Three Days in Beijing

I have always been dreaming of visiting Beijing so, this year, during Chinese Mid Autumn Festival, I’ve paired up with my friends Annie and Nelly and decided to make it happen.

We have started off with the Great Wall of China, one of the most fascinating attractions all around the world because of its architectural grandeur and historical significance. We spent the entire day climbing steep steps and crumbling walls whilst admiring breath-taking views. However, what got me most excited was that, all day, we only saw few other people walking our same path. This was because Nelly took us to Jaing Kou (it means arrow trigger in English), a very remote and unknown section of the wall. In fact, if you head to Mutianyu, it’s the Disneyland version of the Great Wall of China. In this regard, most parts of the Jaing Kou wall section were so steep that we had to use our hands to crawl up – Yup, it’s been so magical seeing the original crumbling parts of the wall!!

The next day we decided to head to the Summer palace, a UNESCO World Heritage site that represents a masterpiece of Chinese landscape design, with hills and water combined with artificial features such palaces, temples and bridges. The best part about travelling on your own and not with tour guides is being able to stop every time you see an astonishing view – and yes, there are so many beautiful views to check out at the Summer Palace.

In the afternoon we had a stroll around Tiananmen Square where, in May 1989, a million Chinese young students crowded to protest for greater democracy and call for the resignations of Chinese Communist Party leaders deemed too repressive. However, one month later, on June 4th, Chinese troops and security police stormed through Tiananmen Square, firing indiscriminately into the crowds of protesters. Deaths ranged from several hundred to thousands. Standing in the middle of the square made me feel like a tiny powerless waterfall in the Sahara desert. We finished off this amazing day with Peking duck at Bianyifang restaurant (便宜坊 , QianMen Xian YuKou branch). It was enough to fall in love with this city. Once the duck was cooked to perfection one of the chefs cut it in front of us into perfect slices of meat. I was so impressed that no part of the duck goes to waste. I skipped the duck feet but I ate the skin dipped in sugar – so delicious!!!

The last stop of our trip was visiting the Forbidden City – only the outside of it and the meridian Gate (Wumen), as there is a limit to the number of tickets sold each day and we didn’t make the cut. Rectangular in shape, it’s the world's largest palace complex and covers 74 hectares. Despite the fact that we didn’t see it inside, we climbed Jingshan Park (which faces the north gate of the Forbidden City and served as the imperial garden) and saw a beautiful view of the Forbidden City.

After three days of intense sightseeing, it was time to go back to Yangzhou. We had the best time in Beijing and I highly recommend following my itinerary if you are only planning of spending few days in the Chinese capital.