Adventures in Beijing

This post was from December 14, 2008.

I hope everyone had an enjoyable weekend! Mine was good for the most part. I didn't end up going on the ski trip. I felt like rubbish in the morning so I decided not to go. I did go on a nice little adventure around Beijing with a group called Speedism. It was a pretty nice trip for the most part. I got to see some places in Beijing that I probably would never have the chance to see otherwise.

Our first stop was the five star Chateau Laffitte Hotel. This hotel is located in the Changping District. It is modeled after Chateau Laffitte in France. It was a very nice hotel, and would at least be worth a visit. It isn't in the most convenient of places, requiring a lengthy cab ride into the city. It was interesting to see the blending of Chinese culture with Western Culture. Guest rooms had those Russian style decorative eggs with Chinese style illustrations on them. The hallways had red lantern lamp posts with Chinese characters on them. The main kitchen serves Cantonese, Hunan, and French food. If you would like to see photos that I took from inside the Castle please check out my Facebook photo album here.
Our next stop was Sculpture Garden. This was a fun place as I was able to see the construction of many beautiful sculptures. This is the place where a lot of the beautiful sculptures that decorate Beijing are made. You can even take a drawing of a sculpture you would like to have made there and they will make it for you! One of my personal favorite sculptures can be seen in the picture above. Another favorite of mine can be found on my Facebook photo album.
We then went to the largest bookstore in Beijing, Beijing International Book City. This place was massive! I've never been in a bookstore that large! We didn't get to spend an incredible amount of time in this place as we arrived just as it was closing. I did get around to buying a few children's books in Chinese (I'm going to try and teach my niece when I return to the States).
All-in-all it was a pretty fun day! I got a chance to see a few parts of Beijing I would have never known about.