Back to a big city, this time the biggest of them all and the capital of the country so it will be interesting to see if the government is more visible here.

As usual we are not staying in the centre, if you can have a centre with a city this big (population of 22 million). Cabs are very cheap so we prefer driving in and out each day as we get to see more of the city and the overall cost is still less than you would pay for a city centre hotel. This accommodation seemed fine, very little English spoken but that is no issue, and they kindly offered us a room upgrade. What was an issue was that although our room was only on the fifth floor it seemed to be just 50 metres from the sun based on the heat in there. No matter what we did to the air conditioning or if we put the fan they provided on full blast it made no difference.

Checking with reception we found out that the aircon for the whole hotel had been turned off as it was getting so cold.

Cold? It is 25 degrees during the day! After testing other rooms we found a suite on the second floor that was much cooler which meant a second complimentary upgrade. Bonus.

Tiannamen Square

It is weird to think that the student protests in Tiannamen Square in 1989 and lives lost through the government clampdown are unknown to many people in China and not spoken about by those who remember. Coverage of the event has been wiped from social and all other forms of media.

I wonder if, 37 years later, there will be any obvious additional security at a place where “nothing ever happened”.

Absobloodylutely!!!! To get in to this massive free, open square you have to reserve a time slot, follow a long diversion to get to the entrance (shepherded in one direction of course), queue and then go through 3 security gates in about 60 metres which involved 3 passport checks, 3 bag searches and 2 full body frisks.

The square itself is huge and there was an impressive Independence day artistic feature but…….the amount of cameras have to be seen to be believed, let alone the police and military presence. It even felt intimidating taking photos of the cameras, I expected a hand on the shoulder at any moment.

After leaving we wandered down Wangfujing shopping street, an unremarkable wide pedestrianised area with all the usual global brands. The only notable thing was the beer exchange, multiple beers available on tap at fluctuating, but generally low prices. If these became common on UK streets you might see alot more men offering to go shopping on a Saturday rather than the football.

Later we were trying to find a bar for a relaxing drink and bit of people watching and as there were not many popping up on the map where we were we walked about 3 miles to the Dongcheng area where there was a narrow street with lots of nice jewellery, knick knack and clothing shops (Pip’s description not mine, I was sat outside most of them) and a couple of bars. It seemed like quite a trendy area but once again it was just silent with no atmosphere.

The Forbidden City

This was a much more pleasurable experience despite the crowds as the place is huge so there were no bottlenecks as the tour guides get allocated to certain areas each day. We did meet three guys from Manchester who had flown in that morning and gone straight out on the tour here and were heading to Tiannamen Square afterwards. We hope the jetlag did not hit you too hard and that you had a great time in China.

After the tour we went for the obligatory Peking duck at a place one of the guides recommended. The restaurant was known for a less fatty less greasy method of cooking but in my view it might just have been a health obsessed duck that did triathlons as there was not a lot of meat on it.

Noise and health beliefs in China

China has taken on the electric vehicle mandate with gusto and there is a much higher percentage of electric cars than in the UK. Petrol powered scooters and motorbikes are also banned in many cities so all the two wheel options are also battery powered.

This has resulted in lower pollution levels which is a health benefit but it has also produced mind scrambling scenes for me. Huge eight lane roads full of cars, scooters and masses of people walking along but hardly any noise. Once you notice it there is no going back, it gets me every time I am standing at a junction.. Take this example:

Although this relative quiet would be a blessing in most countries, in China it unfortunately serves to emphasise the primary soundscape. “Horking”. The sound of mainly, but not exclusively, middle aged or older men loudlly coughing up phlegm and then spitting it on the street.

It is way more prevalent in Beijing than anywhere else we have been, possibly due to the high age profile in the city with c25% of residents aged 60 or over. It meant I watched Pip almost dry heaving every few minutes as she heard someone horking behind her.

The strange thing is that before the 2008 Beijing Olympics the government spent time and effort encouraging its citizens to modify their behaviour before all the visitors arrived. Horking was singled out, the younger generations were definitely on side and for a time it was massively reduced, but it is definitely now back with a vengeance.

Smoking is rife in China and is almost entirely a male habit. You can still book smoking permitted rooms in hotels and we have seen people smoking in restaurants, all unimaginable now in the UK.

Smoking and it’s effects is one of the main reasons for the horking, along with traditional beliefs about expelling “bad air”, but given the Chinese obsession with body health heavy smoking seems totally contrary to that.

The other health based view that we struggled with was that sitting on a public toilet seat, even with a cover, is hazardous to your health despite the fact you might have had to wade through other people’s phlegm to get there. As a result we often had to play “squatter roulette” when we were out and about (obviously more of a problem for women than men). Pip described it as a beautiful moment when she walked down a row of cubicles and found a “sitter” tucked away at the end.

Temple of Heaven

Although the temples were closed on a Monday you could still walk around the grounds and enjoy the greenery and open space. It also meant encountering lots more women in traditional dress taking photos, much like we saw at The Forbidden City yesterday.

Bird’s Nest stadium

After a sojourn at another market it was off to the Bird’s Nest stadium, built for the 2008 Olympic games.

An impressive steel structured building which looks even better in the evening with The Cube aquatic centre just across the way.

The Great Wall of China

Time for probably the most well known ancient relic of China, about 70 kilometres North East of Beijing. We hired a private driver who was keen to engage in a translated conversation. I say conversation but it was more him telling us what is going wrong in the UK and about our culture. For example:

Constant change of Prime Ministers since Margaret Thatcher is bad for the country

Why is the UK supporting Ukraine, it is miles away, don’t get involved

People in the UK mainly eat hamburgers and steak whereas China is more focused on health and eat vegetables

You should not believe the things the media report as they are not true, especially about China

He obviously believed the things he said but to us they didn’t sound like opinions he had arrived at himself, more the controlled narrative received from the government through state owned media, and the blocking of contradictory information. I didn’t challenge him though as he could have dropped us off anywhere.

The Great Wall is a phenomenal feat of construction and offers fantastic views of the beautiful mountainous landscape but as you only walk a small part of it the full majestic feat can only be imagined. If it was all in walkable condition it would take 17 months to walk it’s length if you completed a full marathon (26 miles) every day. In closer to home terms it is about 22 times longer than the north to south of the UK

We were at the Mutianyu section which was first built in the 6th century and underwent a major renovation in the mid 1980s.

After the cable car up to the wall (yes another one, I seem to be drawn to them) we walked upwards from Tower 14 to 19, stopping short of the “Hero Slope” the name of which put me off even before I saw the near vertical 400 steps. It was then an easier journey back to Tower 8 for the toboggan down the hill.

The toboggan was at the point where I understood why we haven’t rented any motorbikes or scooters during this trip. It also made me suddenly remember that when we used to go cycling it was always along canal paths. Why was that?

She can’t do corners! I was in a toboggan 30 yards behind her shouting out which way to lean but it was like following a rigid crash test dummy!

Pip’s heavenly shopping experience

A bit of Googling, by Pip of course, led us to the Beijing Friendship store. Originally friendship stores were only for tourists, foreign visitors, diplomats and government officials but now there are no restrictions on customers. The reason for Pip’s excitement was a whole floor of validated pre loved or possibly old stock designer items, primarily handbags.

Apparently the quality and prices were amazing and she left happy, particularly when we found a supermarket outside selling wine. Amazingly we found a Chilean merlot for £5 but the same shop was also selling wine for £1,430 a bottle. Now that is what I call a range.

Just one more train journey to Shanghai for three nights then off to the Philippines for some sun, beach and island hopping.