One Night in Bejing

After a 10 hour flight you are in Beijing. When you get off the plane you quickly notice that things are a little different here than at home. There are cameras everywhere and everyone keeps their mouths shut and keeps a low profile. A whole series of checks follows. First we go through the health check. Not that anyone will bring in another nasty virus from Europe like what happened in 2020.

First of all, you will be checked for explosives before you even reach the airport building. Apparently people don't really trust the other airports. The stick is brushed against luggage and body parts in a rather uncoordinated manner. If you touch about 20 travelers like this you end up in a gate. Then the sample is examined for explosives and if OK, we continue.
Then you go through the normal security as usual in international airports. With liquid and stuff.
Then there is another face check with photo and passport and stamp in the passport.
Once you have that behind you, you go to the automated train for the next check. Immigration with a huge queue and then you get another photo taken and have to show everything.
But this time without a stamp in the passport but with a stamp on the flight ticket. At the very end you have to go through customs. But it's easy and they let you through. Apparently there aren't many people smuggling imitation products into China. Then the big gate opens and you are inside, in the Middle Kingdom. But then the problems start.

Unfortunately, taking the subway is not possible if you don't have Chinese currency or a Chinese payment app. Unfortunately, credit cards don't work. So then change money again with a stamp and passport and a miserable exchange rate. But what can you do. Once you have a ticket, you set off and it's amazing how quickly everything works and how clean everything is. Cigarette butts on the floor or graphite on the wagons? None. The last sprayer has been beheading stones in the quarry in southern Mongolia for 10 years.

Everything else will be in the post about Beijing and the duck.