Beijing is definitely a city of big contrasts. Extreme poverty and wealth exist side by side in here.
I witnessed a man begging for money outside a shopping centre while his dead mother lay next to him in a sleeping bag and I also witnessed a small child taking a dump inside said shopping centre in the middle of the concourse. The child’s mother picked her up and carried on as if it was the most natural thing in the world.
It’s fair to say China is a mental country but that’s one of the joys of travelling, you want to see and experience new things however weird they may seem to you. The world would be a very boring place if we were all the same.
Trip date
June 2011.
Where we stayed
7 Stages (Qixian) Youth Hostel, No.78, Dongsi Jiutiao, Beijing, China
3 nights (12/06/11 – 15/06/11)
What we saw and did
An amazing array of foods was available in this food market. All of which I have no desire to eat including, baby sharks, snails, snakes and scorpions, mmmm yummy. I think we went to McDonald’s on this occasion.
One of my favourite things to do while travelling is looking for funny signs and products in supermarkets. It made me laugh anyway.
Basically, don’t do anything in Beijing. Amazingly there weren’t any signs for ‘not letting your child shit in a shopping centre’ without clearing it up.
Wandering around the Hutongs. What’s a Hutong I hear you cry? Well, I’ll tell you. ‘Hutong’ is a Mongolian word which means ‘water well’.
