*Getting there: Flights. Beijing is connected to rest of China with an extensive fast speed train connection.

*Getting around: Metro though sometimes not very intuitively marked is easy enough to use. We did not use taxis

*Money: Visa/MasterCard accepted in very few establishments. Mobile payment is the preferred mode of payment. Cash otherwise.

*Language: English not widely spoken, so be prepared with some standard Chinese phrases. Even better write it down and point-shouldn’t be so hard with all the translation apps.

*Tips: Always book your accommodation beforehand. China has some very weird rules for hotels accepting foreigners (else end up spending the night in a McD)

We arrive at Changping bei late in the night. Unfortunately no experience really worthy of mention, since we were worn down by spending the night in a McD outlet. How did we end up with this not very exclusive offer?

Apparently, all foreigners must be registered at the local police at every point of stay in China which mean a lot bureaucratic steps for the hotel staff, this coupled with possible punitive measures in case of mistakes running into thousands of RMB, the hotel staff will just flatly refuse to register foreigners. So watch out! book before hand if possible and check if foreigners will be accepted.

We end up spending the night in McD, this experience is enough to make one feel cranky,tired and in general not very good. Its a moment to spare a thought to people who have had to/have to go through such schedule on a regular basis like emergency shift workers, people working multiple jobs out of compulsion, soldiers, policemen. Yea so no pretty pictures today!

We have an early breakfast in a noodle chain called Mr.Lee , they offer vegetarian dishes as well. Later we head down to Beijing Nan which is a 2 hour metro ride. We hope to check into a hotel in the station to get some sleep. Surely, a high speed train terminal in the capital of China will have a hotel in the train station that accepts foreigners right? Yes i asked the question to contradict the obvious answer and say No!! The logic definitely beats me. So we just head to a cafe and spend the 5 hours before we can board the train to Hangzhou

The Beijing Nan station has loads of cafes and restaurants and shops in the station. The station is not laid out in a very intuitive manner and can take some time to figure out where to go. For example, you can board the high speed train through a common line for all high speed trains which goes through a common waiting area (really long queues) or a dedicated counter for only the particular high speed train one needs to board (numbered 1-11 if i remember right).

The high speed train platforms are accessible only to passengers of the train about to depart otherwise it is out of bounds. In general a very orderly system. There is room for luggage at the front and back of each compartment. Food can be bought in the pantry. Non reserved tickets can also be purchased with the risk of not finding a place to sit.The trains travel at a max speed of about 303kmph and just whizzing past the landscape on elevated tracks gives a feeling of as though looking down on miniature models of towns as they actually pass by on the ground. It is indeed awe inspiring how China is surging ahead with infrastructure development and they have very ambitious plans to also bring the high speed rail to span even the north of the country which would reduce our 32 hour journey from Manzhouli to Beijing to about 5 hours. One can see clear contrasts between big industries and high rise buildings gaining on small villages and cottages. Guess its not a very unfamiliar story for most of us.

Up next: Kinsay or the ‘City of heaven’. Amongst Marco Polo’s travel it was apparently the most beautiful city on his travels.