After 7 long hours of flight from Moscow, we finally arrive in Beijing on the morning of March 1st. Security gates cleared and luggage collected, it's time to get a glimpse of life in the capital...    

A Taxi in Beijing

  Beijing airport being located about 30 km from the city centre, we opted for the most expensive but also most practical solution given the weight of our bags and suitcases: the taxi. It should be known that in Beijing (and more generally throughout China as we would see later), unlicensed taxis are rampant. Thus, instead of paying the fare 100 yuan (of which 10 for the toll) on average, the prices proposed by these illegal taxis can quickly climb to 500, even 1000 yuan since the meter doesn't exist...

Very often, people literally throw themselves at foreigners in the airport hall to try to convince them to go with them, so it's best to politely refuse while continuing to walk. It was therefore in our interest to focus on the "official" taxis, easily recognisable by their colour (generally red, green or blue). It didn't take us long to find what we were looking for, complete with a friendly driver who loves foreigners!

An example of a taxi in Beijing

First observation: the Chinese drive like maniacs! They overtake from all sides, they honk incessantly, they phone while driving even when passing police, and are ready to run over pedestrians if the light is green. As a bonus, our taxi isn't equipped with seatbelts. Normal enough... The meter starts at 10 yuan, then the rate is 2 yuan per kilometre travelled on average (it depends on comfort actually). This first journey is an opportunity for us to practise Chinese for the first time, since the driver asks us where we're from (at least that's what we think we understand...). In any case, he seems satisfied when we answer "Faguo"... it's a good start!

On the road to Beijing...

Knowing the translation of your country in Chinese is one thing, but reciting a complete address is another! That's why we had taken care to write down the address of the hotel where we had booked, so as to show the paper to the driver. Speaking of which, what hotel is it?

Leo Hostel

  As a precaution, we had decided to book a room at the Leo Hostel a few days before departure. This youth hostel is renowned for its friendliness and low prices, and has been praised online by many travellers. Not to mention that it's located in Qianmen, a few minutes' walk from Tiananmen Square and the Forbidden City, a particularly interesting place for the few days we planned to spend in Beijing. So off to 52 Da Zha Lan Xi Jie, a neighbourhood that the driver claims to know like the back of his hand... This is only partially true as he will get lost several times and take various turns to try to get back on track. To his credit, we realise that the city is truly immense and that buildings under construction are accumulating, suggesting what the city will be like in a few years... And meanwhile, the meter keeps running... We finally arrive at our destination (or at least not too far) after nearly an hour on the road and 120 yuan lighter. Tiananmen Square is indeed a stone's throw away, now we need to find the hostel. The neighbourhood is extremely lively and we're immediately thrown into the thick of it. Reactions to our passing don't take long, as if it's the first time they've met foreigners in this touristy neighbourhood! Seeing our heavy bags and our advanced state of fatigue, many shopkeepers and bar owners throw themselves at us to try to attract us to their establishments.

The famous hutongs of Beijing

But we have only one thing in mind: the hostel, which we finally find after a good quarter of an hour. Relieved not to be looking at a night in the streets, we collect the keys to our room from the friendly manager who shows us there.

A welcoming restaurant/lounge

The friendly Courtyard of Leo Hostel

The place is convivial and true to the photos found online. However, the room comfort is rather spartan, especially since we learn that the air conditioning no longer works. When you know it's about 2°C this time of year on average, that gives an idea of the type of night we'll have... But so what! At 13€ a night, we're not going to complain...

A mattress to say the least thin

The view isn't bad

After dropping off our belongings and resting a bit after these 24 hours without sleep, we head back to the front desk to book our train tickets to Guangzhou, as the Leo Hostel manager had informed us by email a few days before that she could take care of the reservation once we arrived. It should be known that Chinese trains generally offer 4 types of seating:

• Soft sleepers, quite expensive and reserved for the wealthier

• Hard sleepers, cheaper and therefore much in demand

• Soft seats, ideal for short distances

• Hard seats, the cheapest and therefore reserved for shorter journeys or tight budgets

Given the distance Beijing-Guangzhou (more than 2000 km) and travel time (22 hours), the ideal for us would be to get hard sleepers, or soft seats depending on availability. The Chinese New Year is undoubtedly the time of year when traveller flows are at their highest in China, everyone wanting to return to their native region to celebrate it with family. This period having ended several weeks ago, we are hopeful of obtaining tickets fairly easily... Not at all! We learn that no seats are available for several weeks, even in hard seats... Not wishing to linger in Beijing given that our arrival in Guangzhou was scheduled for no later than March 4th, we are forced to book two plane tickets Beijing-Guangzhou for the next evening... So we're out 150€ per person (about 1500 yuan), whereas the same journey by train would have cost us less than half that... Our first disappointment then, which deals a big blow to our morale and especially our finances. Fortunately, we had arranged in the afternoon to meet Anaïs, a fellow graduate student, who had been living in Beijing for a few weeks. A chance to visit the sights in her company!  

Discovering Beijing

  We begin with Tiananmen Square, accessible through underground tunnels where security gates and armed guards are present... Security is not taken lightly! The square is truly vast and impressive, though surprisingly empty...

A view of Tiananmen Square

Anaïs and Sylvain on Tiananmen Square

After a few snapshots, we head towards Beijing's number 1 tourist attraction, I'm speaking of course of the Forbidden City.

The facade of the Forbidden City

This time the crowds are well in evidence, and you can see that people come from all over China for the chance to visit this architectural masterpiece. Once again, our pale faces cause a sensation, and many insist on taking us in photos. The beginning of a new career...

Boundary of the free access zone

Given the late hour of the day, it doesn't seem worthwhile to us to pay for entry knowing that the Forbidden City takes several hours to visit... So we settle for the "free" zone, hoping to do the full visit in July on our return to Beijing.  

As fatigue takes hold, we decide to end this little tour after a few hours of walking and head back to the hostel. After a meagre meal, we head to bed early, to recover and make sure we leave on time for the airport.  

Departure for Guangzhou (Canton)

  The night was as freezing as expected, so we're still exhausted as we hand in our room key and set about finding a taxi to the airport. With the flight not scheduled until late evening, we have several hours to spare to browse the airport and grab a typically Chinese meal (or not).

A KFC with a Chinese twist

  And off we go for 2 short hours of flying to Guangzhou!

Beijing - Guangzhou route

  To view our photos of Beijing, feel free to visit the gallery.