We had a long day touring Beijing, and the Temple of Heaven was one of the later stops in the afternoon. Fortunately, the visible pollution had decided to leave and we could actually see the sky in Beijing for an extended period of time. The novelty! Unfortunately, this also … [Read more...]
More Classic Beijing: Visiting a Hutong Neighborhood
We had a very full day in Beijing, and after going to the Forbidden City (post here), we took a a pedicab ride around a Hutong neighborhood. I think this can sometimes be pretty hokey--and there tons of guys waiting there on bikes for tourists--but our guide was really personable … [Read more...]
The Classics of Beijing: Tiananmen Square and the Forbidden City
As a first-time visitor to China, the "big" sites were all on our list to see. We had arranged our trip through Abercrombie & Kent as a private journey (during their pretty awesome holiday sale), so we had our own guide and itinerary for each day in China. Our tour guide in … [Read more...]
Quick Update & Hopefully Helpful Reflections on Going to China
We just returned from 10 days in China. I still haven't completely formulated all my thoughts on the experience. I'm thrilled to have seen some of the major sites, but man, China is weird. So much smog. So little sun. So much freaking spitting. So much traffic. So many … [Read more...]