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China Birding Trip: September-16-30, 2013 |
Day 15 September 29 -
Beijing: Tiananmen Square and the Forbidden City
Bird of the
day: White-cheeked Starling
We had our last early morning birding at the Friendship Hotel.
After breakfast we would return to Beijing and then home.
We scouted for birds in the gardens and were rewarded with
Red-flaked Bluetails (many), Red-throated Thrush, Dusky and
Yellow-browed Warblers, Japanese Tits and an Indian Cuckoo.
At this time of the morning we shared the walkways with
exercisers.
After breakfast it was time to say a final good bye to our Jin
Shan Hotel…
Then we got on the Tangang Expressway for a four hour drive to
Beijing. Barbara was entertained by the English road signs.
Interestingly there were several full service centres. No birding
stops!
When we got close to Beijing, our bus had to stop. Traffic was
solid because of the upcoming National Day of the People’s
Republic of China, October 1. This is a popular memorial day for
the founding of the republic in 1949. October 1-7 is a one week
holiday known as the Golden Week. This is a great celebration
with a lot of travellers. As people were preparing for the
holiday, there was a lot of congestion on the roads. When we
approached Beijing, our bus needed a special pass to enter the
city. There are many numbered ring roads – we noticed a sign
for #3 west, but ours was #3 east – a long way to go across
the city.
Finally we arrived at Beijing Exhibition Centre Hotel. To
facilitate our lunch, June had ordered it ahead to be delivered
to the hotel – it arrived by motorcycle from McDonald’s
across the street. We quickly checked in and hopped on the bus
with our lunch. When we were finished, June dropped the garbage
in a garbage can a while we were stuck in traffic.
How did we spend the afternoon? On the bus June gave us some
background information about historical sites in Beijing. We
passed the government building, toured around the massive
Tiananmen Square – very busy today - then we crossed the
street to tour the Forbidden City. We certainly appreciated
June’s blue flag. There was a lot to learn in the Forbidden
City. Birds were there too!
After absorbing Chinese history, our final stop was at the
beautiful Yu Yuan Tan Park. We returned to the natural world. It
is a magnificent park but the day was ending and it was time to
get back to our hotel…
We walked to a Chinese restaurant near our hotel – this
would be our last dinner in China. June surprised us with a
special goodbye cake including a spectacular array of candles.
Thanks, June! We will miss you.
Dave heartily thanked June and our guides, including Linda of
Chengdu Overseas Travel who joined us for our last two days. Many
thanks for an amazing two weeks.
English signs of the day:
