Persistence is Futile: Efforts to Convince Friends and Family to Visit Beijing

Literally Everything in China is Under Construction

Convincing friends and family to visit me in China is sort of a futile effort.  Let's be honest, China has a very well-earned image problem in the rest of the world when it comes to attracting tourists.  It's smoggy, crowded, and hectic.  Not exactly most people's idea of dream vacation.  Especially not for my friends and relatives that vacation down at the Gulf of Mexico year after year.

Summer Palace

Despite this, my mother has decided to visit Beijing sometime in July, and the planning process has begun for the trip.....and so have the headaches.  We hold very different ideas of what a vacation in China should include.  The fact my father refuses to come continues to escalate this "Travel Planning Cold War" to new heights.  Their constant threats to pull-the-plug on the trip don't make matters easier either.  And I continually feel the need to explain to my girlfriend that my father doesn't hate her culture, he just doesn't want to visit or have anything to do with it.    

Temple of Heaven

Another problem I continually encounter is that everyone seems to think there're a lot more tourist attractions in the Beijing area than there really are.  Don't get me wrong, there's the Forbidden City, Temple of Heaven, Lama Temple, and the Great Wall.  However, they are in really close proximity to each other, with the exception of the Great Wall, meaning you can visit most of the city's major POI in a few days.

Obviously, curved roof =
Chinese tourist attraction

Spending two weeks in Beijing means a visitor will have to tap the city's less traditional tourist attractions such as the 798 District or just kickin' it in the hutongs, both of which appeal far more to this lao wei Beijinger than another trip to the Forbidden City.  Welcome to the Forbidden City.  If you'd like to see what was inside of the palace, please schedule a trip to Taipei, Taiwan.  This problem is exacerbated by the fact that not many people, including myself, don't consider the monolithic, Orwellian structures of the CPC as tourist attractions, at least not yet.  Maybe one day, the image of the Great Hall of the People will become the defining image of the city, but I wouldn't count on it.

Sometimes planning a trip can be more exhausting than the trip itself.  Certainly, helping other people plan a trip is more exhausting than the actual trip.  I just hope that I get some good memories out of this experience....