For New Year's weekend, Erik and I went to Beijing. We got stuck in a huge snowstorm, the worst in Beijing in 60 years. As a result, our flight was canceled which was a bit of a pain, but the beauty of seeing the Forbidden City and Tienanmen Square covered in snow was worth it.
We love Beijing. Hong Kong is very superficial and glamorous. The endless wealth and shopping get old after awhile. Beijing definitely has more history, grit, and creativity. We went to the 798 art area which is a former Soviet weapons factory/compound that has been turned into art galleries and small shops. The architecture was ultra cool.
We visited the Heavenly Palace and the Yong He Gong temple which houses a huge Buddha carved from a single tree of sandalwood.
One evening, we had dinner with Erik's colleague in cool restaurant. Of course, we had to have Peking duck and went to a different place than last time but equally famous. It was probably the best Chinese meal I've ever had. There was no shortage of great meals, including a wonderful western dinner at a restaurant over looking the Forbidden City.
We hadn't planned to go to the Forbidden City again, but we had to go when we saw the snow.
There is still a long list of things we want to see in Beijing, so I know we'll be back.
Here is the link to Erik's wonderful photo show:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/eschrei/sets/72157623180655318/show/
New Year's Eve:
Me and Erik's colleague:
Dinner at The Courtyard. The snowy "ground" just outside the window is the frozen moat surrounding the Forbidden City.
Looking out the hotel window on Sunday morning. It continued to snow for about 15 hours.
These hats were very popular:
Forbidden City:
Tienanmen Square:
A building at the Heavenly Palace:
Steam coming from the subway. It was close to zero F for most of our trip.
Street:
The airport a few hours before we took off on Monday. Those planes were boarding--not much snow removal.
Posts
1 comment:
Well we got delayed 52 hours in London for about 3 inches of snow ( at least at the airport other areas got more) so you are lucky you got back in a day! Those panda hats were popular when we were there too! I am in Taiwan now - liking it so far - a LOT less westerns than hong kong ( I think I saw 10 on a 4 hour walk today) but none of the badgering and scamming like we got in Beijing, esp. around the forbidden city! Glad you guys got some snow and that your double jobs are ending soon!
love, Laura
Post a Comment