We’re getting a little behind on our posts but working hard to catch up. We were in Beijing around Feb 17 and 18th during the weeklong Chinese New Year holiday. It was great to visit the capital during such an important national holiday…but it was also really cold. That first picture is the famous CCTV building built before the 2008 Olympics. We didn’t actually go there; just took this picture out the cab window. What’s not shown in this picture is the devastated building next to it.
We were in the cab on our way to dinner our first night in Beijing. Of course, we had to get Peking duck. So we headed over to Beijing Da Dong Roast Duck Restaurant, which we heard was one of the best.
But Ashley and I aren’t big duck fans, so she ordered a caesar salad and I had the tuna melt.
Just kidding, here’s the duck:
Not the best picture…sorry. That’s some duck meat in a “pancake” on my plate. We’re really not big fans of duck, so I don’t know if it was how hungry we were, or what, but we both thought this was one of the best meals we’ve had in a long time. Delicious!
After dinner we walked from our hotel to a famous night market on Wangfujing Street.
As you can see, there’s plenty of hustle and bustle. What you can’t see in the picture is the smell. Let’s just say it’s pungent. And here’s why:
In case it’s tough to read, the menu signs include such delights as fried beef bunch, fried worms, fried centipede, fried seahorse, fried silkworm, latin flavor cake (?), fried sleeve-fish head, fried chicken stomach, fried sheep kidney, and roast chicken wines (?). Believe it or not, we didn’t try anything. …because we don’t like fried food.
But you don’t have to go to snack street to get a treat. Here are some packaged chicken feet at the local convenience store.
We did, however, find a great expat bookstore on the same street and spent a decent amount of time perusing the shelves there. Got another phrase-book so we can each carry one with us (it’s a crutch).
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The next day we got up bright and early to head to the Great Wall.
It was COLD, but definitely worth it. We got a good workout climbing up the Wall…here are some pics:
Right next to the Wall is a big sign for the Olympics, so we took a couple of pictures there, too.
We were exhausted after all that, so we pretty much called it a day. Stay tuned for day two in Beijing—Tian’anmen Square and Forbidden City!
Tags: Beijing, Beijing Olympics, CCTV building, chicken feet, Chinese New Year, Great Wall, Peking duck, snack street, Wangfujing Street
Now, come on - you’ve got to be able to say you’ve tried all these exotic dishes. When will you get another chance to do it
Isn’t the Great Wall a wonder of the world! It’s so amazing and unbelievable to walk it Thank goodness it was a sunny day.
I kinda wanted to try a fried scorpion but didn’t see any. Ash said she saw them.
What foods besides the scorpions, worms, etc. were available? The Peking Duck looks good. They serve it in a pancake? How does that differ from our restaurants in the U.S.?
I would like to see the merchandise in the stores. Did you do any shopping?
Great reading. Can’t wait for day two.
This brings back a lot of memories. Your photos are great. Looking forward to day two. Stay away from those chicken feet, especially the pre-packaged ones. You never know how fresh these things are.
I had to chuckle at the convenience store chicken feet. OMG, I’ll bet Grandpa C would have bought one; maybe even shared it. Kathleen asks that you post post Day One as she has reread Day one a few times. It really does look cold. the night mkts. are amazing, aren’t they? I’ll bet Vegas cannot beat that. Cooper is outside taking in her vit D. She was in 7th heaven in the patio in PD.
what happened to the building next to the CCTV building?
wikipedia: “…ignited by fireworks on Lantern Festival day, February 9, 2009…”
the buildings are connected underground, which means no one can move into the CCTV building and they can’t demolish the crispy mandarin oriental yet.