China is NOT at all what we expected! First day in Beijing
welcome to Beijing China oh my gosh this is crazy our first time in China has been nothing short of spectacular the most policed place I've ever been with a few hiccups here and there we're currently stranded we don't have a place to stay tonight today we take you on a journey to the capital city ticking off one of the Seven Wonders of the World off our list this is truly Monumental getting slightly emotional too I've got a little tear in my eye what surprised us the most was not how vast and historically Rich China is I can't get enough of it but how the locals have treated us every step of the way China is fascinating alluring and worth discovering why are they shouting what's going on join us today as we continue our journey here in Beijing China and welcome to Beijing China we have finally made it to the capital city and it is the second largest city in China with 22 million people second biggest to Shanghai which we were in previously where we explored the modern city of Shanghai and then took a high-speed train for 4 hours to get here in Beijing and this has been the capital for 850 years and we are actually walking through the heart of Beijing where all the thousands of History lies so there are over 3,000 years of History steeped into all these walls now don't get me wrong we aren't history Buffs at all but you can't help but feel like this place is absolutely fascinating and Beijing is known as the gateway to China most people come to this part of China because of all the history and the sites that are here so we are going to some of the most famous sites in Beijing that they absolutely cannot be missed we will finally discover the Tiananmen Square the Forbidden City and the Great Wall of China and I cannot believe I am saying that we are going to visit one of the Seven Wonders of the World we were lucky enough to see our first wonder of the world the Taj Mahal in India but first look at how beautiful these streets are of Beijing so we're walking now to the Tiananmen square and let's give you a first glimpse of what an average Street looks like here in Beijing so obviously very clean as it is is everywhere so far in China look at the little stools lots of these grey bricked walls on all of the building these old houses some of the most Charming Alleyways I've ever seen I think there are over 2,000 of these Charming Alleyways scattered all over Beijing City it has a much older look compared to Shanghai but we still have loads of bicycles everywhere look at all the grey bricks it has that old Chinese style architecture and the streets are very busy we're now in the center of Beijing this is where all of the tourist attractions are so lots of people are coming out most people take the bicycles and the transport in Beijing is phenomenal what you kind of Envision China to look like I think Beijing is where Shanghai is just way too modern it's like a modern Metropolis you've got the old style charm of the traditional Chinese architecture but you still have all the modern amenities that China offers so right now we are walking around where all the history lies just a few minutes away from Tiananmen Square which is our first stop of the day oh they look so good this is quite a good indication of what Beijing is like look how old the buildings are but then all of the taxis are electric so you've got the complete modern side of China but they've still kept their traditional architecture I see a lot of the stores have peking in front of it like peking chamber or peking sweets or whatever and Beijing's old name used to be peking hence the very famous dish peking duck so we're going to have to try that here in Beijing as sh said there's some peking duck oh wow hanging right now that's awesome look at that I know that here in Beijing it's also home to the Beijing pie and the Beijing duck so I think these are the Beijing pies that we're also going to have to try ooh so many good things to try okay so we're both currently standing in the line to the Tiananmen square and I cannot believe how many people are here from where we stood at the entrance to the actual entrance of the Tiananmen square is 500m so we are 500m away from entering the Tiananmen square the line is that long obviously this is one of the most visited spots in the entire world so we should have actually come early so this is the line and the entrance you cannot even see it's about 500m all the way down there here is the Metro station look how many thousands of people have come and this is obviously the wall surrounding it so we need to get all the way down there okay so we made it through our first round of security and you have to bring your passport you have to book an appointment a day or two in advance so make sure you do that don't just show up here cuz there is a long long line of people getting turned away for not having an appointment yeah yeah uh hello where am I don't you wish it was that easy to transport yourself to a fabulous Beach destination well it is with level 8 that's why we'd want to thank level 8 for sponsoring this video if you've been with us from the start you know that we've been traveling out of a bag for the past 4 years we don't own anything that could fit Beyond these cases but having upgraded our suitcases to the level eight Voyager set has been a game changer as we need a trustworthy sturdy and reliable travel luggage that's Sleek durable and crafted for adventure we opted for the perfect travel couple set featuring a larger check-in for Dev and a Sleek carry-on for Shev in our favorite color baby blue of course and the Highlight is the 360° spinner wheels that are silent so they practically glide on the airport floor plus we love the ease of the super wide handles they make travel so much easier the high quality hard shell is light strong and solid with an anti-scratch surface plus a smooth inner lining on the inside easy to pack smaller valuable objects so when you're ready to transport yourself to that magical Beach destination make sure you head over to level 8 to get your perfect travel companion which come in an array of beautiful colors use our code Shevanddev10 for an exclusive 10 % off and click the link in the description below as we entered Tiananmen Square for the first time we had some pretty rigorous Security checks but having a brief walk around we then met some very interesting friends who explained more to us about where we were you look so good no no no no okay uh uh the king uh will send some order in here oh really yeah over here or there oh okay to all the people what's your name my name is apou apou nice to meet you meet you you're so beautiful gorgeous three two together together three two one go what does it mean uh uh congratulations for being rich oh wow wow that's a good one I like that that's a good one bye-bye but now we've gone from the Tiananmen square and the reason we stood in that line for so long is we're now in the Forbidden city look we're going through all of these little tunnels from one Courtyard to the next for this segment we're just going to be filming on our phone no microphone so our audio is not going to be as good but that's just for security reasons you're obviously not allowed to film for obvious reasons understandably but not like don't look like the media you can film you can take pictures you can do whatever wow and we have made it to the Forbidden City wow this is an absolutely breathtaking place I think the rest of the tourists and locals have the same idea as we do today to just visit one of the most fascinating places in the entire world this is the Forbidden City I think over 10 million people visit the Forbidden City alone per year and um I guess all 10 million have arrived today this place is absolutely packed with tourists tour groups people from all over the world we met some lovely people from Singapore from Malaysia from Indonesia from the Philippines and of course lovely South Africa so this has been very very special and a once in a lifetime moment to be in one of the places that has thousands and thousands of years of History the Forbidden City is also known as the Imperial Palace complex and if you didn't know why it's called the Forbidden City it's because most of the subjects were actually barred from entering this area and of course only the emperor and his families were allowed here apparently only the emperor could go everywhere even some of his family were barred from entering certain sections of the palace so apparently there are over 9999 rooms in the Forbidden City and because nine is a very Divine and lucky number so the emperor was thought to have the most power in the entire world so of course he had to have everything with a number nine including the amount of rooms so that's very very interesting I don't know if there are actually almost 10,000 rooms so you might need to fact check me on that it's crazy to think that this 178 acre compound is pretty much the center of Chinese power for over 500 centuries so something that I really love in general but also what I love about forbidden city is that it strictly comprises itself on Feng shui so that means that the palace is facing south towards the direction of the Sun and if you look behind me it is very symbolic of the element so you will see that the walls are red and the roofs are yellow so the yellow comprises of the element of the earth which is a super powerful element to the emperor and the walls of red symbolize Fire and Fire is one of the elements so it's really really cool to see how they comprise the elements on Earth to symbolize that the emperor is the most powerful being on Earth the more you learn you realize that it's not just a complex fascinating absolutely fascinating and it's amazing to think that maybe 3,000 years ago how different life was if the emperor lived here and all the important family members of the emperor lived here can you imagine what life was like back then we've now entered another square of the Forbidden City and it just shows how big it is it's actually the largest collection of well preserved structures on the planet and it's about 720,000 square metres look how huge this complex is this is only one of them and in terms of architecture and how well preserved it is it's absolutely pristine to think how many hundreds of years old this is you can see all of the bricks and the cobbles are still in very good conditions for being thousands of years old we've just walked through another gate and there's just section after section and right be behind this wall you can then see some of the skyscrapers and that's obviously the modern Beijing so you can see how this is still preserved right in the center and now you're surrounded by all the new modern buildings there are thousands if not hundreds of thousands of people right here and I can totally understand why I think obviously if you come to Beijing this is something you have to do I have a fun fact for you about the yellow tiles on the roof as you can see there are no birds that are landing or perching onto the roof is because the actual roof tile is glazed and it is so wide that the bird's claw cannot actually hook onto the roof tile so that means they would essentially slide off and that is how back in the day they wanted to preserve the roof tile so this is an example obviously now it's all been rubbed off from the people walking here every day but this part is really slippery and I guess this is wide that the bird's claw kind of can't fit on this is the bird claw it's impossible great demonstration great demonstration we've now made our way out the Forbidden City which was incredible but it took us almost 2 hours to get through all of it it's way bigger than you expected but now we're going through some of the Alleyways you can see all of these bricked walls and just how old the city is so not only in the Forbidden City to get to see that old Chinese architecture but just walking daily on the streets it's crazy to look at the grey bricks that are absolutely perfect even though they're supposedly supposed to be older and can I just mention the sound it is absolutely quiet just compared to the Forbidden City where we were there's no cars no engines no bustling and it's just a quiet quiet and quaint little neighbourhood here's a little three-wheeler how cool is that a little delivery truck it says China Post on it EMS so it's a postal service oh my word it's a postal service and these are what most of the bicycles are like in Beijing so they do have the modern scooters that are electric and obviously lots of electric cars but lots of people use they all bicycles now I also want to point this car out look at the color look at the design look how these tires are they're like this big there's a lot of cars I've never seen before but they all look insane like the rest of the world is missing out on these cars throughout our time in China we've seen so many Chinese brands of cars and they've absolutely blown us away from luxury cars to sedans SUVs they're all electric and they're amazing so all throughout China you will actually see lots and lots of signs for public toilets now that is something that every country should get behind you will see loads of public toilets around these streets from signs over here signs across the street and I'm sure the bathroom is just a few meters away I love that about China and they're very clean and they're very very clean nothing that we've seen has been dirty broken just casting nothing has all been pristine good morning from Beijing we are about to do something very very very special today which is see one of the Seven Wonders of the World which is the Great Wall of of China we've taken about an hour on the Metro an hour on the bus and we have finally made it here we've just bought our tickets from the ticket counter and I don't know if you can see behind me but we can see glimpses of the Great Wall this is so exciting what we're going to do is take a sliding car or cable car all the way up to the top I can hardly speak because my lips are so Frozen which is going to be quite interesting to be on top of the wall at this temperature and apparently at this part of the world there's 65,000 people that come every single day so let's get on the cable car and we'll tell you more when we get to the top okay so this is what it looks like there is the wall above us and we're going to be walking past all of these Street vendors here selling souvenirs snacks some food today is a very very very special day because we're about to see one of the great wonders of the entire world and I can already see it this is so insane we're walking by we can see all sorts of souvenirs they're selling food I'm sure there selling hot street food as well there's just so much food here and you can see all the buses that have arrived to come and see this they're all selling ice cream it's freezing what is that guy making is he making some candy he's making something is it me or does it seem like it's kind of quiet I feel like there's nobody here maybe maybe we have come early maybe we're going the wrong way oh dear it is the whole one Dee it is freezing here wow me wow so good what is that before I got distracted by the cool food it is a whole 1° C and it is I think a 10° difference from the center of Beijing we can barely feel our fingers or our faces so obviously the Great Wall is extremely long but we're going to a section of it called Badaling which is Apparently one of the most famous most popular parts of the wall and it's also one of the most well preserved and well-kept parts and even though we're going to the toboggan we've had to climb this entire Hill can you see the Great Wall in the back are you sure we're not climbing this thing you're on the wrong side girl oh no this way oh no I'm on the wrong side we haven't even reached the wall we're nowhere near it and all we've done is climb but it's keeping us warm and the section that we're going to is only 3 km long I think it being so cold kind of creates a special atmosphere wow look at the toboggan oh my word wait so we're going to go up we're we're supposed to to take the cable car oh I guess this is it here we go we're going on a toboggan uphill oh here I go this one okay ah like this oh my gosh oh my gosh this is crazy we're completely straight in here I go upwards on a toboggan this is insane so to start off we're going through this tunnel and we're literally going through the mountain okay this is making me slightly nervous because we're going higher and higher and higher up I feel like I'm on a roller coaster it's actually really really high higher than I thought like I'm a little bit nervous because we're just going up and up and up really steep this is so special and slightly scary and then we're allowed to walk completely freely on top of the wall there's s oh I'm about to get off that was awesome oh get off okay wow that was oh I go up here wow that was how cool was that it was both incredible and I thought like I was on a roller coaster like we might just drop at any moment can I just say what's the most surprising there's nobody else on here they're all empty don't you think that's kind of crazy like over 65 million people visit the Great Wall we've come in low season this is the number one tourist attraction in the whole country and there's nobody here okay let's go let's go this is entrance to the Great Wall so you can already see it snaking all the way up and down this part of the mountain and it actually goes all the way further on into that Valley I am freaking out um I'm not sure why but I'm feeling a bit emotional we haven't even gone through the gate but we're we're at the Great Wall of China this is the most incredible place the most notorious structure on the planet this is all we've seen and I'm already feeling lost for words I've got a little tear in my eye you too yeah it just hit me we haven't even gone through we need to still go in we got our ticket look how cool this ticket is we have got to keep this forever and now we hike just like that we're officially on the Great Wall immediately we've come to this sort of viewing deck so we've got the wall leading all the way on this side here's one of the fortresses and then the wall leading on this side and then here is a vending machine want even on the Great Wall of China they have a vending machine and recycling I love that I love it so steep already so steep already we're in like some sort of guard Tower it's a it's a bar it's a what a Barrack we're in some sort of Barrack some sort of Barrack so cute oh my word look at this I don't even need to say anything I don't have words out of all the places in the world I thought I'd visit I never ever thought it would be this one the best part about videoing the Great Wall of China is I don't need to tell you anything this incredible structure speaks for itself everybody on the planet knows about it I pretty much don't need to say anything except show you what it's like to walk along this wall we are actually walking along the Great Wall of China that's over 21 km 21,000 sorry 21,000 km did I just say 21 I can't tell you how special this is the four years that we've been traveling I never ever thought we'd step foot here for a long long time maybe in year 10 not like this and it is just a pinch me moment it is a pinch me moment the great world you know so much about but when you get here and you see the size of it you really appreciate the enormity of what this the structure really is okay goodness look cool I think so we're about to find out hold the hand come come come some more some more wow quite special quite special thank goodness for cameras because I don't actually know how we would capture this any less but we are here we are on the Great Wall of China it's happening we are walking along the steps and the route I don't even know what to say I keep fumbling my words so if you didn't know this is what most of the Great Wall is made out of these big bricks and Earth if I'm holding the camera straight this is the angle that the side of the wall is made how they built this I have absolutely no idea over 2,000 years ago Shev of course making friends already making friends and now this is what you do you just walk along the wall I must say that this part is preserved very very well because we've read and seen pictures of some parts that are almost completely broken of course this was over 2,000 years and this is actually quite steep up here and today we're so lucky even though it's freezing cold no clouds cuz apparently it can get very foggy up here there's ladies going backwards that's actually quite a good maneuver thank goodness they've got rails because this is quite steep got to watch a step ooh I need a boost obviously this is quite strange because this was built as protection from like the Eurasian step the Mongols Etc but for us it's just like an amazing moment and a really special thing this is truly Monumental oh we got someone to we got someone to pull for us thank you oh she's such a good camera lady so good thank you wow look at this we made it thank bye oh she's so sweet to put into perspective how long this wall is because it's difficult to put into your head 21,000 km if you had to walk 20 km a day it would take you a, days so it would take over 3 years to walk the entire length of the wall if you did 20 km a day that is absolutely Madness I'm still in awe we've only walked for like 5 minutes I can't get enough of it so we're going through one of the watch towers and Barracks now inside of here it's absolutely freezing and it echoes as well and I'm sure during the winter months it must have been incredible to be in here and obviously they use this to look out oh my word this shows you how cold it is at the bottom of this Watchtower this is all ice this is ice from the great world of China no ways should I eat it no should I eat it yeah go on ice from the Great Wall of China you just ate ice from the Great Wall of China this is very special ice oh my gosh probably not a good thing look how steep these steps are going all the way up here you actually have to take really big steps to get up here wow look how it curves up there I'm sorry but you can see a bazillion pictures of the Great Wall of China there is nothing compared to being here walking here in person in real life you will be lost for words okay so I guess we're about to come up to a really really steep section why are they shouting what's going on everybody's super excited we' learn that it's a great wall of shouting I don't know why everyone is just as excited well I'm not sure about excited but everyone is certainly um elated enthusiastic yes I know me as well I agree I completely agree so oh goodness hi hi oh thank you you're so sweet you're so beautiful byebye hello everybody's so sweet I love everybody they're so sweet everybody is so lovely wherever we go here in China they're always willing to let you know that you're welcome here most welcome Ducky look here's a cable car how cool is that what we were me to take yeah I think we might have made a mistake but we took the toboggan and it was awesome that was very cool but here's the cable car that looks fun as well so here's a section which shows how old this is it obviously was built all the way up there but that's fallen down and crumbled and now you cannot access cuz this is disconnected oh oh wait bye-bye and look at all the stairway up there okay now this is where the Steep part happens everyone's actually holding on to these little rails and I don't blame them because can you imagine being here in the dead of winter and it's snowing can you imagine how slippery this might be even I'm struggling a little everyone's like bent over trying to just maintain not falling cuz I think that could be pretty nasty if you do actually fall here even Devon's holding on trying to keep up with these Granny's yeah look at the Granny's they're going faster than you are now this girls got a good maneuver I'm making it we're not only on it it's defeating us okay everyone's still in good spirits though and they're smiling wow look how steep it is oh that's very steep that's Madness holy cow I definitely see now that the crowds are starting to pull in just gone after 11 thousands of people now crazy people are doing well to go all the way up everyone is lining up over there to take some pictures with the wall they're all touching the wall and then you can also go all the way down there and you can keep going all the way down along as it snakes over the mountains as far as the eye can see so steep crazy it's difficult to show on camera how steep this is but hopefully this angle which is the angle that I'm looking down shows you how steep it is coming up oh my gosh watch your step really is that some of the world's most famous leaders have visited this part of the wall in particular which is badaling such as Queen Elizabeth George Bush and of course because we're South African we are very privileged to know that our very own Nelson Mandela has visited this part of the Great Wall of China that's really special to us South Africans Madiba Madiba and Shev have visited the great Wall of China people actually have to go backwards down here because it's so steep they've got quite the technique though like that's quite clever so as I'm standing on one part of the Great Wall lots of people think that that the Great Wall is just one long big wall but that's not actually true it's actually a fortification of many walls because they've been constructed in the Ming Dynasty in the Qing Dynasty so it took over 2,000 years to construct in total and you know what's so interesting is this is 1 hour away from Beijing City and we are just completely surrounded by mountains do you want to take a photo a picture let's take a picture together so cute turn perfect oh so sweet thank you look at these they're so cute by far the best part of my day best part of my day so many this pocket is full oh my gosh all this they're so sweet for giving us these little right White Rabbit sweets so sweet oh they're so lovely absolutely great Kitty you think this is like an Emperor's descendant or something from the royal family could be oh he's one of the guards are you a guard guarding the Great Wall oh he's doing his Paces are you guarding the Great Wall okay now this seems rather intimidating are you ready for this you can CL when you picture walking the Great Wall you don't imagine climbing it look how steep These Are Holy Moly this is quite hectic on the knees I made it can you believe that people actually run a marathon on the Great Wall of China every single year be running up those steps and now we're on the toboggan on our way back down woo this will go down as one of my favorite favorite days in the entire scope of our traveling career and I really hope you enjoyed this video because we've just had the best best time and I hope we've been able to capture it to the best of our ability because this place is unbelievable and everybody in the entire world should see it so please give this video a like subscribe and we'll see you in the next video in China
2024-07-03 23:27
