Capital: Beijing … 1,386,000,000 People … 9,597,000 km² 
The Country
As the country with the most people, largest economy, and largest freestanding army, China is an extremely powerful country with historical significance going back thousands of years. After numerous dynasties and an expansive history of international exploration and trading, China has since established itself as an economic superpower.
Fun Facts
China has enough railroads to loop around the earth twice.
Although larger than the United States, China only has one timezone - China Standard Time
On average, a new skyscraper is built every 5 days in China
My Experience
Day 1
After crossing the International dateline for the first time, my friend and I arrived into Qingdao, China. After using the very basic Mandarin I know to figure out how to rebook our cancelled flight, we eventually arrived into Beijing at around 11pm. What caught me by surprise was the amount of help we received throughout our travels. Although not everyone spoke English, people in the airport (regardless if they were employees or not) were quick to bring out their phones to translate instructions for us.
Our hotel was located in the Shijing Hutong, one of the many narrow alleys that are famous in Northern Chinese cities. I was a bit cautious about walking through the Hutong at night when we arrived, since it was a very dark alley, but it was incredibly quiet, clean, and peaceful. After walking for a few minutes we eventually found our hotel amongst the storefronts. This hotel had a beautiful courtyard, helpful staff, and we arrived at the perfect time to immediately sleep to avoid jet-lag.
Day 2
The next morning we walked to Tiananmen Square, which was only a 10-minute walk from our hotel. After going through a rigorous security screening where we had to scan our passports, we started to explore the massive square. We immediately went into Mausoleum of Mao Zedong, where we slowly walked by the embalmed body of the former chairman. The actual mausoleum is massive, however the rooms we entered were quite small, made smaller by the large amounts of stoic armed guards.
After exiting the Mausoleum, we explored the rest of Tiananmen square, including the Monument to the People’s heroes and the Great Hall of the People. We then walked through the symbolic gateway to the Forbidden Palace, and spent the afternoon wandering the grounds. After some time, we eventually found ourselves in Beihai park, a 1000 year old Imperial park an Island in Qianhai Lake. Lotus flowers surrounded the lake, and the noise and congestion of the city seemed to completely disappear. We ate incredible dumplings in the park and climbed to the White Pagoda, a large monument on a hill in the middle of the island.
We underestimated the distance we walked, and it took nearly 2 hours of walking to make it back to our hotel. Once there, we quickly changed before heading to Silk Street, one of the most popular markets for counterfeit goods. With over 1700 vendors on multiple floors, we were constantly bombarded by people flashing fake sunglasses or watches in our faces. For the past few years, I have wanted a fake Rolex. After 20 minutes of bartering (and playing hard to get), I left with a Rolex, and my friend left with a pair of Ray-Bans.
Day 3
The next morning we walked to the Temple of Heaven, a complex of religious buildings used for harvest ceremonies. This UNESCO World Heritage site is over 600 years old, and hosts numerous monuments and halls including the Hall of Prayer for Good Harvests, Imperial Vault of Heaven, and the Circular Mound Altar. We once again underestimated how large the park was, and easily spent 5 hours exploring… this was probably the worst time to break in a pair of new shoes. As I was sitting on the ground tending to my blisters, an old Chinese man approached me and without saying a word, handed me bandages with a soft smile on his face. I began thanking him in Mandarin and he began beaming with happiness; yet another wholesome experience in China.
After the Temple of Heaven, we made a quick stop in Sanlitun, a modern neighbourhood filled with boutiques, vibrant infrastructure, and amazing food. After a quick meal, we drove to the Yonghe Temple (also known as the Lama Temple), a Tibetan Buddhist temple and monastery. Incense filled the air as dozens of incense burners were surrounding the buildings. The Pavilion of Ten Thousand Happinesses stood predominately within the temple, and showcased a statue of the Maitreya Buddha surrounded by the Four Heavenly Kings.
To end the night, we went to a rooftop bar where I had an incredible drink of bourbon and Beijing plum juice. Occasionally on trips, I like to indulge when it comes to food, so we also enjoyed Peking duck with caviar. My bank account is still suffering to this day, but it was absolutely worth it.
Day 4
The next morning started very early, as we were leaving the city to head towards the Great Wall of China. We were able to find a deal through our hotel for an entire day tour, including transportation and food, for less than $40. It almost seemed too good to be true. The tour began by visiting a jade factory to view sculptures and jewellery (where I couldn’t afford anything), and we then proceeded to visit the Ming Dynasty Tombs. Although 13 mausoleums exist in the area, the most notable site is the Dingling Tomb, the only tomb that has been opened.
It was extremely hot that day, so wandering the complex in direct sunlight was taking its toll on the group. However, when the entered the Dingling Tomb, we went 27 meters underground and the heat immediately dissipated. We were left in this cold, stone palace for quite some time as we were able to view artifacts, artwork, and tombs. When we emerged, we continued on our way to the Great Wall.
The section of the Great Wall we decided to visit was the Mutianyu section, popular but not extremely touristy. When we arrived, there were numerous vendors selling souvenirs, water, and other “great wall essentials”. However, we were anxious to explore the wall, so we immediately hopped on a chairlift that lifted us above the dense leaves and onto the wall. Photos truly can’t represent how incredible this Wonder of The World is. Seeing the wall stretch over mountains and numerous steep points of terrain was breathtaking, and knowing we are seeing only an incredibly small portion of the wall was simply mind-blowing. We began to explore the wall, occasionally taking breaks in ancient guard posts along the way.
A few stray dogs ran up to us on the wall, and I seriously have no idea how they got up there. They were small, adorable, and only stayed with us for a minute before running to other tourists. After a few hours, and after a few of us getting heatstroke, we slid down the Great Wall on toboggans. We quickly descended through the forest, and started our trek back to Beijing. We stopped briefly for a traditional tea ceremony, and eventually arrived back at our hotel exhausted but still in awe.
We decided to wander through the Hutong’s that night, which is when we discovered Dashilar Street - a street we walked past during the day, but had come alive at night. We found a great stand selling fresh fruit, and we were asked by a few locals to take photos with them. After a while of meeting new people requesting photos with us, we spent the rest of the night exploring the nightlife in the Hutong’s.
Day 5
Next on our list was to visit the Beijing Zoo to see the pandas. Although we preferred visiting other places in Beijing, it was interesting seeing a giant panda up close. To change the pace a bit, we deiced to visit an Italian restaurant near Sanlitun called Scott’s Family Italian Cuisine. The restaurant was in an odd place, right across the street from embassies of Botswana and Yemen, but I can absolutely say it was some of the best Italian food I have ever had. The main reason for our time in Beijing was actually for our tour briefing on North Korea. We decided to arrive a few days early to explore the city, but after lunch we met the other people we would be travelling with and received our visas and guidebooks explaining the rules and regulations of the DPRK.
Our briefing was thorough, professional, and also a great time to meet other people with a desire to explore. After the briefing, we went out for drinks with a fellow Canadian we met to celebrate our last day in China before travelling to North Korea. Sticking with the theme of going to rooftop bars, we enjoyed drinks and appetizers on a rooftop beside the CCTV Headquarters in Beijing; a bold, futuristic skyscraper.
After drinks, our new friend showed us some tips using the Beijing subway system. He decided to go back to his hotel early, while we wanted to explore more of Beijing. We got incredibly lost in a few dark alleyways, eventually finding a modern restaurant in the middle of a seemingly abandoned construction site. Keep in mind, at this point it was in the middle of the night, and we didn’t even know how we ended up in an abandoned construction site. Nevertheless, after exploring a bit more, we decided it would be best to get a good nights sleep before we flew to Pyongyang, North Korea the next morning.
Day 6 & 7 (Returning from North Korea)
After spending a surreal week in North Korea, we arrived into Dandong before taking a train back to Beijing. I bought crackers in North Korea that I eventually realized I wasn’t going to be able to finish before arriving in Beijing, so I spent most of the evening offering crackers to tourists, Chinese citizens, and North Korean athletes traveling to Beijing.
When we arrived at the Beijing Railway Station 12 hours later, we were sleep-deprived and a bit confused. We forgot about the crowded streets of Beijing, but took a taxi to our hotel where we spent an hour or two resting. Without wanting to waste too much, however, we took a subway to visit the Summer Palace.
The Summer Palace is encompassed by lush gardens and backed by Kunming Lake; with beautiful buildings peeking through the trees, this is undoubtedly one of the most beautiful places in Beijing. As the largest Imperial garden in China, it was filled with beautiful murals and architecture. We spent a few hours exploring the expansive gardens before climbing Longevity Hill and visiting the Tower of Buddhist Incense. The tower overlooks Kunming Lake, where small paddle boats can be seen scattered across the water.
We then walked down the hill to go through Suzhou Street, an ancient-stylized market that emperors would use to pretend they were shopping amongst common people (even though all the vendors and beggars were actors). After leaving Suzhou Street, we explored the area around Joy City, a modern mall with more amazing food. In China, I noticed we kept going back and forth between ancient temples and modern skyscrapers - usually without much break between them. The Summer Palace was our last glimpse of ancient China, however, because we had to return home the next day.
Before we left to the airport the next evening, we visited Wangfujing Street. This pedestrian street can see over 1 million visitors every day, and is the most well-known street for shopping in Beijing. After buying a few souvenirs for friends and family, we headed towards the airport to conclude this incredible trip.
Photos of China