First Stop: BEIJING

As I am uncertain how long I will remain in China for, I am utilizing every opportunity I have to go explore the different regions of Asia.  My friend, Marianna, and I recently made a pact to be each other's traveling buddies and explore and conquer as much of China as possible.  Unlike the US, traveling in China is very convenient and when booked well in advance, very cheap.

To start this pact off, we decided on the traditional, tourist-favorite city of Beijing for the mont of November.  Beijing is the nation's capital and I believe best reflects the harmonious blend of old and new China.  In this thriving, metropolitan city with it's bright lights and plentiful Starbucks, you can also find the Summer Palace and Forbidden City, chosen residences for the Chinese royalty.  Nestled between looming skyscrapers are the hu tongs, arguably Beijing's most famous trademark.  Hu tongs, small lanes which form the perimeters of traditional courtyard residences, offer us a glance into Beijing's local history and culture.  From here, you can witness and compare the dramatic changes Beijing has gone through in recent years.  Our hostel, WADA (highly, highly recommended), was also located in a small hu tong and gave me the impression that I was living in old-Beijing.

One of many Hu Tongs

We LOVE Wada!

Our choice of travel to and from Beijing was the train: convenient and well-priced.  For 240 RMB each way, I got a surprisingly comfortable "hard sleeper" which was the top bunk of 3 tiers.  It was nicely heated and came with clean sheets and a pillow.  However, climbing to and from my bunk was very reminiscent of me in elementary school, playing on the monkey bars.  Our train started rumbling around 9:30 PM which left plenty of time for pillow talk.  However, at the stroke of 10 PM, all lights turned off and everybody went to sleep.  Not too long after (and not wanting to annoy the others too much) we followed suit and went to sleep.  Eleven hours later, we arrived in Beijing.  We quickly bundled up, found our hostel, and began our trip.

Woohoo!!!  Too bad the guy next to me isn't as excited.

Our 4-day adventure covered

• A day at the Summer Palace. The place is massive!! 
• The famous Snack Street in 王府井, Wang Fu Jing
• A much-needed shopping trip at an underground mall, bargain heaven!  
• A meal of Beijing Duck 
• Meandering through various hu-tongs and 后海, Hou Hai, lake
• Walking around one of the numerous Beijing universities
• Meeting up with an old friend, Martin, from UCLA                                                                   (brings back fond memories of international trade theory)   

The Summer Palace, overlooking the lake.

A Gazebo surrounded by weeping willows.
It was impossible to get a picture with just us in it.  

One of numerous gates that led into the Summer Palace grounds.

Coming back to Dalian was a little trickier than leaving but we were fortunate enough to get "hard seats" ( as opposed to "hard sleepers") for the ride home.  It was a loooong night that involved stopping at every large city between Beijing and Dalian but finally made it home at 5:45 the next morning.  We trudged home in the still-dark morning and napped before our morning classes.

Beijing was a great starting point for travel and I will most certainly return to see the dozens of other sites that I missed on this trip.  It's a cultural explosion there and one weekend is not enough time to appreciate everything it has to offer.  The people are really friendly and patient and the subway is convenient and cheap: 2 RMB ($0.30) regardless of your destination.  We had quite an adventure of sampling new food, bargaining/arguing for cheap prices, and soaking up all the different elements to this vast city.  I can understand why so many people are deeply fascinated with Beijing and its large-presence of intertwined modernization and tradition.

Caught a cold, recovered, caught another cold, and now finally recovering from Beijing,
Jac