Beijing - China

Departing from Hong Kong and the relative luxury of the Cosmopolitan Hotel I look forwards to the youth hostel that I have booked into in Beijing ;)
The flight from Hong Kong takes 3 hours with little turbulence. However, the views of the countryside are very interesting - there are wide open expanses of fields set for crops or covered tunnels for sheltering animals and the settlements are clearly organised into blocks, ordered and in lines so that the people can be housed as efficiently as possible - it is all clearly planned and laid out to make the very most of the space available with many small settlements including tower blocks. Industry is also heavily in evidence with massive industrial units stretching out to the same size as Peterborough!! With the workforce housed in nearby blocks and provided with excellent transport links. Flying into Beijing is an eye opener - It is VAST - it is not possible to see its edges when flying in as there are tower blocks as far as the eye can see with huge industrial areas on the periphery and neon lit skyscrapers near the centre. Amazing and modern. Landing at the airport you enter a very modern system which efficiently takes you through customs, immigration and baggage claim in less than 30 mins out into a modern and heated arrivals building equipped with coffee :) Settling in I have word from ‘Ness’ that she is on her way to rendezvous with me at arrivals and is just 5 mins away :)
It is FANTASTIC to meet up with Ness after her sojourn in China studying Mandarin - Big hug and coffee followed by catch up session over light meal at fast food joint… Ness has a good grasp of Mandarin now and was able to sort out a taxi for me to find the youth hostel (Beijing City Centre Youth Hostel) that I am booked into - a real mind settler. It turns out to be were the Lonely Planet said it would be opposite the main train station and costing just £6 a night for a dorm room :) The other lads there are fine and there are hot showers, free internet and laundry machines - all good.
Day two in Beijing sees me deciding to walk to Tiananmen Square - just two blocks away on the map… Turns out to be much further than I first imagined and over 1 hour later I am still working my way there over the wide streets and endless blocks!! IT IS COLD!! The temperature may only be -2 but add in the wind chill factor and fact that it is bone dry and the temperature is actually nearer -18!! Even with jumper, shirts, wind proof jacket, hat, scarf and gloves on you can still feel it sapping the heat from your bones and I realise it is time to break for coffee as my thighs get prickly and cold 0_0
T. Square is BIG on a whole new scale, it covers and entire block and is a vast flat concrete plain with isolated monuments and displays to break up the featureless expanse - it is not a stretch of the imagination to see 1,000,000 people being able to easily fit here… A large image of Mao faces the square from the wall of the Forbidden City entrance overlooking his mausoleum and the war memorial. Walking across the square you find two MASSIVE video walls reaching across the square for about 50m, these are mesmerising showing China in a very positive light - the imagery and music are hypnotic and I stand there admiring the shear scale of the display for the entire 15 min loop. Wonderful. Behind the screens is the memorial guarded by military in all their fully coated up finery. Finally beyond this is the Mausoleum (Resting place of Mao). The building is in the soviet block style and has real presence among the other block style architecture - before you enter there is tight security so no cameras (although bizarrely they do allow phones with cameras!!) and bags are checked while bodies are patted down - but this is a quick check and I am soon joining a line to pass by Mao - it is the third resting leader and I find him in a crystal case surrounded by guards and security who make sure that people pass by smoothly and respectfully. Mao himself looks at rest although heavily made up and you are only able to pass along his right hand side unlike Ho Chi Min where you walk all around him…
Final stop on day one is the Forbidden City and although I bat away most of the offers for a guide I finally give in to a persistent lady who is about 4’6” tall and frankly buzzing with energy like a mini whirlwind of enthusiasm for the site - her shear energy makes me want to hear more so in the end I pay up 200y (£20) to have a fully guided tour of the site that takes around 2 hours - the site itself is a wonder and my guide opens up with many stories of each part of the site and ties in the history as we go - she does a fantastic job of steering us through the mini crowds (it is low season) and constantly checks on my health ;) at one point getting me a coffee and meal to warm up!! The buildings of the Forbidden City are mainly wooden and hand painted with incredible artistry. The palaces, halls and residences of the palace site are impeccably restored and demonstrate how well organised the imperial site was and how the emperor and his cohort could live in isolation within the compound and its gardens - I also learnt about the large pots which stand all over the grounds… more later…
The emperor had many concubines and these would live in part of the palace grounds and be called upon by the emperor at times - it was possible to see the bronze ring used to select concubines for the emperor and various other artefacts of importance. The throne rooms were particularly impressive (although no photography allowed) while the steps up to each building were carved from granite with meticulous detail. Truly wonderful workmanship completed without the aid of any machines!! At the end of the tour I took the opportunity to wander around the city for another 2 hours and take photo’s, it is a large site with 9,999 ½ rooms and therefore will take you most of an afternoon if you come here. Entry is only 40y (£4) and is well worth the investment :)