Mighty Beijing

As the capital of China, Beijing is rightfully a symbol of the country: a mix of old and new, big, crowded and full of life in many forms: people, bikes, cars, street stalls... All in all, a jolly chaos.

I stayed in one of Beijing's hutongs, these very scenic little alleyways sprinkled across the city

Classic Hutong view

A visit to Tianamen Square

Mao's mausoleum...

The Forbidden City in the distance

Mao (and security cameras) guard over the Forbidden city...

Wood dragon

Stone dragon

These huge cauldrons, full of water in case of fire, were placed all over the Forbidden City.

Great view across the roofs of Beijing.

The Forbidden City's gardens

There always seems to be something new being built over older Beijing

The new CCTV building. Very cool...

Right at the end of my trip, I did some more couchsurfing with Larson, a really nice and very interesting chap who works as a journalist in China. Here, we're getting ready to get stuck into some Peking Duck.

Larson, if you're reading this, many thanks for the hospitality! 

Next up: Indonesia.

The Great Wall

This is hands down the highlight of my trip to China. It's really breathtaking... and really fun to walk around.

 

It's pretty steep and a real workout in certain areas. Especially like this one which is not renovated...

Great Wall? Check.

It just freakin' goes on and on...

Yes, OK. I got a bit carried away with the new camera... ;-)