We have spent the last four days with 20,000,000 other people in Beijing, China’s capital and second largest city. The city is steeped in history and we have had a chance to visit most of the major sites. Our first stop was Tiananmen Square which can hold one million people (I think it might be a tight fit). Tiananmen Square holds special significance for Chinese people and it was fun to enjoy the festive atmosphere early in the morning.
Next door to the square is the Forbidden City. For 500 years it served as the home of the Chinese emperors and their households as well as being the political and cultural center of the Chinese government. It is no longer forbidden to enter so we were able to enjoy the incredible Chinese architecture that exists there. It was easily one of our favourite places. We also had a chance to visit the Great Wall. We spent a couple of hours climbing the many steps but never did make it to the top. While the historical sites were great, connecting with friends is always the highlight. We spent an evening with Song and Wang whom we met in Regina a couple of years ago. They took as out to a fantastic restaurant where we enjoyed a great meal and great company. I was able to connect the next day with Caleb who happened to be in Bejing after returning from a business trip to the US. I met Caleb while he was working on his business administration degree at the U of R. Caleb grew up in the south of China but still knows Beijing well enough to find one of its top restaurants - he treated me to the city’s most famous food – Beijing Roast Duck served in the traditional manner. It was awesome! We probably haven’t seen Beijing at its finest. After all, it is still winter here as spring seems to have been delayed. The average temperature has been between 2 and 5 degrees Celsius with a bit of rain and snow thrown in. Also, the city has some air quality issues so even though we have had a day or two with no clouds, you wouldn’t know it. New standards were just announced so the city is beginning to deal with this issue. Tomorrow we head to Shanghai via the high-speed train. It should be about 10 degrees warmer! Finally, check out the new photos on the China page. Comments are closed.
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AuthorIn January, 2012, Curt and Char left their jobs in Canada to spend four months travelling around the world. Archives
May 2012
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