The article was published a while back, so I thought that I would include it here as my blog post about our trip.
What? This is too small to read? Okay, here's the text and larger pictures below :) Side note: For the article, they wanted some of the trip planning information included, in case any other adventurers wanted to visit Beijing. Thus the last paragraph. Enjoy!
"Where can three travelers all meet their annual travel
goals: Crossing off another continent, taking two international trips a year,
and celebrating a birthday at a "Wonder of the World?" For two friends (Central Publications
Coordinator Liz Dorris and Internal Audit Manager Julie Church) and myself, the
answer was Beijing, China, where we accomplished all these goals and
experienced many firsts on what was truly a travel adventure. From San
Francisco, we took United’s double decker 747, a first for all of us, nonstop
to Beijing (PEK). Our home for the next six days was the Downtown Backpackers
Hostel, an economically priced and comfortable accommodation not far from a
subway station and lots of tourist sites. It’s location within a hutong
(traditional Beijing neighborhood made of narrow alleys) gave us a glimpse into
the everyday life of some Beijing locals. Although originally timid about
trying the notoriously crowded Beijing subway, we found it to be a great form
of transportation, with well labeled maps and an inexpensive flat rate fare of about
30 cents USD per ride!
With so many of China’s historic sites located within
the city, there is certainly no lack of things to see. Most impressive is the
traditional architecture and immense size of places like the Forbidden City,
Temple of Heaven, and the Summer Palace. Their ancient designs and interior artwork
had us in awe and snapping lots of pictures! On the other side of the spectrum,
The Bird’s Nest, along with the rest of the 2008 Summer Olympics sites, was a
modern highlight we enjoyed exploring. Some cultural experiences we were able
to encounter were a Chinese Opera—quite different from any opera we had seen
before—and the famous Chinese Acrobats, eleven acrobats on one bicycle—amazing!
Of course, the highlight of our trip to Beijing was a visit to the Great Wall. We
allowed a whole day for it and ventured out to a more remote section of the
wall, which was relatively tourist-free. For six kilometers, we hiked from the
Jinshanling tower to the Simatai tower, and up and down the 21 towers in
between. Some of this section has been restored with newer more even stones,
while the rest is in its original condition and includes some of the steepest
climbs of the wall. The latter required more challenging climbing, but the
physical efforts were definitely worth the incredible views!
Along with all of
the sites Beijing has to offer, we also took a daytrip to Xian, home of the
Terra Cotta Warriors. The overnight train we wanted to take booked up fast, so
instead we got to experience an Asian carrier—Hainan Airlines—as well as
China’s ATC delays. We found Xian to be a great side trip and easily could have
spent more than our one day there. The inner city walls surround the oldest
part of this city, which was once capital of China. Within the walls we found
the ancient drum and bell towers, the market streets of the Muslim quarter
(where you could buy everything from artwork to really fresh meat), and a strip
of upscale stores that could rival those on Fifth Avenue! The Terra Cotta
Warriors are located outside of the city, so we took a tour which took us to
the site—where three pits have been discovered and excavated, each containing
between 1,000 and 6,000 of the detailed, life-sized statues—as well as a visit to
a factory where exact replicas of the warriors are made.
During our trip, we
found time to experience some of the local cuisine and shopping. Fun meals
included the famous Beijing roasted duck, an alfresco meal of sweet and sour
pork with fried rice at the Houhai lake and, our favorite, learning to make
(and eat!) our own dumplings. A shopping afternoon at the Pearl Market found
great gifts including artwork, chopsticks, fans, and, of course, pearl jewelry,
as well as a new friend—Lulu, the eager sales lady at our favorite shop.
A
visit to Beijing can (and did) seem a little intimidating to plan. But with
some research and tips from friends who had previously visited, we developed a
task list of the "must dos." First and foremost is acquiring a
tourist travel visa, which for China is complicated by their requirement that
all visa applications be submitted in person at one of their Consulates.
Luckily we found a great visa services company, VisaRite, which for a nominal
fee helped us complete the detailed application and did all of the legwork.
Next on the list was getting there. There are currently seven daily nonstop
flights from the U.S. to Beijing (from DTW, EWR, IAD, ORD, SEA, SFO). We
acquired passes to cover all of these options, called in some favors to get information
on flight loads, and ended up taking United from SFO-PEK on the way there and
Delta from PEK-SEA. For us, the last critical piece of pre-planning was our
lodging. While Beijing has many American-style hotels, we were very glad we chose
our small hostel as it afforded us the opportunity to have a less “touristy”
experience. With all of those in place, we set off with a travel guidebook and
a list of the top sites to see and let the adventures come to us. The language
barrier was less of a problem than we were expecting, with so many signs and information
having been updated with English for the Beijing Olympics. And with an exchange
rate of six Chinese Yuan to one U.S. Dollar, the trip was extremely affordable.
With a little extra planning, a trip to Beijing can be a very rewarding,
memory-filled experience! Now, which World Wonder to tackle next?"
Jenise at the Bird's Nest
With our saleslady friend Lulu
The Muslim Quarter markets
Julie at the Terra Cotta Warriers
Forbidden City
The Great Wall
Liz and Julie at the Summer Palace
