Category: 2018-10 US China

Today Reiner did not come out of the hostel room!Unfortunately, he probably didn’t get something so good and he preferred to stay close to the toilet! Hope that the electrolyte solution and sleep will get him back on his feet quickly! (Well, we were already on the wall yesterday and are not on the train right now!)

I then (after a few errands and washing clothes) ventured into the hustle and bustle on my own.The Lama Temple is a 10-minute walk from our hostel and very nice. Most of the buildings are from the 17th and 18th centuries with many colourful details and golden Budda statues. You get a bunch of incense sticks to join them and can support your prayers in front of the entrances to the temples.

Afterwards I went to the main station to pick up our tickets. No problem, there is an extra ticket office hall. I had pre-ordered the tickets through Travel China Guide, already paid for them via the Internet and only needed to show the booking number and passports.

Then I fought my way to Tiananmen Square. This is not so easy these days, because the Subway stations are closed nearby and you are diverted everywhere, even as pedestrians. You feel like you’re in an IKEA store (-; You know about where your destination is, but you have to walk a thousand detours. The square itself is decorated with a huge flower vase, the grounds and buildings are illuminated or decorated in colour. There was only a small drink and sweet cart. People just stood there, took a lot of photos and were happy. I was expecting a small program or something like that, but at least it doesn’t exist Thursday afternoon and evening. Nevertheless, the place was packed!

After a short stroll through Wangfujing Street, I returned to the hostel by bus and subway.

Silke

In glorious weather, we have today crawled a few kilometers of the Great Wall of China. It goes up and down quite steeply.

We would have liked to have experienced a sunrise or sunset here, but the Jinshanling section where we hiked is already closed at 18:00 and from the wall itself to the east entrance it is about 1 km of stairs to walk. In the morning the same, opens only at 7:00 o’clock so after sunrise.

Maybe that would work better in “Water Town.”Our guide told us that it would normally not be closed until 10 p.m. Because of the holidays, our booked bus tour has gone to the less populated section Jinshanling! We had our overnight items with us and would have returned to Beijing the next day with the new group, but a suitable accommodation was, probably also because of the holidays, no longer available.

In any case, it is an impressive building and definitely worth a trip!

Silke

For the Beijing Subway we bought a card at the counter for charging. The card costs 20 yuan (deposit) + top-up credit. Depending on the route, it will be debited. We used 2 rides today for 4 yuan each!

The Sky Palace is located in a large park, where we have also seen dancers and athletes. By the way, we had 26 degrees and sunshine today!

As holidays are currently underway because of the Chinese National Day, people are teeming with people everywhere!

In the park café we talked nicely with Jennifer, who spontaneously contacted us on WeChat and wants to help if we have problems with the language.

In an art gallery, the owner has made us acquaintwith the artists of an exhibition. Among other things, they print motifs of the wall on silk. They also work with children. The artists Jimi and Tennog signed a print on paper and gave us the picture that shows Mahjong players!

Near the pedestrian area Qianmen Dajie we then ate delicious in a Chinese restaurant. I had homemade tofu with fried rice and pure crispen duck wings in brown sauce with fried potatoes. We could also have ordered duck heads, duck feet or frogs!

Silke

In the early afternoon we reached Beijing. On the way to the hostel we bought SIM cards for our smartphones. This went quite well at the supplier China Unicom and the employee was able to speak English. Now we have 20 GB and 300 min to make calls for 100 Yang 4 weeks of Internet. We were also able to pull cash comfortably at the vending machine.

PLoft Hostel is a former prison and comes across quite authentically. But the beds are certainly more comfortable than those of the prisoners!

We sleep in cell 17.

Silke