Beijing, Beijing – The Imperial Capital

Free and easy, 12 people, four families, 9 days and 8 nights, roaming the capital.

More than a travel guide, it feels like a recollection of travel moments.

Maybe because of a childhood joke — whenever someone asked where we wanted to go, we'd always answer 'Beijing'; maybe because of that Beijing Olympics song 'Beijing Welcomes You'; maybe because of Beijing's landmarks... Beijing has always fascinated me.

During the summer holiday of 2016 (the summer after my second year of high school), right after finals I was hurriedly arranged to go on a trip to Beijing. For me, it was an incredible surprise.

We took the high-speed train, heading north for over 12 hours toward Beijing. Now nearly two years later, I'm rambling on about this joyful trip. This travelogue is a bit long, and I've carefully selected the photos — all beautiful memories, ahhh!!!! I don't think it's very informative as a guide; it's just following a 'free and easy group' to soak up the imperial capital's charm.

About the term 'free and easy': we'd get up at past eight, finish breakfast after nine, and probably only visit one sight a day... compared to tour groups that cram in four or five sights a day, it was really leisurely (free and easy).

Day 1 High-Speed Train Journey

Day 2 Badaling Great Wall, Beijing Olympic Park (Bird's Nest)

Day 3 Summer Palace

Day 4 Forbidden City

As we set off, many cities along the southeastern route were experiencing floods.

We embarked with excited hearts.

Each family brought big bags of snacks. We sat from daytime until night, until our bums hurt. At every stop, the dads of each family got off to smoke.

On the train, we worried it was too late and the metro might have stopped running.

As soon as we got off the train, we dragged our bags, grabbed metro cards, and rushed to the subway — the whole crew managed to catch the last train of the night.

Late-night Beijing, foggy and dim, with hazy streetlights and sparse streets, the wheels of our suitcases clattering busily. Good evening, Beijing.

Day 2 2016.07.10

The first sensation upon waking: Beijing's climate is really dry. After switching hotels, the group went for breakfast. On the way, we saw a shop with good business and a good name. The couplet on its door was quite amusing. The tofu pudding — oh my goodness! — was unlike what I'm used to, it was savoury... impressive, just like the southern dish 'old-friend noodles', like 'old-friend tofu pudding'.

After eating, the group first took the metro, then a direct shuttle bus to the Great Wall. The old city metro station had no air conditioning.

At the foot of the Great Wall, all kinds of snacks were on display, mostly just looking good but certainly not authentic in taste. Pretty, just to make you crave. We passed Bear Park and took a slideway up to the Great Wall entrance to start climbing.

Who has not climbed the Great Wall is not a true man. The Badaling Great Wall is a vital outpost for the Juyong Pass; as the ancient saying goes, 'The danger of Juyong lies not in the pass itself but in Badaling.' The sky turned a light, light blue, and the crowds grew — a 'human Great Wall' lived up to its name. The sun blazed overhead, the winding Wall underfoot. Looking at the bustling crowds, groups of foreign visitors, I touched the etched and mottled stone walls, climbing leisurely. The rest were resting below, while my dad, an uncle, and I climbed a beacon tower — after 'countless hardships.' Panting, looking down from above, with many people at the high point, I felt like 'pointing out rivers and mountains, writing with passion,' hearing cheers now and then. There aren't many photos — it was so hot! — and the last one is a pretty postcard to make up for it. The whole morning went by in scorching heat. On the way down, standing at any windy spot felt wonderfully cool. By the time we descended, my legs were all wobbly.

Xin'ao Shopping Center

Right outside the metro station, we saw this shopping plaza, right next to the Bird's Nest. Lunch on the Great Wall had been perfunctory, and we were hungry to the point of crying. The Beijing sky was pale blue. The group immediately went in to find food, but everywhere had long queues.

Beijing Olympic Park

We took photos from bright daylight until dark, walking and walking. The panorama shots didn't turn out great; the Water Cube got stretched out, oops, awkward. The last one is a postcard.

The first day of walking 20,000 steps ended in grand fashion. Confetti! Yes, everyone looked incredulously at their phone step counts — all above 20,000.

Summer Palace, the imperial garden of the Qing dynasty

Early July hadn't yet hit the peak summer travel rush, but it was still quite crowded in the morning. Most visitors clustered around their own guides, so we listened in on them.

Inside the Summer Palace, there were vendors calling out 'Old Popsicle' in Beijing dialect. Our Beijing free-and-easy 'group' — everyone except me got one, ahem. Eleven popsicles.

The hot, dry wind blew gently, swaying the green willow branches and stirring the dignified elegance of this imperial garden.

The longest corridor in Chinese classical gardens

The Qingyan Boat, commonly known as the Marble Boat, sits by the lake at the western end of the long corridor. It's a large stone boat symbolizing 'peace and clear waters,' and is the only Western-style structure in the Summer Palace.

Here comes the difference between reality and dream — postcard.

The Seventeen-Arch Bridge was too far away; if I post a photo you'd have to zoom in, so forget it, ahem.

At this point, everyone was exhausted... resting on a big patch of greenery not far from the exit.

Da Ya Li (Big Duck Pear) near the hotel, a restaurant where besides Peking duck, the other dishes were home-style.

Another non-stop day ended in a blaze of glory.

Breakfast and last night's supper: some unnamed vegetable bun, fried liver, Beibingyang soda, grilled fish.

Just passing by, with a drizzle, the group could still spend a long time taking photos there.

.......to be continued