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| Beijing, China |
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| I Love Tianjin |
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| I Love Shijiazhuang |
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| Jingxing The Impression |
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I Miss You Very Much
in Gubei Water Town |
" The Golden season. Leaves are falling. Autumn is calling. Autumn carries more gold in its pocket than all the other seasons. Nihao, Beijing ! See U soon ! "
Here is my story on this Oct 2024 visit to Beijing. Autumn is the Golden season (cool & pleasant), visiting China post-National Day Golden Week (Oct 1-7, stress or less stressful you will soon find out when in Beijing or a visit to the Tiananmen Square or the Badaling Great Wall, pictures said a thousand words !), senior citizens in Golden Age (over 70s)'s strong passion in travelling, 15 day visa-free entry to China, never mind this will be my 25th visit to China, my 7th visit to Beijing & 4th to Tianjin; But I have a "noble mission" in this Beijing visit ie my wife's strong interest in re-visiting Beijing as her last visit was in 2002 (more than 2 decades ago), my two travel buddies (Thompson & spouse) first time visit to Beijing, seeing Beijing in the present context post-Covid 19; my last visit to Beijing was in 2015 so a new Beijing outlook awaiting me to see, feel & explore (is China's Beautiful as pictured in her tourism slogan or One man's meat is another man's poison ? But I love to see China under my own lens all these years since my first visit to China in 1997) !
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China's Tourism Slogan
Beautiful China |
Visiting the city / small town of Shijiazhuang (Zhaozhou Bridge & A Dream of Red Mansion) & Jingxing County (Mt CangYanShan) in Hebei Province, showing up in Gubei Water Town (A red leaf town under the Great Wall), North Beijing - these were our "golden bonus" for this entire 15 day visa free visit to China ! In any free & easy travelling, you win some & you lose some but keep going & move on after each journey (if you are healthy fit & able), always look at the brighter side of things & the world is your oyster, the "taste" in travelling is like the ocean & distinct in flavors like a juicy rock oyster !
Anther travel dream fulfilled, just like the moment I stepped into the front Gate of Rongguofu (Rong Mansion), Shijiazhuang to visit A Dream of Red Mansion, a popular tourist site carrying a story relating to a famous Chinese novel I had partially read & digest during my schooling years in 1960s & of course watching a few of the movies & TV plays of A Dream of Red Mansion in the 1980s & 1990s ! KM, I hope after your visit to A Dream of Red Mansion, you see your travelling world in a simple fashion, not so complex as what this famous novel unfold on how true love & basic humanity fail due to old society's patriarchal - feudal structures during the Qing dynasty in the 18th century in China !
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| A Dream of Red Mansion, Shijiazhuang |
Weather (Autumn in Beijing & Hebei): 8c > 21c, best time to see fall foliage & observe color change
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| Autumn |
Total expenses incurred (15 days): Rm3,638 (US$830):
- Air Ticket (Cathay Pacific, KLIA > HK > Beijing & return): @Rm1,314
- Hotel (14 nights): @Rm1,125 twin sharing
- Travel Insurance: Annual Travel Easy Plan Rm (pro rata): @Rm80
- High speed train (3 rides) : (Beijing > Tianjin > Shijiazhuang > Beijing): @Rmb333 (Rm203)
- High speed train (Qinghe > Badaling): @Rmb18 (Rm11)
- Train (Shijiazhuang > Jingxing > Shijiazhuang @Rmb18 (Rm11)
- City Metro / Bus: @Rmb200 (Rm122)
- Long distance bus (Jingxing > Mt CangYanshan > Jingxing @ Rmb16 (Rm9.80)
- Long distance bus (Beijing > Gubei > Beijing): @Rmb100 (Rm61)
- Long distance bus (Beijing > Zhaozhou Bridge > Beijing: @Rmb28 (Rm17)
- Long distance bus (Badaling > Beijing): @Rmb14 (Rm9)
- E-hailing (DiDi 10 rides, group of 4): @Rmb47 (Rm28)
- Cable car (Badaling): Rmb140 (Rm85)
- Auto rickshaw: Rmb5 (Rm3)
- Food:Rmb715 (Rm436)
- Entrance fee (Beijing Garden Expo, Confucius Temple & Yonghe Temple & Gubei Water Town): Rmb206 (Rm125) + FOC (4 entries for seniors 70+)
- Medicine: Rmb25 (Rm15)
Currency Exchange: Rm1 = CNY0.606; Rm1 = CNY1.65, US$1 = 4.40
My travel buddies: My wife, Thompson Tham & Spouse
Travel itinerary: Beijing > Tianjin > Shijiazhuang > Jingxing County > Shijiazhuang > Beijing > Gubei Water Town > Beijing (total approx 1,154km)
Travel Highlights:
1) Beijing, China
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Beijing Lantern Festival
Garden Expo Park |
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| The Imperial Ancestral Temple, Beijing |
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Nan Chi Zi Street
& Hutong, Beijing |
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| Land of Earth, Beijing |
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| Summer Palace, Beijing |
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| Temple of Confucius, Beijing |
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| Guozijian (Imperial College), Beijing |
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| Bird's Nest National Stadium, Beijing |
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The Water Cube
National Aquatic Center, Beijing |
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| Wangfujing Pedestrian Street, Beijing |
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| Guomao, Beijing |
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| Temple of Heaven, Beijing |
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Badaling Great Wall, Beijing
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2) Gubei Water Town & Simatai Great Wall, Miyun District, North Beijing, China
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Gubei Water Town
Miyun District, Beijing |
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Simatai Great Wall
Miyun District, Beijing |
2) Tianjin, China
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| Qing Prince's Palace, Wudadao, Tianjin |
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| Tianjin Ancient Culture Street |
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| Tianjin Eye |
4) Shijiazhuang, Hebei, China
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Zhaozhou Bridge, Zhao County
Shijiazhuang |
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| Liberation Square, Shijiazhuang |
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Wanlimiao Pedestrian Street
Shijiazhuang |
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Rongguofu, A Dream of Red Mansion
Shijiazhuang |
4) Jingxing County, Hebei, China
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| People Square, Jingxing County |
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| Hanxin Park, Jingxing |
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| LongWang Shan Park, Jingxing |
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| CangYanShan, Jingxing |
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