Still can't believe we are actually in China! Totally doing the tourist thing ... The Temple of Heaven, Tianamen Square, The Forbidden City, the Birds Nest & the Water Cube at the Olympic Park, we ate Peking Duck (most delicious) and of course, The Great Wall.
The man you see at the top was in the park outside the Temple of Heaven - it wasn't a show, he was doing his morning workout. Lots of retired folks were there doing amazing flexibility exercises. I think they were showing off a bit but if I could do those exercises when I'm in my 70s that would really be something.
You also see above the attention foreigners get especially the tall men in our group. Foreigners are still novel here.
Much of the old town and ancient city walls have been demolished to make way for new skyscrapers but some of the old town remains and people still live there. It has become a tourist spot and some people open up their courtyards so we could have a look at their home. We took a pedicab & had a wild ride.
It's hard to describe Beijing. It's a lot more Westernized than I expected. Very modern; much like any large city in the US but much bigger. A lot of the infrastructure is relatively new - much was built for the 2008 Olympics. Old buildings are constantly being torn down to build skyscrapers for offices and apartments. 20 million people live in this sprawled out city - more than double New York City. So much has changed here in the last 30 years.
Is the pollution as bad as they say? Yes. Although we were there on "good" days, we only saw blue sky the afternoon we saw the Olympic park. We had eye & throat irritation. Mike said it reminded him of LA when he was a kid with asthma. It was like the smoke from the Calif. fires in the air the day we come home.
Is the traffic as congested as they say? Yes. Very chaotic but everyone seems to get where they are going and somehow all the people on foot, bikes and scooters weave through the traffic with all the cars. Lots of cars. And not economy cars: sedans, SUVS and lots of luxury brands. Our guide loved to say: if the traffic is good we'll be there in 20 minutes; if not, 2 weeks.
Is the food different from Chinese food at home? Not really. It's a little different but there are many dishes that are just like what you would get at a good Chinese restaurant at home. There is a lot more availability of organ meats, heads and assorted bird feet similar to any Chinatown you may have visited.
Everyone wears Western clothes. There is plenty of American fast food joints and a Starbucks on every other corner in the downtown area. Lots of new retail shopping. The standard of living has gone up but the cost of living has gone up too.
Most "older" buildings don't seem to be maintained well since they will probably be torn down eventually to make way for another skyscraper.
The city is definitely NOT as clean as Seoul - there is a lot of trash, buses and public areas aren't as clean (with the exception of the airport which was spotless).
The people in general aren't as polite as in Korea but I think some of that comes from a distrust of foreigners. Plus living in a very large city means a lot of pushing, shoving and not getting in line for anything. Anyone we were able to interact with was friendly. Some of the friends in our group spoke a little Chinese. We also learned doting-grandparent-speak is universal - smiling & complementing someone's child or grandchild goes a long way. Chidlren are very loved.
Not very many speak English even in the tourist areas. Most tourists we saw were from other Asian countries. Some from the US, Australia and Europe but not many. Communication was a real challenge. Especially when Mike was trying to find me some ibuprofen. (That is a story in itself.)
Quite often, even in really nice restaurants & airports, some or all of the toilets were a squat-hole-in-the-floor model. Challenging to use but when you gotta go ...
I couldn't imagine visiting without a local guide. We had an awesome guide who gave us so much history and many interesting family stories. We've learned a lot.