A week of blue skies in Beijing, who would've guessed?
Nov 18th, 2014, 09:15 PM
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A week of blue skies in Beijing, who would've guessed?
So we're back from our amazing week in Beijing.
Quick reflection........yes we could've done more and yes we are probably the first visitors EVER to go and not visit The Forbidden City but we had a fabulously relaxing 30th wedding anniversary holiday.
Departed Brisbane on Malaysian Airlines at 11.30pm on a Friday night. Had a 13 hour layover in Kuala Lumpur..... details are here if interested.
http://www.fodors.com/community/asia...fore-ideas.cfm
After an uneventful flight and an easy run through customs, we met our driver in the arrivals hall. Considering it was about 1.30am we were glad to have him there, his English was great, we'd booked him on his website which some friends had used last year. We also used him later in the week to get out to the wall.
http://beijingcardriver.com/
Took about 30 minutes at that time of day to get to Raffles Hotel, its really beautiful and we had a very warm greating. We didn't stay in the main building (which was a godsend as it happened) but our building was connected by a small internal walkway. Our room was on the Club Lounge level and it was lovely, a separate sitting/lounge area and large bedroom and equally large bathroom. We fell into bed and slept very well, and thanks to Beijing only being two hours behind Brisbane time wise, there was no real adjustments.
The next morning we went down for breakfast to the main restaurant, we did have the choice of going to the lounge for a lighter breakfast had we wanted to. But as we tend to like a decent breakfast to fuel us for the day while we are away we opted to go down.
Just perfect, yes probably like most 5star hotel breakfast with the addition of a lot of Asian choice, really nice and the best part......great coffee.
We then head out, two blocks to the right and there we were.......... Tiananmen Square and this is our first taste of 'lining up Chinese style'. Oh if only we'd realised this day that we would never see it so quiet again.
We joined the line for security and in we went, its funny you know but I always thought that the Gate of Heavenly Peace with Mao's picture was 'in' Tiananmen Square, I'd never really notice the wide road between the two. We entered on this side of the road, and entered through this gate. We wandered around for ages, before decided that due to 'long' line (we were to realise, this was NOT a long line) to buy tickets, we would enter the Forbidden City another day.
We had a great walk through Zhongshan park, so peaceful and pretty, and the day was amazing. Crisp and clear blue skies........wanna know a secret? We'd inadvertently booked our trip to coincide with the APEC summit, how happy were we. The factories had been closed down for a week and they'd restricted how many cars could enter the city. Its was fabulous the whole time, yes it added to time in security lines and the eventual shutting down of the main building of Raffles but it was so worth it.
We spent the rest of the day wandering, eventually going in the opposite direction from the hotel into Wangfujing Street which is a fantastic shopping/pedestrian street. We also walked back to our hotel through a wonderful alley way full of local food, WOH.
We ate a very light meal and had drinks in the Writers Bar at Raffles, which is a bit special, then just had a lazy evening in the lounge enjoying the hospitality (i.e. drinks and snacks )
So a lovely first day in Beijing........here are the photos from day 1.
https://www.flickr.com/photos/104632...7648954344610/
Quick reflection........yes we could've done more and yes we are probably the first visitors EVER to go and not visit The Forbidden City but we had a fabulously relaxing 30th wedding anniversary holiday.
Departed Brisbane on Malaysian Airlines at 11.30pm on a Friday night. Had a 13 hour layover in Kuala Lumpur..... details are here if interested.
http://www.fodors.com/community/asia...fore-ideas.cfm
After an uneventful flight and an easy run through customs, we met our driver in the arrivals hall. Considering it was about 1.30am we were glad to have him there, his English was great, we'd booked him on his website which some friends had used last year. We also used him later in the week to get out to the wall.
http://beijingcardriver.com/
Took about 30 minutes at that time of day to get to Raffles Hotel, its really beautiful and we had a very warm greating. We didn't stay in the main building (which was a godsend as it happened) but our building was connected by a small internal walkway. Our room was on the Club Lounge level and it was lovely, a separate sitting/lounge area and large bedroom and equally large bathroom. We fell into bed and slept very well, and thanks to Beijing only being two hours behind Brisbane time wise, there was no real adjustments.
The next morning we went down for breakfast to the main restaurant, we did have the choice of going to the lounge for a lighter breakfast had we wanted to. But as we tend to like a decent breakfast to fuel us for the day while we are away we opted to go down.
Just perfect, yes probably like most 5star hotel breakfast with the addition of a lot of Asian choice, really nice and the best part......great coffee.
We then head out, two blocks to the right and there we were.......... Tiananmen Square and this is our first taste of 'lining up Chinese style'. Oh if only we'd realised this day that we would never see it so quiet again.
We joined the line for security and in we went, its funny you know but I always thought that the Gate of Heavenly Peace with Mao's picture was 'in' Tiananmen Square, I'd never really notice the wide road between the two. We entered on this side of the road, and entered through this gate. We wandered around for ages, before decided that due to 'long' line (we were to realise, this was NOT a long line) to buy tickets, we would enter the Forbidden City another day.
We had a great walk through Zhongshan park, so peaceful and pretty, and the day was amazing. Crisp and clear blue skies........wanna know a secret? We'd inadvertently booked our trip to coincide with the APEC summit, how happy were we. The factories had been closed down for a week and they'd restricted how many cars could enter the city. Its was fabulous the whole time, yes it added to time in security lines and the eventual shutting down of the main building of Raffles but it was so worth it.
We spent the rest of the day wandering, eventually going in the opposite direction from the hotel into Wangfujing Street which is a fantastic shopping/pedestrian street. We also walked back to our hotel through a wonderful alley way full of local food, WOH.
We ate a very light meal and had drinks in the Writers Bar at Raffles, which is a bit special, then just had a lazy evening in the lounge enjoying the hospitality (i.e. drinks and snacks )
So a lovely first day in Beijing........here are the photos from day 1.
https://www.flickr.com/photos/104632...7648954344610/
Nov 19th, 2014, 04:14 AM
#2
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Wow! It does sound like you were lucky! I should make myself a note to schedule a trip to Bejing when they are hosting an international conference.
Looking forward to hearing more about your trip.
Looking forward to hearing more about your trip.
Nov 19th, 2014, 06:25 PM
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Shutting down factories in a 500km range (actually 10,000 of them, with 39,000 more on reduced hours) and for once sending in inspectors to make sure they stayed shut; banning people in villages within that range (some of them already very chilly) from firing up their kang (coal-heated beds); taking half the cars off the roads (11.7 million vehicles); banning of all deliveries during daylight hours; halting work on construction sites; halting the issuing of marriage licenses so as to prevent smoke-creating firecracker celebrations; banning the burning of paper offerings at graves; creating a multi-day public holiday at short notice; even banning the burning of some kinds of incense at temples. These are the measures that made the difference.
'Luck of the draw' had nothing to do with it whatsoever.
'Luck of the draw' had nothing to do with it whatsoever.
Nov 20th, 2014, 04:30 AM
#7
most interesting start, aussie.
of course what temppeternh tells us about those blue skies were achieved gives pause for thought; not just because of the impact on the local population of the temporary measures but the effect on them of the otherwise constant pollution.
what might be called a lose/lose situation.
of course what temppeternh tells us about those blue skies were achieved gives pause for thought; not just because of the impact on the local population of the temporary measures but the effect on them of the otherwise constant pollution.
what might be called a lose/lose situation.
Nov 20th, 2014, 10:33 PM
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@ temppeternh - Thanks for letting us know what the change in apparent air quality took -- as annhig said, a lose-lose situation for the locals.
Am I correct in thinking that there might have been exposure to pollutants, even with the apparently bright blue skies? I seem to recall reading that seemingly clear skies were not necessarily an indication of safety.... I could be wrong...
Am I correct in thinking that there might have been exposure to pollutants, even with the apparently bright blue skies? I seem to recall reading that seemingly clear skies were not necessarily an indication of safety.... I could be wrong...
Nov 21st, 2014, 11:23 AM
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In general blue skies aren't an absolutely guarantee of safety, but in this case the reductions in pollutants were caused not by happening to have the wind in the right direction, but by dramatically reducing their production. So presumably things were safer than on other blue sky days. Some on-line wag in China suggested APEC stood for 'Air Pollution Eventually Controlled'.
Nov 22nd, 2014, 05:30 AM
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I have heard alot about The Forbidden City and really desirous to visit such memorable places. My friends are planning a tour inn the comming season, so possibilities are that we visit The Forbidden City.
Nov 22nd, 2014, 01:38 PM
#12
APEC= 'Air Pollution Eventually Controlled' sounds about right. Here's a NY Times article that talks about the preparations for APEC.
http://www.nytimes.com/2014/11/08/wo...3A6%22%7D&_r=0
http://www.nytimes.com/2014/11/08/wo...3A6%22%7D&_r=0
Nov 23rd, 2014, 04:13 AM
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It's over. Today the pollution readings in and around Beijing are out of sight. The residential heating systems, all coal fired, have been turned on, the factories which had been shut down for the 'big shots' are now going full blast and overtime, and cars garaged for the APEC are, every one of them, 'on the road again'. China is sinking in its own waste and pulling the rest of the world down with it.
Nov 23rd, 2014, 08:13 PM
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I'm starting to feel like I should apologize for the clear skies, I wont...........and I do also realize its pretty unfair that they will do this for visiting dignitaries but their own citizens continue to suffer. But I'll leave it there, as I think its pretty much been discussed above.
We had arranged for the driver from the airport transfer to collect us at 7.30am for the drive out to the Mutianyu section of the Great Wall. Easy drive out, good to see some of the outskirts of Beijing. We arrived at a fairly non descript car park, where our driver walked with us over to the visitors centre. It was a very crisp clear day. We bought our tickets and we were off, we'd opted for the cable car. So after walking past the market stalls and the 'Burger King' we hopped on the shuttle bus, to take us the 3kms up, there's still a decent walk from there to the cable car.
The ride up was great, some really interesting views of the wall. We were two of only about 10-12 people up there, so we got a great view of the wall, without any of the dreaded crowds. Due to a dodgy ankle, I opted to just wander in each direction to the nearest tower's. I was lucky enough to meet two lovely ladies, one from Atlanta and one from the Netherlands. Turns out one of them was a jazz singer performing for the week at the Shangri la. So she invited us to hear her sing.........I should have mentioned to her that we would probably do it that night.......our anniversary!!!!
dh walked for nearly 3 hours. He went as far as he could one way, came back and walked as far as he could the next. He loved it, he's moderately fit and a really keen walker, but he was shattered. He said his legs were like trying to walk on sticks of jelly.
By the time we started down, the crowds had really built and I realized if we'd come any later, it would've been all but impossible to get photos of the wall, without people in them.
We made our way back down and had a quick bite at Burger King....no I wouldn't recommend ;-) but it did the job. Met up with our driver and off we went.
Had a lovely nap back at the hotel and got ready for our lovely anniversary dinner at Jaan, at Raffles. We started with drinks in the lounge, where John, the Raffles ambassador introduced himself. What a lovely lovely man. We ended up having morning coffee and evening wine with him, each night. a true gentleman, it didn't hurt that he was an Aussie!!
I'd told the restaurant it was to be a special dinner, so when we got to our table, it was scattered with rose petals & candles, it was so pretty. John 'appeared' and introduced us to the wait staff and reiterated that this was a special dinner, then preceded to buy us some champagne. This dinner was turning out to be pretty nice.
For the foodies out there....we had a beautiful prawn amuse bouche with foam. Dh husband had the crab tartar starter (dish of the night)and the steak. I had yummy prawns and scallops followed by a delightful piece of fish with the tiniest little veg. Then the food and beverage manager appears and asks if we were enjoying and could he do anything more........ah no! He then said that the chef was taking care of desert, OK then.
The chef comes out with a petit four platter and a large slice of cake with a 'Happy Wedding Anniversary' sign in chocolate. It was just a lovely lovely night. We couldn't possibly finish the desert or our bottle of wine actually, so they offered to take it to our room for later.
We jumped in a cab, thinking listening to some jazz on the 80th floor of the Shangri la would be a perfect end to our night. Unfortunately when we got there, we were told it was the one night this week, that she wasn't performing.
But I must say, we sat at the bar and enjoyed a lovely drink while watching the barmen make some beautiful cocktails for the equally beautiful people and enjoying the fabulous views.
What a great day.
Photos from the wall and dinner.
https://www.flickr.com/photos/104632...7648947705829/
We had arranged for the driver from the airport transfer to collect us at 7.30am for the drive out to the Mutianyu section of the Great Wall. Easy drive out, good to see some of the outskirts of Beijing. We arrived at a fairly non descript car park, where our driver walked with us over to the visitors centre. It was a very crisp clear day. We bought our tickets and we were off, we'd opted for the cable car. So after walking past the market stalls and the 'Burger King' we hopped on the shuttle bus, to take us the 3kms up, there's still a decent walk from there to the cable car.
The ride up was great, some really interesting views of the wall. We were two of only about 10-12 people up there, so we got a great view of the wall, without any of the dreaded crowds. Due to a dodgy ankle, I opted to just wander in each direction to the nearest tower's. I was lucky enough to meet two lovely ladies, one from Atlanta and one from the Netherlands. Turns out one of them was a jazz singer performing for the week at the Shangri la. So she invited us to hear her sing.........I should have mentioned to her that we would probably do it that night.......our anniversary!!!!
dh walked for nearly 3 hours. He went as far as he could one way, came back and walked as far as he could the next. He loved it, he's moderately fit and a really keen walker, but he was shattered. He said his legs were like trying to walk on sticks of jelly.
By the time we started down, the crowds had really built and I realized if we'd come any later, it would've been all but impossible to get photos of the wall, without people in them.
We made our way back down and had a quick bite at Burger King....no I wouldn't recommend ;-) but it did the job. Met up with our driver and off we went.
Had a lovely nap back at the hotel and got ready for our lovely anniversary dinner at Jaan, at Raffles. We started with drinks in the lounge, where John, the Raffles ambassador introduced himself. What a lovely lovely man. We ended up having morning coffee and evening wine with him, each night. a true gentleman, it didn't hurt that he was an Aussie!!
I'd told the restaurant it was to be a special dinner, so when we got to our table, it was scattered with rose petals & candles, it was so pretty. John 'appeared' and introduced us to the wait staff and reiterated that this was a special dinner, then preceded to buy us some champagne. This dinner was turning out to be pretty nice.
For the foodies out there....we had a beautiful prawn amuse bouche with foam. Dh husband had the crab tartar starter (dish of the night)and the steak. I had yummy prawns and scallops followed by a delightful piece of fish with the tiniest little veg. Then the food and beverage manager appears and asks if we were enjoying and could he do anything more........ah no! He then said that the chef was taking care of desert, OK then.
The chef comes out with a petit four platter and a large slice of cake with a 'Happy Wedding Anniversary' sign in chocolate. It was just a lovely lovely night. We couldn't possibly finish the desert or our bottle of wine actually, so they offered to take it to our room for later.
We jumped in a cab, thinking listening to some jazz on the 80th floor of the Shangri la would be a perfect end to our night. Unfortunately when we got there, we were told it was the one night this week, that she wasn't performing.
But I must say, we sat at the bar and enjoyed a lovely drink while watching the barmen make some beautiful cocktails for the equally beautiful people and enjoying the fabulous views.
What a great day.
Photos from the wall and dinner.
https://www.flickr.com/photos/104632...7648947705829/
Dec 18th, 2014, 02:29 PM
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Sounds like you had a great time. I was in Beijing in September, and we had a fantastic trip too. Weather was awesome! Went to Forbidden City. Had I not watched the Last Emperor before, I wouldn't have gotten much out of it.
