(Slideshow at the bottom of the article)
Chapter 1 : First contact with China !
Registration for CDG (with friendly staff ! This changes my experience in this airport two years previously), flights and transfer to Frankfurt go without problem. In-flight service is excellent.
Beijing airport looks finally to any airport of metropolis. At immigration, a sign indicates that the photos are prohibited ; damage, certaines policières sont plutôt jolies 🙂 Par ailleurs, the formalities are very fast thanks to the many counters open in parallel : in 10-15 min, all our A380 passengers recorded. It should be noted that almost every time you have case to an official (whatever it is : Immigration, train tickets...) a small case to assess its work by pressing the corresponding smiley. To import into France for hope, Maybe, a friendly welcome in administrations ?
I get my suitcase and found a Chinese friend, former classmate of promo. We take theAirport Express (25THERE) (1€= 8.5Y at this time) up to Dongzhimen, then take the metro (2Y regardless of the journey) up to Yonghegong where my hostel (Candy Inn, Beixin Hutong, to p.d. 30Y/night). It is a hostel in the entirely correct comfort and has a bar with snacks, billiard room, free access Internet, etc... ; the staff is friendly and helpful.
It is located in a Hutong restored, name given to the narrow alleys lined by small traditional houses, where it is common to see locals gathered around a game board or cards. Some districts are preserved and restored, while others are doomed to destruction next to make room for shopping malls... In all cities, you will see (even if it does not jump to the eyes) walls (in the traditional style !) current on hundreds of metres. Behind these walls held the 'reconversion' urban market forced.
We head to the Mall below the Oriental Plaza, where is located, among others, the «» Food Republic » (dishes 10 - 20Y), large canteen where we charge a card at checkout (10Y bail), chooses his dishes at different stands, and retrieves the balance and the security deposit by making his card at the exit. The food is not amazing but it is a good first approach of Chinese gastronomy ; the advantage is that it has to show the desired dish and give his card ! In shopping malls, There are also chains of bakeries which a named "Paris Baguette" (in french in the storefront), even if what is proposed is not much to see with what one finds in France… Furthermore, in the kitchen Chinese, sugar is pretty little present.
To return to the metro, Beijing network is well developed, and the image of the city : extended. There may be 3 or 4 km between two stations. Ads and displays are dubbed in English. It should be noted that need baggage x-ray when entering stations. On this occasion, There is the big gap between theory and practice : instead of looking at the screen to scan them, employees play on their mobile ! The highway is also theoretical, and you need to develop a sixth sense to identify all dangers awaiting you when you cross a road.
Chapter 2 : Beijing, the suite.
After a very long night to get over jetlag, I decide to visit the Lama Temple (Yonghegong, 40THERE), nearby and still active, excellently preserved and which houses a few exhibitions on Buddhism. By the way, next to the hutongs, the adjacent streets contain a plethora of incense and religious articles shops, as well as "offices" of monks (to tell you the good adventure ?). Nearby also, Guozijian Jie with its small bars and shops "plugged in" and the Confucius Temple (20THERE), interesting also.
One day is devoted to the Great Wall (the breathtaking landscapes) and to the Ming tombs (nothing much to see, If the Chinese who were afraid to enter, and the mountains of notes offering).
Digression : Beware of guided tours. Visiting the major sites is quick and will be the rest of the day to stroll between the different shops "to tourists. : jade Mills, Silk, etc... (I was told the same thing for excursions to the Xi'an terracotta army ' year). In addition, There is often "hidden charges". (ex : the excursion well understood the ticket for the great wall, but not for the cable car). With a little preparation, It is almost always possible to get yourself on the tourist sites, and youth hostels can inquire.
The Summer Palace (Yiheyuan, eponymous Metro, 50Y with access to galleries) worth the trip, It is probably my favorite in Beijing. The Park is huge and offers peaceful and beautiful landscapes ; You can spend a large part of the day if you take its time. There are typical bridges and pavilions, the famous marble boat, sellers of Rolex... The galleries are also worth a visit.
The Forbidden City (40THERE) is unavoidable and lives up to its reputation, adjoining galleries (Clocks room, 10THERE). Alternatively, you can take a ride on the infamous Tian An Men Square, with its forest of surveillance cameras and its Soviet-style buildings. Your luggage will be scanned – Once again – at the entrance.
Small warning : It is written in tourist guides, on VF, on the website of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, but I added a layer : in the area between the oriental plaza, the Wangfujing market and Tian An Men Square (as well as in Shanghai around the Museum), girls deal with the (Youth) only men or groups of Westerners and, under the pretext of practicing their English, want to take you on a tea house with the aim of you draw up an exorbitant addition, or present themselves as art students and offer to go in an exhibition. It is not uncommon to address four or five times over a distance of one kilometre in this district, and they are pretty tights. More generally, given the low number of Chinese speaking English, be wary if approaching you in English. The Chinese are sympathetic and warm, but let's say that people in contact with tourists are not always the best elements.
The the Bell and drum towers (20THERE) to observe the area of hutongs, to attend one spectacle of drums as well as to participate in a tea ceremony (This is not a scam this time , will you invite just to buy things in the adjoining store). The area between the towers and the Lama temple is interesting : It is full of small shops and restaurants in traditional low houses.
I did a tour to the famous «» Silk Street "that is in fact, six-storey, a huge market of counterfeits and items for tourists. If you want to buy, keep in mind that everything is fake and haggle farm.
Practical guide : How to negotiate with a Chinese merchant ?
Seeing your Western head, all Chinese merchant who respects himself will announce a prohibitive tariff. You signifierez him that you will not pay this price (what he expects despite its surjouee reaction) and ask you to announce a price. At that time, divide the price announced by 4, 6, 10 or even more ; Anyway, the merchant will not sell at a loss. If he refuses your offer, pretend to leave (or go really) and often, the merchant will overtake you and assign to your proposal.
Practical guide : How to buy a train ticket ?
Happen many a time when you want or need to change city. Note that train tickets bookings open to maximum ten days in advance, sometimes less, and it may happen that you have to change your plans because of complete train.
To purchase a ticket, You can either :
-through a hotel or a youth hostel, through 20 to commission 30Y
-go through a travel agency in town (not tested)
-go to the counters of the central station of Beijing in the hope that the window for foreigners to be open
-realize you that this window is closed, crying and screaming that someone who speaks two or three words of English come to help you (not tested) and return to your hotel to ask them to buy a train ticket.
-Learn Chinese and go to the counters
The last night, I dînai in a Peking duck restaurant (Hepingmen Metro) in the company of my Chinese friend as well as two knowledge, french students in Exchange in Beijing. Then she heard me at the station, direction... Shenyang, in Liaoning !
Practical guide : take the train in China
There is a ceremonial to take the train in China. At the outset, to enter the train station, you show your ticket, then you scan your luggage. There are a number of shops in the station, especially of the food for the journey, and it is hardly more expensive than a normal supermarket. Sometimes (as in Shanghai), There is even a hobby shop, which proposed among other German models, French, as well as a superb reproduction of a steam locomotive Chinese with badges bearing the effigy of Mao, scale G (1/22.5), for the modest sum of 30000Y (more than €3000) !
Each train is one or more waiting rooms where you wait wisely boarding begins. It is at this time that you punch your ticket and you will drive to the good Wharf (It is indicated but just follow the movement). At the entrance to the car, If it's a night train, you give your ticket to the controller, that will give you a badge in Exchange (This is to come to wake up to when you arrive at your destination). Sometimes, It takes the names of the passengers. At the descent, you repeat the Exchange in the other direction ; you will need your ticket to exit the station.
In the new high speed trains (with the letter G), boarding is via gantry ; In addition, on the quay, There are brands to tell where to queue to get in the car. Each car has a door for the climb and one for the descent !
