The Must-go Place in China
Having lived in mainland China for some 8 months, it was time for us as a family to explore our nearby travel options. Therefor we chose to travel to Beijing. The first time I visited Beijing was 16 years ago and that was also the first time that I was really proud to be Chinese. Visiting Beijing again gives me a lot of pride. Also I felt I was actually showing Ian my history/country (which he has been doing of Australia for years)!!!
Although we were only there for four days and had only visited a few places (Bird’s Nest Stadium, Water-cube, Forbidden city, Tianamen Square and the Great Wall), we had an incredible time. We also had glorious weather the whole time (what was all the fuss about Beijing Pollution!? It’s sooo much worse in Shanghai!). Money must have solved some of those pollution problems!
Michael just had the best time – he LOVED the GREAT WALL! We went to the part of Mutianyu (there are several parts of the Great Wall which are opened for tourism. I went to the Badaling part in my first visit however, I have to say that, Mutianyu is MUCH better)! We went really early in the morning and pulled out all the tricks in the 1.5 hour car ride with Michael! Books, toys, songs, camera (with video of Michael)…and books again! Michael finally lost it just as we approached the Wall. Then it was uphill from there.
We took the cable car (which Michael was scared – and is still saying “skard” when he sees the cable car brochure) and he attempted to walk most of the Wall that we did. The weather was beautiful and it wasn’t crowded (until we were on our way leaving the Wall). Then we topped it off by going to a local “western” cafe which had a terrace – it was set in a school house (and hence its name). It was perfect.
After returning to the Beijing city, we took an adventure and took the subway to the Olympic Stadiums. They were magnificent. Michael couldn’t care less about where he was – but he was excited about the HUGE square and proceeded to run everywhere. Needless to say, he had a great sleep that night – Beijing definitely worked those little legs!
In this holiday, it made very clear a few things about a toddler:
- doesn’t matter where you go, as long as Mama and Dada are around
- doesn’t matter what you do, as long as there is a big area to run around
- doesn’t matter how much you plan, as long as you sort of follow some routine and don’t be overly-aggressive in the planning.
All in all, we had a wonderful time. Can’t wait for the next holidays! Until then, enjoy our photos and love from Shanghai.
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| Michael’s Album – Beijing, China |
