It was a 4-day holiday in mainland China when we visited Beijing from May 28 until 30, The country was celebrating the Dragon Boat Festival and a statutory holiday which what they call 'Double Fifth.' Double Fifth means that the holiday falls on the fifth day of the fifth month on the Chinese lunar calendar.
Itinerary
May 27, 2009 (Wed)
Changchun, Jilin Province to Beijing
May 28, 2009 (Thur)
The Palace Museum (The Forbidden City)
Beijing (Peking) Duck Restaurant
Check-in at the accommodation
Propaganda Club
May 29, 2009 (Fri)
Tombs of Ming Dynasty
Beijing to Changchun
May 30, 2009 (Saturday)
Back to Changchun
Buying
the train tickets weeks before is very essential when you are going to travel
anywhere else in China, particularly during a long holiday and weekend. Mostly,
the tickets are sold-out and the train stations are fully-booked.
We
started our journey in Changchun where I used to work as an ESL Teacher. On May
27 at around 9pm, we headed for Changchun Railway Station that took us 30
minutes by the city bus.
Going
somewhere in Changchun is not a problem. The place has a few modes of
transportation such as bus, taxi, and city train. The bus fare is the cheapest
among them, which ranges from 1 to 2 RMB depending upon the destination or route you are
going to choose.
In
fact, we can reach Beijing via an airplane, but we rather chose to take the
train to save some money.
Fare:
232 RMB (approximately $40)
If
you could notice, there are a lot of types of train in China and each of them
is different according to speed. The trains are classified by letters or numbers.
The fare varies according to what type of train you will take. We took Z Train which means direct express. It directly ran to our
destination with a few stops somewhere else. The train has major sections:
seats and sleeper. The seats are soft but you cannot lie and rest for a distant
destination, so we chose sleeper. Sleeper is air-conditioned and more
comfortable than seats. The mattress was firm, the bed sheet and the blanket
were clean and fresh from the laundry, and the pillows were soft and free of
stain. We were able to sleep and never felt the jerk while the train was going
all the way to Beijing.
The
sleeper type has 3 levels and at that time, I was at the middle while Devin was
on the highest deck. It was kinda hard for me to climb up the ladder because
the 6 steps or rungs were to narrow. There was no room for you to fully-bend
your knees when going up and down your bed, and it would be the worst if you
are on the third level.
Tip: If you think you cannot climb
the ladder, you can request from the ticket personnel to put you on the lowest
deck.
I
never brought too much so I only had a backpack with me. There was no designated space for luggage in this section of the train, so I just put it just right
beside me while sleeping. If you think you have some valuables in your bag like
wallet, some gadgets, and ticket, better put them near you instead of putting them
under the first deck making them out of your sight. You may end up losing
everything or leaving you nothing when you wake in the morning.
The
train left Changchun at around 11pm, about 30 minutes behind from the schedule.
Some staffs were changing the blanket and the pillow cases during that time
while others outside were cleaning the windows. I think that’s their
routine every time the train is going to start another journey.
Approximately 9 hours from Changchun to Beijing
Eight-hour
sleep was enough to start a new day of adventure.
It was 7:15 in the morning
when we woke up and had our breakfast in the train. After about 30 minutes, we
finally reached Beijing Railway Station. The weather was overcast and the
temperature was still cool. I thought it was going to rain that day, but this
kind of atmosphere in the city was normal during summer season (May-July).
Right
after we got out of the train station, we went straight to our first itinerary-
‘The Forbidden City’
It
had been a great advantage to be with someone who was very conversant in
Chinese (Mandarin). Fortunately, I was with my student who had that skill. We never
had any problems asking for directions whenever we were lost, haggling cheaper
prices when we bought some souvenir items and food, and looking for our
accommodation that day. I think, without my student’s huge help, it would be
difficult for me to accomplish this tour.
Tip: Perhaps, if you plan to visit
Beijing or anywhere else in China, being with someone who knows how to
communicate in Chinese would be very essential. I had experience some
frustrating situations where some locals could not understand what you were
trying to convey. Sign language or gestures could sometimes help, but most of
the case, it’s useless.
However,
it’s a lot better if you know how to express a bit of their language. A few
common expressions could make the locals smile when you say them properly or
may be misunderstood if not.
Another
important thing is making your itinerary well organized. If you don’t have anything
planned, you will definitely waste your time of thinking where to visit first.
Besides, if you have zero knowledge about the place, always consult Google for
the information such as the directions, location using the Google Map, photos
so you don’t need to imagine what to expect, fare and the prices admission, and
the like.
I
had a bad memory of finding our accommodation in Beijing. I thought my student
booked a hostel or inn for us, but when we got there, that was the only time
that we had to find one. After an hour of looking for a cheaper accommodation,
my student called his friend asking for help. Then she gave us the details of
an apartment unit with transient accommodation for backpackers.
Some
condo units here accept backpackers for transient accommodation.
Mostly,
the rooms are shared for two but the price is per person per night.
Each
room has 2 single beds, one small side table for each, and one big table for
your belongings. In addition, you are going to stay with the family of the
owner. You are also allowed to use their bathroom and things in the kitchen or dining area. Before
using their appliances or other staffs at the unit, you’d better ask their
permission first.
Price:
45 RMB ($8) per night
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