China - beijing

Beijing Walking to the gate in Heathrow’s shiny new Terminal 5, I decided to test out the rumour that all airline staff get emotional when you tell them it’s your Honeymoon, go all gooey, throw away their professional integrity and upgrade you to turn left with the celebrities and politicians grandkids when boarding the plane, not turn right with the cheap seats. It’s a lie. I asked everyone. I even ambush-questioned the pilot of our BA flight. Face to face as he walked past me in the departure lounge. Apparently approaching pilots isn’t fashionable these days, and although somewhat startled ... more

A short summary This is a travelogue about the trip that my wife, Nikki, and I took to China (Beijing, Xi’an and Hong Kong) in the period from March 15th to March 29th 2003. We first spent 7 days in Beijing and we got to see the Great Wall, the Forbidden City, Temple of Heaven, the Summer Palace and so on. From Beijing we took an overnight train to Xi’an and our main goal there was to see the Terra-Cotta Warriors but we also got to see a few other things. And from Xi’an we flew to the city of Shenzhen and from there we took the boat to Hong Kong (HK), where we stayed for about 5 days. In HK we ... more

Introduction I've read through most of the reviews on Beijing, but having lived in Beijing for ten years, first as a student, then working, I wanted to give a more personal and in-depth view. I hope that this will help to guide anyone that is planning to visit Beijing in the near future. If you are planning to go, then the first thing that you should do is buy a copy of the Lonely Planet Guide to China - I think there is even one that concentrates on Beijing - this provides invaluable information on places to viist, how to get around the city and has a language guide for emergencies. Getting ... more

My visit was a surprise. I went over to see my expat Uncle and Aunt in Hong Kong/Macau. We flew from Macau airport up to Beijing. Several flights had come in at once so we had to wait at Customs for about 40 minutes. The Hotel: We stayed at The Grand Hotel which is a super hotel.It is a classy 5 star hotel in the centre of Beijing near to Tiananmen Sqaure. We were taken by a chaffeur driven Mercedes to the hotel from the airport. *The lobby* Small but elegant, dark furnishings and English-speaking staff on reception. We arranged our tour to the Great Wall and Ming Tombs from here. *Room* My ... more

When i first flew in, i did not get what i expected. I was imagining traditional china, with old buildings everywhere. This vision, was a fools vision. You come through the gates at the airport, and are met by crowds of people trying to get to the front to meet their people. Then when you get outside you are met by pollution in the air. There is a sort of haze in the area which you cannot escape. Bearing in mind we went in Feburary, it was very cold, and we wrapped ourselves in coats and other items of clothing. We were met by a coach which took our bags to the hotel for us, whilst we (tired ... more