Beijing is a massive capital city with a population of 11 million residents. Its subway system is the third largest in the world and makes it really convenient to get around the city. However, the distances between stations are big so be careful not to miss your stop. Beijing feels like an international city brimming with overseas businesses, different kinds of cuisine from its provinces to other countries, daring modern architecture thanks to the 2008 Olympics and a thriving arts scene.

Clear blue skies greeted us as we arrived in Tianjin. We chose to fly Scoot to Tianjin because it was much cheaper to fly direct to Beijing. From Tianjin to Beijing, it was only half an hour by high speed rail to Beijing which cost around $12 for the ticket. We also got to experience some Chinese technology at the same time, which is comparable to Western European standards and the ticket prices are more affordable.

On the first day, after putting our heavy backpacks at our host’s place and having lunch with him, we went to Tsinghua university (best in the whole of China) to find my friend Liangdong who had done his student exchange in NUS. He kindly showed us around the campus which was sprawling big, filled with landscaped gardens and lakes, typical of a Chinese university. We also had dinner together at the school restaurant which was cheaper than eating outside. We arrived at the east gate of the university and exited by the West gate which was near Yuanmingyuan 圆明园, a garden used by the royalty which is worth checking out.