They are the best of towns, they are the worst of towns, they are towns of wisdom, they are towns of foolishness.
I am referring, of course, to Shanghai and Beijing, China's pair of major international supercities, where I was fortunate to spend this past week on a business trip that included enough free time for me to inject a serious dose of sightseeing. And as much as I love both places, they can be as exasperating as they are undoubtedly enchanting—and sometimes mere moments apart.
Traffic and pollution reign supreme, jumbled crowds clog most public spaces, creating red tape is a national pastime and communication for a non-Mandarin speaker can be nearly impossible. But there is also untold magic waiting to be discovered: the sight of the Shanghai skyline rising out of the Huangpu, scalding soup shooting out of one of Yang's pan-fried dumplings, the imperial treasures of Beijing's breathtaking architecture and, most endearingly, people so smiley and friendly you wish you just could speak their language.
And while vestiges of aggravation may cloud your memory in the moments immediately following a particularly infuriating experience, in time, these impressions diminish and are supplanted by visions of China's ineffable mystique. Thus, you're seduced into returning, only to discover all over again the irksome troubles, but also—it must be pointed out—even more charm.
So it was for me over the past eight days, as I revisited old favorite haunts, explored plenty of uncharted territory, ate close to a hundred dumplings, came face-to-face with ancient Cathay's dynastic grandeur and gritted my teeth at modern China's bureaucratic nonsense.
First among my memories is my introduction to one of the world's top tourist attractions: the Great Wall of China. I suppose it's downright shocking in a way to realize that I moved to Asia in 2009 and it took until 2018 to finally lay eyes on the majestic sight. Heck, some people have a mere twelve hour layover in Beijing yet still manage to get out of the airport to tick this item off their bucket list. That I hesitated for nine years is pretty mind-boggling.
Because my Shanghai meetings were planned for a Wednesday and Thursday and my Beijing meeting was slated for Monday, I got to choose whether to spend my weekend in the former or the latter locale. As much as I love Shanghai, I opted for Beijing, purely to give myself the ability to trek out to the Wall. It was a good choice!
My friend Ben helped me coordinate the visit, putting me in touch with a tour guide and bus company. Of course, the Great Wall of China stretches for thousands of miles, so you have to decide just which portion of the structure you wish to visit. Some areas are rugged and remote while others are well-restored, close to the city, and, thus, over-touristed. The section I visited was called Mutianyu, which strikes a good balance.
While I seriously hope to return to other sections of the Great Wall for more intimate encounters—for example, I've heard you can camp overnight and explore sections of the wall in literal privacy, and also that you can travel far, far, far from Beijing to the location where the Wall ends, crashing into the ocean—this was a pitch-perfect way to get acquainted.
The previous day, I checked another "must do" item off of my Beijing list: the Summer Palace. I rode a longboat from the Beijing Zoo, snaking up the capital's imperial waterways until our arrival. It was a glorious way to first acquaint myself with such a sight, so thanks, Frommer, for recommending it!
I'm not sure I entirely understood the summer palace before visiting. I heard the name and pictured something like the White House or Windsor Castle. I thought I'd be taking a tour of interior spaces, like throne rooms and bed chambers, a la the Forbidden City I visited on my last trip.
In reality, the summer residence of the emperors of yore is mostly outdoors, a veritable park with pagodas, temples, trees, bridges, opera houses, lakes, lanterns, statuary, gates and pavilions. The only word that encapsulates the place in its entirety would be stunning. I spent hours here just wandering around the incredible landscape, and could have stayed even longer!
And back in Beijing proper that night, I met up with my buddy Clement, who lives here, for some delicious French charcuteries and, perhaps, a bit too much wine and Pastis. I always like to spend time with Clem when we're in the same place, so I'm glad we had yet another chance to catch up.
A few days before, on the evening of my arrival to China, I had managed to connect with another friend, Jean, who lives in Shanghai, for an amazing dinner in the French Concession. I feel so lucky to have friends living in this pair of cities, and look forward to future return trips.
By the way, my accommodation in Shanghai was pure gold: the historic Metropole Hotel. Located just steps off the historic waterfront promenade, the Bund, this art deco stunner is now my only hotel of choice for visits to come.
Not only was my room immaculate and incredibly comfortable, but the hotel's staircase offers one of the best views of the city skyline I've ever seen! In fact, I kept returning to take in the incredible vista at different points of the day, from early morning to midnight darkness.
From the streamlined lobby to the hushed, carpeted corridors, to its sleek, floodlit exterior, the Metropole—opened in 1934 as a sister property to the legendary Peace Hotel—was right up my alley.
At dinner that first night, Jean also gave me several top suggestions to fill my somewhat limited free time in Shanghai. First up, she recommended a roof bar on the top floor of the House of Roosevelt on the Bund, with an expansive view out over the glittering skyline.
She also told me that one of her top picks for xiao long bao was a little hole-in-the-wall near People's Square called Jia Jia Tang Bao, which I should visit early to avoid disappointment. Stupidly, I decided to try it for dinner during peak hours, and didn't have a shot. Luckily, the original branch of Yang's Dumplings sits literally across the street and was practically empty. So I hopped over and treated myself to pure heaven.
On my last morning in town, before catching the train to Beijing, I arived at Jia Jia Tang Bao for opening, around 8am, and got a seat right away. My bamboo basket arrived piping hot a few minutes later, and I was chowing down on a breakfast for the gods, all for the equivalent of a little over two bucks!
As you can see, food is a big part of any trip to China. And rest assured, both in Shanghai and in Beijing, I ate like a king. Another highlight was Peking duck at Siji Minfu, not too far from my hotel in Beijing, also recommended by Ben.
And after my very late lunch—really an early dinner—I traced my way back towards Tiananmen Square, where I bought a ticket to explore a curiously-named sight called the Working People's Cultural Palace. Apparently, Chairman Mao changed the name from the Imperial Ancestral Temple (or Taimiao, in Chinese), and, in doing so, inadvertently discouraged throngs of tourists from visiting.
Thus, while next door's Forbidden City is overwhelmed with the masses, the similarly grandiose collection of courtyards, temples and marble plinths is pretty much desolate. I relished the opportunity to walk around in absolute solitude, snapping photos and soaking it all in.
My final day in Beijing was jam-packed, as I visited the photogenic Temple of Heaven, Lama Temple, and Imperial College, all splendid attractions. This city can get a bad rap, but I am ready to make a bold statement: I not only love Beijing but I'd rank it near the top of my list of Asian capitals.
Home in Hong Kong since early this morning, I've started to forget some of the agony, but the images of splendor lingering in my mind already have me angling for my return to the Mainland! Yes, looking back now, the good memories have risen to the top, like cream, and I'm excited to return to experience more of the treasures hidden within the borders of one of the most fascinating countries on earth.
And while vestiges of aggravation may cloud your memory in the moments immediately following a particularly infuriating experience, in time, these impressions diminish and are supplanted by visions of China's ineffable mystique. Thus, you're seduced into returning, only to discover all over again the irksome troubles, but also—it must be pointed out—even more charm.
So it was for me over the past eight days, as I revisited old favorite haunts, explored plenty of uncharted territory, ate close to a hundred dumplings, came face-to-face with ancient Cathay's dynastic grandeur and gritted my teeth at modern China's bureaucratic nonsense.
First among my memories is my introduction to one of the world's top tourist attractions: the Great Wall of China. I suppose it's downright shocking in a way to realize that I moved to Asia in 2009 and it took until 2018 to finally lay eyes on the majestic sight. Heck, some people have a mere twelve hour layover in Beijing yet still manage to get out of the airport to tick this item off their bucket list. That I hesitated for nine years is pretty mind-boggling.
My friend Ben helped me coordinate the visit, putting me in touch with a tour guide and bus company. Of course, the Great Wall of China stretches for thousands of miles, so you have to decide just which portion of the structure you wish to visit. Some areas are rugged and remote while others are well-restored, close to the city, and, thus, over-touristed. The section I visited was called Mutianyu, which strikes a good balance.
While I seriously hope to return to other sections of the Great Wall for more intimate encounters—for example, I've heard you can camp overnight and explore sections of the wall in literal privacy, and also that you can travel far, far, far from Beijing to the location where the Wall ends, crashing into the ocean—this was a pitch-perfect way to get acquainted.
The previous day, I checked another "must do" item off of my Beijing list: the Summer Palace. I rode a longboat from the Beijing Zoo, snaking up the capital's imperial waterways until our arrival. It was a glorious way to first acquaint myself with such a sight, so thanks, Frommer, for recommending it!
I'm not sure I entirely understood the summer palace before visiting. I heard the name and pictured something like the White House or Windsor Castle. I thought I'd be taking a tour of interior spaces, like throne rooms and bed chambers, a la the Forbidden City I visited on my last trip.
In reality, the summer residence of the emperors of yore is mostly outdoors, a veritable park with pagodas, temples, trees, bridges, opera houses, lakes, lanterns, statuary, gates and pavilions. The only word that encapsulates the place in its entirety would be stunning. I spent hours here just wandering around the incredible landscape, and could have stayed even longer!
And back in Beijing proper that night, I met up with my buddy Clement, who lives here, for some delicious French charcuteries and, perhaps, a bit too much wine and Pastis. I always like to spend time with Clem when we're in the same place, so I'm glad we had yet another chance to catch up.
A few days before, on the evening of my arrival to China, I had managed to connect with another friend, Jean, who lives in Shanghai, for an amazing dinner in the French Concession. I feel so lucky to have friends living in this pair of cities, and look forward to future return trips.
By the way, my accommodation in Shanghai was pure gold: the historic Metropole Hotel. Located just steps off the historic waterfront promenade, the Bund, this art deco stunner is now my only hotel of choice for visits to come.
Not only was my room immaculate and incredibly comfortable, but the hotel's staircase offers one of the best views of the city skyline I've ever seen! In fact, I kept returning to take in the incredible vista at different points of the day, from early morning to midnight darkness.
From the streamlined lobby to the hushed, carpeted corridors, to its sleek, floodlit exterior, the Metropole—opened in 1934 as a sister property to the legendary Peace Hotel—was right up my alley.
At dinner that first night, Jean also gave me several top suggestions to fill my somewhat limited free time in Shanghai. First up, she recommended a roof bar on the top floor of the House of Roosevelt on the Bund, with an expansive view out over the glittering skyline.
She also told me that one of her top picks for xiao long bao was a little hole-in-the-wall near People's Square called Jia Jia Tang Bao, which I should visit early to avoid disappointment. Stupidly, I decided to try it for dinner during peak hours, and didn't have a shot. Luckily, the original branch of Yang's Dumplings sits literally across the street and was practically empty. So I hopped over and treated myself to pure heaven.
On my last morning in town, before catching the train to Beijing, I arived at Jia Jia Tang Bao for opening, around 8am, and got a seat right away. My bamboo basket arrived piping hot a few minutes later, and I was chowing down on a breakfast for the gods, all for the equivalent of a little over two bucks!
As you can see, food is a big part of any trip to China. And rest assured, both in Shanghai and in Beijing, I ate like a king. Another highlight was Peking duck at Siji Minfu, not too far from my hotel in Beijing, also recommended by Ben.
And after my very late lunch—really an early dinner—I traced my way back towards Tiananmen Square, where I bought a ticket to explore a curiously-named sight called the Working People's Cultural Palace. Apparently, Chairman Mao changed the name from the Imperial Ancestral Temple (or Taimiao, in Chinese), and, in doing so, inadvertently discouraged throngs of tourists from visiting.
Thus, while next door's Forbidden City is overwhelmed with the masses, the similarly grandiose collection of courtyards, temples and marble plinths is pretty much desolate. I relished the opportunity to walk around in absolute solitude, snapping photos and soaking it all in.
My final day in Beijing was jam-packed, as I visited the photogenic Temple of Heaven, Lama Temple, and Imperial College, all splendid attractions. This city can get a bad rap, but I am ready to make a bold statement: I not only love Beijing but I'd rank it near the top of my list of Asian capitals.
Home in Hong Kong since early this morning, I've started to forget some of the agony, but the images of splendor lingering in my mind already have me angling for my return to the Mainland! Yes, looking back now, the good memories have risen to the top, like cream, and I'm excited to return to experience more of the treasures hidden within the borders of one of the most fascinating countries on earth.
No comments:
Post a Comment