Very Wide Boulevards and Roads
by machomikemd
Beijing has a very vast and Wide network of Roads, Bridges, footpaths, underground pedestrian crossings. Again very Wide! so that just crossing a street involves long and brisk walks over pedestrian overpass that are very long and wide too so if you plan on walking around the city, wear rubber shoes and be ready for brisk walking, definitely not for out of shape people or those with athritis or gout. Hence if your one with walking problm, I suggest getting a taxi instead.
Open Air Music
by nepalgoods
People love to sing and play their old traditional instruments. They gather in the parks to make music together, sing Beijing Opera, play the Erhu or do their Tai Ji exercises.
Best places to see this are:
Jingshan Park
Tian Tan
I have to Thank my friend Robert for this wonderful photo., which was taken just a few weeks ago.
Tempel of the Ancient Monarchs
by nepalgoods
The Chinese name is Lidai Diwang Miao
This temple was build in 1523 of the Ming Dynasty. It was renovated in recent years and again houses the tablets of all past emperors, excluding tyrants and usurpers. There are also tablets of famous ministers and generals.
It was a place to remember the deads of the ancestors and it brings to mind the long succession of emperors.
You can see from some burning insence sticks and fruits, that there are still people coming to worship.
Xichengqu, Fuchengmen Neidajie 131 (西城区, 阜城门内大街 131)
Panjiayuan Market
by Unknownsu about Panjiayuan Market
There are plenty of upscale shopping centers in Beijing but for an alternative experience, Panjiaguan market is very refreshing. It used to be called the dirt market because everyone just came and dropped their wares on the ground and opened shop. Boasting over 3000 stalls, this market only opens on the weekends. Cruise before you buy because many shops sell the same thing and bargains can be had.
Address: 18 Huawei Li, Panjiayuan Road, Chaoyang District
Taiyuan to Beijing
by albaaust
We decided that we would take the express overnight train to Beijing from Taiyuan which is about 2 hours by car from Pingyao. As Taiyuan is a major railway station there would be more options in terms of trains to Beijing.
For this reason we made the decision that we would combine this with a visit to the Qiao family residence and so we organised a taxi to Taiyun and thereafter train to Beijing.
The train we caught was the N202 leaving Taiyuan at 9.30pm and arriving Beijing at 8.00am.
This time we waited (waiting area 2) along with the hordes of other people to catch the train rather than in a special waiting area. (Use your ticket number to find out which waiting area to go to).This in itself was an interesting experience. People were quite interested in us and some even crowded over our shoulders to see what we were doing - sudoku. One interesting episode was watching young men try to hop on board trains without paying for a ticket ( they would simply jump over the gates while the rest of the ticket inspectors were busily checking the hordes through the gates).
The 4 berth cabin from Taiyuan seemed to be slightly more upmarket (flower in vase etc see photos) than the train we took from Xian. This time we did book soft seats, one lower and one upper on the same side. We shared with a young female student and a gentleman on his way to India to do business.
The trip was uneventful and we all seemed to agree mutually when the main light would be turned off and when we would all wake in the morning.
We organised the taxi and the train tickets through our hotel.Cost 215 Yuan each.
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Beautifully crisp morning!
The White Dagoba
dancing
to great wall
