প্রকাশিত হয়েছে: 25.07.2024
So, the flight to China is booked. In mid-October we will fly from Munich with Air China directly to Beijing in 9 hours and 40 minutes. We will travel in the world's largest twin-jet passenger aircraft, the Boeing 777-300ER. The "ER" stands for "extended range" because it is a long way to China on a direct flight. We are flying in the absolute off-season, which is why the flight only cost us half the ticket price of last year's flight. This time we land at Beijing Capital International Airport in the northeast of the city, which in 2019 was the second largest airport in the world with over 100 million passengers. However, the Corona flight crisis and the opening of the second major airport (Daxing) in Beijing have significantly reduced the number of flights. Now the number of flights is rising sharply again because there has been a change in visa conditions this year. German citizens can travel to China for up to 15 days without a visa. So if you are planning a two-week holiday in China, you can simply get on a plane and you don't need a visa to enter China. Since our stay is considerably longer at 6 weeks, I unfortunately cannot avoid going to the visa office in Munich.
With 6 weeks to go, there are many experiences waiting to be told in this travel blog. Even if the planning will be subject to constant adjustments, changes and postponements, there will certainly be exciting and eventful stories left. I can now look forward to the cradle of the 4700-year-old Chinese civilization, the Liangzhu culture, and the 12.5 million-strong city of Hangzhou, which was called "Quinsay" in the 13th century and was described by Marco Polo in his book "Il Milione - The Wonders of the World": "The city of Quinsay is the largest and most magnificent city in the world." Incidentally, this year marks the 700th anniversary of the famous traveler's death. I am also excited about the Chinese wedding, because one of my wife's nephews is getting married, although the wedding of another niece at the beginning of the year surpassed many a royal wedding in terms of the lavish ceremony that can be seen in photos and videos. So what can I expect at this wedding in Zhaizizhen (寨子镇)? And last but not least, a trip to Singapore is planned so that the cold season in Cangzhou, which begins in November, can be interrupted for a few days by the warm climate in Singapore, a kind of holiday within a holiday :-). I'm really looking forward to it!