Beijing (part 6)

Day Eight

Yonghe King (永和大王)

Had my breakfast at this Yonghe King fast-food restaurant (left photo below) which is located opposite the Courtyard Marriott hotel. Ordered a breakfast set meal that consisted of 'You Char Kway', a fried egg and a cup of Soya bean milk at a total of RMB 9 (right photo below). Taste was satisfactory except I had to add sugar to adjust the sweetness of the Soya bean milk. Price was acceptable. Cleanliness and hygiene level were similar to most fast-food restaurants in Singapore.



Military Museum of Chinese People's Revolution (中国人民革命军事博物馆)

The Military Museum can be reached by alighting at Military Museum station (军事博物馆站) of Subway Line 1.

The museum (left photo below) is composed of 2 four-storey wings and a main building of seven storeys topped with the gilded emblem of the Chinese People's Liberation Army. This building was listed as one of the 'Ten Great Constructions' completed for the 10th Anniversary of the People's Republic.

The exhibition consists of both outdoor and indoor; for example the display of a missile boat outside the main entrance (right photo below) while most displays are indoor within the 60,000 square meters exhibition area. During my visit, there were 7 exhibition halls including 'Hall of Weaponry' (兵器馆), 'Hall on Road to Rejuvenation' (复兴之路展), 'Hall of Agrarian Revolution War – 1927 to 1937' (土地革命战争馆), 'Hall of War to Resist Japanese Aggression – 1937 to 1947' (抗日战争馆), 'Hall of Liberation War of China – 1945 to 1949' (全国解放战争馆), 'Hall of Ancient Wars' (古代战争馆), and 'Hall of Modern Wars' (近代战争馆).



Hall of Weaponry (兵器馆)

The 'Hall of Weaponry' is the largest exhibition occupying 2 storey of the museum (left photo below). At the center of the hall is the DF-1 ballistic missile (东风-1型弹道导弹). At the other corner of the hall shows the various battle tanks (right photo below) used during the second Sino-Japanese War (better known as War World II).

Hall of Ancient Wars (古代战争馆)

The 'Hall of Ancient Wars' describes the internal and external wars in China during 4,000 years period before Qing Dynasty. Replicas of various types of weaponry and armors used during the wars are exhibited, for example the horse carriage (left photo below) and terracotta warriors (right photo below) from the Qin Emperor Mausoleum. When historical records are lacking, the types of weaponry used could only be determined from the relics unearthed, such as this bronze sculpture from Han Dynasty (bottom left photo). To give a realistic effect, lifelike wax-figures are used to display the armored clothing worn by eight-banner warriors during Qing Dynasty (bottom right photo).

Hall of Modern Wars (近代战争馆)

The 'Hall of Modern Wars' describes the internal and external wars that occurred in 1840 to 1949. No display other than these standing stone columns (replicas) from Old Summer Palace that gives every Chinese visitor the deep impact on the defect of Qing government during the Anglo-French Allied Forces (英法联军) in 1860 (left photo below). Simple weapons used during the Boxer Uprising (义和团运动) during 1898 to 1901 are displayed (right photo below) which formed a huge contrast from the modern rifles used by the troops from Eight Nation Alliance (八国联军).

Hall on Road to Rejuvenation (复兴之路展)

The 'Hall on Road to Rejuvenation' displays the military progress of the People's Liberation Army (PLA) since the founding of the People's Republic in 1949. Formal uniforms (left photo below) and camouflage uniforms (right photo below) of the PLA are displayed in this hall. Due to the terrain of China, the color and patterns of these camouflage uniforms can be different to blend with its surrounding environment.



PLA has undergone several technology advancements to modernize its army, such as the use of army aviation (helicopters), surface-to-air missiles (SAMs), and electronic warfare units (left photo below). Other technologies used to upgrade the warfare efficiency were the vacuum-packing combat food and use of a mini portable water-purifying system (right photo below). The automated machine guns (bottom left photo) and the assault rifles (bottom right photo) displayed caught my attention. Probably I've been through the National Service in Singapore; weapons used by other countries always stir my interest on them.

Souvenirs sold

Souvenir hunters should not miss the wide varieties of souvenirs sold at the third floor of the museum. Camping equipments (left photo below) and food (right photo below) could be found at these souvenir shops.



Interesting souvenirs such as airplanes, cannon and battle tanks made from weapon ammunitions could be bought in less than RMB 100 (left photo below). Visitors could also get a pack of 5 ammunitions at RMB 30 (right photo below). However Singaporeans may not be able to bring these kind of ammunition mementos back due to the strict custom restrictions.

Admission to this Military Museum is free (photo below), including foreigners like me, but a charge of RMB 5 is required to board the aircrafts or battleships. Opening hours from 0830 to 1700 hours and ticketing stop after 1630 hours. Do note that the museum is closed on Mondays.


Beijing Capital Museum (首都博物馆)

Beijing Capital Museum can be reached by alighting at Muxidi station (木樨地站) exit C1 of Subway Line 1 and walked eastwards for about 5-mins.

The Capital Museum was first established in 1981 with its collection was scattered in various locations such as in the Palace Museum and Confucius Temple. In 1999, the Beijing municipal government decided to build a new building to house all its collection under one roof. After much design selection and construction, this new building was officially opened in May 2006 (left photo below). Its design was influenced by ancient Chinese architecture; for example the massive roof which resembled the traditional roof, the stone-made exterior wall symbolized the imagery city walls, and the oval-shaped bronze protruding from the building wall meant to symbolize the unearthing of ancient relics. The name plaque of the museum was written by the former President Jiang Zemin (right photo below).



An imperial marble stele of height 6.7-meters and weighing 40-tonnes was displayed outside the museum (left photo below). It describes the history of Imperial Capital (皇都篇) and was written by Emperor Qianlong in 1753. Now this stele has become a valuable relic to study the history and culture of Beijing.

The interior of the museum is spacious with an exhibition area occupying 6 floors and a basement (right photo below) installed with many state-of the art technology.



Ancient Capital: Chapter on the History and Culture of Beijing' (古都北京: 历史文化篇)

I was totally impressed by the exhibition on the 'Ancient Capital: Chapter on the History and Culture of Beijing' at the second floor. This exhibition showcases the history of Beijing from the earliest discovery of Peking Man to the Declaration of founding of the People's Republic at Tiananmen. Beijing history is almost half of whole Chinese history!

In one of the exhibition area, there was a painting on the imperial capital (Beijing) during Jin Dynasty (left photo below), which showed the prosperity of the capital at that time. Opposite the painting were two outer coffins of the first Jin Emperor 'Wanyan Ahguta' (完颜阿骨打) and his Empress (right photo below). According to the documentary I saw, these two coffins are the real relics made of marbles.



Replicas of the murals of the tomb are recreated in the exhibition area to illustrate the daily lifestyles of the Jin people (photos below).

Selected works of Ancient Buddhist Statues (古代佛教艺术精品展)

Next I proceeded to the fourth floor to view the 'Selected works of Ancient Buddhist Statues'. Buddhism was introduced to China during Han Dynasty and since then images of Buddha and Bodhisattva have been integrated with Han (Chinese) elements and has become part of Chinese culture.

Let the snapshots below exemplify what these images are (photos below):

Stories of the Capital City - Old Beijing Folk-customs Exhibition (京城旧事 - 老北京民俗展)

Another exhibition that left me with deep impression was the 'Stories of the Capital City - Old Beijing Folk-customs Exhibition' on the fourth and fifth floor. The clause 'Old Beijing' (老北京) is often used to describe Beijing lifestyle and culture during the period from the late Qing Dynasty to the early years of the Republic under Nationalist government, where civilians generally had less restriction and streets were bustling with commercial activities. At that time, men were seen carrying a birdcage (as a form at status) and camels (for transportation) were commonly seen along the streets of Beijing (photos below).



An opera stage was recreated and video clips of Beijing Opera (京剧) were showing (left photo below). Objects related to the Beijing Opera were also displayed beside the stage. Beijing Opera has become the favorite pastime of local Beijing residents.

The museum also displays items that were used during important occasions such as birthdays, weddings and traditional festivals. The 'longevity buns' and calligraphic works of 'longevity' were essential items to be present in a birthday celebration for longevity (right photo below). Foods associated with these occasions were also on display (bottom photos).

Temporary Exhibition

Area at the basement of the museum is used mainly for temporary exhibitions such as the Contemporary Porcelain Art exhibition. World class displays and presentation were used to show case these porcelain works (photos below) in a conducive environment for visitors.

This museum is recommended to those who are interested in learning more about the history and culture of Beijing. Admission cost was RMB 30 (photo below) and opening hours from 0900 to 1700 hours. Museum is closed on Mondays.


Qing-Feng Steamed Dumpling Shop (庆丰包子铺)

Walked to Qing-Feng Steamed Dumpling Shop (left photo below) after visiting the Capital Museum. This outlet is located near the exit C1 of Muxidi station (near the main entrance of Fuxin hospital).

Qing-Feng dumpling shop was established in 1948 and now it is operating like a fast-food restaurant. Orders are taken at the cashier counter and food taken from the kitchen counter (right photo below).



The dumplings are prepared in a hygienic environment and the dinning area looked clean too (left photo below). Dumplings are sold in 3 per plate and its fillings can differ from vegetables to meat. Ordered some dumplings and soya bean milk which cost a total of only RMB 7.40 (right photo below).



The best way to eat these dumplings is to dip the chili sauce which tasted similar to blachan chili. I bet most chili-loving Singaporeans never tried eating dumpling this way. Opening hours of this dumpling shop from 0630 to 2100 hours.

Hard Rock Café Beijing (北京硬石餐厅)

The hard rock café could be reached by alighting at Nongzhanguan station (农展馆站) of Subway line 10 and walked northwards for about 5-mins. The café was located within Beijing Landmark hotel.



Furnishing of this café was similar to other outlets throughout the world (left photo below). However I managed to spot one interesting decoration that is very Chinese: the marble pathway in the middle of the stairway (right photo below); where a coiled dragon was seen floating in the clouds with the logo of Hard Rock café in its middle. Variety of souvenirs could be found inside this café, but was rather disappointed as the shot-glass I wanted to get was out of stock.

✍ Update:
Hard Rock Café Beijing is permanently closed on 22 Sep 2012.

Wangfujing Paleolithic Museum (王府井古人类文化遗址博物馆)

Happened to walk pass this museum on my second day but it was closed (left photo below). Fortunately this museum was opened while on my way to Wangfujing Bookstore, thus decided to take a look. Wangfujing Paleolithic museum can be reached by alighting at Wangfujing station (王府井站) of Subway Line 1 and existing using Exit A.

This archeological site was discovered accidentally in 1996 during the construction of the largest mall in Asia: Oriental Plaza (东方新天地). Developers then decided to set up a museum at its actual archeological site (now basement of Oriental Plaza) to display the Late Pleistocene Man (about 24,000 years ago) who once inhibited Beijing. As a rule, any archeological discovery has to be named after the unearthing site, therefore this ancient Man is also known as 'Wangfujing Man' (right photo below).



This simple museum, officially opened in Dec 2001, displays the actual archeological site (left photo below), including the tools (right photo below) and relics of the 'Wangfujing Man', as well as the bone fragments of animals hunted by them.



Admission to this museum was RMB 10 (photo below) and opening hours from 1000 to 1630 hours. Ticketing stops after 1600 hours.


Chamate teahouse (一茶一坐)

Saw this Chamate teahouse at the basement of Oriental Plaza. Since I was quite hungry, decided to have my afternoon snack there. This teahouse has many outlets and there's even one at Super Brand mall of Pudong, Shanghai.

Complimentary tea and wet towel were served to every customer upon arrival (left photo below). Ordered a Mango cheesecake (right photo below) and chilled green tea (not shown in the photo) which cost a total of RMB 33. Taste, price and ambience were similar to any of the cake or coffee chain outlets in Singapore.



Fugang Lamian Restaurant (富冈拉面)

Was searching for a particular book at Wangfujing Bookstore but couldn't find it there. Thus I went to Beijing Book Building at Xidan again for the last time and luckily managed to get it.

Decided to have my dinner at this Fugang Lamian restaurant (left photo below) located opposite the book building. Ordered some Potato cakes (署饼) at RMB 12, a Spicy scallop ramen (香辣鲜贝面) at RMB 25 and an Ice-lemon tea (柠檬冻茶) at RMB 10 (right photo below). Taste of the Ramen and potato cake were good, especially the ramen soup. This is definitely better than the one I had in Heluu Sushi (禾绿回转寿司).



Chongwenmen Food Market (崇文门菜市场)

Chongwenmen food market is located opposite the Chongwenmen subway station and Courtyard Marriott hotel.



Chongwenmen food market (left photo below) is a traditional indoor food market with lots of small stores and a mini-mart (right photo below) selling all kinds of fresh ingredients and it is one of the oldest food markets in Beijing.



Beijing food souvenirs could also be bought in this food market. Went to one of these stalls (left photo below) and the owner helped me to pack an assortment of food goodies at RMB 20 per pack (right photo below). My favorite snack was this honey-preserved kidney bean. Price in this market is reasonable as the main customers are locals rather than tourists. Opening hours of this market is 0730 to 2030 hours.



Shopping malls at Chongwenmen area

Many modern shopping malls are located near the Chongwenmen subway station (崇文门站). The New World Department Store (新世界百货) is just beside the Courtyard Marriott hotel and the Beijing New World Shopping Mall (北京新世界商场) is diagonally opposite the hotel (left photo below). Another mall worth mentioning is this SoShow Shopping Mall (搜秀城) which has a cinema complex catered mainly for the young, rich and modern Beijingers (right photo below).




Day Nine

Woke up very early in the morning at about 4.30 am to wash up and had my breakfast before catching my morning flight back to Singapore. Since it was rather early and lazy of me to walk to the 24-hour fast-food restaurant opposite my hotel, thus I bought a cup noodle and a black Soya milk at a total of about RMB 18 from the Chongwenmen mini-mart the day before (left photo below).

Checked out the hotel and dragged my heavy luggage towards the subway station. Boarded the subway and then airport express (right photo below) to Terminal 3 of Beijing airport. Checked in my luggage at the counter upon arrival and I was free to explore this new terminal.
Beijing Capital International Airport (北京首都国际机场)

Beijing Capital International Airport is the main airport for Beijing and currently the biggest and busiest airport in whole China. The IATA airport code for this airport still remains as 'PEK' which was based on the city's former name 'Peking'.

Airport terminal 3 was fully operational in Mar 2008 to support the heavy air traffics during the Olympics. The design of this terminal follows the color scheme of the forbidden where the roof is yellow while the supporting columns are painted red (left photo below). Luckily decided to arrive at my boarding gate E10 earlier because I didn't know that all passengers have to take an inter-terminal transportation (similar to subway) to reach the boarding gate D or E.

Many shops are located in this departure hall (right photo below). Personally I enjoyed shopping in Chinese airport because I could use up all my RMB and pay the remaining balance by credit card. From what I have observed, this flexibility and convenience provided are not found in airports of many countries.



Indoor gardens with the theme of Southern (left photo below) and Northern (right photo below) Chinese gardens are constructed inside the waiting area for passengers to explore and perhaps have a final photo taken as a memento before departure.



Singapore Airlines

Boarded my flight SQ 803 on time. When the plane was about to leave the aerobridge, the pilot announced that due to some issues by the Beijing air traffic authorities, the flight had to be delayed for takeoff. One quick response by the flight attendants (or probably stated in their Standard Operating Procedures) were to serve snacks and drinks to calm frustrating passengers down. For me I used this opportunity to take a nap. The flight finally took off after a long wait at the taxiway for about an hour.

Lunch was served during flight and I chose this fried rice set (left photo below) and took a vanilla flavor ice-cream (right photo below) as dessert.



My 9-day Beijing trip ended when the flight touched down at Changi Airport.