General News
5 August, 2025
My Recent Trip To Beijing and Shanghai
Former Maryborough teacher Joe Matthews recently took in all the sights during his 10-day trip to China, where he toured the Great Wall of China and took in experiences in Beijing and Shanghai. Below, he shares his journey.
While I was doing year 10 back in India many years ago I studied in detail about China during geography lessons — things like their land, the Great Wall of China, climate, people, economy, chief products, languages, way of life, food, religion, education etc, although the outside world did not know much about China during my time at school.
However, the thing which fascinated me the most was The Great Wall of China which was then known as one of the Seven Wonders of the World. When I was young, I always wanted to go to China to see the Great Wall of China in person.
I recently went to Flight Centre to make some enquiries about an overseas trip. While talking to the travel agent he asked me if I was interested in going on a 10-day tour around China visiting Beijing and Shanghai.
He said to me the total cost of the tour was only $1600 which includes the return airfare with Singapore Airlines, first class hotel accommodation, most delicious buffet breakfasts consisting of over 100 dishes and much more. I thought it was a fantastic deal, and I paid the money and booked the tour straight away.
On June 15, 2025, I drove to Melbourne and stayed the night at my son’s (Steve’s) place. Steve dropped me to Melbourne Airport in the morning and bid me farewell.
On June 16, 2025 I flew to Singapore from Melbourne. As a transit passenger, I had to wait for a couple of hours at Singapore airport while waiting for the flight to Beijing. I then departed Singapore and flew to Beijing.
While waiting for the flight in Melbourne, I was a bit uptight and worried thinking if someone from the tour company was going to meet me at Beijing Airport or not! On the flight from Melbourne to Beijing, to my surprise, the lady who was sitting next to me was also travelling to China to participate in the same organised tour, which made me so happy and relaxed. Anyway, we arrived at Beijing Airport at about 11 pm.
Why do people think that Singapore Airlines is the best airline in the world? The main reason is the safety aspects.
Secondly, the flight attendants keep taking care of you and feeding you all the time throughout the flight. The food they are serving you is not only most delicious but of the best quality. They also keep offering you drinks like wine, whisky, brandy, gin, cognac, coffee etc.
When we arrived at Beijing Airport, the security check at customs and immigration was extremely tight and thorough. After the immigration and security check, we collected our baggage items from the carousel and as we came out we could see our tour guide, Oscar standing there holding a flag with the sign of our tour group.
As soon as Oscar saw me he asked me, “Are you Matthew Kaduthodil?” Then I could see all the other participants (all Australians from different states of Australia) standing behind Oscar.
Then the bus driver put all our suitcases into the bus he took us all most safely to a luxurious hotel, Beijing Chunhui Garden Hot Spring Resort Hotel.
As soon as we got to the hotel Oscar collected our passports. One of the things we need to remember is, unlike here in Australia, in China wherever we go we need to carry our passport with us as we come across security checks all the time. By the way, the hotels we all were staying at in Beijing and Shanghai were all five-star hotels with the most comfortable rooms and western type toilets.
TIPS: Tipping is a firm and customary element of the tourism industry in China. Tipping is a common practice in that country and an important part of the income for local tour guides and drivers who have serviced the tours.
The expected tipping amount is $12 per person per day. For this 10-day tour, the suggested tipping amount was $120 per person.
Customers must remain with the group at all times and must not leave the tour unless approval is provided by the tour guide before departure.
Everyday there are optional sightseeing tours. If you want to go on the optional tours you need to pay amounts in the range of 300-399 Yuan (one Australian Dollar is approximately 4.6 Yuan).
The people who do not want to participate in the optional tours are allowed to plan their own programs (e.g. shopping, visiting the local zoo, Disneyland etc).
This is funny! On the contrary, say you are going to a restaurant in China to eat. A waitress is coming to serve you. Just before you leave, if you try to give a tip to the waitress she won’t take the tip. The same thing with massage therapists. They won’t accept any tips after their massage session as it is illegal in China.
Day 1 - Arrival in Beijing
As I mentioned above, upon arrival at Beijing Airport, our tour guide greeted and welcomed all 35 Australian tour participants to Beijing where the Great Wall of China stands proud, the Forbidden City whispers ancient tales and the modern city meets timeless tradition.
We were all then transferred to our hotel, and after check-in, each of us went to our rooms. The remainder of the evening was at our leisure.
Day 2 - Tiananmen Square and Forbidden City
We all got up in the morning, got ready and went to the convention centre for breakfast.
The breakfasts at the hotels where we were staying were massive buffet breakfasts consisting of at least 200 items — mainly yummy Chinese dishes.
The point is, if you have a very heavy breakfast, your tummy will be full and you may not feel like eating for the rest of the day. That is what most of the people in my group did.
After having breakfast, we got into the bus and travelled to visit the most famous Tiananmen Square — one of the largest public squares in the world which is at least 10 times as big as our MCG. This was the location of the infamous 1989 Tiananmen Square demonstrations.
In 1989, many Chinese university students began demanding increased freedom of speech and a greater voice in the selection of the officials. Students held demonstrations in a number of cities to promote their demands.
These events lead to large demonstrations by university students and other citizens in Beijing’s Tiananmen Square. The Liberation Army stormed the Square with tanks and killed thousands of people to crush the protests. Acclaimed as the ‘Gate of Heavenly Peace’ it is the foreground to the Forbidden City, an imperial palace complex at the heart of Beijing (Peking) and a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Otherwise known as the Imperial Palace Museum, the Forbidden City is the citadel of China’s last 24 emperors during the Ming and Qing dynasties, and was the political and ritual centre of China.
Afterwards, we had a delicious peking duck lunch, one of Beijing’s best-known dishes and a favourite feast among many travellers.
Then some of us went to the optional breathtaking Golden Mask Dynasty Show. After the show, we all went back to the hotel on the bus.
Day 3
The most famous — The Great Wall of China.
The Great Wall of China, built, added to, and rebuilt over many centuries, was intended to keep out central Asian invaders. It extends about 7240 kilometres across northern China.
We all travelled on the bus and got to the base by about 11 am. Then most of us tried to get to the top of The Great Wall of China by climbing close to 3000 steps (mostly without hand rails). The steps were fairly steep at an angle close to 45 degrees.
A lot of people, including me, found it extremely hard to climb the steps. In my case, I tried to climb 20-30 steps and then take a mini-break for a few minutes, and kept climbing etc.
At last, I managed to get to the top. I found returning to the base from the top was much easier but some people found it even harder.
I did not find it extremely hard as I walk close to five to six kilometres every day from my house to Bristol Hill.
Climbing those 3000 steps at The Great Wall of China was the most satisfying and amazing experience I had throughout the tour.
Then we went to see the Summer Palace which is a vast ensemble of lakes, gardens and palaces in Beijing.
The Summer Palace is the largest and best-preserved imperial garden in China, and one of the four most famous gardens in the country.
Day 4
At the hotel, we all had the buffet breakfast. Then, at around 8.30 am, we all got onto the bus and went to visit The China Academy of Chinese Medicine Science where we all got a chance to explore the profound wisdom of traditional Chinese medicine, a 5000-year-old practice that incorporates herbal medicine, acupuncture, massage, exercise and dietary therapy.
This ancient practice harmonises the mind, body and spirit which is deeply ingrained in Chinese culture and philosophy.
As soon as we got into the Chinese Medicine Academy building one of the Chinese biochemists greeted and welcomed us and took us to a hall and asked us to be seated. Then, he gave us a lecture on the biochemical aspects of the Chinese medicines and how they interact with our body systems.
As soon as he finished the lecture, a group of 40 highly qualified doctors came into the room. Each doctor was accompanied by an interpreter as none of the doctors could speak English.
Each doctor, as well as their interpreter, sat on two chairs in front of each member of our group. Each doctor felt our pulse and then asked us to show him/her our tongue.
To our surprise, each doctor told us the various symptoms of the diseases/illnesses we experienced. After the session, when we all got onto the bus, we were all discussing the way in which those doctors diagnosed our illnesses/diseases with pinpoint accuracy and precision.
The doctors kept pushing us to buy all kinds of Chinese medicines from them by saying all our diseases and illnesses will disappear in a matter of three months.
Some of the members of our group bought Chinese medicines worth thousands of dollars.
After lunch, we all got onto the bus and were taken to a shopping centre food court where we all had our lunch.
We were all then taken to the Temple of Heaven, a complex of imperial religious Confucian buildings situated in the south-eastern part of central Beijing.
The most impressive Temple of Heaven, a UNESCO World Heritage site, which exudes serenity and grandeur.
The intricate architecture and expansive gardens symbolise harmony between heaven and earth in ancient Chinese cosmology. It stands as a testament to China’s rich cultural heritage and enduring spiritual traditions.
We were all taken back to the hotel in the evening. Then we went to different local restaurants for dinner and we had to pay for that.