They also had very decorative tiles, I don’t know if I’m the one missing something here, or if they are.
The “Time Out 72 hours in Beijing” booklet told me to go to the largest tea market in the northern China, Maliando. I took the subway to the area and started walking in what I thought was the right direction. I thought I was very lost because I didn’t see anything that seemed interesting when I bumped into what looked like a tea market. 3 stories of small shops, just like the guide said. It was very small though and a lot of the small boutiques were closed so I was pretty disappointed. But whatever, I didn’t really want tea anyway so I walked out. Turned out I was at the wrong place and the “real” market was across the street.
This place was huge! It was still early in the morning so I was just about by myself.
A lady approached me and asked if I like green tea.
I headed back up to Wangfujing, the part of the city which felt like it could be any major city in the world. Very modern, and not very exciting.
I don’t know what it is, but I haven’t been very hungry these past days, maybe it’s because of the heat, or that I’m walking around and forget that I’m hungry. I’m mostly just exhausted from walking and walking, and even more walking. I walked into a shopping center to see if they maybe had a cafe where I could sit down for a coffee and some WiFi when I saw the sign for Din Tai Fung, score! I love Din Tai Fung! They have a bunch of locations all over the world, got Michelin stars for their restaurants in Taiwan and when you try to go to either one of their two locations in Los Angeles, you have to wait for two hours before you can get a table. This made me so happy!
This little street off the main street of Wangfujing was actually a little exciting, I heard you should be able and buy scorpions and stuff here, but the whole thing was closed today. I don’t know if it was because of the rain, or the Military Parade that’s happening on Thursday, or a combination of both.
The city is really starting to gear up for the parade. Every time you tried to cross a street close to a major sight, you had to go through security checks.
I’m glad I planned out my Beijing visit the way I did and took care of the sightseeing the first day, they’re shutting down the city!
Enough of Beijing, time to head down to Shanghai!
