Journey to the World

That day I rented a bicycle in front of Far East hotel. The price is low, only 10 yuan per day (300 yuan deposit). The store owners know a little English but are very nice. They agreed I get their bike back at midnight instead of the regular hour. The temple of heaven is located not so far from the center. Half an hour is sufficient. It depends on the speed you’re riding and the way you can handle Beijing’s streets which are not easy for navigation due to their obscure names repeated in various variations. You may find two different streets having the same name, but a different suffix such as dajie or Rd. These added to a combination of the Chinese words indicating East / West (or North / South) can be confusing.

You can go inside the temple of heaven (TianTan) from the north or south entrance. The route is direct from one entrance to another. It is not too long so you can walk through it in three hours or even less. Overall, the temples inside are pretty but when you’re travelling under pressure, you can skip this place. Although the direct route, where most tourists are walking, isn’t too long, the park itself is a huge place. You can easily spend half a day inside. Forests on each side of the route, within them are peaceful walking trails. The ticket you buy at the entrance is sufficient for most sites. You should notice that you can visit every site only one time. The guard cuts a part of your ticket every time you enter a site, though you can always go back using a bypass road to the left or to the right of that site.

Music Hall

As I’ve mentioned, some sites require a separate ticket. Usually it costs about 10 yuan, so it’s not that bad. The hidden sites on the alongside the park are quiet and empty of tourists. It’s recommended to vist the Music Hall if you like Chinese Music. Ancient musical tools from the old China are displayed there. It’s an interesting yet peaceful place to visit. I personally liked this place, especially the structure of the old Chinese yard as seen in old Chinese movies. A combined ticket to Music Hall and to the nearby Fasting Hall you can buy in the enterance to the site. It costs 10 yuan, but remember the place is closing around five thirty in the evening. If you have any intention to walk outside the direct tourist route of Temple of Heaven, it’s recommended you buy a map (10 yuan at the main entrance).

Walking for four hours were enough for me. I left to place with my feet aching. There are two entrances to the compound so you’d better plan your route well so you exit from the correct gate. That of course when something is waiting for you in one of the gates (a bicycle for example).

Pearl Market

Not so far from the temple of heaven is the pearl market. I got there quite quickly using my bicycle. When I first heard of the word ‘market’, I though it was an open market like you’re used to see in other countries (such as Chatuchak market in Bangkok). To my disappointment it was a big mall containing a lot of junk from China. Five stories of stands selling souveniers (mainly rubbish), MP3 players, basic computer parts, shirts, clothing and more. Even after bargaining, prices are not coming near to those in Thailand or Hong Kong as far as it goes to computer parts. It was one of my major disappointments from Beijing that made me realize it is not really suitable for cheap shopping.

Bargaining in the pearl market is a must. Even after a good amount of time, getting quarter of the stated price, I felt like in Thailand I could get similar products for cheaper.

As for electronics and computer parts – the variety is small. Products repeat themselves not getting close to what you can get in Hong Kong or from China via eBay. I short, don’t count on getting your precious gadget there. Remember there are many couterfeits, especially when dealing with brand names – MP3 players, memory cards. Original equipment is expensive and you can forget about warranty.

To sum it up, it’s not worth buying clothing in Beijing, nor electronics. So what can you buy in Beijing? I couldn’t find anything worthwhile, and I looked quite a lot.

In the evening I took the bike to the train station to purchase a ticket for a night-train to Pingyao.

 

This article was published at 4-09-2008 Time: 14:41 and belongs to categories Bicycle, Beijing, Far East Travel Journal 2008 - 2009, China. You can follow comments to this article using the feed RSS 2.0. You can post a comment, or trackback from your website.