Day 1 in China: Arrive in Beijing
Transfer via: International flight UO304 (-23:30) arranged by you. Upon your arrival at the Beijing airport, your local guide and private vehicle will meet you and escort you to your hotel. The rest of the day is yours to relax and recover from jetlag.
The day started off with last minute packing, rearranging and cleaning the house but an over all lazy morning. Crystal Crawford stopped by to pick us up early in the afternoon and after a quick jaunt to the airport and a mostly painless boarding onto our plane in the tiny international section of the Naha airport we were on our way to Hong Kong.
Depart: Naha Field (OKA) Okinawa 16:20
Arrive: Hong Kong Intl (HKG), Terminal 1 18:05
The flight was short an uneventful. Hong Kong Express Airways turned out to be pretty decent over all. Leg room enough for even Dave and a fair in flight meal, even on this short international flight. Stewardesses also seemed pleasant enough, unlike every US flight I have ever had, it seems China still believes at least a little that flight attendants have a customer service job. After a short wait in the Hong Kong airport, we were off again to Beijing.
Depart: Hong Kong Intl (HKG) , Terminal 2 20:15
Arrive: Beijing Capital Arpt (PEK), Terminal 2 23:30
The Beijing airport is of course a breeze to get through and after a short few minutes we were headed outside to meet our first guide "Summer".
Beijing (pronounced /beɪˈdʒɪŋ/, Chinese: 北京; pinyin: Běijīng), also known as Peking (pronounced /piːˈkɪŋ/ or /peɪˈkɪŋ/), is a metropolis in Northern China, and the capital of the People's Republic of China. Governed as a municipality under direct administration of the central government, Beijing borders Hebei Province to the north, west, south, and for a small section in the east, and Tianjin Municipality to the southeast. Beijing is one of the Four Great Ancient Capitals of China.
Beijing is recognized as the political, educational, and cultural center of the People's Republic of China, while Hong Kong and Shanghai predominate in economic fields. The city hosted the 2008 Olympic Games. Few cities in the world besides Beijing have served as the political and cultural centre of an area as immense as China for so long. The Encyclopædia Britannica describes it as "one of the world's great cities," and declares that the city has been an integral part of China’s history for centuries; there is scarcely a major building of any age in Beijing that does not have at least some national historical significance. Beijing is renowned for its opulent palaces, temples, and huge stone walls and gates. Its art treasures and universities have long made the city a centre of culture and art in China.
Our guide Summer introduced us to Beijing as we drove the roughly 40 minutes to our hotel in the middle of the city. Unfortunately it was almost 1:00 am and none of us was in any particular mood for conversation. The city lay shrouded in darkness, only the neon lights illuminated the night. I was excited to see the changes in Beijing since my last visit in 2008 but it was going to have to wait until tomorrow.
After arriving at the hotel we stumbled up to our hotel room and promptly fell asleep. Our 10:00 am start the next morning seemed blissfully far away.
Accommodations: Sunworld Hotel, Beijing (4 star)
Phone: 010-65138822
Fax: (86)01065139095
Address: 88 Dengshikou, Dongcheng District, Beijing, 100006 P.R.C
Web: Http://www.sunworldhotel.com.cn