Fire Horse Journey to China
The idea of going to China actually came from my mum. I think it was during Christmas, when I was in Lebanon, and she told me she’d like to go somewhere further – and mentioned China. It felt so random, but of course I got immediately super excited. China? Wow. I didn’t even think it would be happening this year.
Then, after Christmas in Thailand, I kept meeting people who talked about China – and it all started to feel even more real. Later we noticed something special: 2026 is the Year of the Fire Horse, which only comes once every 60 years. My mum, who turned 60, would be celebrating her birthday directly there. In China. It felt like the trip was meant to happen.
A Different Kind of Travel
This was only my second trip with a guide and a group, and most of the time it felt great. I loved the fact that I didn’t have to plan literally anything – I could just be guided. Of course it had its flaws (not enough time at some places, strange logistics, a bit of bad planning here and there), but overall it felt liberating to just follow. Especially because it meant I had a proper, real vacation with my mum.
The whole trip was demanding – not much sleep, lots of flights, full days – but I could keep my head more or less clear. Of course I thought about the situation in Lebanon all the time, and ideas for articles kept forming in my head. Still, this was time with my mum, and that was the point.
Beijing – Like Landing on Mars
When we arrived in Beijing, everything felt a bit like being on another planet. We started at the Summer Palace – the imperial gardens with lakes and pavilions – which was beautiful, but it was also the first time I really noticed the downsides of travelling with a group. We didn’t get nearly enough time to wander. Everything was rushed. And we were paying for little things we didn’t really want, like a 6-minute boat ride for 7 euros. That kind of thing started adding up in my head.
After the Summer Palace we went into a local neighbourhood with much lower buildings than the rest of the city. My mum loved that there were free toilets everywhere. Like literally everywhere. But it also meant the people don’t have toilets in their own homes – which suddenly made the whole thing feel less charming.
About the cameras – they were everywhere. Everything had to be controlled by face ID, and you really had to show it in so many places. You somehow get used to it, and then it just becomes part of being in China.
Forbidden City, Tiananmen Square, Temple of Heaven
These were the highlights for both of us. The buildings were so beautiful and majestic. There were so many people, and somehow I didn’t mind at all – we just started ignoring them. In China, you have to get used to being part of a huge crowd. There is no way to escape it. You will be part of one wherever you go, and that’s part of the experience.
I don’t really know how to describe it, but you kind of become one of them – one organism – and start flowing along. Everything there felt so different from what I know.
What I noticed from the very beginning was that things felt strangely old and a bit low-quality. As if everything had passed its “fame” – as if it used to be fancy once, and now just looks tired and not really usable anymore. (I also loved the kind of armoured sleeves they wear while riding motorbikes. They looked really funny.)
The Great Wall
I felt a bit sorry that we didn’t have time for a longer loop along the Wall – I would have loved to keep walking for hours. But what made it special anyway was that out of the whole group, my mum and I were the ones who went the furthest. Just the two of us, somewhere up there, getting smaller and smaller against the stones. We loved it. The climbing, the wind, the silly proud feeling of having pushed past where everyone else stopped.
There’s a stone up there with a Mao quote engraved on it: “He who has not climbed the Great Wall is not a true man.” I made my mum pose next to it. Hero status confirmed. 🙂
Afterwards, our guide Frank ordered lunch for us, and that was probably my favourite meal of the whole trip. Of course – heavy as everything else, so I left the table feeling stuffed again. As always. 🙂
Watching the Group, Watching My Mum
One of the things I genuinely enjoyed about being in a group was just observing – other people, couples, the way they communicated, what they said about the trip. And how my mum interacted with them. It was interesting to see her in that context.
I was very tired most of the trip. The heavy Chinese food made me feel off, and I got really sick the week after we got home. My mum was sick for almost three weeks. Some Chinese virus 🙂
A Few Things I’m Sitting With
On being invisible. This was the first place where I felt no one was really seeing me – and yet the cameras were always seeing me. The opposite of every other country I’ve been to, where strangers smile, ask where you’re from, want to talk. I don’t know yet if that quietness was peaceful or unsettling. Maybe both.
On being guided. I always thought I needed to plan my own trips to feel free. But there’s another kind of freedom in not planning – in handing it over and just flowing. Like the crowd in the Forbidden City. Maybe that’s worth thinking about.