Mutianyu-Great Wall of China

The Great Wall of China (Mutianyu), finally we meet face to face.  I had been talking about coming to the Great Wall for nearly 15 years of my life, and now I can say after today another check mark off the “bucket list”.  It is apparent that one would need months perhaps even years to truly see The Great Wall in its entirety.  The section I went to was called Mutianyu, it is nearly 2 hours outside of Beijing.  This only makes sense if you do not want to see the KFC at the bottom of the wall, like you will at Badaling section.

The Mutianyu section of The Great Wall was built along the crest of the rolling mountains and hills.  The wall appears easier to climb  than anyone realizes.  The big catch is the stairs (in some places) are nearly vertical, and were built for small Asian feet.  Well, my size 10 1/2 shoe is not the typical size for the Chinese, unless you are Yao Ming! I found myself side stepping when going vertical stairwells.

The Mutianyu section of the Great Wall has 22 watch towers & is 2,250 meters in length.  This is no casual walking trail.  I was simply blown away at the sheer length and detailed construction work.  It’s rumored that the thousands of men that gave their lives during the erection of this structure and their remains buried inside.

The wall was a sanctuary of sorts for the young and old.  People having spiritual moments and just looking out over the sides, others hiking as far as they could.  This is no question a magical and amazing place for all!

Now with The Great Wall off the bucket list, it was time to eat!  How convenient I spied a local pancake lady!  What a great fill up after a 4 hour journey up and down the narrow stairways and paths.  I made it through 5 watch towers in 4 hours, what does that tell you?

Correct, 2 pancakes please

The typical Chinese pancake is made with a thick crepe like batter poured over a hot cast iron circle.  The chef/vendor then slowly smooths it over with a dough scrapper (come on it’s some borderline primitive shit here).  Depending on the ingredients ordered, they are typically tossed inside and folded up and over similar to a burrito.  The only accompaniment is spicy chili sauce, yes please!

Perfect each and every time! Don’t miss out!  Be prepared for a little shaking in the legs after a trek up The Great Wall of China, each step and view is another layer of history that unfolds right in front of you!

The Best Peking Duck in Bejing China at “Daffy’s” Restaurant

Just back to the hotel from one of the best food experiences of my life, Peking Duck!  I am convinced the atmosphere and ambiance takes the restaurant dining experience to a whole new level. Whether that means sitting on a beach in Thailand eating BBQ fish or walking the narrow back alleys  Beijing, China eating the famous Peking Duck.

A hot shower and quick shave, I strolled down stairs to the front desk and asked them where to go for the best Beijing Roast Duck.  I got a few random responses from the team, it seemed as if they were being paid to plug a few places (robot responses), not convinced by their body language.  I had a quick chat with the front desk manager off to the side and asked her where does she go when is craving this local delicacy?

“Susie” the front desk manager, mentioned eating in a more local restaurant with no tourists, would I mind? “That is what I am looking for!”, She quickly wrote the name and address in the “magic language”, and sent me on my way.  No more than a 5 minute cab ride from the hotel I was dropped off in front of this massive restaurant buzzing with locals.  Perfect!

Luckily the restaurant had a menu with pictures, so it was the perfect time for me to do the “point and nod” exercis, which I have become rather proficient at after 4 months.  What a shocker nobody spoke English that worked at the restaurant so leave it up to the owners 15 year old daughter to come by and assist me in ordering. She wanted to practice her English and I wanted photos of the separate duck kitchen, fair trade, right? The 3 chef team dressed the ducks and move them around with this steel rod & hook system that is built inside the brick oven (powered only by charcoal and wood).

The duck itself was cooked to perfection, not to sound so cliche, but it was outstanding!  The crispy skin (most sought after part by the Chinese), the meat just soft enough, and flavor was spot on!  The duck was served with  Chinese pancakes, julienne scallions, and hoi son sauce.  There was not one morsel left after I devoured it all, along with a fresh green salad that had a ginger/soy dressing, and some marinated cucumbers.  I was in complete heaven, not sure how tomorrow nights dinner can top this!

Off to The Great Wall of China (Mutianyu section) tomorrow morning, will I be able to find anything to tops this Peking Duck experience?  To be determined.

A trip through the Beijing Hutongs

China, a country in no shortage of independent vendors watching you like a hawks from above.  They calculate your every body movement, and the good ones somehow learned enough English to make social references.  There they are right in front of me waiting for me to cross the street to grab a cab and head back to the hotel!  It truly is like a swarm of bees just waiting for the queen, scary thought.  I typically just walk pass them and ignore them.  In China not the easiest thing to do, since they culturally won’t lose face to make a sale, even if you say “No thank you” or “Bùyòng le, xièxiè”.

I had a solid hour or so of day light left and figured why not  make the most of it, sucked into a Hutong Tour before I knew it.  This lady was sharp, spoke outstanding English and actually followed me for 2 blocks.  Well, there we found ourselves taking a walk to her “husband” so he could peddle me around the Hutong’s of old Beijing.  She was also a “government employee”, yet I somehow got the price down by 200%, shocker!

The Hutong’s are the back alley ways and side streets of what Beijing looked like way before they put their new “global front” up for the rest of the world.  I was told (which was no shock after living in Shanghai) the government didn’t want the world to see the true China during the 2008  Olympic Games.  Ridiculous, so only a very few pockets survived and one that was shockingly preserved and still inhabited today is the Hutong area just outside of the Forbidden City.

The tour was unique, “the husband” was riding a bike with a carriage attached where I sat and took photos and listened to the history.  He pointed out former homes of some of China’s most famous people and government officials.

Great, thanks for the tour, STARVING! Off to the hotel to change and grab some Peking Duck!

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The Forbidden City Beijing, China

The Forbidden City-

This enchanted place full of rich history and Chinese heritage was swarming with people.  I had never seen anything like it!  Now some say it was due to the Chinese national holiday, I say it’s more because hardly anyone can leave the country.  It may be far stretched but I couldn’t imagine America shutting down for 4 days, there would be a social meltdown on US soil, but like many things in China “It’s Okay”.

Here was one of the lines (see above), and this line didn’t stop all day.  Where the hell did all these people come from?  Oh yes, China! Interestingly enough there is no sense of order in such a government controlled country, single file lines, forget it!

The Forbidden City was the Chinese imperial palace from the Ming Dynasty in 1420 to the end of the Qing Dynasty in 1912. It is located in the middle of Beijing, China, and now houses the Palace Museum. For almost five hundred years, it served as the home of emperors and their households, as well as the ceremonial and political center of Chinese government.

Built in 1406 to 1420, the complex consists of 980 buildings with 8,707 bays of rooms and covers 720,000 m² (7,800,000 sq ft). The palace complex exemplifies traditional Chinese palatial architecture, and has influenced cultural and architectural developments in East Asia and elsewhere. The Forbidden City was declared a World Heritage Site in 1987, and is listed by UNESCO as the largest collection of preserved ancient wooden structures in the world.  How’s that for amazing!  (I spent the better part of the day bumping into strangers, fighting for camera shots, and still didn’t even come close to covering the entire grounds.

It was recommended by CEO at the USA Pavilion (at the World Expo) to rent a headset,walk around, and explore.  I did just that, and with sunglasses on, and shoulders twice the size of any local it made navigating through the crowds a little less painful.  The government has done an outstanding job preserving the grounds and ancient artifacts.  When visiting Beijing, The Forbidden City can not be missed, regardless of the lines or side stepping the flem commonly found like land mines on the ground. A slight touch of “couth” would be nice.

Wrapping up 31/2 hours here I decided it was time to make my move back to the hotel, after all I had Peking Duck on my mind!

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Tiananmen Square Beijing China

The Chinese national holiday stretches from Oct 1-4th.  This means all business comes to a standstill, employees that need to work must be paid triple, and just think nearly 1.3 billion people have nothing to do.  Yup, exactly…. so time for me to get far away from the Expo!  I booked a flight to Beijing for 4 days and did all I could to avoid the masses.

Beijing,  culinary pilgrimage for all chefs, the pinnacle of their dining scene is the famous Peking Duck.  Needless to say there was no question I had to pay homage!

Tian’anmen Square- is a largest  city square in the world(440,000 m² – 880m by 500m) , located in the centre of Beijing, China, named after the Tiananmen Gate (literally, Gate of Heavenly Peace). ). It has great cultural significance as it was the site of several important events in Chinese history. The square was the center of the 4 June 1989 protests, where soldiers opened fire on protesters, killing 400–800, and perhaps many more. the proclamation of the People’s Republic of China by Mao Zedong on October 1, 1949.  The perfect time for me to  see Beijing for the anniversary date of the proclamation of the Chinese government.

The square was jam-packed with security, police, military, and pushy people.  I wanted to grab a few photos of these uniformed officers, ranging in the age of 18-25 rs. old (at best), but that could quickly get me a first class ticket to the Chinese jail.  I am not exactly sure how or why the Chinese people carry such a fear for them, since they do not carry firearms and weigh a max total of about 125 lbs. soaking wet!  Granted the  brainwashing endured from the central government surely turns them into secret Kung-Fu fighters!

Rather a disappointing place to visit, essentially a large concrete slab surrounded by historical buildings.  That is really about it for  the square.  I took a little time to stop and think about all the history that had occurred under the soles of my shoes, then moved on.  Time was tight and had a lot to see and do in one day!

Forbidden City, Temple Gardens, Peking Duck!

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