Beijing: An Introduction

Beijing, the bustling metropolis that is China's capital.  Before I went to China, I really had no idea what my salary would be like or my schedule would be like; so I had really no idea how much traveling I would be able to accomplish.  However, I knew that I wanted to see Beijing; I mean, come on--the Great Wall, the Forbidden City, Tiananmen Square?! Beijing, and the things located in it, was pretty much all America had taught me about China, so I was going to see that city, darn it!

A panorama of Tiananmen Square

Little did I know, in the early days of fall 2011, that I would see this city no less than four times. Four damn times.  Now, some of you might be thinking, "seriously?! Is she seriously complaining about seeing the capital of China too many times?!" And trust me, if I were reading this, I would be thinking the same thing about me too.  But let's face it, it's like with (almost) anything; the more you do it, the less magical and more routine it becomes.  Let's compare it to Disneyland, for example.  Kids who have gone there once in their whole lives talk about how it is the most magical place on Earth.  Kids whose indulgent parents take them every year...well, for them, it's just another place, with its ups and its downs.  That is how I feel about Beijing; it's got its pros and its for sure got cons.  Trust me, there is only so many times you can walk through the Forbidden City.

Sometimes we decided to take the cheapest way possible to Beijing...sometimes we took the nice trains. did I ever take pictures of the nice trains?  Nope. 

Other than Hangzhou and Shanghai, Beijing is the city I spent most of my time in, and this is due to the fact that so many of my wonderful friends and family did follow through on their promise to visit me in China.  Let's face, we all talk a big game when it comes to visiting and keeping in touch with people when you move on to the next phase of your life.  But realistically we know that most of the 'keeping in touch' will happen via Facebook, phone calls, email, and the occasional Skype call.  And when one of your friends decides to up and relocate herself to China, well expecting visits from friends is understandably...unexpected.  I did have three visits from home, however, in the form of my Mom, Becky Burch, and Amanda Woomer, each of whom came at different points during my stay in China.  And each of whom really wanted to see...The Great Wall.  Which happens to be located (well, the most convenient location) in Beijing.

Yet another less-than-comfortable train ride from Hangzhou to Beijing.

On the plus side, I became an expert on the sights of Beijing.  I knew how to get to all the touristy spots, I understood the subway system, I knew which hostels were good and which ones to avoid, I knew where to get the best Peking Duck at the most reasonable prices, I knew which tourist traps to avoid, and where to go if I wanted to barter for souvenirs.  I also got to relive the wonder of seeing these places the first time by watching my friends and family experience it for the first time, which was awesome.  They also conveniently timed their arrivals in different seasons, so I did actually wind up seeing the city and many of it's attractions in the spring, summer, fall, and winter, which was kind of cool.

Oh look, I found some pictures of the nice, high speed trains.  These bad boys will get you from Hangzhou to Beijing (about at 800 miles) in six hours.  The slow trains featured above will make the same trip in anywhere between 13 and 22  hours, depending on the quality of the ticket your purchased. 

Since I have been to Beijing no less than four times, I decided to do a four part series on my adventures in Beijing, highlighting the various places and activities that can be seen and done in the capital.  So, if you are at all interested in this city, stay posted.