Bright Lights Big City
Trip Start
May 2005
1
17
Trip End
Aug 2005
Beijing, China
Thursday, June 2, 2005
I found Beijing to be large and impressive. There is new construction going on everywhere! The history that surrounds the Forbidden City and some of the older parts of town are incredible. Ironically, it is the old parts of the town that are constantly being torn down to make room for new, shiny high-rises(that I never really saw people going into.) As a result, I found Beijing to be quite un-inspiring overall. Tian-anmen Square, is a good example. It is a HUGE concrete square, large and impressive, with a building in the center that holds Mao's preserved body. But, there are very few places to sit down, or views to enjoy. Large and impressive, with no character. Just my opinion.
That being said, I really enjoyed my time in Beijing. In addition to seeing the Forbidden City and the Summer Palace, I ventured to see three sections of the Great Wall, which is an amazing feat of engineering. Really incredible. It was also interesting for me to see what an Eastern China city looks like compared to the provinical towns I was in my last trip to China. I was stared at a LOT less, that's for sure. Many more people spoke at least a little Englih, and there are Starbucks everywhere, too.
But after 6 days in the city, I was ready again for some more provincial traveling. Time to head to Lanzhou!!!
