@Magalina Lilis, here is your request. We arrived in Beijing at past midnight and I was shivering when we went out of the airport to go to the van for our ride to the hotel. It's a good thing that my sister had lent me a bonnet that covers half of my head. The temperature was 2 degrees C. I was freezing.. The Red Wall hotel is rated 5 star and I was glad to have taken that because the spacious room has a heater that gave us comfort on our first night in Beijing. Even with a few hours of sleep, we woke up early for the free breakfast in the hotel's cozy restaurant. After a sumptuous buffet breakfast - a mix of Chinese and continental dishes - we went out to the patio. Brrr, the cold seemed to be biting my ears... The receptionist provided us with a street map and a list of places to go to. Tiananmen square is a kilometer away and with the cold weather, perhaps it would be nice to walk. But I was wrong because the zero degree temperature was making my legs stiff. And before I freeze, I have to take a selfie first in the main street of Beijing....
Hope you and your family have a wonderful time at China. My Uncle and Aunt went to the Great Wall of China. They said it was huge and long. China looks nice to visit. I like Chinese food especially their crispy gau gee min! So many places to go visit in China and their cuisine is delicious! Have fun!
Corie, thanks for sharing your trip to China! Your cute little selfie pictures, along with the humorous descriptions were a pleasure to read. Nothing like arriving at a destination at midnight, right! That practical hat your sister lent you is something I were when in frigid weather! I see you also are sporting a scarf and mittens. Looking very coordinated! Although, you could have probably benefited from a warmer jacket! Believe me, growing up by the Great Lakes of Michigan, I know all about freezing temperatures! Growing up, I knew no different. The months of cold and snow were the norm. How funny, I thought, when other regions of the country had a panic attack with an inch of snow fall with schools and business's closing. Of course, in other places proper equipment and preparation to deal with such conditions is not readily available. Yes, a luxury hotel is always a nice little perk to give oneself. I am not much of a breakfast person, but I know my husbands persistence to take advantage of this free meal would mean that I would be up at the crack of dawn, too. I am big on hot chocolate and a biscuit for a morning meal. As a smoker (yes, bad habit), having a patio while traveling is a bonus! Hmm, your patio looks like a community spot, maybe no smoking allowed? Surely, it gave you an indication of the day ahead of you! Oh,walking in brisk weather to the sights; such as, Tiananmen Square close by. always sounds like a perfect idea at first, then reality sets in after the first block. I am more of a leisurely walker, but in cold weather a high pace walk is a necessity! I hope you wrapped that scarf around your mouth while out and about! I see from your last picture the round building and the display of Audi cars, too fancy! Again thanks for the pictures. Kind of gave me laugh to see your great big happy smile upon arriving to China, which turned into a great big brave smile standing in the patio, ending with a not so big attempt at a smile. Thinking you do indeed look a little frozen at this point! Do you have any pictures of the Great Wall of China? I know, I know. You have already shared so much, but maybe you have some more that you can share, if it is not too much of a hassle. I really enjoy these threads that you, Tom, and others share! Again, a big thank you for creating this thread! Maybe someday, I will go through my photo's and share one of my adventures, too.
It's good to know that there's somewhere colder than Scotland...actually, it's been quite pleasant today about 18 Celsius. I just looked at the BBC weather forecast for Beijing and it says 27 and 28C for the next couple of days - that's definitely a bit warmer than here.
Don't pull my leg, Mr. @Tom Locke, hahahaaa. I know for a fact that Scotland is a freezing place because it is in the frigid zone. And I would bet my bottom dollar that Beijing is a furnace compared to the climate of Scotland. Take note, it was the end of January when we were in Beijing and the weather forecast was zero degrees with a wind chill factor of 5. Is that freezing weather already? To continue with my Beijing tour, here is that shot inside the Tiananmen square. On my right is an art store and a convenience store where we bought bottled orange juice. There were wooden tables and benches where we ate the roasted chestnuts (still hot) that we bought on our way to the square. The wooden bench felt like a block of ice, hahahaaa. I would have attached more photos of the Tiananmen square but you might get bored because they all look the same, the temple-like structures, the squares. It was more than a kilometer of walk from the entrance to the exit and all we saw were a pattern of temples and squares. It's a good thing that they have rest rooms and eateries so the tourists were not inconvenienced. On our way out, the lake caught my fancy so I had a selfie with the frozen lake, the first time we saw such a thing. Another kilometer of walking on our way back to the hotel and would try to find a place to have lunch.
Our 2nd day in Beijing was dedicated to the Great Wall of China. We had paid more than $50 for the rental of the van that will take us to the province where the station was located. That station turned out to be so cold. My teeth were chattering and we had difficulty talking. Fortunately there was a lobby where we waited while the van's driver bought the tickets for us. From there, we had to walk a few hundred meters to the bus terminal that would take us to the cable car terminal. There's a pathway up if you don't like to ride in the cable car but we preferred not to walk in that freezing temperature. It's funny because as we set for for the bus terminal, we saw a pile of snow. Selfie first before we continue. Holding a clump of snow seemed to have lessened the cold in the air. I could talk coherently and I began to enjoy the sights. There's my very first photo with a snow courtesy of that pile near the garbage, hahahaaa. Inside the bus with a heater, it is about 10 minutes ride (I cannot estimate the distance because I was mesmerized by the sights). The bus was full, Koreans and other foreigners. We were the only Filipinos. You can imagine the noise of the voices talking in different languages. It was another experience to be in that bus. Here's how I looked inside the cable car... When we left the bus, there's a few hundred meters walk again to the cable car depot but this time it is uphill. Some of the Koreans went up the pathway and did not take the cable car. They are young so maybe they can do that. Inside the cable car, the sights were beholding. And after that ride, we came to the entrance of the Great Wall, finally.... Do you see that snow on the ground? My husband asked me to take off my bonnet so I did.. only for the pictorial, hahahaaa. It was still so cold although I was energized in realizing that I was already in the Great Wall.
It was zero temperature in the Great Wall but we were able to endure maybe because of the thrill and excitement to realize that we are actually there where before it was only a dream. We walked our way on the Great Wall but we turned back after half a kilometer because the van driver would be waiting for us by 12 noon. But on the way back, we took some selfie after selfie, hahahaaa. It was still pretty cold and we couldn't walk so fast because of the snow on the ground that have some slippery portions. It's too bad if I would be injured so I was so careful on how I walked. When we reached the entrance, I was attracted to the pile of snow. My husband prodded me to make a snowman, a small one, of course. So I had to take off my gloves for that. So cold to the hands but it's all right because when we leave there would be no more snow. Truly exciting and tiring, I would still want to go back to the Great Wall of China if given a chance.
Thanks @Corie Henson for sharing with us these photos and the insights of your travel across the Great Wall of China and Beijing. Looks look you had a great fun time against all odds due to the cold weather. Cold is not necessarily annoying, but amusing if we keep a positive attitude up to get the most of our travels
We were late by half an hour on our way back to the Great Wall entrance so we just bought a burger with fries and soda. We ate that in the van while traveling to Summer Palace. We had no idea what that is but it was recommended by the hotel receptionist. After an hour's drive, the food was finished and we were there in Summer Palace. That name Summer Palace was a misnomer because the place is actually a lake, it looks like a vast man-made lake to me. The water is frozen so those promenaders were walking on ice, some were skating and some other have sleds. It was like a playground both for the children and adults. We did not get a ticket for that frozen lake. Just took some pictures of the place and we preferred to roam around the lake, not inside. When there is a good view, I would take a selfie, hahahaaa. Here's how the lake looks like on the other side of the bridge. The water is semi-frozen. It was really so cold although the pictures may not show our ordeal. We had snack of rice topping in the only eatery there and decided to leave the place for home. It was both pleasant and unpleasant trip maybe because of the extreme cold that our bodies couldn't stand. And near the exit, I took another souvenir selfie....
Hi Corie! Sorry, it took so long to respond to your added photos of your trip to China. I have been away for awhile and now I am back online. Must tell you, it was a pleasant surprise to such an up close and personal view of the Great Wall of China. I can imagine that I, too, would have turned around halfway in order to make sure my ride was still there waiting for me. Just to walk a little bit along the path is super cool and just enough to experience the atmosphere and architecture. Glad you and hubby were careful of those snow patches, around my neck of the words little icy patches are called black ice. Oh, and how cute is your little snowman. Good idea to get all those selfies because they serve as such a nice reminder of an awesome vacation, plus just too adorable! All I can say about that last photo is super cool - wow! Now that is one curvy branched tree. Kind of neat that there are no leaves on the tree due to the cold season because you can really see the structure of those branches. Thanks for sharing, not only your photos, but the fun descriptions underneath!
How interesting and fun your trip must have been. I have often wondered about visiting China as a tourist, as I have never traveled much outside travel with the military. Great photos, too, Corie Henson. Thanks for sharing.