Back again with Beijing 2018

Temple of Heaven

I was interested in visiting Beijing again with my husband as he had never been there. We had accommodation near the Forbidden City which was handy. It was a basic little courtyard hotel in a Hutong which we enjoyed. After booking into our accommodation we went to the Temple of Heaven, I still enjoy this place even after visiting for the third time. It is a huge temple complex with so many remarkable highlights. Many of the locals come here to meet for various recreational activities as well as socialise.

On the first full day we were going to go to the Forbidden City but it was closed. I booked a trip to visit the Great Wall at Mutianyu a little further out than Badaling so not quite so crowded, the trip also takes in the Spirit Way which is a 7km approach to the tombs which is lined with 18 pairs of giant guardians – stone statues of court officials, imperial warriors, animals and mythical beasts.

After booking our trip we went to the Lama and Confucius Temples. The Lama Temple was a major centre for Tibetan Buddhism however during the Cultural Revolution it was shut down and only saved from destruction by Zhou Enlai. The Confucius Temple also suffered during this time the temples within the complex being converted to other uses or just abandoned. The attitude to Confucian values has changed as the leaders now can see how they use them for their benefit; however, it is disappointing to see the important temples in the complex neglected.

Our trip to the Great Wall followed the next day and it certainly was an eye-opener for me. I had visited this part of the wall 5 years earlier, apart from the fact the weather was very different, the whole entrance had changed so much that I thought there must be two entrances to it. On the first visit, a cobbled path led to the entrance with souvenir shops on either side, now there is a wide paved path and a cable car up to the entrance to the wall proper. On the first visit there was only one large souvenir shop that also had a small café which sold hot drinks, now there is the franchise of a ‘Subway’ that not being a great improvement in my mind.

The Great Wall Mutianyu

The Forbidden City beckoned on the following day and another change which was very noticeable was the security around this area, you have to pass through this just to get to buy a ticket, they scrutinised our passports thoroughly even checking our visas. Not only police but military were everywhere with large intimidating police trucks on the corners of the streets.

The Forbidden City is just awe inspiring and the crowds are even greater than my previous visits. I’m still not sure what the optimum time of the day is best to avoid the hordes.

We then went to Hou Hai Lake north of the Forbidden City. We took the subway to Gulou Dajie, then got was talked into taking a Hutong tour in a pedal rickshaw, I agreed only if he dropped us off next to the lake when finished. The tour was enjoyable and interesting and even passed Mao Zedong’s house. The lake is very picturesque and worth a visit.

Mao Zedong's house

We also visited Tiananmen Square also with the same high security checks to actually set foot in it as was to buy a ticket for the Forbidden City we wandered through the square to the south and came across the street Liulichang which has had old buildings restored Chinese old world feel about it and sells a range of local products. We had a very nice lunch in one of the many little cafés along this street.

Hou Hai Lake

We left Beijing after just over 4 days as a stopover before heading to Mongolia