Beijing is a city full of history, impressive temples and fascinating contrasts. From the Forbidden City to the Great Wall of China, unforgettable experiences, bizarre encounters and a little culture shock awaited us. For four days we immersed ourselves in this vast metropolis, marvelling at its beauty, fighting our way through the Great Wall and experiencing a mixture of fascination and overwhelm.
Day 1: Adventurous arrival in Beijing
After a pleasant three and a half hour flight from Osaka, we landed in Beijing. Immigration was straightforward but very thorough – cameras everywhere, fingerprints and we had to state which countries we had been to in the last two years. Phew!
As we didn’t feel like a two-hour bus ride to the hotel, we decided to take a taxi. The driver spoke very little English and probably overcharged us by about €10 – well, never mind. But then things got strange: after just two minutes of driving, he suddenly stopped, a man banged heavily on the boot, took our luggage and put us in another taxi – this time with a woman at the wheel. ‘Co-friend’, the first driver said with a smile. Erm, OK?
The new driver was very quiet and Carlo checked the maps to make sure we were going in the right direction. But eventually we arrived safely. When we got out of the car, the driver surprised us with a lovely compliment: ‘You’re so pretty! I really mean it, I’ve seen a lot of foreigners.’ It was unexpectedly sweet! She also told us that she often has problems with tourists because of the language barrier.
By the time we got back to the hotel, I was completely exhausted from all the excitement and, after a quick shower, fell straight into bed.
Day 2: Temples, the Forbidden City and lots of walking
On the 2nd day, the first big exploration tour of Beijing was on the agenda! Our first stop: the Temple of Heaven, which was conveniently located very close to our hotel – or so we thought, until we’d been travelling longer than expected.
In the city itself, we were struck by the number of cameras; it felt like no step went unobserved. Internet censorship was particularly severe: our VPN didn’t work, no matter how many times we tried. Only the Saily app, which we had bought in advance, allowed us to access blocked sites at all, but we only had 1GB. Whether it was Wi-Fi or mobile internet, we were completely at the mercy of the firewall. No Google, no WhatsApp, no Instagram. It was a strange experience to be so cut off from the digital world we were used to.
The Temple of Heaven is a huge site with impressive buildings. The Hall of Prayer for Good Harvests in particular was breathtaking! The architecture, the colours, the symmetry – just beautiful. Unfortunately, the exhibits were only in Chinese, but there were English information boards on the buildings.
After this first highlight, we took the subway to the Forbidden City. The train system in Beijing is simple and incredibly cheap, especially compared to Japan. But first we had to find out exactly where we were going, which took longer than expected. When we got to the entrance, we thought we’d run out of tickets. A tour guide offered us a guided tour, but it sounded a bit dodgy. Luckily we managed to get tickets. A little tip: in high season, make sure you book online at least one day in advance! And then we were right in the middle of it all: The Forbidden City – a sea of palaces, temples and halls, each with intricate details and centuries of history. It was just amazing! The colours, the golden roofs, the huge courtyards – absolutely beautiful and a must see!
After a long day, we strolled around Beijing, had a bite to eat and walked back to the hotel. The number of steps had far exceeded our target for the day, but we had to get up early the next morning – the Great Wall was waiting!
China is different. Cameras everywhere, controls everywhere – you feel like you’re being watched even when you cross the street. And the internet? The firewall is real and you feel it every second.
Day 3: The Great Wall of China – A Wonder of the World
The alarm went off at 5.30am – and yes, it hurt! But our driver picked us up at 6am, so we were at the wall early. We had decided not to take the shuttle bus and it was the right decision!
The journey took about 1.5 hours, our driver was super friendly and brought us water and even bananas. He got our tickets on the spot and also took care of the tickets for the cable car and the toboggan run – these were not included in the regular tickets.
After a short break – we had to wait until 8am for the cable car to open – we made our way to the cable car. And here was my problem: I’m afraid of heights. The cable car looked shaky and my heart was pounding. But we closed our eyes and went through – after all, we wanted to experience the Wall! And what can we say? When we reached the top, we were speechless. We were actually the first on this section of the wall (Mutianyu) and the view was simply magical.
From Watchtower 6 to 1, we struggled up incredibly steep stairs – at times it was more climbing than walking! But it was worth it. The view of the endless wall stretching over the mountains was indescribable. As we walked on, more tourists started to arrive, but overall it was surprisingly empty.
We walked on to Watchtower 14, where some of the wall was still very well preserved. It was fascinating! We talked about the wonders of the world and how incredible it was that people could have built this 20,000 kilometre long structure. No wonder it is one of the Seven Wonders of the World! Even though it was the middle of the night in Germany, I had to call my parents on Facetime – I really wanted to share this with them!
To round off our adventure, we went back to Watchtower 6 and took the toboggan down into the valley. Yes, you read that right: A toboggan run! With a centuries-old wonder of the world, we expected anything – but not this. The ride was fun, even if the people in front of us were a bit slow.
After some small talk with other travellers, we finally made our way back to the hotel. There we took a long break – the last few days hadn’t been relaxing, but they had been incredibly exciting!
The Great Wall of China is surreal. Endless steps and steep climbs. Getting there early was the best decision! Standing at the top, the mountains in the mist, absolute silence. It was a moment we will never forget.
Day 4: Goodbye, Beijing – hello, Vietnam!
Today it was time to say goodbye. We packed our bags and checked out at 9am. We took ‘Didi’, the Chinese Uber, to the airport, again with a driver who didn’t speak a word of English. But we got used to that by now.
Two short flights later, our next adventure was upon us: Vietnam!
That was our short but intense stay in Beijing, a city full of contrasts, impressive history and bizarre experiences. We take many memories with us and are excited to see what awaits us next – but finally unguarded, unobserved and accessible again!
