Daniel Kwan goes to Beijing / Part 3

This is the third and final video of Daniel Kwan goes to Beijing. It was supposed to mainly cover my trip to the Badaling Great Wall but I simply didn't film enough there. So in this video, you also get to see a recap of my week in Beijing (to the song One Night in Beijing) from footage I didn't use in the previous two videos.

The Great Wall has different sections and the one Lisa and I went to is called Badaling. Two summers ago I went to the Mutianyu section, which from my experience was a much more difficult climb, though I didn't go through the entire stretch of either of them.

Both tours I went on only gave people two hours, which is actually perfect for people who just want to get a feel for what being at the Great Wall is like because it's not an easy climb. You won't find steeper stairways than those at the Great Wall. Some of the stairs there would have been easier to climb if they were ladders.

I woke up early on my last day in Beijing to see the flag-raising ceremony at Tiananmen Square. I didn't know exactly where it was going to take place so I ended up waiting on the wrong side of the street. (That flag pole didn't look like a flag pole before they put the flag on it!) That's why I was filming from so far away.

The songs in this video are Huoyuanjia by Jay Chou (aka Zhou Jielun), One Night in Beijing by Xin Yuetuan, and China's national anthem Yiyongjun Jinxingqu (The March of the Volunteers) performed by the PLA's military orchestra.

Daniel Kwan goes to Beijing / Part 2

In Part 2 of this series, I briefly visit Wangfujing, Houhai, the Summer Palace, and Tiantan Park, with Lisa as my personal tour guide.

At Wangfujing is the Oriental Plaza, which has a large shopping mall, but we went there for the hot pot (huoguo) at Donglaishun, because Lisa likes hot pot. Hot pot is basically a pot of boiling water in the center of the table, with food laid out for you to put in and wait to eat. It's a Chinese thing. I guess it's like how Americans like barbecue. Personally, when I go to a restaurant, I like my food served ready-to-eat.

The Summer Palace (Yiheyuan) was a place where the emperor and his buddies went to chill. Nice scenery and architecture. And lots of stairs. The lake was frozen so I walked on frozen water for the first time in my life, I think. First time in Asia anyway.

Houhai is a lake surrounded by restaurants and bars, priced for foreigners. It's also right next to a bunch of hutong, those really old neighborhoods that barely have any plumbing and electricity. Well we went there for some pizza at Hutong Pizza (which does have plumbing and electricity, and candles too), because I like pizza. That place is interesting. You'd never find it if you've never been there and don't ask for directions. Even when you're at the entrance, the door is difficult to spot. Anyway, I like their pizzas.

Tiantan Park (Tiantan Gongyuan) is where the emperor went to thank the sky. There's also this walled off area where supposedly you can stand at one end and hear the person at the other end. I don't know if it works, but it was neat seeing a bunch of people yelling into walls trying to make it work. I should have took some footage of that.

The song in this video is Libailiu Libaitian (Saturday Sunday) by Cao Fang. I think I hear some English, but I'm not sure.

NOTE: Lisa did not touch my butt. Nor did she squeeze it.

Daniel Kwan goes to Beijing / Part 1

A couple weeks ago I went to Beijing, the capital of phlegm. I had been to Beijing before during summertime, but I wanted to see what it was like during winter. I was actually hoping to see it covered in snow, but there just happened to be very little snow in Beijing this winter. It was still cold though. My fingers got numb and pruny very quickly while operating the camera.

In this video I visit the Forbidden City. Supposedly winter should have the least amount of tourism, but there was still a lot of people. There was also a lot of construction, as you can see in the video.

I met a girl there. Her Chinese name is Lisa, so I call her Lisa. You'll see her again in the next video.

That zealously nationalistic song you hear is Aiwozhonghua (爱我中华) by Song Zuying. The title means "Let's Love Our China", even though literally it translates to "Love (爱) Me (我) China (中华)". It's weird.