Another opportunity to visit China. Another visit to Beijing and Chengdu. Off Peak, early spring. New walking shoes and a new suitcase, previous items all worn out, beat up and now part of the travel museum. My agenda item expectations and drive to see it all have tampered down to a few re-visits and a short list of new ” if there is time” sites. Familiarity of both cities from previous visits should allow me to get into the scene a little quicker. Looking forward to another hike on the Great Wall. Ready to travel, Go!
China Trip 02/27 – 3/07
- $1 US = 6.311 RMB
- +14 hrs from USA Mountain Time
- United Airlines
- Air China
- Beijing Marriott Hotel City Wall
- Renaissance Chengdu
- Beijing sits at a similar latitude to North Korea’s capital
- Temperature forecast: Beijing 50/20F & Chengdu 60-40F
Tuesday March 27
- DEN – SFO
- Flight time to SFO: 2 hrs 17 minutes
- Take off: 7:58am MT
- B757-300
- Cruising at 33675’ at 445 mph
Add the B757 to the list of United planes you can text from in flight while in airplane
Mode.
Touchdown SFO: 9:14am PT
SFO-PEK
- UA888
- Flight time to PEK: 12hrs
- Take off: 11:34am PT
- B777-300ER
- Cruising at 36001’ 545mph
Wednesday March 28
Very good flight into Beijing. For these longer trips, always worth the upgrade to a better seat.
Touchdown PEK Beijing,China : 4:03pm China time
- Airport Train to T3-C
- Immigration/baggage and by 5:30pm
- Airport Express – 25rmb
- Line 2- 3rmb
- Exit C at Jinguomen Station
OK so much for my assumed familiarity smugness, took the wrong exit, wanted exit C. Got out at Exit A. Ended up going back through the station to the correct exit. Another reminder that rush hour is not the best time to travel via the subway especially with any luggage. Can’t always avoid it….From C exit to the hotel was a 10min walk.
Hotel
Beijing Marriott Hotel City Wall 6:30pm CT
Landmark Marriott sign missing from the roof. It used to be a good directional landmark to get me to the hotel. It turns out the hotel is on the cusp of transitioning to a new management company and will no longer a be a member of the Marriott family, but my reservation was still honored and was checked into a nice room with lounge access. Good to be off the road and safe. All went well. Hooking up devices, charging and cleaning up.
The “plan” for this segment of the trip:
- Beijing – Great Wall Hike – Thursday
- Forbidden City – Friday
- Panjiayuan Market – Saturday
Thursday March 01
Great Wall Hike
OK all my clocks are off, so rather than wait to get synched into the time shift, going for it, time to get out for a healthy hike.
Hotel p/u 7:30am
Booked with tour-beijing.com
- Small group tour: Jinakou to Mutingu
- No shopping
- Lunch included
- https://www.tour-beijing.com/coach_tours/bns_07.php
This is my second time for this tour. The weather was rainy and foggy the first time. Today’s forecast calls for cold but clear weather. Hotel Pick up, very competent guide. Long duration drives, but well executed and the hike is extraordinary. WiFi internet access on the Wall is now turned up, free and quick. Sent iPhotos to family & friends. WAPs are in the towers.
Rough and smooth, up and down, this industrial sized stair master provides a great leg stretch..
Good lunch in a nearby town. Tremendous amount of construction underway in the area. A very large resort went in since my last visit. Roads need some work, but once back on the expressway the only limitation was the amount of traffic.
Friday March 02
Temple of Heaven
A return to the beautiful park of the Temple of Heaven. Quiet, people walking, stretching, playing card and domino games and visiting the temple sites.
North of Forbidden City
The plan was to visit the Forbidden City, but it morphed into visits to the Drum and Bell Towers north of the Forbidden City, then a long walk down to the Jingshan Park just north of FC.
Saturday March 03
Panjiayuan Market
This is a very lively and interesting market that spills out of its compound into the neighboring streets with courtyard pop up stalls, small shops and street vendors. The various items for sale in the market include pottery, semi-precious stones, calligraphy, clothing, fabric, boxes, boxes etc. On one side of the compound are formalized booths/display area, the other side is a flea market on the ground less formal arrangement, the two areas separated by a wall of shops/food businesses. All around the perimeter of the compound are higher end antique and jewelry shops, book vendors and miscellaneous unknown offices.
https://www.lonelyplanet.com/china/beijing/shopping/panjiayuan-market/a/poi-sho/1241629/355905
Also checked out the Great Leap Brewpub #45. Good selection of beers and pub food.
http://www.greatleapbrewing.com/
Sunday April 04
Trip to Chengdu
- Air China
- PEK-CTU flight CA4102
- Terminal 3
- Takeoff: 11:19am
- Altitude: 11618m
- Speed: 708kmh
- Touchdown: 2:01pm
Chengdu Metro has completed Line 10 to the airport that is easily accessible from the airport, works well to provide transport into the city. Two transfers and a short walk are involved to get to the hotel. Traveling light, so no big deal. The authorized airport taxis also work well for off hours and larger loads.
- CTU Airport Terminal 2
- Metro Line 10 to South Railway Stn
- Xfer Line 7 to Taipingyaun
- Xfer Line 1 to Tongzilin
- Walk South to Renaissance
- 45min total time from Airport.
Walked the neighborhood, window shopped and had a beer. Tomorrow is wide open as far as agenda. Waiting to hear from my friend Yu and confirm a day/time to meet while in town.
Agenda in Chengdu
- Panda Park
- Sichuan Science & Technology Museum
- Chengdu Museum
- Meet up with Yu
Monday April 5
Woke to a series of emails/msgs from Yu. They were taking me to the Ancient City of Huang Long Xi and they will arrive at 10am. We met up and was introduced to Howard, her husband, and we headed out to Huang Long Xi Ancient City. This is a popular Chinese tourist site about 90min from the hotel.
https://www.chinatravel.com/chengdu-attraction/huanglongxi-ancient-town/
Many interesting views, temples and shops. Time well spent with my friends.
Anshun Lang Bridge
The evening walkabout took me to see the lights on and around Anshun Bridge. Threat of rain, but holding off for now. Easy to reach via the Metro followed by a short walk to the River.
Popular dining and entertainment area along the JinJiang River
Tuesday April 6
Started the day with a trip to the Chengdu Research Base of Giant Panda Breeding.
Travel by the metro and the bus was easy, took about an hour from my hotel to reach the base.
- Jinguamen Station line 1 to Sichuan Gynnasium
- Transfer to Line 3 to Panda Avenue Station
- Exit to street – Take 198, 198A 0r D025 bus to base
There was a public bus sitting there with Panda Base displayed on its sign, alternating between Chinese and English. Easy button.
After a few hours well spent, returned to the City Center via the bus and metro. Next stop the Sichuan Science and Technology Museum. This museum was closed for renovation during my last visit. There was an issue with getting a ticket. The museum was not busy, but told to get a ticket on line prior to visiting. This museum is intended for younger family oriented patrons, so there are timed entry tickets to reduce crowding. I hadn’t checked as to the protocol before arrival. They let me in anyway. Many well done hands on exhibits, demonstrations and visuals. Definitely for a younger audience.
Still some time left to see the current exhibits at the close by Chengdu Museum adjacent to the west side of Tianfu Square. A little bit of a line, but worth the patience. Good visit.
Good day in Chengdu. Took the metro back to the Tongzilin Metro Station and walked back to the Renaissance through rain showers.. Some packing and relaxing at the hotel prior to tomorrow’s travel back to Denver.
Wednesday April 7
Return travel to Denver
Walk to Tongzilin Stn.
Line 1 to South Railway Stn
Xfer to Line 7 to Taipingyaun
Xfer to Line 10 to CTU T1
From Hotel Room 2410 to
CTU Airport lounge 1hr 15min
CHENGDU TO SAN FRANCISCO
- United Airlines flight UA8
- B787-800
- Flight time to SFO: 12hr13min
- Take Off: 11:11am China Time
- Cruising at 39001’ at 707mph
Touchdown San Francisco SFO: 7:39am pst
Immigration and Customs, recheck bag then back through security into the terminal.
SAN FRANCISCO TO DENVER
- United Airlines flight UA223
- B737-900
- Take off: 11:20am PT
- Cruising at 36410” 593mph
Touchdown Denver International Airport DEN: 2:15pm MT
Gate B26 Terminal B
Good to be home, safe and wiser.
GREAT WALKABOUT!
Thanks:
- United Airlines
- Air China
- Beijing Marriott City Wall
- Chengdu Renaissance Hotel
- Beijing Metro
- Chengdu Metro
- Beijing.com for City Wall Tour
- TravelChinaGuide.com for Maps
- lonelyplanet.com for Panjiayuan Market
- chinatravel.com for Huang Long Xi Ancient City
- greatleapbrewing.com
Photos: Copyright JGeiss
jaygeissphoto.com
Jay Geiss - Walkabout 