The last stop of our first China trip: four days in Beijing, a city that has all the skyscrapers and technology and still keeps the soul of an ancient capital. Part one: hutongs, a cat bar, Italian pasta in Beijing, and the Great Wall in the fog, all to ourselves.
"Is that really China?"
We'd been back in Italy for almost two months, and people who saw my reels kept asking me: "Is that really China?" In many people's heads China is twenty years behind, copying everyone and making cheap stuff. Some comments even said I was paid by the government (I wish!). I don't talk about politics. I'm bringing you a tourist's perspective, and from that point of view it's the perfect trip: cheap, clean and safe, with your family or your partner. Visa-free entry for Europeans now runs through 2026, so take the chance and put it on your bucket list.
Xi'an to Beijing
We left Xi'an at 7 a.m. in heavy rain, in a not-so-legal Didi (we'd agreed on two cars, and only one showed up). The station was gigantic: about 4 km of walking to buy the tickets. But there wasn't a single piece of paper on the floor, and every train left exactly on time. I wish Italy were a tenth as organised. They really do live in the future.
The five-hour train ride was smooth and relaxing until "breaking news": our friend Alessandra got stuck in a lift at the station. Some locals stepped in quickly, the authorities took care of her and, luckily, nobody was hurt. It was a scary moment, though.
Hutongs, Houhai Lake and a cat bar
Beijing welcomed us with sunshine and 24°C, when we had expected winter. Our hotel had some very strange robots in the lobby. On the first evening we explored the hutongs, the old alleyways where the city's history still survives behind the modern façades, and ended up at Houhai Lake. On the way we found a café full of cats where you drink a coffee and pet a cat. We don't have those in Italy.
The Italian restaurant test
When you're Italian and you travel with kids, you always end up in an Italian restaurant somewhere in the world. Papa Danilo, on a small street near the lake, passed the test: spaghetti with clams, al dente, approved by Martina, and 500 RMB (about €60) for six people.
Alone on the Great Wall
The next morning we took a Didi for about an hour and a half to a lakeside section of the Great Wall, in the rain. Climbing it is no walk in the park, but we arrived at 9 a.m. and were completely alone on the wall. The fog meant we could barely see 50–100 metres. Even so, I felt the same energy I had only felt in temples, and it caught me completely off guard. It was one of the most intense experiences of my life.