Summer Travel in Beijing - the 1st Day

It was the end of Aug 2009, I was planning my trip from Xi’an to Beijing by a night train, and then to take a flight for the return journey via the new T3 of Beijing Airport. Because it was also the summer holiday, I couldn’t purchase a hard-sleeper even though 10 days in advance. A soft sleeper would cost me 400RMB at least, so I decided to try the hard seat which cost 150RMB only. My train was T232, leaving from Xi’an at 20:40 in a hot summer night. However, the train’s facility was much over my expectation (crowded & shabby), the carriage was clean and the seat was roomy&soft. What was better, the air-condition cooled down the boring summer immediately. Actually, the air-condition of the train was too cold at late night especially on the next early morning when the train was running in Hubei Province. The thin jacket in my package helped a lot

Not surprisingly, the train arrived in Beijing West Train Station almost three quarters later than the scheduled time. This was common in China. The railway station was large and clean, I almost lost my way once arrived there. Followed other passengers, I went downstairs to an underground arrival hall firstly. Just after a couple of seconds, I noticed there were many overhead direction guides in Chinese and English. So, I found my way easily upstairs to the city-bus station on the north square. like other railway stations in China, there were many passengers crowded at the platform. I found my bus to Chongwenmen easily. This was a double-deck bus, so the 2nd floor was too low for me to stand straightly although I’m only 5.4feet. You will not miss the right stop since the bus announced every station in English.

It took me about 30minutes to arrive at Chongwenmen finally, where I should transfer to metro Line 5 to my hotel. The entrance of the metro was very close to the bus stop. Went down along the steps to the metro station, I noticed the ticket window immediately. Followed my friends’ suggestions, I told the lady inside the window that I need a bus card and then paid her 50RMB (20RMB for deposit and 30RMB balance). She returned me a blue card quickly in a couple minutes. The card could be used on every buses of Beijing, enjoying 60% discounts every time. Of course, it is valid to pay for metro fare, which is 2RMB each time no matter how long your journey is.

The train and platforms along Line 5 (and Line 10&13) were more comfortable and beautiful than Line 1 and Line 2, both of which have been put into use for many years. Under the direction from the Yunlong Hostel, I took the Exit C after arriving at Dongsi station. The hostel was only 3~5 minutes away on foot. It was about 12:00 when I checked in, just the time for lunch. I knew there was a Beijing snack restaurant called Longfusi located to be opposite to the hostel. Packed my bag and left the hostel, I found the restaurant easily after going across an overpass. I tried a cup of Meiyuan Yogurt and several Beijinger’ sweet dim sum, this was a plentiful lunch for me. Oh, this is a Moslem restaurant which doesn’t allow bringing food in from other restaurants.

Beihai Park and Houhai Bars Street

Since it was already in the afternoon,Idecided to visit the Beihai Park. Leaving from the restaurant, there was the bus station-Meishuguan Dong, from where I took the bus No.109 to get to the south gate of the park in 15 minutes. This is a royal resort in ancient China, just located at the back of the Forbidden City. Purchased a combined ticket, I entered into the park through a red gate. There were not so many travelers in the afternoon, so I could enjoy the charming park quietly. A large corner of the Beihai Lake covered with green lotus jumped into my eyes firstly, and then a white marble stone bridge over the lake connected to an island called Qiongzhou. The most famous scenic spot on this island should be the White Tower, where I arrived after going through layer and layer palaces and climbing up the 72 abrupt steps. Looking down at the back of the tower, I was attracted by the wide and neatly Beihai Lake, which was surround by lush willows. Coming down along the zigzag hill road, I came to the north foot of the white tower, where I boarded on a wooden ferry to the north bank of the Beihai Lake with a fare of 5RMB. One of the two famous Nine Dragon Screens was set here, the other one is in the Forbidden City. The 18 lifelike dragons (9 on each side) were astonishing that I couldn’t imagine how they were finished by excellent artists 400 years ago. It was 18:00 when I exited from the park’s north gate located at the Di’anmen Xi Dajie.

Just on the other side of the Di’anmen Xi Dajie, there was a Chinese arch carved with four characters (Lotus Market), which was the start point of the Qianhai Lake and the Houhai Lake . This area is well-know as Houhai Bars Street since along the banks of these two lakes, there are no less than 100 bars distributed one by one. The first bar here was the Starbucks, but it should be less attractive than others, each of which was decorated in its own style, no copy at all. While the eve was coming, more and more people arrived here to experience a colorful Beijing nightlife. And, foreigners occupied a large number. Walking along the west bank of the Qianhai Lake, I got to the Yinding Bridge , which connected the lake’s two banks but also divided the Qianhai Lake and the Houhai Lake.

Here was a famous restaurant called Kaorouji located at the east head of the Yinding Bridge. It was said that the roasted mutton/beef served here was so good. I would not miss it of course although I had to wait for a seat for 30 minutes. I ordered a small piece of roasted mutton (60RMB) and pancake. In fact, it was not roasted meat, but should be fried mutton with shallot and served on a spirit lamp. So, I still had to wait for a few minutes before the dish was heat up completely. Whatever, this was my first supper in Beijing although the flavor was a little disappointing from what I expected.