This May I had the opportunity to visit a country that has long been on my bucket list; China. Originally we planned to visit for almost 4 weeks and see quite a few cities and places. But because of all the happenings in the world and time restraints on our side, we had to cut it short to just 12 days and 2 cities. But I would say that that it was definitely worth it to go.
We started the trip of with a direct flight from Amsterdam to Beijing. After landing safely we tried our hands at ordering a Didi, a Chinese version of Uber. It took quite some time to figure things out in the app and even more time to find our driver, but after 45 minutes we were on our way to the hotel. My tip is to download the separate Didi app and to not use the Didi feature in the Alipay app. In the app its self you have the option to send pictures, which will make it easier for your driver to find you (of for you to find your driver). The ride over to the hotel itself was smooth and very affordable.
Since we were both tired, we took a short nap after which we set out to explore the city. At that point we already noticed a big difference for us Dutchies; all the shops were still open (Most places in the cities stay open until 10 pm) giving us enough time to already do some nice shopping. We did not however stay out very late, because we had early plans for the next day.
On our first full day in China we set our alarm ealy to visit a World Wonder, the Great Wall of China. We had decided to go to a part of the wall called Mutianyu, which is said to be a bit more quiet. We also chose to go ourselfs and not join a tour or guided group. So after we had a great breakfast at the hotel, we ordered a Didi for the 90 minute ride. This trip cost us about 40 euro's one way and dropped us of right at the ticket gate. There from there we bought our tickets at the ticket counter and made our way up. You first start of in a place that feels like a small tourist village. It has lots of restaurants and shops. Do note that this is likely the last place where you can buy food and drinks as that is not available further up. You then walk towards a shuttle bus that brings you further up the mountains. It takes only about 5~8 minutes. Once off the bus you can choose to walk up or do as we did and take a short gondola ride up. And what a great way to go up it was. You already get amazing views of the mountains and the wall right from the gondola. When you arrive, you have the freedom to explore the Great Wall at your own pace and stay for as long as you like.
We walked for about 30 minutes one way before we decided to make our way back. The views were beautiful and we got some great pictures. It was rather hot standing in the full sun, but there was some respite from its rays in the small watch towers. Up there we also took our time to be amazed that humans were able to build this hundreds of years ago on top of a mountain without any form of modern equipment.
After we came back down from the wall and made our way back to the ticket point we booked another Didi straight to our next destination, the Prince's mansion. We had set our sights on a beautiful high tea we had seen online. And when we arrived, we were able to have the high tea without a reservation. The views and the aesthetics were amazing and the high tea looked every bit as good as we had hoped. It made for some great pictures. The food however was a hit or mis. The staff did not tell us what everything was and that meant that some of the dishes tasted very different that what we expected. So eat at your own peril. This was also the most expensive meal we had during our time in China coming to about 65 euro's per person.
But after our great meal, we still had plenty of time to do something else. So of course we set out shopping. Our first stop was a so called 24 store with what seemed like very cute dresses and sets. So we once again set off with the Didi taxi. Once at the address, we had a lot of trouble finding the place. It turned out that a lot of small stores are inside apartment buildings. So we had to go inside one of those, take the elevator up to the 14th floor and then ring a doorbell. As it turned out, we were in the right place and event hough we didn't have an appointment, we found some great pieces of clothing. We closed the night of with some good food at a Michelin guide Peking Duck place. This was my first time having Peking Duck and I must say that it was so good it also wasn't the last time.
The next day it was already time to go to another city, Shanghai, but our train wouldn't leave until 3pm so we slept in and took to a cafe for some brunch. But on the way to the train station we ran into trouble. It suddenly took much longer to get to the train station than originally anticipated as many of the (main) roads were closed. This closure was because of a prominent person who also visited Bejing on the exact same days as we were; US President Donald Trump. It meant that the original 40 minutes by Didi turned into 75 minutes and us almost missing our train. We arrived at the station 10 minutes before our expected departure time. Luckily we booked a business check in so the agent there quickly helped us scan our bags and go to the platform. We made it with just one minute to spare.
The train journey itself was on the high speed train. It was my first time riding a train that rides at a speed of 350 km/h and I must say that you barely notice anything. We spend a total of 4,5 hours on the train. During the first hour we scanned the QR code on the armrest of the chair, because we had hear that you can have food delivered from restaurants at future stops right to your seat. So of course we had to try it for ourselves. This proved a challenge though since we didn't have a Chinese phone number but after a while and some trial and error we managed to order the food (although it took us a whole hour to do so). To our delight the food was delivered nicely after we had passed the designated station. This way we could eat our dinner and have a fun evening after we would arrive at our destination.
We arrived in Shanghai around 8 pm which meant we still have short window of time to look around after arriving at our hotel. We chose a midrange hotel for its good location right next to Nanjing Pedestrian Road. So to close the day of we took a stroll on Nanjing Road to end at the viewing platform overlooking the Bund. Just in time to see it for the first time with all the lights on.