It's been 2 weeks since our family trip to Beijing and we're still missing the wonderful times we had during the trip. We kept repeating how glad we were to be visiting Beijing in late September because the end summer-early autumn weather was perfect! In the day, there's a light cooling breeze in the air and at night, you get cold wind which is kind of like in Genting Highlands.

Food was great because the restuarants were all told beforehand that Singaporeans prefer lightly flavoured dishes so they were all advised on 少油，少盐，少糖  (less oil, less salt and less sugar). And the toilets were all clean!!

Me and my Dad enjoying the trip.

Last year, we went to Yunan in mid October and holy shit, it was so cold I fell really sick and missed out on quite a bit of the tour because I stayed in the hotel to rest. I wasn't used to the food there so I didn't eat much. Then there is the toilet. Let's not talk about toilet door locks or availability of toilet paper because they can be solved like someone guarding the cubicle door for you and preparing tissue papers. But toilets that have got no doors / no flush / extremely low cubicle walls / no running water to wash your hands... AHHH. It's extremely uncomfortable to do your business like that.

So thank god none of that this time round.

Okay I digressed. Back to Beijing.

Beijing is a pretty interesting place to be at if you are very keen on learning more about the history of China. It has been the capital of China since the Ming Dynasty, about 800 hundred years ago. It's a place where those stuff in your history books and the period dramas that you have been watching come to live.

Tons of events took place in Beijing; which is why it's a place thats full of history and I like that! Over the years, these events left their marks in different areas of Beijing from palaces to temples to gardens to gates and tombs. Right from the Ming Dynasty to the Qing Dynasty, followed by the Second World War and several revolutions. Our guide roughly told us the stories behind every place while we were on our way there and it's so drama mama and interesting. No wonder most of the stories were made into television series.

Other than that, we all know that China is rapidly developing and manufactures a lot of the things we use today. Therefore it's also pretty cool to see how modern China has changed from what it was to a vibrant and developed city. Plus this also means = many things are 'Made in China' = go China buy confirm cheap = SHOPPING!

Below are the places that we visited during the 8 days trip to Beijing! (to be continued over several blogposts)

1. Tiananmen Square (Gate of Heavenly Peace)

Tiananmen used to be one of the entrances, or rather the front entrance to Forbidden City, which is why it is just adjacent to the Forbidden City. Usually many will drop by here for a visit before going to the Forbidden City because it's so near. It is the place where Mao Zedong proclaimed the founding of People's Republic of China, so you can see a huge portrait of him overlooking the entire area.

It's a very popular tourist area for both locals and foreigners so the square is mad crowded. There are just soooo many people everywhere! It's so difficult to get a nice picture of the square, so my best picture of the gate with the portrait of Mao is when I'm right infront of the gate and about to enter the Forbidden City. 

Huge area of space with tons of people taking photos everywhere.

In case you didn't know, this is also where thousands of civilians were massacred while demonstrating for democracy in 1989.

2. Beijing Imperial Palace Museum (Forbidden City)

One of the must-visit place for me in Beijing is the Forbidden City.

The Forbidden City was the Imperial Palace for 24 emperors during the Ming and Qing Dynasty. For a few hundred years, it was the home for many emperors and their households.

I grew up watching period dramas about power fights between the Emperor and his courtiers, evil Empresses, jealousy fights between Imperial Concubines and loads more stories about the Enunchs and Palace Maids. All of these stories came from within the Forbidden City, so I definitely have to see this place for myself!








The Forbidden City is huge! And is almost as crowded as Tiananmen Square.

There's 980 buildings inside the city so this means a lot of walking involved, along with climbing up and going down staircases after staircases. I don't think it's possible to cover everything within a day.























Generally we were quite disappointed that there is nothing much to see inside each of the palaces. I was expecting many little items displayed but there wasn't much.

There was one palace that we went into which had furnitures and trinkets inside but we had to peer through dusty windows to have a small peek into the rooms. Couldn't see much stuff inside because the windows were too dirty.

These rooms belong to Empree Wanrong, which was the empress to the last Emperor Pu Yi.

Feeling extremely happy and grateful right now.

We haven't had a family trip together in a long time. Our last one was in Dec 2010, to Taiwan. So this one to Beijing makes up for the trips for the past 3 years I guess.

It's been wonderful and Dad's fall is kind of a blessing in disguise. During the trip, the three of us scrambled to look after Dad as he limped step by step to catch up with the rest of the tour group. It's heart breaking to see him in so much pain for the first few days. Thank god he got better and better. This made our family stick together more and we all take turns to accompany Dad's slow walk at the back everyday.

We finally got to see the Great Wall Of China!

Which means spending a lot of time with me hahaha.

Usually I'll wake up late and spend my day brunching at home then surfing the net or watching tv. But with him around I gotta accompany him for lunch everyday at the coffeeshop below our house. He gets bored easily and keeps wanting to go here and there. So after that we'll take a slow walk around the neighbourhood then back home.

He'll irritate me. I'll irritate him. We'll quarrel. Then we're okay with each other the next minute.

Family relations... It's complicated.

Anyway, I'm really thankful that he's recovering bit by bit and is not suffering from any fractures or break any bones.

It's been 2 weeks since our family trip to Beijing and we're still missing the wonderful times we had during the trip. We kept repeating how glad we were to be visiting Beijing in late September because the end summer-early autumn weather was perfect! In the day, there's a light cooling breeze in the air and at night, you get cold wind which is kind of like in Genting Highlands.

Food was great because the restuarants were all told beforehand that Singaporeans prefer lightly flavoured dishes so they were all advised on 少油，少盐，少糖  (less oil, less salt and less sugar). And the toilets were all clean!!

Me and my Dad enjoying the trip.

Last year, we went to Yunan in mid October and holy shit, it was so cold I fell really sick and missed out on quite a bit of the tour because I stayed in the hotel to rest. I wasn't used to the food there so I didn't eat much. Then there is the toilet. Let's not talk about toilet door locks or availability of toilet paper because they can be solved like someone guarding the cubicle door for you and preparing tissue papers. But toilets that have got no doors / no flush / extremely low cubicle walls / no running water to wash your hands... AHHH. It's extremely uncomfortable to do your business like that.

So thank god none of that this time round.

Okay I digressed. Back to Beijing.

Beijing is a pretty interesting place to be at if you are very keen on learning more about the history of China. It has been the capital of China since the Ming Dynasty, about 800 hundred years ago. It's a place where those stuff in your history books and the period dramas that you have been watching come to live.

Tons of events took place in Beijing; which is why it's a place thats full of history and I like that! Over the years, these events left their marks in different areas of Beijing from palaces to temples to gardens to gates and tombs. Right from the Ming Dynasty to the Qing Dynasty, followed by the Second World War and several revolutions. Our guide roughly told us the stories behind every place while we were on our way there and it's so drama mama and interesting. No wonder most of the stories were made into television series.

Other than that, we all know that China is rapidly developing and manufactures a lot of the things we use today. Therefore it's also pretty cool to see how modern China has changed from what it was to a vibrant and developed city. Plus this also means = many things are 'Made in China' = go China buy confirm cheap = SHOPPING!

Below are the places that we visited during the 8 days trip to Beijing! (to be continued over several blogposts)

1. Tiananmen Square (Gate of Heavenly Peace)

Tiananmen used to be one of the entrances, or rather the front entrance to Forbidden City, which is why it is just adjacent to the Forbidden City. Usually many will drop by here for a visit before going to the Forbidden City because it's so near. It is the place where Mao Zedong proclaimed the founding of People's Republic of China, so you can see a huge portrait of him overlooking the entire area.

It's a very popular tourist area for both locals and foreigners so the square is mad crowded. There are just soooo many people everywhere! It's so difficult to get a nice picture of the square, so my best picture of the gate with the portrait of Mao is when I'm right infront of the gate and about to enter the Forbidden City. 

Huge area of space with tons of people taking photos everywhere.

In case you didn't know, this is also where thousands of civilians were massacred while demonstrating for democracy in 1989.

2. Beijing Imperial Palace Museum (Forbidden City)

One of the must-visit place for me in Beijing is the Forbidden City.

The Forbidden City was the Imperial Palace for 24 emperors during the Ming and Qing Dynasty. For a few hundred years, it was the home for many emperors and their households.

I grew up watching period dramas about power fights between the Emperor and his courtiers, evil Empresses, jealousy fights between Imperial Concubines and loads more stories about the Enunchs and Palace Maids. All of these stories came from within the Forbidden City, so I definitely have to see this place for myself!








The Forbidden City is huge! And is almost as crowded as Tiananmen Square.

There's 980 buildings inside the city so this means a lot of walking involved, along with climbing up and going down staircases after staircases. I don't think it's possible to cover everything within a day.























Generally we were quite disappointed that there is nothing much to see inside each of the palaces. I was expecting many little items displayed but there wasn't much.

There was one palace that we went into which had furnitures and trinkets inside but we had to peer through dusty windows to have a small peek into the rooms. Couldn't see much stuff inside because the windows were too dirty.

These rooms belong to Empree Wanrong, which was the empress to the last Emperor Pu Yi.

Feeling extremely happy and grateful right now.

We haven't had a family trip together in a long time. Our last one was in Dec 2010, to Taiwan. So this one to Beijing makes up for the trips for the past 3 years I guess.

It's been wonderful and Dad's fall is kind of a blessing in disguise. During the trip, the three of us scrambled to look after Dad as he limped step by step to catch up with the rest of the tour group. It's heart breaking to see him in so much pain for the first few days. Thank god he got better and better. This made our family stick together more and we all take turns to accompany Dad's slow walk at the back everyday.

We finally got to see the Great Wall Of China!

Which means spending a lot of time with me hahaha.

Usually I'll wake up late and spend my day brunching at home then surfing the net or watching tv. But with him around I gotta accompany him for lunch everyday at the coffeeshop below our house. He gets bored easily and keeps wanting to go here and there. So after that we'll take a slow walk around the neighbourhood then back home.

He'll irritate me. I'll irritate him. We'll quarrel. Then we're okay with each other the next minute.

Family relations... It's complicated.

Anyway, I'm really thankful that he's recovering bit by bit and is not suffering from any fractures or break any bones.