to search for another restaurant, we found a bakery on the corner and bought an assortment of snacks instead.  We ate our delicious lunch standing out on the sidewalk and ran back to the train as the rain started again.

Loading up on baked goods for lunch

We were planning to take the bus to the Great Wall the next day, so following some advice I’d read online, we rode the train to the bus transfer depot to find the bus stop and make sure we knew where to go.  By this point, the rain had stopped and the weather was clearing, so we decided to skip the shopping and walk a few blocks over to Tiananmen Square instead. 

Following the bikes to Tiananmen Square

We were just north of Tiananmen Square, standing in front of Tiananmen Gate and its gigantic portrait of Chairman Mao Zedong.  The gate connects the square to the Forbidden City, but it was after closing time and we couldn’t pass through, so we took pictures and people-watched instead.

At Tiananmen Gate with Mao watching over everyone

Matt took a picture for these guys and then ended up in one, too

Across the street, we could see people starting to gather around the national flag for the evening’s flag-lowering ceremony (held every evening at dusk; there is a ceremony to raise the flag every morning, too).  With only about a half-hour until dusk, we had “accidentally” arrived at just the right time, and we headed over to find a spot to watch.  Crossing the street via an underground passway, we followed a group of Chinese national guardsmen as they marched up to the flag podium.

Lining up in preparation for flag ceremony

While waiting, we noted the vastness of Tiananmen Square, its massive police presence, and its lack of trees and benches.  It’s  just a huge open expanse of concrete, bordered by Mao’s mausoleum and a few buildings.  There were lots of people walking around, but as it got closer to sunset most of them made their way over to the flag podium. 

Still waiting for ceremony to begin

Keeping an eye on the crowd

At sunset, guards stopped traffic between Tiananmen Square and Gate and soon lines of perfectly synchronized soldiers marched out of the gate, crossed the street, and made their way over to the flag podium.  After the flag was lowered, the soldiers marched with it back through the gate and the ceremony was over.  The size of the crowd was enormous; this ceremony happens twice a day, every day, and is one of the most popular things to see in Beijing. 

Soldiers marching toward flag podium

Carrying flag out of Tiananmen Square

Flag-less Tiananmen Square at dusk

Everything lit up after ceremony was finished

The concierge at the Peninsula told us the Olympic buildings were lit up at night, so we decided to find dinner at a mall nearby and then take the train out to the Olympic complex.  The food court at the Oriental Plaza mall was huge, and we chose a Benihana-style restaurant where we enjoyed a great meal of steak, shrimp, and salmon.  

No volcano onion at this place

The Olympic Green area was pretty empty; only a few souvenir vendors and tourists were walking around.  As promised, the Bird’s Nest (Indoor Stadium) and Water Cube were beautifully lit; we wandered around taking pictures until the lights went off promptly at 10 PM.  Visitors can go inside the stadium but not the pool complex; apparently there are plans to allow public swimming sometime this summer. 

Olympic Green

Bird's Nest (Olympic Indoor Stadium)

Water Cube

Taken about 30 seconds before lights went out

We ran back to the Metro to catch the last train of the night and headed back to the hotel.  It was a great day; we were happy the weather had cleared and we were able to see a few more sights.  Next up:  Great Wall!

Day 11: Beijing

Our train was scheduled to arrive in Beijing at 7:15 AM; around 6:30, lights and music came on throughout the cars and we got ready to disembark.  We’d slept OK, though the rumble of the train woke me up quite a bit.  At 7:30, the train pulled into the station and we went looking for a cab.

When we got to the taxi queue, there was a massive, unorganized line of people waiting as a slow trickle of cabs pulled in.  For once I was glad to have my bigger suitcase, all the better for pushing my way through the crowd.  An hour later, we were finally in a taxi and heading for the sanctuary of the Peninsula Beijing. 

Happy to be back in a Peninsula

Upon check-in, we met the hotel’s food and beverage director with whom I had worked in Chicago for a couple years.  He gave us a great map of the area and a few pointers on where to go, and we spent some time relaxing in the room before heading out to the Forbidden City.

Gigantic Yao Ming looks kind of short up there

The Forbidden City was a short walk from the hotel, and we had a couple of hours to wander around before it closed for the day.  Officially known as the Palace Museum, this area is the world’s largest palace complex and was home to 24 emperors over 500 years.  The symbolic center of China, it is said to contain 9,999 rooms (9 is the largest odd number less than 10, so the Chinese consider it both lucky and important).  

Meridian Gate - one of two main entrances; Center door was reserved for the emperor

The buildings were amazing, loaded with exquisite architecture and detailing.  We walked through the Outer Court, over marble bridges and past enormous Chinese lions guarding the entrances to the halls.    Each gate and hall has a name and a specific purpose, and though you couldn’t enter any of the halls, hundreds of people crowded around them, taking pictures of the ornate thrones and decorations inside.

Gate of Supreme Harmony: Used for receiving visitors

Hall of Supreme Harmony: Used for major occasions such as enthronement of an emperor

Closer shot of Hall of Supreme Harmony - the largest hall in the palace

The Hall of Supreme Harmony has a gorgeous central ramp made of marble carved with dragons chasing clouds, and was  reserved only for the emperor.  Another broad walkway paved in marble bisects the entire palace and was reserved exclusively for the emperor’s sedan chair.  In imperial times, no building was allowed to exceed the height of the tallest in the palace.

Gates in the city

The small figures on the rooftops were guardians against fire

The Inner Court contained the private living quarters of the emperor, his family, and servants, as well as several more halls, galleries, and the Imperial Gardens.  The sheer size of the complex was overwhelming; the palaces, courtyards, and gardens just kept unfolding as we got further inside.   We followed bunches of tour groups out at closing time and decided to go back to the hotel for a nap before dinner, saving Tian’anmen Square (just south of the Forbidden City) for another time.  On the way, we passed by a row of street food stalls offering the strangest collection of items we’ve seen yet, including starfish, sheep kidneys and intestines, octopus, and pig’s blood soup.   We would not be eating here for dinner.

How exactly do you eat a starfish?

Catching up on sleep I did not get on the train

We had a dinner reservation at Dadong, a famous Peking duck restaurant, and we met up with our friend Sarah from Yangshuo.  I had researched the best duck restaurants in Beijing, and this one consistently received excellent reviews.  We ordered a whole duck with all the accompaniments plus sauteed broccoli, and then watched as our duck was first presented and then carved tableside.

Carving the crispy-skinned duck

The duck was excellent, served with thin pancakes, hoisin sauce, thinly sliced cucumbers and green onions, and pickled radish, and our server showed us how to fill and fold the duck and veggies inside the pancakes (kind of like a mini-burrito).  An unusual accompaniment was white sugar; our server told us to dip the crispy duck skin in it, and this was a delicious, addictive combination.  We ate every last piece and then sat and talked for a couple hours before heading back to the hotel.  This meal was so good we may have to come back again before we leave, and it was a lovely ending to a long day.