My first day in Beijing started with waiting 3 hours at the airport for my luggage to show up. I was completely sure that the driver is already gone and I have to find an alternative ride. But I was proven wrong and the driver was just waiting outside for me, to drive me to my hotel where I met my colleagues. As my trip to China was a work assignment and I had only the weekends to see the country this is not a usual travel description.
In order to get the most of the day, two colleagues of my and myself decides to visit the Forbidden City in Beijing. The drive there was an adventure itself. First we got a taxi, as we stuck in traffic for 45 minutes, we choose to switch to the train. This was not the best idea because neither the ticket machines nor the stations in the train are in English. Only with the help of a lot of people we managed to find the right station for the Forbidden City.
When planning to go to the Forbidden City at least plan in three hours. The area is huge and there are many small museums to visit. The City is really impressive but sadly also crowded with tourist. For me visiting of the Jingshan Park with a great view on the Forbidden City, was more worth the visit. The Park can be reached over the North Gate. It is a short uphill hike in order to get to the viewpoint. It will take 15 minutes and it is totally worth to see the City from above. AND there were no other people there.
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