Sign in with Facebook"The Faces of Beijing" Beijing by al2401
Beijing Travel Guide: 6,188 reviews and 15,387 photos
Most of us would recognise the view of the Tian'anmen Gate to the Forbidden City from Tian'anmen Square and most would also connect it with man's self expression of freedom. It may follow that there is a general perception that Beijing would be a dour place, the home of oppressed people. I was one of them - and I was not alone. On my return I was asked if Beijing was more opressed, 'under the thumb' than the rest of China. My answer was a resounding No!
Beijing is a thriving, modern and very 'western' city. The traffic is incredible but, although noisy, quite orderly compared to Cairo or Rome. My greatest impression was that it was so clean - at least in the busy public areas (like any large city). There is a veritable army employed just to sweep the streets!
It is also a very colourful city - there is a lot of greenery and the clothing of the people is bright.
The weather is an issue - fog/smog is the question. I would have to go for the fog. Yes, there is smog - it is a large city after all - but I experienced a couple of days of brilliantly clear fine weather.
The Olympics in 2008 put Beijing on the map for many people. Most of us spent some time in the Birds Nest or the Watercube. The games served the city well in that a lot of the sights had a face-lift. The Summer Palace, Temple of Heaven and the Forbidden City benefited from restoration.
As usual it comes down to the people. The attraction of any country for me is the people and the culture. Throughout China it was obvious to me that the people are happy and very active. No sign of obesity here! It may be the great healthy food but every morning in every town the parks have people excercising - Tai Qi, Dance, Badminton etc., and the Temple of Heaven is no exception.
As with most major centres in China theatre is common. Opera, acrobats and martial arts shows to name a few.
- Pros:A vibrant and colourful city
- Cons:I am not really a city girl
- In a nutshell:Lose those pre-conceived ideas - come and see for your self
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Comments (5)
Great page with wonderful pictures! Thank you.
If you really interested in getting a good look at the palace avoid tours that take you through in half a day. The best things to see are in palace rooms away from the main tourist path. Give yourself a full day and you will find many surprises.
Great read on China, thanks for taking the time to write
Great tips Al, with just the right amount of important history! And your pics are awesome ... I especially LOVE the wall pics at Simatai, you had a beautiful clear day!
Nice photos of Chinese people doing tai ji in parks. No wonder they live that long and look young (ah, but bad air is not good, I know :) well done page, will love to see photos from other places you visited (chongqing especially).