Beijing, also known as Peking, is the capital city of the People’s Republic of China and one of the most populous cities in the world. Almost everyone would know that a number of well-know infrastructure is situated in Beijing.
The Forbidden City
We never really know how we got to the Forbidden City. We were just walking and walking in and out public parks, taking photos of what we see around and suddenly we got there. We were just so surprised that there is a big empty space with a lot of tourists from different countries. Almost everyone is lining up to get tickets and to book their guides. We then realized that we were then at the Forbidden City.
The entrance fee was at CNY 60 and if you want to get an audio guide which you can choose in your preferred language, there will be an additional CNY 40. We decided not to take the audio guide and just sneak in to the group of tourists who hired an English speaking tour guide. But, we didn’t find any ENGLISH SPEAKING GUIDE.
Anyways, the Forbidden City is the best preserved imperial palace in China and the largest palatial structure in the world. The site itself is marvelous when I see it in photos, but being there in person felt different. It was like I was part of this country’s rich history. I may never really understand why Chinese people have certain sets of beliefs, but just by being there somehow made me understand how they arrived to what they are today.
one of the palaces in the Forbidden City
a lot of tourists from different countries enjoy the rich history of the place
The Hall of Supreme Harmony
The Meridian Gate
with my bff and ultimate travel buddy
there are more than 900 buildings inside the Forbidden City
The Tianan’men Square
We were about to go back to the hotel from Wangfujing to meet with Pam for dinner. We took the subway and got off at the wrong station. Since we don’t want to get lost further, we just traced back our way to the hotel. We saw Forbidden City, so the hotel should just be a few meters away.
I felt like I was walking miles and miles and yet no sign of the hotel. We again followed the large stream of people, trying to figure out where to go based on our handy dandy road map but no luck. Then we saw a large photo of Mao Zedong. We curiously entered the edifice and only realized that we’re at the Tianan’men Square when we reached the gate of Heavenly Peace as people were buying tickets for the Forbidden City.
The Tianan’men Square is a large city square in the center of Beijing. Named after the Tiananmen Gate (Gate of Heavenly Peace), located to its north, separating it from the Forbidden City. The Tiananmen Square is the 3rd largest city square in the world.
Mao Zedong Mausoleum is at the Tianan'men Square
Chinese Dolls
Street outside the Square
The Great Wall of China
I was really excited for this 1st official world wonder I was about to see. Even if we came home late the night before, we were so eager to wake up early to see the Great Wall of China. From our hotel, we took the subway going to the Beijing North Railway Station. It took us a while to find where this station was, as it was not part of our maps anymore. We had to ask around and relied on charades and intuition because we literally had to endure the language barrier. I never really felt uneducated my whole life. Having the ability to speak the “universal” language, made no difference at all.
Fortunately, after long walks, we finally set foot at the train station that will take us to the Great Wall. We bought our tickets for CNY 6.00 each. One thing I really appreciated about Beijing is that, their transportation is really really cheap, unless one will be taking a cab.
On the train, we met 2 college chinese girls who can speak English. They decided to join us in our tour as it was their first time too to see the Great Wall too. These girls came from Guangzhou. They wanted to practice their spoken English with us, and we wanted to be with someone who can do the translation for us too.
Anyway, we were really thankful to have these girls by our side. If not for them, we could’ve gotten really lost in the middle of China.
Beijing North Rail Station
Ticketing booth...all in Chinese characters except for some numbers
cityview inside the train
while waiting for boarding time
The Great Wall of China!
me and my girls at the great wall
outfit fail...it was a bit summer-ish at the Great wall
too tired of the long hike, i had to to take a break and sit down
That Great wall experience was really amazing! The thought of like being in 2 places at one, China and Mongolia, is still giving me goosebumps.
I know that the posts about Beijing are kinda long, but it is far from over. till i find some free time again to update this page.
