A Little Taste of China: From Beijing to Shanghai in 21 days

In late May, I flew to Beijing to work as a rapporteur at the annual Antarctic Treaty Consultative Meeting (ATCM). This was my eighth ATCM and, as has become tradition, I stayed around after the 8-day meeting to soak up some of the host country’s landscape, culture and cuisine.

First, I explored Beijing’s palaces, temples, neighbourhoods and nightlife with my fellow rapporteurs. Together, we ambled through this sprawling city with a handful of Mandarin words between us and a fascination for everything we encountered. On the weekend, we adventured on the Great Wall of China, scrambling along some of its unrestored sections while revelling in the amazing scenery that surrounded us.

Next stop was Xi’an, where I encountered a more managemable city that begged to be scrolled at night when its ancient walls were all lit up. In Xi’an, I learned about China’s silk route, visited some warriors made of terracotta and climbed one of the ‘Five Great Mountains of China.’ Though I had initially planned to stay in Xi'an only one day, a well-travelled local convinced me to stay longer. I’m very glad I did.

Finally, in Shanghai, I was surrounded by cosmopolitan buzz. A city filled with ex-pats and cocktail bars and Starbucks on every corner, it felt a lot less Chinese than where I’d just come from. Especially with its conspicuous lack of traditional squatting toilets. And just when I had found my technique!

China proved even more interesting, beautiful and fun than I had imagined. Though we couldn’t converse with one another, the people I met there were never frustrated by my ignorance. They took it all in their stride. As a woman travelling on my own there, I always felt safe and welcomed wherever I went. And I now have a growing list of places to visit on my next China trip.

To find out more about this trip, check out these pics.

Over the course of three weeks, I travelled by bullet train from Beijing to Xi'an to Shanghai, a journey of 2,500km.  

Beijing's Forbidden City was the Chinese imperial palace from the Ming dynasty to the end of the Qing dynasty
from 1420 to 1912. Chairman Mao watches over the crowds as they shuffle inside the city walls.

Inside the Forbidden City.

The Summer Palace: An imperial garden in north-west Beijing decked out with lakes, temples and palaces
to entertain the emperors and their concubines. 

Suzhou Market Street in the Summer Palace. 

In work mode: Amid all the fun and games, I spent a lot of time working as a rapporteur
at the 40th Antarctic Treaty Consultative Meeting. 

Around 50 countries were represented at the Antarctic Treaty Consultative Meeting, held in downtown Beijing.

After work on Friday we headed to Houhai Lake to check out its bars, restaurants and hutongs
(narrow streets and alleyways common in downtown Beijing).

On the weekend we ventured 100 kilometres north of Beijing to walk a section of the Great Wall of China.
We started at an unrestored section in Jiankou and followed it 10 kilometres eastward to Mutianyu.

Some bits were tricky.

Journeying the Great Wall with my rapporteur peeps was the highlight of the whole trip :)

After Beijing (population 21.5 million) I downsized to Xi'an (population 8.7 million), one of the oldest cities in China.
This is the entrance of Xi'an's fully preserved ancient city walls. 

Xi'an is also home to the Terracotta Warriors, an army of clay soldiers buried with China's first emperor, Qin Shi Huang Di.
They were discovered in 1974 by a bunch of workers digging a well. A dig of a different kind continues over 40 years later.

My Xi'an travel buddy, Andrew, is vegan so we headed to Daxingshan Temple for a vegan-friendly feast.
We're not sure what we ordered but everything that appeared at our table was beyond delicious. 

Then Andrew left and I was all on my own. I rented a bike and spent an afternoon cycling around Xi'an's city walls.

Then I headed to the Muslim Quarter for a street food dining experience.

These eggy, corny fried creations were particularly delicious.

I also travelled 130 km east of Xi'an to climb Hua Shan Mountain, that peak off in the distance. 

It wasn't a technical climb but it was a very steep one. 

As the token Westerner on the mountain that day, I got lots of requests for photographs.

Three hours later I was at the top of the mountain, enjoying these views.

My final stop was Shanghai, China's biggest city (population 24 million) and its financial hub.

I spent much of my time walking around Shanghai's gentrified neighbourhoods.
This one, the French Concession, is leafy and stylish and full of boutiques, cafes, cocktail bars and restaurants.