Time travel in China; an introduction to historic Beijing, Pingyao and Xi’an

After traveling around Mongolia for two weeks, we continue to our last part of the Trans-Mongolian Express; the train from Ulaanbaatar to Beijing. We find ourselves in the nice company of a British couple with whom we share the train cabin for 30 hours. As with previous border crossings, crossing the border between Mongolia and China takes time. Especially because of the changing of the undercarriage of the train. Because Mongolia has a different kind of rails than China, the whole train is being air lifted with machines at the border, while we are still in it. In a large hangar, the Chinese chassis gets pushed underneath the train and gets installed… et voilà; the Trans-Mongolia Express is ready to travel through China.

After 1,600 kilometres, including a drive through more than 60 tunnels, we arrive at the final destination; Beijing. Here, our adventure around China continues, but for many train passengers the plane back home awaits, after spending a few days in the Chinese capital of course.

Beijing, a mix of extremes

Beijing is dynamic, huge, fast, hot, smoggy, crowded, noisy, pompous and especially impressive. A mix of extremes. Especially in the summer when it is 34 degrees Celsius, the smog hangs above the city as a thick cloudy curtain, the whole of China has summer holidays and people keep pushing each other in the queues at the tourist attractions. But when the centuries-old history, the majestic buildings, hidden hutongs, bustling streets, a rare smog-free blue sky and the fabulous local food make such an impression, you immediately forget your frustration with the lesser ingredients of this city.

We wander through Beijing for a week and love looking at the Forbidden City and the Summer Palace, we marvel at richly decorated temples, enjoy the street food and hike on the mighty Great Wall of China.

Colourful streets in Pingyao

We book a Chinese bullet train that reaches speeds of over 300 kilometres per hour, to Pingyao. The charming historic town with “only” half a million people, in Chinese terms almost called a village, has a car-free city centre, proudly being on the Unesco World Heritage List. And not without reason; ancient walls decorate the cosy streets which are adorned with glowing red lanterns. This is the China that you know from postcards. Pingyao is a pleasant stop with delightful restaurants; a real “moment of being on vacation” during your tour of the otherwise hectic China.

Terracotta Army in Xi’an

The comfortable express train carries us further south, until we arrive in Xi’an. This is the home of the 2000-year-old Terracotta Army, one of China’s greatest archaeological showpieces. At the tomb of the first emperor of China, thousands of stone soldiers and horses stand guard side by side. Part of the life size statues has been excavated and restored, another part is still covered bij sand and rubble. According to the stories, the emperor believed that his reign would continue after his death, making this army useful. All statues are unique; the ranks of the soldiers, facial expressions and clothing are each slightly different from each other.

Xi’an has more highlights. We spend a small week in this melting pot, that once marked the end of the famous Silk Road. We cycle on the city walls, take pictures of the Giant Wild Goose Pagoda, enjoy the multicultural Muslim district with its great food stalls and in between we work enthusiastically on our Globe-Hopper blogs and website, because that should be done as well.

The combination of travel and working on our website requires some planning. Sometimes there is so much to see that we consider it a shame to spend a day in front of our laptops. With or without a working internet, which in China can be a misery because of all the blocked websites. Other times, our fellow travelers give us strange looks because we are working for days, while the sun is shining and a beautiful place awaits to be explored. It’s a part of the job, therefore we plan extra days at many locations so that we can work on the Globe-Hopper website. And that fortunately pays off; Our site is visited more and more, and every time we especially look forward to your comments on our World Trip Blog, Facebook posts and Instagram pictures!