Each one of you must be dreaming to come to Beijing and visit their attractions such as the Great Wall of China that people always say how beautiful the place was. I was very excited when given the opportunity to come here to experienced the fascinating places.
This Beijing trip was combined with Chengdu and Xian. Beijing was my last stop for my China trip in 2010. Me and my travel buddy boarded China Eastern Airlines from Xian Xianyang Airport. China Eastern serves nearly 80 million travelers annually and ranks among the world’s top 5 airlines in terms of passenger transportation volume. As an official member of SkyTeam, China Eastern has extended its flight network serving 1,062 destinations across 177 countries. Hurmmm…quite convincing right? that’s why i feel comfortable taking this airline.
We booked a flight from trusted travel agency, China Highlights. They were very helpful and efficient. Definitely I will use their service again when i come back to China. Ok, the fare is quite expensive, because this is not a budget airline. One-way ticket per person was USD110, includes baggage and meal. As at December 2010, USD1 is equivalent to MYR3.10, yeah its really cheap those days. I reserved the tickets 1 month before the departure, maybe i could get cheaper fare if I book few months before, maybe not?. Ok, let read my story.
Day 1 – 30 December 2010
Leaving from Xian Xianyang Airport at 10:35AM, arrival at 12:15PM. From airport to our hotel was only 40mins by taxi and cost us CNY157. We stayed at Redwall Hotel Beijing located at North Shatan Street, Dong-Cheng Beijing for 2 nights. Total cost for economic double room USD70.72. Very nice and comfortable room.
Unfortunately, I had fever when I arrived in Beijing. Really spoiled my day and I had to rest after took some fever medicine I bought from pharmacy for Y35. Before that, I had noodle for CNY32 for lunch at nearby restaurant. I noticed I will easily get fever when the weather is too cold.
Woke up at 7PM and I feel bit better. See, I wasted my half day here. Never-mind, we quickly get ready and walked to Wangfujing Shopping Street about 15 minutes away from the hotel.
Wangfujing Street is the most well-known and prosperous business street with modern and fashion trends. As many modern plazas and buildings built into use, Xidan is a newly rising area featuring many new trades and a combination of shopping, official business, entertainment and dining. Qianmen Street and Liulichang are busy streets within walk distance from each other. There are dozens of feature store, antique shops and time-honored brands.
We had nice dinner at Peking duck near the Wangfujing Street. Peking duck meal set for 2 was CNY168. After that, we spent time shopping at the street. Bought belt at Zara for Y229, Apples for Y24 and Hair shampoo for Y68. Around 10pm we walk back to hotel. Rest & sleep.
Day 2 – 31st December 2010
Wake up early to catch up more places to visit. Start from Jingshan Park, where you can view Forbidden City from far. Entrance fee is Yuan2 per person.
Situated in the center of Beijing, Jingshan Park is a beautiful royal landscape garden. Covering an area of 57 acres (about 230,000 square meters), the park stands on the central point of the south-north axis of the city and faces the north gate of the Forbidden City. Then we went down to The Forbidden City.
The Forbidden City was the Chinese imperial palace from the Ming dynasty to the end of the Qing dynasty—the years 1420 to 1912. It is located in the center of Beijing, China, and now houses the Palace Museum. It served as the home of emperors and their households as well as the ceremonial and political center of Chinese government for almost 500 years.
This is very nice place to take a stroll but over crowded with tourists. Its also quite tiring though because the place is bigger than you think. Entrance ticket from April to October is CNY 60 and from November to the next March is CNY 40.
The museum allows 80,000 visitors a day. Some tickets are kept for tour agencies and some are sold online, so there aren’t many tickets available on the spot. It is important for foreign independent tourists to get there and buy tickets as early as possible, especially during holidays.
We bought the tickets at the entrance counter, although many tourist but still manageable. We start from Shunzhen gate (North Gate) and finish at South gate, the Tiananmen Square.
Next place, we take train to Beijing National Stadium (Beijing Bird’s Nest). Affectionately known as Bird’s Nest, the National Stadium is situated in Olympic Green Village, Chaoyang District of Beijing City. It was designed as the main stadium of 2008 Beijing Olympic Games.
Once sun is down, we take train to Yashaw Street.
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