Below zero degrees: Beijing

In Jinghong we sadly farewell Mr Su and our other Chinese companions in Yunnan. Someone says that a light has gone out of our trip and there's a feeling that we are now going to be back on the beaten track. No more remote villages and bumpy roads.

Unseasonal snow in Kunming
First we fly back to Kunming, more familiar now but unseasonally covered with snow. Then it's a 24-hour trip in a 'soft sleeper' train through frozen landscapes to Chongqing, with its population of 15 million.

Most of us enjoy the rest on the 24-hour train journey but Chongqing seems to be in permanent grey pollution mist. We catch glimpses of sad-looking pandas and tigers at the zoo and buy thick coats for the even colder weather ahead before flying to Beijing.

Beijing Opera

First impressions of Beijing include miles and miles of high-rise flats and thin trees lining the road. That night we eat Peking Duck at a restaurant established sometime last century. Some of us eat rather too much.

Inevitably we do some tourist things. We visit the Forbidden City, the Ming Tombs and Tiananmen Square. We climb the Great Wall. We take lots of photographs.

One evening we attend a performance of Beijing Opera, admiring the costumes but unable to follow all the Mandarin language.

More pictures of Beijing Opera

Background Information about Beijing
Beijing - China
http://www.ebeijing.gov.cn
Official government site providing information about Beijing's culture, history, government and daily life.
Beijing
http://encarta.msn.com/encnet/refpages/RefArticle.aspx?refid=761559256
Article about Beijing from Encarta.
Beijing This Month Online
http://www.cbw.com/btm/
Contemporary online lifestyle magazine published by the Information Office of Beijing Municipal Government.
Beijing Panorama
http://beijing.muzi.com/
Information about Beijing, including photos, city directory, people and the latest news.
The Beijing Page
http://www.beijingpage.com/
Extensive listing of useful websites related to Beijing.

Lesson plans (open in new windows):
Years 4-6 'Mask making'
Years 7-8 Arts 'Beijing Opera'
Years 9-10 English 'The angry kettle'
Years 9-10 Arts 'Chinese door guards'