Back in August 2012 I was given a wonderful trip in China.
After months of study and research on the internet I finally conceived a bomb-proof route: 10 stages in 30 days.
As you can see from the map, the stages of my adventurous trip were:
- Beijing (6 days)
- Datong (2 days)
- Pingyao (1 day)
- Xian (2 days)
- Chengdu (2 days)
- Lijiang (2 days)
- Shangri-la (2 days)
- Kunming (2 days)
- Yangshuo (4 days)
- Shanghai (5 days)
Not bad, is not it? :-)
But back to the title of this post, let's move to the first leg of the trip ...
Beijing
Beijing, is the capital of China, as well as my first travel stage.
Usually to save I return to the same place, but this time I opted for a multiple departing, arriving in Beijing and again from Shanghai.
Beijing is a very big city, very hot and mostly very polluted.
What struck me immediately coming to town was the incredible chaos that is in the streets!
You can not imagine cars that continue to sound the horn, scooters whizzing among the people, drivers who do not care if the light is red, and a lot of people everywhere.
Exceeded the initial impact we headed to our hostel, located in special areas called Hutong.
The Hutongs are the Chinese poor neighborhoods, that pretended guide as picturesque and particular because reflect the cities of ancient China.
Very nice to hear you say, right? But what the guide does not say is that these picturesque districts are all run down, smelly, no sidewalks and often chaotic.
Of course, you live the true experience of living for the Chinese, but perhaps other offerings is a bit 'too much, and it is wiser to make us a little visit as a tourist when you want :)
However in spite of the people a little 'poor, dirt and stench, there seems no crime in these neighborhoods.
But getting to the sights of Beijing.
In these 6 days stay I visited many attractions of the city, primarily the famous Tiananmen Square, the largest square in the world.
very large square in effect, but not as beautiful as the red square Moscow, for one thing.
Small aside China costs: all costs very little, from food (my personal record for a lunch with less than 1 euro for 2 people), transport, hostels.
Some hear the word hostel maybe think of dormitories for boys penniless, but in fact if you take a private room with bathroom, hostels do not have anything to envy to the hotel, in fact, some are really beautiful and special.
China also quite go the Guesthouse, especially in Beijing, very typical and distinctive Chinese style.
Returning to the sights attractions, I can cite: The temple of the blade, the drum tower and the bell tower, the Nanluogu xiang district, the park of the Temple of Heaven / paradise.
Beijing also you can also make several trips outside the city, including the most popular and ubiquitous in a trip to China: a visit to the Great Wall of China.
The Wall of China is the only human construction that is also seen from space, even if they are all old and shabby and in some cases was also partially rebuilt losing part of its charm.
There are several sections of the Wall near Beijing that can be visited, I chose the Mutianyu Great Wall of China, a good compromise between ease of access and not too many people.
Another famous attraction in Beijing, which you certainly can not miss going to China, is the Forbidden City.
It was once the residence of the emperor, that once out of the house ended his days in a Hutong (so he had more or less my own budget: p).
Every year the city receives a prohibited valangata of hits, so much so that to see it not too full of people you have to go on soon.
Another important thing to say about the food.
Before leaving I had heard that the Chinese food we eat here in Italy is just the Cantonese cuisine and that the real Chinese food, you can eat only in China and varies greatly from area to area.
Very true, too bad that I did almost always suck :)
First in many places you can only eat with chopsticks, and when there are soupy things is a business, then it is almost all spicy and spicy, and often the menus are only in Chinese.
Then when you see restaurants with pictures of food dishes, most of the time you end up inadvertently ordering food spicy ... so after a month of China will have lost at least 5kg :)
Chinese food in some cases is even disgusting for our fees, it is not uncommon to see as ingredients: grasshoppers, worms, cockroaches ... and in some areas they also eat dogs!
I still have satisfied the fried, the Wangfujing Night Market.
Of course, Beijing is also filled with shopping centers, where it is often full of fake stuff, where, however, you have to know how to bargain not to be fooled.
Among the most famous I've seen there is certainly the Silk market.
And if you are tired of walking you can rest in one of the many parks in the city.
In these huge parks we see the true nature of the Chinese.
It is not unusual to see elderly dancing, choirs, strange people who practice sports, or practitioners of tai chi.
Another must-see in Beijing is the Summer Palace, which is the former emperor's summer residence, now become a huge park that everyone can see (just pay).
On the last day then, tired of my Hutong, I went to look poverty in other Hutong city :)
The great thing about walking around is you can see things very special: how dentists road, old irons protected as treasures, people who dries the dogs with hair dryer and much more ...
I believe the Chinese have the most resistant of our antibodies.
It is not uncommon to see who eat on the ground in the dirt ... but you know what?
If they are doing well because the moral?
As when here in Italy we find that there were 20 Chinese crammed into an apartment and pull up a mess ... we think we make him a pleasure? Nope, the Chinese are people who will fit, that knows how to live with little, who was working hard and invents many ways to get by. On this we are really to be admired.
I have to admire a little 'less education though!
In China, especially in the north, the streets are full of people who spits (even women), the cars honking without restraint (pretty much the fastest keeps playing until the middle of slower will not take away from the road), people pushes you or you go forward in a row, no one gives you priority on the road (an enterprise cross at intersections) ... in short, a real hell!
A real shame because China is very inexpensive and beautiful as attractions ... shame about some people :)
Last grains hygiene and education of Chinese: it is not uncommon to see children in Beijing and in other cities in China, with washes behind trousers ... used to do a poo on the street or
Overall, however, Beijing is a city to be seen, full of tourist attractions and alone is worth the trip to China.
Here is the link with a little 'video made in Beijing:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QFffSKizI4s&list=PLCBrso9WwkFZYi4SF6pPyBKhGFYu1HP--
That's all!
Next destination Datong (read my post on Datong).
Below even you find the album link with many, many photos :)