16 Days Beijing and Xian Adventure
01/04/2015 - 16/04/2015
We booked a 5D4N tour to Beijing and Tianjin from Groupon that was offered by Mangga Travels and Tours Sdn Bhd for RM149 for two persons. This does not include surcharge and tipping of RM189 and RM150 respectively per person. Due to the cancellation of the flight on 31 March by Air Asia we have to rescheduled our flight to 1 April. For that we have to pay another penalty of RM100 per person to Mangga Travels and Tours since we have confirmed our travelling date earlier. Our Air Asia flight to Beijing cost us RM522 per person.
We were joined in this travel adventure by a fellow Financial Adviser Au Yong Mun Bong and his Filipino wife Esther.
Day 1 - 1 April 2015
Flying at 7:00PM by Air Asia flight D7316 from KLIA2 and arriving at Beijing International Airport at 1:05AM. Flight was smooth all the way. Upon arriving we were picked up by the local tour guide and taken to our hotel which is at the outskirt of Beijing.
Day 2 - 2 April 2015
We only have a few hours sleep. After breakfast we begin our tour of Beijing. Our first destination is Tiananmen Square, followed by a tour of the National Theatre and Forbidden City, which are near to each other.
Located at the center of Beijing City and the midpoint of Chang'an Avenue is the remarkable Tiananmen Square, where you can visit the Tiananmen Tower, Monument to the People's Heroes, Great Hall of the People, Chairman Mao Zedong Memorial Hall and see the national flag raising ceremony.
Located at the center of Beijing City and the midpoint of Chang'an Avenue is the remarkable Tiananmen Square, where you can visit the Tiananmen Tower, Monument to the People's Heroes, Great Hall of the People, Chairman Mao Zedong Memorial Hall and see the national flag raising ceremony.
It was freezing cold at Tiananmen Square. At the background are the Bell and Drum Towers
They were originally used as musical instruments in China. Afterward, however, they were used for telling time. As early as in the Han Dynasty (206 BC-220), there was 'a morning bell and a dusk drum'. Telling the time by them played an important role in helping people live and work regularly when there was no other means to keep track of the time.
Monument to the People's Heroes. The granite Monument to the People's Heroes is just at the center of the square. Built in 1952, it is the largest monument in China's history.
From Tiananmen Square we walked to the Tiananmen Tower that is behind us.
The Tiananmen Tower which is also the entrance to the Forbidden City
Lying at the city center and called Gu Gong in Chinese, the Forbidden City was the imperial palace for twenty-four emperors during the Ming and Qing dynasties. It was first built throughout 14 years during the reign of Emperor Chengzu in the Ming Dynasty (1368-1644).
Now known as the Palace Museum, it is to the north of Tiananmen Square. Rectangular in shape, it is the world's largest palace complex and covers 74 hectares. Surrounded by a 52-meter-wide moat and a 10-meter-high wall are more than 8,700 rooms.
It was drizzling so need to walk around with an umbrella
The cherry flowers are blooming inside the Forbidden City
Beautiful cherry blossom
Some of the old trees inside the Forbidden City.
Facing the north gate of the Forbidden City is the Jingshan Park.it is a beautiful royal landscape garden. Covering an area of 230,000 square meters (about 57 acres), the park stands on the central point of the south-north axis of the city and faces the north gate of the Forbidden City.
It was quite tiring walking up the stairs to the Pavilion on the top of Jingshan Hill
Once at the top we were rewarded with a panoramic view of the Forbidden City
From Jingshan Park we can view the White Dagoba Temple. Due to time constrain we did not go there.
As we descend from Jingshan Park to the car park we came across more beautiful cherry flowers
Budding cherry flowers
We then proceed for our late lunch at a local restaurant
After lunch we visited the Olympic Park and took pictures outside the Bird's Nest(Nest Stadium) and the Water Cube Aquatic Centre, two of the prominent buildings there
Behind us is the Pangu Plaza which is shaped like a dragon. The dragon head is most visible on the tallest of the 5 buildings
The Bird's Nest
We had an early dinner today. After dinner we proceed to the Qianmen Commercial Street.
The Qianmen Commercial Street at night
Located at south of Tiananmen Square, the Qianmen Commercial Street has been prosperous for more than 500 years and is home to most of Beijing's time honored brands.
Later we were taken on a ride along Changan Street to view the night scenery
Day 3 - 3 April 2015
After breakfast we were taken for a tour of the silk factory and pearl factory. These are compulsory stops but we are not obligated to buy anything. In any case the prices are inflated. Later we were told that our cheap tour was subsidized by these outlets.
In the end we ended buying CNY435 worth of the pearl chains as souvenirs, which later we found our were cheaper elsewhere.
After lunch we went for the trishaw ride at one of the Bejing Hutongs
The tour leader need to pick up another group at the train station. We took the opportunity to buy our high speed train ticket to Xian. The high speed train ticket cost us CNY1031 for two persons.
We then went to the famous Wangfujing Street in Beijing. It is 1.6Km long and is Beijing most famous commercial street.
Wangfujing Food Street has many stalls selling exotic food
Mouth watering deserts
Some of the exotic food like worms and internal organs
Our dinner tonight was in a restaurant near to Wangfujing Street
After dinner we were taken to Shenshahai Bar Street to experience the night life of Beijing.
Day 4 - 4 April 2015
After breakfast we travel to Tianjin and visited the Nanshi Food Street
Many kinds of food are sold along the street stalls
Various animals made from melted sugar and blown through the mouth
Stones that look like pork
Insects made from palm leaves
Later we entered a food complex nearby that have many stalls selling various food stuffs, mainly cookies, candies, pastry and other sweet and sour stuffs. We had our lunch here.
Our sumptuous lunch in Tianjin
We had our dinner at a famous Peking Duck Restaurant. This is one dish you must try when in Beijing.
Day 5 - 5 April 2015
After breakfast we visited the gem stone factory, one of the compulsory stops.
We learn that the medals for the Beijing Olympics were made from jade and inlaid with gold.
Our next destination is the great wall of China. We had an hour to climb a section of the wall. It was quite steep at some points and it takes a lot of energy to be able to climb to the top.
After climbing the great wall we went back to the gem stone factory for our lunch.
This being our last day of the tour our lunch was better
We saw the MacDonald outlet with Chinese Design in the Hutong area where we had our trishaw ride
Our last dinner with the tour was also very good.
Today is the last day of our 5D4N tour. After dinner we checked into Dragon Inn Hostel that we booked through Agoda for the next 4 nights at RM130 per night. The hotel is just a couple of minutes walk to the Zhongzihonglu Station on MRT Line 5. After checking in we walked on own to Wangfujing Street to explore the area again.
Along the way passed by a large Church and a group of people doing line dancing in front of it.
These are some of the exotic food at the Wangfujing Street stalls but we dare not try them.
Day 6 - 6 April 2015
Today is the start of our free and easy tour of Bejing. We begin by visiting the Temple of Heaven in the morning. Entrance fee is CNY35/pax.
Joining the locals in the morning exercise outside the Temple of Heaven.
Along the Long Corridor going into the Temple of Heaven
Along the Long Corridor you can see ladies knitting and men playing their chess games
The Hall of Prayer for Good Harvest where the emperor held the worship ceremonies to pray for good weather and abundant harvests
The Imperial Hall of Heaven. It is the place housing the Gods’ tablets to be used at the Heaven Worship Ceremony
The entrance to the echo wall.
Firewood Stove. Before the ceremony of worshipping Heaven begin a properly washed and shaved calf was put on the stove and burned with pine twigs and reeds in order to welcome the god of heaven - a ritual of giving a warm welcome to the imperial god by burning firewood.
Eight iron Burning Stoves where the offerings are burnt for the first eight generations of the Qing Emperors
Circular Monld Altar. Located in the southern part of this area, The Circular Altar Mound is actually the Temple of Heaven in the practical sense. During the Ming and Qing Dynasties, the emperors would offer sacrifice here to Heaven on the day of the Winter Solstice every year.
After touring the Temple of Heaven we went the Hongqiao Market, also known as the Pearl Market.
Also known as the Pearl Market, the Hongqiao Market is the largest pearl distributing center in China. There are varied kinds of pearls, including seawater pearl, freshwater pearl, coral and so forth. However, this huge indoor market is not only a place selling fascinating pearls. It also offers seafood, electronic goods, pocket knives, binoculars, bags, clothes, shoes, jewelry, sporting productions, watches, souvenirs, etc.
It was here that we discovered the pearls necklace that we bought at the pearl factory was overprized.
We went back to our hotel for a short rest before we walked to the Nan Xincang Cultural Leisure Street. It consists of mainly restaurants that offer food from various countries, arts gallery, bars, tea houses and fashion shops.
From Nan Xincang Cultural Leisure Street we walked to the Gujie Culinary Street were we had our dinner in one of the many restaurants along the street
Gujie Culinary Street with its colorful neon lights advertising the various restaurants specialty.
Day 7 - 7 April 2017
After breakfast we visited the Summer Palace by taking the MRT Line 4 and getting off at Beigongmen Station. The North Palace Gate is just a short walk from the station.
The Summer Palace is 9 miles (15 kilometers) from central Beijing. Being the largest and most well-preserved royal park in China, it greatly influences Chinese horticulture and landscape with its famous natural views and cultural interests, which also has long been recognized as 'The Museum of Royal Gardens'
Inside the Summer Palace Gate you can see the beautiful white cherry flowers just beginning to blossom
Closed up of the beautiful cherry flowers
The Four Great Regions.
The Four Great Regions is a complex of classical Tibetan Buddhist buildings and currently the largest in Beijing
You can't find any leaves on these beautiful cherry trees
We bought the three-in-one Summer Palace entrance ticket that enables us to visit the Suzhou Street Market.
Over 60 stores extend from North Palace Gate entrance into a street about 300 meters (328.1 yards) in length. Along the Back Lake, the street design imitates the ancient style of shops on the banks of rivers in Suzhou City, Jiangsu Province
Day 8 - * April 2015
Today we visited the Beihei Park on our own as our travelling partners want to take a rest. We took the Subway Line 4 and get off at the Pinganli Station and walked 20 minutes to the North Gate.
Beihai (Northern Sea) Park is one of the oldest, largest and best-preserved ancient imperial gardens in China located in the city center. This ancient garden, with over 1,000 years' history, is not only a classic combination of the grandiosity of the northern gardens and the refinement of the southern gardens in China, but also a perfect integration of magnificent imperial palaces and solemn religious constructions
Budding cherry flowers
On top of the Jade Flowery Islet, the White Dagoba was built in 1651 on the former site of the Palace in the Moon where Kublai Khan received Marco Polo. At the suggestion of a famous Tibetan lama, Emperor Shunzhi, the first emperor of the Qing Dynasty agreed to build such a Tibetan dagoba to show his belief in Buddhism and his desire for the unification among various Chinese ethnic groups. The White Dagoba was destroyed in an earthquake and reconstructed twice.
Our chicken and braised pork ribs lunch at Nanlugusiang. Such simple lunch in this tourist area cost us CNY70
Our last stop for the day is at the Temple of Earth where the emperors of the Ming and Qin dynasties offered sacrifices to the God of Earth.
Entrance to the Temple of Earth
Our last dinner near our hotel in Beijing before we depart for Xian tomorrow by high speed train.
Farewell Beijing till we meet again!
No comments:
Post a Comment