After a rather lengthy hiatus, it really is time I started to catch up with the story of the rest of last August/September’s trip to China with Twister Aerobatics. As a recap, this was the last installment: Faku Sights and Experiences
The next morning we were collected from the hotel and taken to the incredible railway station in Zhengzhou to start the real touristy bit of our China adventure. It was HUGE and the trains equally impressive. Our taxi driver very kindly sorted out our tickets and guided us in the direction of our platform.
It was more akin to getting on an aeroplane than a train (at least in the UK!) with allocated seating and hostesses. It was a China Railways High Speed train and we notched 296 km/h as we sped towards Beijing. The ride was so smooth, too – very difficult to believe we were going as fast as we were.
Some two and a half hours later we arrived at Beijing’s similarly impressive, if not-quite-so modern-looking, station, where we were met by Carol Ou, the daughter of one of our Blue Legend Airshows hosts, and who would be looking after Pete and I in China’s capital city.
It was an absolutely gorgeous day, and it had seemingly brought everybody out on to the roads; traffic was hideous! After finally checking in at our superb hotel (Zhaolong Hotel), we headed out into the hutongs in Old Beijing – one of the few areas that remain largely unchanged. The place really was alive and there was a curious mix of old and new and East meets West; the Starbucks, in particular, seemed quite out of place.
We were treated to Beijing’s signature dish that evening at the Da Dong Roast Duck Restaurant before getting a relatively early night. It had felt like a long day!
As nice as the Chinese food we’d been served to this point had been, it was nice to come downstairs the next morning and find something close to an English breakfast on offer.
Traffic was far better than the previous day and, comparatively speaking, we sped to the offices of China Aviation News, where Carol would interview Pete about display flying for their website. We would later meet the publisher, Mr Robert Xiao, and enjoy a delicious ‘hot pot’ lunch (more DIY cookery!) in a nearby restaurant.
On the way back we were taken to look at a stunning old building that now also serves as a hotel. It was very much preserved as it would have been back in the day; all very compartmentalised with different outside areas for different groups of people – the men, women and children.
The afternoon was spent at the beautiful Summer Palace, a spectacular tapestry of palaces, temples, halls, pavilions, lakes and bridges. The site has a rich history regal history stretching back to 1122, but it was Empress Dowager Cixi who gave it its current name (Yihe Yuan) in 1888. She used it as her summer retreat.
One particular performer who had us fascinated was a male dancer who literally must have displayed ten or more different masks during his performance, yet it was impossible to spot him changing them over.
Many of the painted surfaces of buildings – and that is most of them – are under constant restoration, such are the extremes of Beijing’s weather: viciously hot in summer and bitterly cold in winter. The detail is stunning, and the colours bright and vibrant.
There are also lots of metal sculptures – dragons, peacocks, lions, storks and deer. They all signify different things and are generally found outside buildings.
Pete and I were both blown away by the sheer scale of the site – indeed it covers some 720 acres. The ascent of Longevity Hill, coming in at around 200ft high, proved mildly taxing in the sweltering heat, but we managed it.
That evening we went out for a really, really nice dinner, and afterwards we persuaded Carol to let us loose on what the locals call “Pub Street”. Those four beers cost us the princely sum of 240 Yuan (£24) – 160 Yuan for the second two, one of which was a “Light” beer! I think they saw us coming….
Next time, the Forbidden City.
