The next morning we got up early and walked through the hutongs across the street from our hotel. (The hutong tours are a waste of money as you can find hutongs all over Beijing – fewer and fewer of them, to be sure, but they are there to be explored without being one in a long line of pedicabs.) It was fascinating to see the “real” Beijingers wake up, walk their tiny dogs, go through their tai chi motions on the sidewalk, buy breakfast at small food stalls, then jump on their bicycles and pedal off to work. You will see none of this on a “guided” hutong tour.
After breakfast we took the subway to Tiananmen Square, people watched there for a while, then explored the Forbidden City. Again, skip the guide and do it on your own (you can always rent the audio tour). We noticed a rather bored and exhausted-looking couple that had obviously made the mistake of hiring a guide who delivered a constant torrent of arcane facts and party propaganda as they walked through the City.
We exited the Forbidden City at the north gate and walked west to spend some time at the beautiful and restful Behai Park, after which we took a taxi to the final must-do on our list – Quanjude Peking Duck Restaurant (we had no problem getting there as we had had the hotel concierge write the name and address in Chinese). We arrived during the lunch hour and were seated immediately. The menu is in English and the wait staff also speak English. Cost for two was about $40. Cheaper, fast food version of the same food available next door.
Back to the hotel by subway, a long nap, and then an evening spent at the nearby Xidan commercial center. Bought a couple bottles of wine for the cruise but mostly spent the time trying to cool off by sipping coconut water at a sidewalk café and watching Beijing shop ‘til it dropped.
Getting to Tianjin
The following day it was time to make our independent way to Tianjin to board the Pacific Princess. We got a cab outside the hotel to take us to Beijing Zhan Railway Station (again, we had the name and address ready for the driver in Chinese). As soon as we were dropped off, we congratulated ourselves once again for always traveling with carry-on luggage only. To get from the taxi drop off point to the station involves walking about half a block to a pedestrian underpass, down a flight stairs, across the underpass, up a flight of stairs, and then across a large square to the main entrance. There are enterprising young men eager to help with your luggage, but the best-equipped ones had only one small luggage cart. You would therefore need to hire a private car to drive you to Tianjin or go with the Princess transfer if you are a traveler of the won’t-leave-home-without-everything-I-own variety.
Here are some tips for those who still want to try reaching Tianjin on their own: Enter the station using the main entrance (NOT the entrance marked “Ticket Hall”). You will need to go through security in order to enter. Afterwards, look for an overhead sign to your left pointing to the “Ticket Office for Foreign Passengers.” Follow the signs to the office, where you will be able to buy a ticket to Tianjin (40 yuan) on a bullet train that takes just one hour and twenty minutes to get there. Have the destination, time, number of tickets, and class (go for the soft seats) in Chinese. You or your hotel can also purchase tickets ahead of time; just be sure to get to the station forty minutes before departure.
The ride is comfortable and there is plenty of room for luggage, plus you get to see the countryside. (A fellow cruiser who used the Princess transfer to the port told us that most of the route is tree-lined so that passengers get barely a glimpse of rural China.) In Tianjin you will again need to carry your luggage up a flight of stairs (if there is an elevator, it was not immediately apparent to us), and as soon as you exit you will be accosted by the usual pack of aggressive taxi drivers. We ignored them all and went to a metered taxi with a woman driver who delivered us safely to the Tianjin Passenger Terminal in 45 minutes for 120 yuan (plus tip).
We left our hotel at 8:30 am, boarded the 9:40 to Tianjin, and arrived at the Terminal shortly before noon, for a grand total of 200 yuan ($25) for the two of us.
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