Beijing observations

We returned to Beijing on the homeward leg of our trip.  These are our observations of this interesting and populous city.

Google is banned in China so we could not update our blog or use gmail.  Accessing the internet via wi-fi was not the problem, but most of our activities are google-based.  The hotel did have a computer so were able to access the internet but not our email.  

There are a lot of public toilets in China and they are free which is impressive but what is not so impressive is that they do not have any toilet paper.  It seems that users must bring their own which we were not aware of.  And, while spitting is banned in China, there is still an awful lot of phlegm clearing noises but thankfully nothing comes out.

Restaurants are plentiful and seem very reasonably priced.  People seem to eat out as much as they do in Australia.

  

The metro system is very good and reasonably priced.  People seem well fed and well dressed.  We saw no signs of beggars or poverty but then tourists do not always get a chance to see the underbelly of a city.

All in all, we enjoyed this visit more than the day we spent in Beijing six weeks ago.  The temperature in October was much more comfortably cooler than in September when it was still quite warm out.  Our hotel was comfortable and welcoming.  They allowed us to check in much earlier than most hotels would and they allowed us to check out much later too.  We were extremely grateful for the treatment we received at the Jade Garden.  It is not a flash hotel but a comfortable one with very good service in the business sector part of the city.  We were told that it is an old Communist hotel where a lot of party functions used to be held.

Talking of party functions, we were once again unfortunate in our timing for visiting a major city.  Tienanmen Square was closed as the 19th Communist Meeting was being held all during the week at the square and surrounding buildings.  There was strict security all around and people had to produce identification when entering the road leading towards the famous square.  There were large queues and it is vaguely possible that we could have got near and seen something but we decided it was not worth the wait.

Immigration control both entering and leaving Beijing is enormously inefficient and cumbersome.  According to someone who comes and goes regularly from Germany, procedures have become more stringent in the last month or so.  They government has introduced a new level of control adding to the already bureaucratic, cumbersome system.  It has completely put me off another visit to China.  Returning to Australia was a such a welcome contrast.  Here, they have substantially streamlined immigration control with computers taking the place of bureaucrats stamping passports.  Getting through immigration control in Sydney was a breeze.