24/9/2012

The hotel breakfast is wonderful, apart from the already awesome range its quality is also something to note about.
There's Eastern and Western food choices. so many food, so small a stomach to fill.

Our first itinerary of the day is the hall where they held the agricultural expo, located in the suburb or Beijing it is an hour long drive by the bus. Half of the people get down for the expo while the rest is to stay behind for an alternate destination.
Our drive back to city center where we stopped at d worn down stone gate of imperial era also took an hour.
After that its the Tian An Men Square, for a 30mins photo taking.
Our lunching place is a culture shock. Being a Australia-Oriental restaurant, we were served by North Korea nationality waitress wearing traditional dress. But nothing Australian at all mind you.
The food...I'm unsure if its Korean or Chinese.

The next place is a shopping destination. We were even oriented by the tour guide who told us you'd be able to get away with a 1/3 or 1/4 of the named price where you shop depending on your negotiation skill.
With that in mind we set out with a 40 minutes time to shop.
The experience? the whole place...have products with exaggerated prices, who know what for, robbing tourists blind maybe, its like a battlefield, loud and angry.

I tried my luck on some belts after surveying how others do business there. They first named price for an assumed copied belt of some expensive brand...was 580rmb, genuine leather too! Right...non of the things you see for sale in that building is an original product of its own brand.
Anyway it was deducted to 360rmb before I can say anything else and
upon saying its to pricey, and with the same method they told other shoppers, name me your best price.
This is when I tried my luck with 30rmb but was rejected immediately. And then another stall, 40rmb, also turned down...
Not getting it is an option so I'm definitely playing my cards close to my chest here.
But that's not the end...when I pass by the 2nd stall again after walking around she hollered me up and offered me a 60rmb final price, I left quoting my final offer of 50rmb and left, but only to have the sales lady come over me and says ok, after more than 30steps away from the stall, she would go all these way to grab a sale.
Final result: Two crudely made "genuine" leather belts with no brand logos, 100rmb=RM50. Not my preferred price, but close enough.
In the bus all the women of the tour showed their spoils of the afternoon.

Onward to dinner, we arrive at a renown restaurant named "全聚德"…
Which is actually another name given to the nation's most famous n world known dish, the Peking duck. (The name Peking Duck being trademarked by someone else and thus a new name was given.)
This is they very same restaurant with the same cooking method used for the dish for the past few centuries  and also the very restaurant used to attend to international high profile guests by China's previous Premiers.
Lucky us...and the Peking duck they served is absolutely delicious.
That's all for the day's planned activity. The autumn wind is blowing strong and the chill is just nice at around 18-20 'c, with a coat, an au natural air-conditioner.

Another shock before the end of the day is when I went for a walk after freshened up to the largest and Beijing's first train station, right around the corner from our staying place.
So, I was looking for alcohols to buy at one of the mart we saw...

Upon seeing the canned 300ml local alcohol at 5.50rmb its already a bit of a shock, but when we spotted the 600ml bottled version...its another shock...its at only 4.50rmb!
Now seriously...a bottle of 500ml bottled drinking water is already  6.00rmb.
Here it is exactly the place where alcohols are cheaper than bottled water.

Pics here, not in order.

Buildings in the suburbs, western design.

Stone gate of imperial era, only royalties can live inside these walls.

Old couple in the TianAnMen Square, maybe reminisce about their youth?

A Mega LCD or Plasma TV in the middle of the Square, two of them too.

4 Large building surrounded the Square, all for Parliamentary and political purposes.

And this is the Australian restaurant where we had a Korean lunch.

First Train Station, at night, all lit up.

Quan Ju De, serving authentic Peking Duck.

Method of eating Peking Duck, the Duck, wrapper, spring onion, and sauce all came in from all over China, the whole duck is only prepared when guest arrived and done right inside the dining room.

Taken from a photo of a VIP dinner in ages past. " Whole without flaw, Gathers without separation, Superior of etiquette."