The real China

After the huge impact that the first days (not to say hours) in China can cause, comes the calm. And this is the honest truth! Especially if you’re coming, like we were, from Japan (where everything is so clean, organized and zen), China might come as a shock. But by the time we arrived to Beijing we were already used to the toilets (or lack of toilets), to the motorbikes and cars not stopping in the zebras to let you cross when the walking light is green, to the food, to the unbearable heat (an average of 38 degrees and 80% of humidity), etc. Well, you know what I always say, in Rome I like to do as Romans do and that’s exactly what we all did! So this is probably why Beijing felt like heaven on earth. 
 
Much better prepared to receive tourists (a result of their experience organizing the 2008 Olympic Games), Beijing totally met our expectations. Mine at least! I personally I’ve been dreaming about traveling to China for the last 10 years, since the day I saw in a TV program from a British girl that travels the world with only her backpack the giant Leshan Buddha. And every time I dreamt about this trip was exactly the kind of experiences I had in Beijing what I imagined. The Tiananmen Square, the Great Wall of China, the Forbidden City, the Summer Palace, the Temple of Heaven and, one of the best shows I have ever seen (a show that must make the Cirque du Soleil performers blush), a real Chinese acrobatics spectacle. 

Beijing is intense and doesn’t stop. In every hutong there is always someone playing chess or preparing food for sale, illuminated by hundreds of humble light bulbs. And the most amazing aspect is how this simplicity contrasts with the modernity of this capital city with places as innovative and up-to-date as The Place. Actually, I will take a risk and say that Beijing is a true portrait of this country. Both Shanghai and Hong Kong are too modern, and the rest of cities we’ve visited (as you will see by the following posts) are deeply traditional, but Beijing is perfectly balanced. The real China!

And also to see more pictures (taken from me, but without the LOMO fish eye), please check here.