Beijing, a metropolis with a twist

Hutong - Traditional Chinese housing typically with a large communal courtyard built around the Forbidden City during the long Chinese history. Toilets are usually shared amongst a few households along an alley with hundreds of families living in each narrow street. These historical buildings are fast disappearing to make way for more roads and modern buildings.

Marie miraculously arrived 20 minutes after us at Leo Hostel located in the middle of the Hutong area south of the Tiananmen Square. She did however spent 3 times the taxi fare to get here. Paul was giving me a cheeky grin as if to thank me for been able to speak to the cab driver and get here in the shortest time. During cab journey, the lady driver laughed at me for coming to the Chinese capital only for the first time at this stage of my life (she would obviously be even more unimpressed if she had known how old I was), which was kinda of weird as if thinking that all Chinese should visit this ancient city once in their life, just like a must for the Muslims to visit Mecca.

The rest of the day was spent sorting out the travel arrangements to Hong Kong as I only found out that the Chinese Railway has changed their Beijing-HK schedules, meaning I was only able to leave 1 day later than originally planned. Decided to pay a slight commission to the hostel to help sort out the tickets rather than to spend time queuing up at the train station. Had a quick taste of the cheap and wonderful Beijing dumplings with Paul before strolling to the massive People's Square.

Next day, after another very early morning wake before seven, I headed out to the Hutong area for some rather authentic breakfast of hot soya bean milk, porridge and fried dough fritters, all for only 50 pence! The neighbourhood was incredibly charming, with the young on their electric bikes heading to work, whilst the mom and pops continue on their trusty traditional bicycles to the nearby market, with stores owners breaking the calm dusty air with their shouts for business. A walk through it seems to take you back in time, especially for one who has been so used to living in a city like environment like myself.



As the sun rose higher, raising the temperature ever higher under the smog of dust covering the city, I headed towards the Forbidden City, avoiding the People's National Assembly and Mao's Mausoleum due to the massive queues. Joined the lines of thousands past the Tiananmen where the Chinese guards maintained a level of orderly flow by shouting at the crowd to move forward and not stop to take any pictures. Few enterprising locals were already doing a brisk business by charging 20Y for a picture taken for them and printed out immediately.

Paid 50Y for the entrance fee and another 5Y for a simple guide brochure of the city with some explanations and pictures. On first entry, I was quite overawed by the grand scale of the palace - it was just the size but the immaculate details that are put into each and every corner. My memories immediately drew me back to the days when I watch this on TV, and finally here I am, seeing it with my own eyes of this magnificent city within a city. I wasn't alone, as I can just see the amazement and glitter in every single person the moment they walk through the gates. The numerous tour guides will always start off with each tour group asking if anyone know how many rooms in total are there in the city - the answer is supposed to be 9,999.5, which they will then continue to add that a new born child will be 28 years old by the time he or she finished staying in a room for each day of their lives. To really absorb the history of the city, one should really join one of the hundreds of tour groups visiting for a true learning experience. As usual, I went for the "free" option, staying close to a group whenever there is one nearby, listening intently with my rusty knowledge of the language.

A few more metro lines have since open for service since the Olympics Games last year and are excellent forms of transport to explore the city at the cost of only 2Y per single trip. Tried to find a place called "Jiu Ba Qi", literally translated to "987", where art galleries and chill out cafes are awash in the area, but ended up in the bars and nightlife area of "SiMaiTai" instead. Slightly disappointed, I decided to head towards the Olympics Park instead after tucking into some Pho Bo at a newly opened Vietnamese outlet behind a brand new shopping complex that seems to be sprawling out in every corner of the city.

If you are thinking of doing the same, you might want to consider going after dark as that is when the lights come on for both the Olympics Stadium, also known as the "Bird's Nest" to the locals, as well as the Aquatics Center. The pride and joy of their success in the Olympics last year can clearly be felt in the air as hundreds of locals congregate to take pictures beside these 2 incredible human architectures. I probably spend the same time helping others to take pictures and my own. Some of the locals were even asking how much I charge for a picture as they mistook me as a freelance with my big camera and tripod setup.

Paul and I joined 8 others from the hostel for a trip to the "Secret Wall", which was basically an unrestored section of the great wall about another 30 minutes drive from the the touristy Baidaling. It took almost 2 hours before we left the famed city morning rush, jammed packed with ever increasing number of cars. I will really exchange that for millions of bicycles instead anytime. An elderly man met up in the village at the foot of the Great Wall and been the only Mandarin speaking person of the group, I was naturally "promoted" to be the translator. The 30min climb up to the wall proved to surprise a few as some of them were huffing and puffing by the time we reach the top. But the view was well worth the efforts - an incredible crumbling wall snaking around the peaks of the mountains as far as the eye could see in the thick layer of smog, just the way it has been for thousands of years, no restoration, no touts selling you drinks and best of all, no need to jostle with thousands of other tourists. It was just the eleven of us, enjoying this amazing piece of Chinese history at our own pace. At times, the elderly man will try to spice up the journey with some stories about that section of the wall, which I will translate back to the group. Apparently it was very steep in history as the rebel Li ZhiCheng was said to have invaded the Beijing from here.

Back in the capital, I brought Paul out for another local dinner in the Hutong area which both of us enjoyed a great deal. The next morning, I brought him to try the breakfast that I had the other day and took advantage of my last day to stroll through this wonderful heritage that is in danger of disappearing as the city steams into the 21st century. In the cab to Beijing West station to catch my train to Hong Kong, I felt an unusual disappointment to leave the city. It has been the one and only place in my travels so far where I have felt so much at home, primarily due to my language advantage, but also because it has turned out to be a lot better than I expected it to be. Maybe I was falling into my comfort zone, which is unhealthy and best to leave on a bright note.