It has been a great opportunity to be able to visit Beijing which is the capital of the most populous country in the world. Beijing is by far one of my favorite places that I have been thus far. They have thousands of ancient temples mixed among gigantic parks, a modern downtown with skyscrapers, mazes of hutongs, and LOTS and LOTS of people. Clearly the absolute must see if you are in China is the Great Wall, there’s just no denying that.
But before we proceed, just please pardon our clothes. Haha! This was our fashion disaster days. Few weeks before leaving for Manila, we weren’t able to anticipate the winter season in China. Yes. This was my first winter experience. We didn’t have winter clothes except for my dad and mom so we bought for just a short period of time. Boy, it was hard looking for cheap winter clothes since it is really expensive. We ended up buying any winter clothes just for our comfort instead, making sure that we wouldn’t freeze when we arrive there.
1st Day: (0 Degree Celsius)
The Forbidden City is the largest cluster of ancient buildings in the world, a city within a city and a symbol of China’s cultural heritage.
We were strolling down the streets of Beijing with our not so comfortable and two layered winter clothes (Which in about 10 minutes, I thought I was nearly going to die due to the uncomfortable stress of being cold.)
While traveling around the world, a person can visit many wondrous and mysterious sites that conjure up images of historical events of long ago. One of the most fascinating sites in existence is the Forbidden City. Yhep. This beautiful icon at the back. So rich in history and mystique.
This should give you an idea of how consistently cold it was. No time for posing. As you can see I was already covering my face with my scarf. Frankly speaking, I COULDN’T FEEL MY FACE that time! It was all NUMB. Like, every part of it. Good thing, at about 20-25 minutes exposure to the freezing air, the bus arrived and all of us came running like we were some kind of beggars who just saw a mouth-watering food displayed in the middle of nowhere. Hahaha So yeah, to be able to sit inside the bus with the heater was like HEAVEN.
Yuan Hou Silk Market
If you happen to visit other Asian countries, you realize that Asians are silk lovers. They always have their own silk factories, mall or markets. And you guessed it right! Our next stop was at Yuan Hou Silk Market.
I wasn’t the squeamish type but the silk worms totally gives me the creep. Better to gawk then squeal. Erk!
The cocoons of the silk worms are made from silk. So before they become moths, that will be the best time to get their cocoons for their silk.
The silk is then used as thin threads to make any cloth possible. Right after the tour, they will take you inside their shop just in case you want to buy their products.
We asked the guy a lil favor by writing our names in Chinese. Haha.
Temple of Heaven
Our next stop was to visit the famous Temple of Heaven. It is said to be a temple that was built nearly for 14 years and it was originally created as a place for prayer and for annual ceremonies of thanks and praise to the Heavens.
Meet the Templul Cerului or in english, Temple of Heaven. 🙂
Souvenir shot for me. Hahaha!
Off we go to eat lunch!
Mmm. Something to eat! Just as when the waitress lifted the lid, the entire room was full of fragrance. It got all our taste buds screaming. In fact the waitress said it made her hungry, too.
Our lunch was composed mainly of vegetables with meat. This is also to control budget. Healthy and delicious.
Summer Palace (More like Ice Place..)
Our afternoon was spent at the Summer Palace. Okay, I cannot appreciate the name “Summer” Palace because of the winter season. The palace was full of leafless trees, a panoramic view of iced lake and a very freezing temperature. Haha. It should’ve been a gorgeous garden around a lake that really attracted lots of tourists and even the emperor and empress during the hot summer months.
I was amazed to see few brave people walking down the iced lake. I wanna try it too! But it was so risky and I don’t want to end up dying d/t hypothermia like Jack in the Titanic movie. LOL
Meet our financer. hahahaha love you dad! More than you ever know.
Dr. Tea
Since it was a very cold weather, part of our tour was to have a tea tasting at Dr. Tea. Phew! Finally, something to keep us warm. During your china travel, don’t forget to go for tea tasting at Dr. Tea as part of your Beijing Tours as this is a great way to try out different types of teas and get to know some useful information about certain teas as well. I must admit, it was my first time!
The tea hostesses were really helpful and they do provide English tea tasting tours for foreigners. They speak English so do not worry if you can’t speak mandarin or can’t understand them.
The tea hostesses are all professional and very skilled to the point that you will be amaze on the way they make and pour the teas. I found myself laughing because they taught us how to hold a tea and how to sip it. Hahaha! It was quite a fun experience knowing that they also have ways to sip a certain tea.
At the end of the session, I tasted 4 types of tea and learn how to hold the cup and drink certain types of tea. They also provide tea making instructions for everyone at the end of the tea tasting tour. The place also sells different types of tea cups and pots and the prices.
Just posing for my outfit of the day!
Click here to see Bejing, China Part 2
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