Shanghai to Beijing

On Wednesday May 18th, Adam and I took off from our comfy spot in Shanghai to explore a new city and get a little taste of the history of China.  Per Adam's insistence, we traveled via overnight train leaving the Shanghai Hongqaio station at 9:45pm.  

Adam and I outside my apartment

the train cabin - "soft sleeper"

We purchased a "soft sleeper" berth which didn't turn out to be so soft after all - pretty glad I didn't have to find out what a hard sleeper was like.  We chose the top bunk to avoid having people stepping all over us to get down (I don't know, it was a good thought at the time). Luckily, the people occupying the bottom bunks were an older Chinese American couple from LA.  They came in and went to sleep immediately.  Much better than some of the other cabins I saw - where people were eating, drinking, talking, playing cards and playing music.  We got lucky from that side! I did manage to take a conference call shortly after leaving the station. Technology makes the world a pretty small place!

Taxi line at Beijing train station

We arrived in Beijing about 7:45am in Thursday and although it was a bright sunny day, we headed out to the parking area to try to catch a taxi.  Little did we know, everyone was doing the same, and we got herded into this taxi line.  It only ended up taking about 20 minutes as all the cabs are lined up waiting for the train to arrive in the morning.  Adam had read on tripadvisor.com (his trusted source of travel advice) that the hotel he picked was hard to find.  The taxi got us to the general area, but had no idea where it was.  There are lots of "hutongs" or back alleys, small streets, lanes and unassuming residential areas.  We finally got out of the cab and spent about 30 minutes walking around - engaging in some extra special marital bliss in trying to decide whose fault it was we were lost! Just as we were about to break down and do something (I don't know what) - we found it - Shatan Back Street! We made it to the hotel, showered up and headed out to explore Beijing!

park near our hotel

 We started by heading south to the area near the Temple of Heaven.  The original draw was the Pearl Market.  As we all know, I am enjoying the fake goods shopping in Shanghai and had done some research about the best spots in Beijing. This one was described a lot on the web and so I talked Adam into it.  It turned out to be miserable! They were grabby and whining and trying to desperately sell.  We did a little haggling but all in all didn't have a great experience and I would not recommend it to anyone!

Pearl Market from pedestrian bridge

The metro system in Beijing is not quite as convenient as Shanghai, and the taxis are hard to hail so it makes getting around a bit tough.  Everything I read about getting to the market was the 106 bus takes you there.  I haven't even been close to taking a bus in Shanghai, but I said what the heck - let's try it! So we walked a few blocks and jumped right on.  It was only 1 RMB - was a deal! As the bus headed south we started getting more and more packed in, but we held on tight to our handles above and smiled politely at all of the nice old people wondering why in the world we were on that bus.

I did kind of trick Adam... lets go to the Pearl Market... but once we arrived I said hey, we are here, we should go to this Temple of Heaven, but I wanted to do it all along! sorry honey! Anyway, great idea, get some history with some shopping! As we were going through the audio tour guide, I was thinking, you know there are a lot of tourists here, I wonder why this isn't on our tour tomorrow.  Unfortunately, when we got home that evening I checked, and it was :( We will have to rearrange with the tour guide the next day!  Anyway, here are a few pictures from the Temple of Heaven....

Adam pointing to the map of the gardens

Adam and I with our audio tour guides!
It was worth it!

The complex was visited by the Emperors of the Ming and Qing dynasties for annual ceremonies of prayer to Heaven for good harvest.

A view of the Dragon Line

The Dragon Line directly through the middle of the city from the southern most part of the Temple of Heaven, north to Tiananmen Square and through the Forbidden City.  In the old days of the Ming and Qing dynasties, only the Emperor was allowed to walk on this line.  You will see more pictures of the Dragon Line in the Forbidden City.

Me with the ginko tree - supposed to bring luck

intricate design

view from the top of the Circular Mound Altar

The history is so great in Beijing - I could resist sharing... The Circular Mound Altar (圜丘坛) is the altar proper, located south of the Imperial Vault of Heaven. It is an empty circular platform on three levels of marble stones, each decorated by lavishly carved dragons. The numbers of various elements of the Altar, including its balusters and steps, are either the sacred number nine or its nonuples. The center of the altar is a round slate called the Heart of Heaven(天心石) or the Supreme Yang(太阳石), where the Emperor prayed for favorable weather. Thanks to the design of the altar, the sound of the prayer will be reflected by the guardrail, creating significant resonance, which was supposed to help the prayer communicate with the Heaven. The Altar was built in 1530 by the Jiajing Emperor and rebuilt in 1740.

Circular Mound altar - we counted the nine steps

Adam standing on the Heart of Heaven

tour group all with their umbrellas to block the sun from their fair skin

Imperial Vault of Heaven

Inside the Hall for the Prayer of Good Harvest

Lots of symbolism in this cultural history... The Hall of Prayer for Good Harvests has four inner, twelve middle and twelve outer pillars, representing the four seasons, twelve months and twelve traditional Chinese hours respectively. Combined together, the twelve middle and twelve outer pillars represent the traditional solar term.

Double circle pagodas - designed to look as only
one when viewed from the other angle

After the busy afternoon we decided to try Beijing's pride and joy - the Peking Duck.  We found a place that Adam approved from tripadvisor called DaDong Duck.  We arrived at about 4:30 and although there was only about 2 tables occupied in a huge restaurant, they told us it would be about an hour. Really? We had nothing else to do and wanted the duck so we decided to wait it out - surely they meant a few minutes.  We popped out the iPad and enjoyed the free (box) wine in the waiting area... it was bizarre but we were feeling good by the time we got out table about an hour and twenty minutes later.

carving the duck at our table!

 On the way home we wondered over the Wangfujing Rd.  I had read about the interesting fare available on this night market street, but didn't know what to expect.  My boss Steffanie said its just for looks, but  I was sure we would find something we were interested in for a snack.  Boooooy was I wrong...

Dumpling statue... yummmy

Scorpions on a stick

Turtles? really?

Wangfujing street snacks

view of Wangfujing night market

finally found something somewhat appetizing

duck being cooked on the street

Unfortunately, I can't leave you with a very appetizing last image. However, we had a great first day in Beijing.  The next two days were spent with a hired tour guide... more to come!