My favorite places to visit in Beijing (for those people who are looking to travel!)

1. Great Wall

I of course have to start off with one of the greatest things you can ever see in your life, The Great Wall. When me and my roommate decided to have a spontaneous trip to the great wall we didn’t really take into account anything before we went, like the time of year (early November) and didn’t judge how cold it would be until we actually got there… We firstly got up at around 7, headed to our local store, got some snacks, drinks and some gloves and headed towards the great wall using one of the buses to the great wall, and once we arrived at Badaling we realized why we were the only people who were actually there, because it was terrifyingly cold! I’d never experienced cold like it, but as soon as we got walking up the steps of the great wall and were arrived at the highest point, all we could see for miles and miles were various stretches of the great wall surrounded by beautiful green scenery and without a single soul with us, it was a peaceful quiet of which I’d never experienced ever before in my life. The feeling when you get here was truly surreal, I’d recommend it to anyone, even traveling in the cold, as it’s cold yes, but you’re not bombarded with thousands of other people, you can have this wonder of the world to yourself!

2. Lama Temple

Lama Temple in Beijing was the first place I visited on my trip in China, I got my packed lunch, drinks, camera and money and headed over to Lama Temple which at that time was only 2 stops away from my accommodation! Buying the ticket was easy, walk up to the window point out one finger and there you go! Pay your 20-40RMB ticket and you’ll have access to the whole temple. When I came it was just before Mid-Autumn Festival therefore there were more people setting up themselves for prayer, and walking around this place with your own sticks of incense, witnessing people praying to the Gods, and taking in the smells, sights, especially the architecture of the whole place you can truly appreciate why so many people come to Temples for peace of mind, it was extremely relaxing to be part of it and to be here in person. One of the greatest things about Lama Temple is the last Temple, which houses a 60ft statute of Maitreya (the future Buddha), which as you look up at the many stories that surround it, you often wonder how such an amazing thing can be created.

Not only inside the Temple, but outside the Temple has a vast network of Hutongs that are extremely interesting to walk down, many of which have some foreign cafes, in case you want to grab a sandwich or a coffee, or you can pay one of the many tiny gift shops a visit, most of which are ran by locals that live within the hutongs, definitely an experience you can’t miss.

3. Jingshan Park

Jingshan Park is the kind of place if you like views. Sitting overlooking the Forbidden City, Jingshan Park is the highest point within Beijing City, whereby it features 3 separate hills with the highest point providing a complete 360 view of the whole city, of which you can see for miles. Definitely somewhere that you need to go on a clear day, as you’ll be able to see Beihai Park, The Olympic Park, all of the hutongs in the centre, and on clear days you can even see as far as the CBD! It’s a bit of a walk, around 10 minutes steep uphill, but the walk up there is definitely worth it as the view is out of this world. There’s also a huge array of little stores that you can buy some gifts, or even have your photo taken in traditional Chinese clothes overlooking the Forbidden City. It’s also fascinating to read about the park before you go, and to also read the notices as you walk, as you can learn the true history of the park and how it became to be, so I’ll leave that for you!

4. Nanluoguxiang onto Houhai Lakes

Nanluoguxiang and Houhai lakes are one of the most popular tourist places in Beijing, but even quite touristy, they still have an incredibly original Chinese feel to them. Nanluoguxiang, probably one of the best places to go before people finish work, as you can walk down this main hutong of which has 100s of other hutongs spreading in different directions. This street is host to an array of gift stores, food stores, cafes, restaurants and also stores that certainly catch your eye, and you’ll know what I mean when you go there! Right next to the subway station, it’s often the main place for people who have just finished work who want to grab a snack and have a nice walk down some historical streets. The food in this place is incredible, and any kind of gift that you want to buy like fans, tea sets or even clothes, you can get from here.

Onto Houhai Lakes, this is the best place to go once you’ve been to Nanluoguxiang, especially at night, the whole area lights up with the bars, restaurants and stores opening their doors and turning on a spectacular light show, this place is extremely popular with tourists and also locals to have a walk around the lakes, and grab something to eat overlooking the houhai lakes, or to head to one of the many rooftop bars and watch the world go by, if that’s your kind of thing, then this is certainly the right place for you! Oh and many of the restaurants are adapted for foreigners so it’s great if your Chinese isn’t yet 100%!

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The Best and Worst thing about living in China

There are so many good things about living in China, it’s often difficult for people to recall their best ever experience from being in the country, whether they’re here for a short time or a long time period, every single day you can experience something completely new with this fantastic culture and country.

I’d say the best thing about living in China is the experiences that you’re going to have, especially with aspects such as the people, food and the sites that you’ll go and see. There are some fantastic places to see in China, some things that will likely take your breath away as you stand in awe of these things right in front of your eyes, like one of my favorite is the 26-metre-tall Buddha in the middle of the Lama Temple or in fact the Great Wall at Badaling, no matter what you see in China it’ll likely take your breath away.

The food, the food is one of the main talking points of everyone here in China, if you’re talking to someone in China the topics will likely be about food, as it’s such an important part of their culture as they have a vast range of dishes, all of which you need to try your best to try (even the strange things!). You’ll never be hungry in China, from breakfast to night, you’ll likely be stuffing your face full of the finest breakfast dishes, dumplings, rice dishes, hot pot and duck, the only problem is that you’ll never want a Chinese takeaway in your own country when you return, because you’ll miss this food too much!

But my favorite thing of China is the people, the people are what make China China. They’re extremely hospitable people, no matter where you are in the country, whether you’re in the middle of a bustling city or wandering around a tiny little village, you’ll probably have a few stares but nothing menacingly, they’re just happy that you’ve come to their country to have a look around. Throughout my whole time in China I’ve never once had a problem with anyone, everyone’s so smiley, helpful and warming to welcome you to the country. I’ve had many random people talk to me on the streets, ask me questions about my life, where I’m from etc. even when I was part of one of those ‘scams’ in China where someone takes you to a local tea shop for some very expensive local tea, I wasn’t even bothered and it was actually a really nice experience, because the woman paid for it, because I was polite to her and she wanted me to enjoy my first experiences in China, she even made sure that I had enough money for the entrance ticket into the Forbidden City and if I needed some help buying it she could do it for me!

Many a time in China I was invited out for dinner by the Chinese, or to various people’s houses to take part within their Spring Festival celebrations, of which I was extremely grateful for. At each point in China, every single Chinese person, whether they can speak your language or not, will try their best to help you, no matter what it’s for. That’s what makes people want to come back time after time.

Going onto what I’d say the ‘worst’ part of China is, I couldn’t even give you something solid, there’s not a lot you can say bad at all, everyone works so hard, everyone’s so welcoming, the food is amazing, the sights are amazing. The only hassle when being in China is the limited access to the internet over here, like accessing Facebook, Twitter, YouTube etc. but even then, after not using it like a daily routine as you would in your own country, you just get used to using the Chinese version, and you even just realize that you don’t miss any kind of social media at all, and it soon becomes an unnecessary part of your life, of which I deleted most of them as I realized I didn’t miss any of them at all.

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Studying/Teaching Styles in China

Being someone that’s had the opportunity to study Chinese language in a decent Chinese university, it’s a pretty helpful thing to try and describe the teaching styles of Chinese schools (in the eyes of a foreigner). But bear in mind that I had only taken a Chinese class and didn’t take part in a degree level one.

Chinese classes at the University that I studied at (BUCT) started at 8:50 sharp, it’s definitely best to be early, as if you’re late by even a minute you’ll already have missed some important parts of the class, and your name will have been crossed as absent. Many rules in Chinese universities follow the procedure that if you’re late or don’t show up to class a certain number of times you won’t be eligible for any scholarship opportunity, and you may not be allowed to be entered for the exams. Therefore unless you’re truly sick, make sure you get there early and start learning.

Chinese teaching is much more different to than of the UK, in the UK we’re asked to join in with the lessons, but most of the time people won’t actually contribute to anything, and the teacher will just move on. However in the Chinese lessons in China, the lesson won’t move on until the teacher is satisfied that everyone is having a go at contributing to the class, whether it’s answering a question, reading out loud, or writing something on the board, as this is seen as one of the best ways to learn the language by being actively involved in it.

Chinese lessons (the first to 3^rd lesson) will start off in English, with the teacher slowly implementing Chinese words and teaching into the lessons. Speaking English is allowed if you’re asking a question or at the early stages of the lessons, however later on you are required to speak solely in Chinese, which even though the English of the teacher’s is excellent, they’re there to teach you Chinese, so expect to be speaking Chinese quickly.

Depending on the type of person you are, if you pick things up quickly you’ll be fine, but those that don’t, expect a smooth journey at first, with plenty of time to learn the new words, learning the grammar etc. in lesson. But in the latter stages, you’re expected to spend most of the learning time in your own time, as the lessons will pick up in momentum and size i.e. not 10 or so words at the start with 3 or 4 lessons on this topic, but more than 30 words with a new lesson a day (especially if your teacher is competitive, they’ll want to be ahead of the other class, which I guess is kind of unfair), you’ll have to learn the majority of the new words outside of the classroom, and use these words and new grammar within the classroom, if you don’t do this revision in your own time, then you simply won’t keep up. I was lucky as I had already studied basic Chinese so I knew all of the characters, grammar and words in the first semester, however after this, it was hard to keep up whilst working at the same time!

The Chinese teachers like you to speak, whether you’re in comprehensive, speaking, or listening class, it’s the best way to learn this language, so expect a lot of presenting, standing in front of the class, speaking to your partner etc. oh and a good tip is to pick a partner that’s also good at the language, because if your partner is someone that doesn’t like to join in and talk to you, then you may not have the ability to practice what you need to.

I studied hard in my first and second month, and in the third month it was difficult to keep up due to work commitments, however, over such a short period of time I could instantly see the progress of everyone in my class, the people that had the chance to do the learning full time, doing it in their free time, it was really impressive as they were really terrible when they first came to the lessons, it was great to see. Some of them are now studying Bachelor Degrees at some of the universities here in Beijing, and their Chinese is perhaps HSK5 level, I was really impressed!

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Making friends in China

My own experience for meeting people in China.

In China, you’ll find that you’ll make friends with someone new each day, it’s really that easy. Being a foreigner student opens up a lot of doors and opportunities to be accepted by Chinese and also lots of people from other nationalities too. The Chinese are extremely welcoming and wanting you to join in with whatever they’re doing, even the dancing aunties.

I had vast experiences of meeting people each moment of my time in China, many of which was at the university, it’s really easy to meet people in the canteens, walking around, the classrooms, or even at the local stores, the Chinese students will often approach you and find any means to try and talk to you. And you’ll quickly find that you’re soon invited out for dinner or to play sports or go drinking with these people that you’ve only just met, but they’re just excited and welcoming because they want to be friends with a foreigner, don’t worry about it!

Also, if you’re living at the international dormitories, you’ll probably find some people from your own country (I didn’t, but that didn’t bother me), and even though the majority of international students may stick around their own country’s people, they’ll be extremely welcoming for you to join them, whether they’re going out for dinner, going exploring around the city, or even just going to get a coffee, it’s very easy to make friends in China.

Another thing that I always found is that if you’re traveling somewhere, many people will stop you and ask for a photo. Don’t worry, it’s not because you’re ugly or scary looking, it’s just because you’re a foreigner, and perhaps at that certain area they don’t see many each day, so they want to take a photo of your handsome face and show their friends that they had a picture with a foreigner, I definitely think that us foreigners could definitely make some money from this somewhere... We’ve all seen that video of the group of big guys sat down in Shanghai with around 20 people taking pictures and videos of them!

In China you’ll never be lonely, if you speak English, the majority of people here will speak English too, and you’ll often find that you’re heading out each day to meet some more friends that you’ve met along your journey here in China. I’ve never met so many welcoming people before in my life. You’ll probably even be invited to someone’s house for Spring Festival, but make sure you make the most of this! As it’s an extremely important aspect of a Chinese person’s life as it’s such a big part of family time, so make sure you are as polite as possible!