Beijing

We arrived early morning in Beijing, our Hostel is located in the middle of a Hutong/Beijings Old part. The streets were empty, everywhere was dirt… the first shock. But you should not judge because of the first impression. Beijing needs it time. In the morning the old ladies start to clean up, people place their food stand and start to cook. The whole city starts to wake up. Life is happening on the street.  Houses and restaurant located in the Hutongs don’t have their own toilets, so a lot of Chinese have to use public toilets. In the morning you have to stand in line with the school kids, in the evening with drunken adults (what can be a lot of fun too)

Sightseeing as an European in Beijing is fun as “you” actually become the sight. For every picture we took there where made 2 of us. Some try to ask but most of the time you just notice a smiling Chinese behind or next to you. When you look around the hidden lenses are everywhere.

This phenomenon is most noticeable in the Forbidden City, the biggest temple complex of china. It’s really popular under Chinese tourist from all over the country. The temples there are beautiful. Our first encounter with the traditional Chinese architecture. It’s really beautiful but after a few days seeing more temples it’s like watching churches in Europe. Every single one is beautiful but watching all is too much.

After the overcrowded Forbidden City experience we were motivated to search for a “quiet” spot on the Great Wall. The next day we left at 6:00 am for a 4 hour journey to the Great Wall. It’s further than the common spot to go but was definitely worth it. There were only a few people and it was a real ancient part instead of rebuild like the more popular places. We hiked around and were able to make nice pictures of the wall without people on it.

Next to a lot of temples and the wall Beijing has a lot of parks, really nice parks. Every part of green in and outside the parks is really in perfect shape. They say the grass is always greener on the other side but really; I think it is!

WE LOVE BEIJING