Friday, December 23, 2005

Arrival in Beijing






















Staying at the Jade Beijing international Hostel which seems really cool - great location - right in the city centre, near to the night markets, main shopping area, next to the Forbidden City and very close to the square.

Im recounting all this in delay a few days after the actually dates so information may be slightly sketchy especially due to jetlag and hangover hazes etc.

Basically on the first day we headed out on a walk around the town and to the famous square who's name at the moment I have ignorantly forgotten but you know the one - from the scene where that dude was run over by the tanks. No tanks anymore but a pretty impressive square all the same. It's a huge area and that is the norm for this part of China it would appear and came as a shock to me. My pre-conceived ideas were of cramped areas with thousands of people packed in but in reality there is planety of space - wide roads, lots of planted trees and so on.

It is cold in China at this time of year, really cold! I don't think I have ever experienced it this cold in fact. The harsh weather and biting winds, combined with the fact that I was still in my clothes I had travelled in meant that being outside for any length of time was quite unenjoyable.

Apparently the day of arrival was the coldest day in Beijing of the year so far and was -9 at its coldest.

Geraint Rowland in China
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