Exploring Beijing
Beijing was our first stop in our month-long stay in China. It was going to be the start of our tour with Travel China Guide.
We wanted to get a feel for Beijing on our own so arrived a couple of days before the tour was to start. This would also give us time to sort out how to get and stay connected while we were in China. This was to prove to be quite difficult – see my blog Preparing for China.
Accommodation
Our accommodation was all included in our tour with Travel China Guide. They also arranged for the extra night’s accommodation. The Novotel Beijing Xin Qiao isn’t the usual standard of accommodation. Staying in a 4-star hotel was a treat and our room was nice. The area was good as we had easy access to a number of eateries and shopping centres. We didn’t get to use the public transport but looking at their reviews, it seems that they are handy to the local metro system as well.
As we were to discover later in our solo travel in China, the staff were quite stand-offish and only did what they needed to do with regards to check-in and out. I’m glad that we didn’t need to sort out any issues or ask for any advice and I don’t think that it would have been very straightforward.
Shopping Centres
We stuck close to our hotel and went exploring the shopping centres. It does always seem that Asia does shopping centres well. I’m guessing that it could be because the weather is ghastly outside that everyone wants to be inside.
We figured that it could be a good place to start until the temperatures started to rise from -10 degrees. Scotty also conceded that he needed to get a jacket of some sort. Saying ‘I told you so’ seemed appropriate.
We scoured the floors and managed to get him quite a good quality jacket for under $100nz. It did prove to be a godsend later in our travels.
The shopping centre ice skating rink
It was quite amazing to see that the shopping centre had its own ice skating rink on the ground floor. This was viewable from every floor above so we spent some time watching some pretty impressive skaters (and the beginners) skate their way around the sizable rink.
Beijing Railway Station
Located close to our hotel is the Beijing Railway Station. This is only one of many railway stations in Beijing.
The station opened in 1959 and was the largest train station in China at the time, and the only one located in the old walled city. It had the capacity to accommodation 14,000 waiting passengers. With the crowded apron outside, it certainly felt that all 14,000 passengers were starting to descend on the station while we were there.
The Beijing Railway Station
There was a steady increase every year of trains and pedestrian traffic and the usage soared to more than 30 million people a year.
It was very apparent that the whole area was under strict military and police security. There were armed guards stationed everywhere on the apron outside the station.
We walked around the area in front of the station and could not find any entranceway in. It appeared that the only way you could gain access was to have an actual ticket. There were, of course, a lot of queues waiting to get through the multiple ticket offices.
Felt like there were a lot of eyes watching us
Needless to say, we never did make it inside which was a shame as I think it would have been quite impressive to see. With many eyes watching our every move we decided that it might be a good idea to keep moving onward and not attract too much attention. Hard to do when you are the only one in the masses with blond hair and wearing a bright pink jacket……sigh.
Beijing Police Museum
This was walkable from our hotel so decided to check it out.
There was a strict security check on arrival. Our passports were rigorously checked and our day packs scanned and x-rayed. I would put it on a par with airport security scrutiny.
The museum itself is an impressive 4 storey building. There is a collection of over 8,000 police tools and weapons dating back to the Han Dynasty – (16th century) to the present. There was an exhibit on fingerprint forensics and a rather ‘family unfriendly’ display of old-fashioned torture devices and photos.
The Martyrs Memorial Wall, 20th Century policing and the oldest fire engine from the 16th Century
Scotty was quite interested in the oldest fire engine in China (and possibly the world). The century-old China-made pump was found in a private firehouse and donated for display in the museum.
There was a huge and impressive Martyrs’ Memorial Wall. This wall represented the bodies of martyrs who have died while on active duty. The names of 58 Beijing policemen who died at their posts are on display.
Qianmen Street
Not far from Tiananmen Square (which we would be visiting tomorrow on tour) is the historic walking street called Qianmen Street.
It is one of the last remains of the business centre of the old Beijing. It has been transformed into a modern commercial pedestrian street and is a thriving tourist magnet.
Although the location dates back to the late 13th century, it was completely ransacked and burnt down in the 1900’s leaving nothing to be retrieved.
The present Qianmen Street has been rebuilt on the historical photos. The area covers over a square kilometre and includes different areas of culture, food, shopping and entertainment.
It was too ‘perfect’ for our liking and although some of the architecture resembles the original, it was pristine and still looked too modern.
The tourists obviously love it and all the prices reflected that.
We were pleased to have the opportunity to ‘find our feet’ before our tour started. We were ready to be looked after for a change and not have to worry about how we were going to get from A to B.
Click on the link below for highlights of our wanderings around Beijing.