Beijing Trip: A Great Scam at the Wall

"不到长城非好汉"

Didn't make it to the Great Wall are not considered man.

The Great Wall is never a continuous structure and its estimated length is about 8851km despite of the literal meaning of the chinese name is The Long City of Ten Thousand Miles. It is believed that the construction began back in 221 BC during Qin Dynasty, when China was unified for very first time. The work continues through Han Dynasty, Jin Dynasty and Ming Dynasty marks the final construction phase. It seems that the wall didn't prove to be a reliable military defence due to the gaps among the structure. Fall of Ming Dynasty was due to the traitor opening up the gate though which lead the invasion of Machus which spelt the birth of Qing Dynasty. It serves as a good highway for transportation of human and equipments. Today, it is recognised as one of the wonders of the world.

On the day that I knew that I will be visiting the Great Wall, I can't help but to feel very excited. Forbidden City is one of the major reasons that triggers my motivation to visit Beijing but there is no way in the world I would opt out the Great Wall of my must-see list. There are quite a number of sections that you could pay a visit. The most famous one is Badaling (of course, most crowded) and most parts at this section are rebuilt, and hence I feel it makes it less authentic than the real great wall. Regardless, it is popular as it is the nearest to Beijing city and there is frequent bus schedule for you to visit Badaling. For my own visit, I went with my hostelmates and we decided to hire a private taxi as we chose to visit Jinshanling, which is about 142km away from the city.

Had an early start and we arrived at the place around 9am. For the first time I was in China, I could see clear blue sky. The air was definitely fresher there, to be surrounded by the green rather than concrete jungle. Entrance fee at this section of the wall is RMB65.

Entrance of Jinshanling

I remember you need to walk for quite a distance from the gate before reaching the bottom of the wall. Slowly, the great wall came to sight and I never stop to feel amazed. Until today it is still feel like a dream. About less than half an hour later, I believe we went up to the rebuilt section of the wall that lead us up to the tower. The ascent began.

Commencement of our climb at Jinshanling 

Most of the first part of the climb are mostly restored/rebuilt. The climb was rather easy at this point of time as the steps are consistent from one to another. I would like to point out that for the first time also, I didn't see many tourists at this place, which makes my trip a little more peaceful than the first 2 days. I could enjoy the view better. I can't lie, the view at the wall is just so magnificent. You will be always in awe wherever you go.

 One of the towers, I believe but the pathway is nowhere to be seen. Should be buried by the earth over the years.

 This path is prominently restored compared to later section. You can almost imagine yourself at the old days when this structure was at its prime glory

At this section you could see the bushes of green on the walkway. Extra precaution is needed at this place because you can actually walk off the wall at the side as the barrier is gone

 Look out from one tower to another

 Look at that stretch of wall! How can you not be amazed by that? On the other note, I can think that how far that we need to go.

 Rest be assured it was an up and down journey. Just be prepared for it.

 My hostelmates that tagged along during my climb: Kiwi, Swiss (Mathias) and German (Gregor). Being the only guy who can converse in Mandarin, I was mistaken as the tour guide by the local merchants.

"Cold water. Cold water. Beer. Beer."

This path is rather steep and there is no steps as you can see from the photo. It is not so much about going up. It's the matter of not sliding down when returning to the gate. 

 Some of the steps gap is really huge..

 My hostelmates decided that this tower at this peak should be our final stop before detouring

A picture of me with Great Wall before heading back

I didn't bring any lotion to the trip in which I thought I could sustain the heat from the climb. Only to find out that I had sunburn when returning to the hostel. (My hostelmates did bring theirs but I didn't accept their offer.)

Some of you might wonder what's with the title of this post. It might not be a scam, really. It's more like my pure innocence (or kindness) towards strangers. At one of the towers, as I was walking around, an old lady approached me saying about the view is nicer if I get to top of the tower and so I did. As I left the tower, the lady followed us. I didn't notice it at first but I realised she followed our pace. We walked, she walked. We stopped, she stopped. In my mind I was like, "Shit, really?" Nightmare came true when she asked whether we want to buy souvenirs. My hostelmates were adamant of not buying any. Being able to speak in Mandarin (it felt like a curse at that point of time), she told me that she would stop following us if I buy stuff from her. In the end, I bought an overpriced shirt (Never in my life I bargain at that point of time). Feel cheated for a while but looking at the other side of coin, the old lady could make good use of the money to sustain her living. 

Great Wall of China, you are missed by yours truly.

It was Moon Cake Festival on the day of our climb. There was nothing much going on in the town. I was speaking with one of the locals at my hostel and she said usually Chinese stay at home on that very day, spending time with their family. I was expecting "tanglung" parade or some sort. There was a place I intended to visit which is "Marco Polo" brige but to rely on public transport (subway, I mean) deemed not practical because it is quite a distant from the city and I was still tired after a long day at the wall. In the end, I enjoy the brightly-lit moon at Wangfujing street.

Beijing Trip Journey:

1. Beginning of Maternal Ancestral Journey

2. Trespassing The Forbidden City

3. A Summer Escapade

4. A Great Scam at the Wall
5. Mao's Legacy
6. Temples Hopping
7. Walks in the Parks
8.  Gastronomical Hunt

Beijing Trip: A Summer Escapade

Aside from Forbidden City and Great Wall of China, Summer Palace is one of the places that one should visit in Beijing. This site may not be depicted extensively as much as Forbidden City in popular culture, this palace does have its charm of its own time. Summer Palace (its original name was Garden of Clear Ripples) was created by Emperor Qian Long which was used as escapade site during summer. Despite of the Second Opium War in 1860 and Boxer Rebellion in 1900, pretty much of the sites are well-preserved and restored, from the way I look at it it is. Summer Palace is listed as UNESCO World Heritage Site in December 1998.

"Yi He Yuan" is quite a distance from Beijing City and you should use Beijing Subway to get there, using Line 4 stops at Beigongmen (literally means North Palace Gate). I bought combination entrance ticket at 60 RMB which inclusive  access to Suzhou Street, Tower of Buddhist Incense, Dehe Hall and Wenchang Hall. These entrance tickets can be bought at separate time if you couldn't make your mind earlier.

Suzhou Street is one the first sites that you could pay a visit which is optional. It is excluded from Summer Palace entrance ticket package.

Suzhou Street

One-way street by the river, you could stroll along the shops like an ancient Chinese man. You could buy souvenirs and there are food stalls available too (I didn't buy nor eat any). 

Exiting from Suzhou Street, there are two ways to go; ahead is hiking up to Longevity Hill or turn right and follow the pathway heading to Kunming Lake.  I went for second alternative.

Kunming Lake

Kunming Lake occupies around three quarters of Summer Palace. The lake is so huge that you will require quite sometime to walk around it. Think twice before you go for it if you don't feel like detouring afterwards. As you can see from the photo above, you can opt for a boat ride across the lake. Continue to walk along and you shall arrive at Long Corridor.

Long Corridor

The 700m roofed pathway was built for the emperors to be shielded from external elements. There were four pavilions along the way and the ceilings are decorated with paintings and as far as I remember, there is no repeating patterns. I was rather amazed with the persistence of ancient Chinese artist to actually paint the whole corridor.

Tower of Buddhist Incense

One of the sights that you cannot miss is the Tower of Buddhist Incense, which is at top of Longevity Hill. Walking up the hill and a number of pavilions shall come to sight. You will be able to have a view of Kunming Lake as you reach the peak.

View of Kunming Lake (the weather is not really favourable)

My entrance inclusive of access to Dehe Garden in which it has a big stage there. When I passed by the place I was just in time for 30-minute show. I was expecting there would be Chinese Opera. Instead, I was entertained by Chinese orchestra, Chinese dance and the show concluded with Face Changing performance.

The Great Stage

Theatre-Box Corridors, where the royals sit to watch the performance

Moving on and I arrived at Hall of Benevolence & Longevity. It is the main building at the ground level with a great courtyard. You shall see a bronze animal statue.

"Qilin", a mythical hybrid animal that appeared on earth only at times of harmony

I continued to walk along the lake and I reach 17-arch bridge that connects to South Lake Island. You should be able to count the number of arch in the photo below.

17-Arch Bridge

I continued to stroll around Kunming Lake and South Lake to return to North Palace Gate. I couldn't recall how long the walk was but I remembered it was around 3pm when I ended my visit at Summer Palace (I started at 10am.) It would be quite a walk to surround the lake and you can choose to turn back after visiting South Lake Island.

This view of Marble Boat on the left and Tower of Buddhist Incense on the right completed my visit at Summer Palace.

My agenda of the day is yet to complete as my next stop is Old Summer Palace (Yuanming Yuan). Using the same subway line, Yuanming Yuan is just 2 stops away from Beigongmen. This royal park looked rather different due to its European style, which incorporates fountains and baroque statuary. Due to the opium war in 1860, most of the structures in the park were destroyed except for European palace buildings which are made of stone. 

Broken-Arch Bridge

Looking at these ruins reminded me a little of Acropolis back in Greece.

Great Fountain Ruins (Dashuifa)

Dashuifa is one of the best preserved (most famous) relics in the park. Opposite of the fountain are 5 large stone screens embellished with European carvings of military flags, armour, swords and guns. (additional entrance fee is required to view this section of the park.)

Guanshuifa

As the sun started to set, I was in the park for 2 hours and began my journey returning to hostel after a long day. Before I call it a day, there was a Black Swan lake in the park in which I sighted a number of swans there.

Black Swan Lake at Yuanming Yuan

Summer Palace and Yuanming Yuan pretty much concluded my palace visit for this trip.

Beijing Trip Journey:
1. Beginning of Maternal Ancestral Journey
2. Trespassing The Forbidden City
3. A Summer Escapade
4. A Great Scam at the Wall
5. Mao's Legacy
6. Temples Hopping
7. Walks in the Parks
8.  Gastronomical Hunt

Beijing Trip: Trespassing the Forbidden City

"皇上驾到!"

"huang shang jia dao"

The above expression is usually used by the emperor's eunuch to announce his arrival at functions. Little did I know about the history of ancient China but I managed to pick up a few names of emperors from Qing Dynasty which is the typical setting used in the series. This may be due to the fact that Qing Dynasty was the very last dynasty before being overruled by Republic of China as it is today. Kangxi and Yongzheng Emperors are among the common references used by directors in their work.

With Forbidden City as the survived existence of the dynasty, a trip to Beijing is definitely incomplete without the visit to one of the biggest best preserved imperial palaces in the world. This is where emperors and their concubines once lived. Home to 24 emperors, spanning two complete dynasty (Ming & Qing Dynasty) for more than 500 years, it is listed by UNESCO as largest collection of ancient preserved wooden structure in the world. Walking on the paths where Yongzhen used to pace or looking at dragon throne that Qianlong  used to sit at while having session with his officials, the thought can be quite overwhelming at times. Well, if you know bits of China history that is.

Forbidden City is just a walking distance from the hostel I was staying, around twenty minutes. It was close to 9am and the place was already crowded with people. There were quite a number of counters opened at the time and hence I need not to wait long enough before getting my ticket.

Main entrance of Forbidden City, Meridian Gate

Maybe I should rephrase that: the only entrance of Forbidden City as you can only enter the city from this gate (located at the south of the complex) and the north gate only serves as exit and there is no way you can enter it from there. If you happened to arrive at the place at north gate, I'm afraid that you need to move surround the complex to get at the Meridian Gate. (Key point: It's crucial to plan ahead so as not to waste time.)

From my experience travelling in Europe last time, I would never thought that I would need to go through scanner whenever visiting tourist attractions and that happened in Beijing (that includes using the subway station). 

Back in those days, only emperors can use the middle door (Imperial Passageway) and today, you don't need to be the descendant of royal family to walk through it. A fee of RMB60 will do.

Forbidden City entrance ticket

Excitement started to peak as I pass by that door...

Flashes of "Empresses in the Palace"'s setting..

Crossing the Golden River via these marble bridges which leads you to the following courtyard..

Gate of Supreme Harmony

Was greeted by such a big crowd and it seems to be almost impossible to capture the building on its own (and selfies). It is believed that this courtyard can accommodate up to 100, 000 people. At that point of time, I was still in disbelief that I was in the Forbidden City, the place that I have been imagining for as long as I remember. All the main buildings will have gates before them. As the caption goes for the above photo, passing this gate will lead you to...

Hall of Supreme Harmony

This is the most important and largest structure in Forbidden City. It is used for ceremonial occasions such as coronations, emperor's birthday etc.

Look at that crazy crowds.

As I walked along, I can't help but to observe the ancient chinese architecture. One of the things that I noticed quickly (of course, I read about it before hand) is the roof guardians.

Roof guardians

These guardians are at the four edges of the roof and it applies to all the roofs, whichever they shelter. It is a series of mythical beasts led by a figure riding a phoenix. The more the beasts are, the more important the building is. Noticed the colours of the building? I can only imagine how the people of that time can paint the repetitive patterns on all the structures.

Come to think of it, emperor has the absolute power and believing that the emperor is the son of God, there is nothing that emperor can't have. This may explain the reason of disputes among the princes as only one prince can ascend to the throne. Kangxi Emperor has the most surviving children (24 sons and 12 daughters) and I can only think how did the princes out-smart one another.

Guardian Lion

Dragon-Head Spouts

These spouts which are located at the marble platforms used to and still are parts of the drainage system.

Hall of Middle Harmony and Hall of Preserved Harmony

Dragon Throne at the Hall of Preserved Harmony

Water Vat

These water vats are spotted around the palace. They are used to contain water for fire fighting. In winter, to prevent the water from freezing, thick quilt is used to cover them.

Nine Dragon Screen

One of the three types left in China, this wall is meant to protect Hall of Imperial Supremacy from evil spirits. This wall is located at Complete Palace of Peace and Longevity, in which you need to turn right after exiting Hall of Preserved Harmony. 

Walking ahead leads to the Gate of Heavenly Purity before entering another of set of three halls. 

Palace of Heavenly Purity

Dragon Throne at Palace of Heavenly Purity

Exiting the halls and you shall come across Imperial Garden.

Before exiting the palace at the north gate, there are more to explore at the east and west wings of the city. These are the places where emperor and concubines actually lived.

The walkway at Eastern and Western Palaces

Different palaces are connected through this walkway. They look exactly the same from what I saw in the series, where all the concubines went from one place to another. 

Hall of Mental Cultivation

This hall is the place where emperor spends his off time.

Exiting the imperial garden you shall see two kneeling elephants. This signifies the power of emperor as even elephants kowtowed before him.

Kneeling Elephant

Gate of Divine Prowess

View of Jingshan Park from Gate of Divine Prowess

After spending close to 5 hours, it was the end of my visit at Forbidden City. Was I overwhelmed? I was. But, I felt rather incomplete as not all sites are accessible to visitors. For instance, the place where emperors slept, room where he spent time with his concubines etc. as you can only peek through the windows. Those are the little details I have been dying to get close to but apparently, I couldn't.

Still, it was an insightful visit and I foresee myself to revisit the place one day.

Next Chapter: Ancient Greek Ruins in China?

Beijing Trip Journey:

1. Beginning of Maternal Ancestral Journey

2. Trespassing The Forbidden City

3. A Summer Escapade

4. A Great Scam at the Wall

5. Mao's Legacy

6. Temples Hopping
7. Walks in the Parks
8.  Gastronomical Hunt

Beijing Trip: Beginning of Maternal Ancestral Journey

"A journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step."

-Laozi

Travelling alone is one of the things that I have always wanted to do. Get my backpack and explore the world. I just never thought that I would do it in Beijing, the capital of People's Republic of China! Well, I did it for a number of days when I was in Ireland. This one we are talking about 9 days, 9 days trip in Beijing (just would like to emphasize).

The idea of visiting China was rather inspired after watching Mainland China drama series, "Empresses in the Palace" whereby the setting was the Forbidden City (and I was addicted to series). Most of my friends have been there and I was determined to make the trip happen, even if I have to go there alone. (Some of my friends thought I was very daring to travel to Beijing all by myself). That advice came a little too late as  I purchased my flight ticket 9-month ahead of the trip due to promo (Unfortunate MH370 incident happened around two months later). Adamant with my decision, I bought a Lonely Planet travel guide for my preparation and counting the days to September.

Visa is required for Malaysians to enter China. Applied mine through a travel agent in my town with a fee of MYR150. It is advised to apply for the visa a month ahead of your trip and not earlier than 3 months as for tourist visa is valid for 3 months only and it usually takes around 5 working days to process. With Forbidden City being my major motivation to visit the city and of course, the famous Great Wall of China, I was rather unsure what else I could do there. You must think that I'm crazy that I plan to stay for that long then. At the end of the trip, I realised I did make the right decision, even before the trip ended as I underestimated the size of Beijing. I have researched and to find out there were quite a number of places that I could spend my time there. Planned my itinerary, ready with the travel guide including city map, booked my accommodation (faced last minute change due to unavailability of hostel to accept foreign visitors and managed to sort out the night before flying off to the city), converted RMB3000 (MYR1 is approximately around RMB2), I was ready to commence my trip as AirAsia X took off at 6.45pm from KLIA 2 on the 5th of September. The flight journey was around 6 hours.

Landed at Beijing Capital International Airport - T2, done with immigration check and I fell for very first scam. It was totally avoidable and I was very aware that I was in the middle of it but for some reason, I just went along. Walking towards the arrival hall and my intention was to get a legal taxi outside the airport but I was followed by a guy claimed to be official taxi driver. I was ignoring him at first but he was persistent and I walked into the trap, literally, when he showed his card. I was like, "oh, okay." I guess contributing factors include tiredness from long flight and it was late hour so I just agreed to get onto his RMB400-fare to my hostel. (Normal rate is RMB300 for after midnight charge). The worst part is not about the overpriced fare but the fact that the driver can't seem to locate my hostel. Not enough with that, he even asked for more money at the end of my trip. I couldn't care less so I just handed him a MYR10 note as a souvenir (even explained who's the figure on the note) for his keepsake. My very first scam in less than 1 hour after arriving at Beijing. What a way to start my trip.

By the time I reached my hostel it was already 2.30am. Checked in at Jade Hotel which is located at Beiheyan Dajie: 17 minutes walk from nearest subway station (Dengshikou), walking distance to Wangfujing (famous shopping street), Donghuamen (one of the snack streets) and Forbidden City. The room only cost MYR33 per night, 4-bed dormitory with a shared bathroom. With that said, Forbidden City was on top of my Beijing agenda.

Glimpse of chinese imperial setting shall unfold in the next chapter.

Beijing Trip Journey:

1. Beginning of Maternal Ancestral Journey

2. Trespassing The Forbidden City

3. A Summer Escapade

4. A Great Scam at the Wall

5. Mao's Legacy

6. Temples Hopping
7. Walks in the Parks
8.  Gastronomical Hunt