A Trans-Mongolian Journey - Part Two Beijing

Beijing is probably one of the best holiday destinations in the world and was the start point for Dave’s East to West Trans-Mongolian journey. You can find cheap trips to Beijing using the airlines section of the HeadingThere site. 

Tiananmen Square, the world’s largest public square, isn’t exactly prime stag weekend material.  Still it’s interesting nonetheless.  You can view Mao (with a 50% chance of it actually being him) amongst other impressive sites.  But be aware – anyone by themselves is likely to be an undercover cop; any pair is likely to be an English teacher from Xian and his younger sister who will take you cleaners at the nearest tea shop (you have been warned!).  And as we all know, Tiananmen Square is no place for a good old sing-along to Kum-ba-yah – the Chinese government are about as receptive to democracy as the Toon Army are to Mike Ashley.  So keep your head down.

Leading north from Tiananmen Square is Beijing’s most famous site, the Forbidden City.  It’s obviously forbidden no more, because for 60RMB will get you and several thousand of your best mates in for a look. Expect plenty of temples, rooms where the emperor entertained guests, rooms where the emperor filed his nails and so on.  In fairness, not entirely a rip roaring, thigh slapping entertaining day out, but it would be a shame not to take in at least a bit of cultural stuff.

A highlight of a trip to Beijing is a visit around the famous Hutong, or alleyways.  Basically, head north from the Forbidden City and have a good crack at getting yourself lost.  I’d strongly recommend taking your own time, either on a hired bike or on foot.  Be sure to take in a plate of dumplings, steamed buns or the likes, and look out for old mate who’s selling beers for next to nothing, and will run three blocks to make sure you have a cold one.  Again, be careful of cycle rickshaws; 3RMB is likely to become 300 and the negotiating arena a secluded back alley.

A visit to the Summer Palace (30-60 RMB) makes for a relaxing afternoon, with extensive gardens, pagodas and lakes.  Take the 826 bus to the last stop.

China’s most famous site, the Great Wall of China, gives you the opportunity to compare with other ‘Great’ sites from your travels – the Great Barrier Reef, Great Portland Street, the Greater City of Bendigo etc.  There are many places to see the Wall, and if you like your ancient sites with a built in McDonalds, then some of the closer sites are just the ticket.  I’d definitely recommend pushing a little further afield and walking a stretch of the wall, such as from Jinshanling to Simatai (approx 10km), for both a bit of exercise, and a good view. A tour is the easiest option here and can be easily organised through your guesthouse or hostel. Expect a bus ride of about 3 hours and a ticket price of 300+ RMB. 

The Olympic precinct is well worth a visit, especially for Londoners who may wish to get a feel for the kind of facilities that their city will be unable to match in 2012.  Upon seeing the Olympic Stadium, or ‘Birds Nest’, you may find yourself thinking “must be a f&%king big bird” and “I can only assume the safety record during construction was first rate – why wouldn’t it be”.  Still, it is an impressive site, and for 50 RMB you can take yourself inside and have a look.  It’s easily accessed on the Metro, and a visit around dusk allows you to take in both the day and night experience.

You’ll find hostel accommodation in Beijing to be surprisingly good.  You’ll find many located off the calm ‘hutong’, or back alleys, which provide an excellent escape from the busy Beijing Streets.  ‘Chinese Box’, for instance, offers a relaxed courtyard, reasonable food and beds for 80 RMB a night.  Keeping you company is a good ten or more kittens and one tortured and tethered dog.  Hopefully unrelated is the free weekly dumpling-making lesson and regular BBQs.  Chinese Box offers a range tours (Great Wall of China, Hutong cycling tours).

The backpacker’s second favourite Asian experience, after sitting on the street in plastic chairs drinking cheap beer, is buying a good bit of knockoff clothing for two fifths of bugger all.  And there are few better places in Asia than at Silk Road.  Set over four levels, this is bargainer’s heaven.  Expect them to start the bidding high – 10-20 times above what you’ll eventually pay.  So name your price and stick to it.

Truthfully, until you're in Russia, your journey may not feel like the real deal.  However, despite the lack of birch trees and stern conductresses, the first (or last) leg between Beijing and Ulaan Baator offers a few bonuses.  Firstly, though, a little lesson in railways.  

The rail 'gauge' is the distance from one rail to the other or from one wheel to another.  Like mobile phone chargers today, throughout the railroad boom competing companies were notoriously inept and agreeing on a standard (at one point, Australia had over 40 differing rail gauges).  A train of one gauge obviously can't travel on a rail of a different gauge.  Consequently, the railway world is still struggling to smooth this out.  Where this becomes interesting is at the Chinese-Mongolian border, where two different gauges meet.  Now, instead of doing the obvious thing and moving all passengers from one train to another, they take a different option that mixes both the best of Russian pig headed bureaucracy with Chinese manpower.  The carriages are pushed into a shed where the carriages are lifted 10 feet in the air whilst the wheels and axles are swapped to the new gauge.  Best of all, everybody stays on board and watches the 2 hour process.