Off the Wall traveling in the Middle Kingdom, 紫禁城に立ち入り

It's been 15 years since I've visited mainland China and 21 years since my trans-Siberian RR trip through China via Shanghai and Beijing. As you would expect, China is completely different 20 years later although you wouldn't know it from this photo of man on tricycle... 

シベリア鉄道旅行から21年、その次中国を訪れてから15年が経ちました.ご想像のとおり、この三輪車男性の写真からはわかりませんが、20 年後の中国は完全に変わっています...

When I first traveled to Shanghai in 1991, there were millions of bicycles flooded on the streets making it nearly impossible to cross the street for an inexperienced backpacker. Now the cars have replaced most of the bicycles and smart phones have replaced cash, making it arguably harder to travel and buy things. The air quality in Beijing has improved apparently over the past 10 years and the amount of electric cars on the road is impressive. Japan and the US should take note. Back on the Great Wall, it was much more crowded than 2002 but very few westerners. 

1991年に私が初めて上海を旅行したとき、何百万台もの自転車が路上に溢れていて、経験の浅いバックパッカーにとっては道路を渡るのはほぼ不可能でした。 今ではほとんどの自転車が車に置き換わり、現金がスマートフォンに置き換わったため、旅行したり物を買ったりすることがおそらく困難になっています。 北京の大気の質は過去 10 年間で明らかに改善しており、道路を走る電気自動車の数は目覚ましいものです。 日米は注目すべきだ。 万里の長城に戻ると、2002年よりもはるかに混雑していましたが、西洋人はほとんどいませんでした。

Thanks to my brother Dan and Melanie, we had an excellent and relaxing stay in the suburbs of Beijing. We visited the Forbidden City, Great Wall, 798 Art Zone, and various restaurants that would accept our Alipay payments. 😉

弟のダンとメラニーのおかげで、私たちは北京郊外で素晴らしいリラックスした滞在を過ごすことができました。 私たちは紫禁城、万里の長城、798芸術区、そしてAlipay支払いを受け入れてくれるさまざまなレストランを訪れました。 😉

The weather was frigid in Beijing, very little warming effect from the faraway Pacific Ocean. I heard that they built Beijing in the middle of nowhere so that noone would bother to invade it back in the day...  北京の天気は極寒で、遠く離れた太平洋からの温暖化の影響はほとんどありませんでした。 昔、誰もわざわざ侵入しないように人里離れたところに北京を建てたそうですが…。

November in Beijing feels colder than January in Tokyo...

北京の11月は東京の1月より寒い気がします...

My parents also joined us in Beijing. Amazingly, they traveled 22 hours from New York via Taiwan at the ripe ages of 89! 私の両親も北京に来ました。 驚くべきことに、彼らは89歳という年齢で、ニューヨークから台湾を経由して22時間の旅をしたのです。

The Great Wall deserves a little more commentary. This day trip was one of the highlights of our stay. Melanie again was a superstar, organizing the gondola tickets and car rides from Beijing. The area we visited was called Mutianya which is the most popular area of the wall. 

It actually is quite a climb from the parking lot to the wall itself, involving a bus ride, gondola, and personal driver for my Mom. It felt like hours to get my Mom and the kids up to the actual wall but we made it somehow. 

 

 The Great Wall of China is written in simplified Chinese as  万里长城, similar to Japanese (万里の長城), literally meaning "ten thousand long walls". It is marvelous to look at and walk upon, and wonder how much energy went into the design and construction spanning over 1,000 years. Apparently 400,000 people died while working on the wall. It is over 21,000 KM long so slightly less than halfway across America. 

A series of fortifications were built across the northern borders of ancient Chinese states as protection against various nomadic groups from the Eurasian Steppe. Several walls were built as early at the 7th century BC! The best known sections were built by the Ming dynasty (1368-1644). Apart from defense, the wall was also used as a border control for goods transported along the Silk Road. Furthermore, the defensive characteristics of the wall were enhanced by the construction of watchtowers, troop barracks, signaling capabilities using smoke or fire. It's a tremendous achievement. You can probably tell that I am super impressed...

Apparently the Great Wall also served as a transportation corridor. The frontier walls built by different dynasties have multiple courses. Collectively, they stretch from Liaodong in the east to Lop Lake in the west, from the present Russian border in the north to the Tao River in the south, along an arc that roughly outlines the edge of the Mongolian steppe. It spans an incredible 21,196 KM (13,170 miles) in total. Today, the defensive system of the Great Wall is generally recognized as one of the most impressive architectural feats in history. To top it off, it is a UNESCO World Heritage Site, so it's got that going for it as well, which is nice.   😏 

After the Great Wall adventure, we relaxed for a few days, checked out a hip Art Zone called 798, tasting the local Chinese cuisine, and took in some gorgeous night views from the Hyatt tower. 

One of the first days in China we ventured to the Forbidden City armed with our Alipay apps on our iPhones and a driver who could speak about 10 words of English. Luckily the translation software on our phones is pretty decent for both text and voice. The ride into central Beijing went smooth but the payment system was the biggest obstacle of the day. Before lunch we tried to buy some souvenirs and authentic snacks at this store but it wouldn't accept our Alipay accounts. 

My Alipay asked for a password for my US credit card which doesn't actually have a password so that card wouldn't work. Meg's Alipay was attached to a Japanese card but that wouldn't work over 100 RMB either. We had to leave a big bag of goodies at the register. Soon after at lunch we had the same problem. Luckily we tried to pay for the meal as we ordered to avoid trouble later. Our Alipay didn't work again at the restaurant, so I had to call my brother who paid them by video call! 

This is us looking relieved after paying the bill...😋

Later at the Forbidden City, we walked and walked and marveled at the opulence and immenseness. It is one of the largest preserved wood structures in the world. It has funny celestial names such as Gate of Divine Might, Glorious Gate, Palace of Heavenly Purity, etc. 

Ironically, nature was calling me after a big lunch so we spend half the time walking ages in search of the rest rooms. 😟 Public toilets aren't easy to find in China especially inside the palace. It is also an UNESCO World Heritage Site, so worth a visit if you are in Beijing.   

Next stop Shanghai. Stay tuned for more Off the Wall adventures!

ままなく弟と父と上海に男性旅行へ行って参ります！