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good hostel close to olympic stadium i would advise everyone to go to........also close to China Science and Technology Museumabout 5min walk but overall nice staff, really clean and safe.
Unique Quality: fantastic rooms with duvet covers and feather-down filled pillows!!!! just a short walk away from the amazing market filled with delicious chinese waffles and chocolate. yummmm
Directions: From Beijing West Railway Station to Dream Castle 15 kilometers , 15 minutes by car;Take Bus No. 387 Xikezhan to Anzhenqiaoxi take off walk 200 meters, right sight you can see Dream Hostels sign board
Temple of Heaven
Main temple again
again
my friend
Can anyone recommend a good day tour leaving Beijing early in the morning, flying to Xian ( 2 hrs ) to see the Terracotta Warriors & back the same day ?
Can you catch a train into the city from the airport ( to Dong Cheng District ) or are cabs the way to go & how much should you pay ?
Paul M
p.mantella@comcater.com.au
Let's calculate it. From the place, Dong Cheng District, to Beijing airport, it'll take you 2 hours, then 0.5 hour check-in, 2 hours flight, 1 hour to Terracotta Army. At least 2 hours visiting in Terracotta Army,then it'll take you another 5.5 hours to go back to your accomadation. I even didn't include your lunch time. Think about it. If you can, coming to Xi'an by overnight train or one night in advance is better.
I wouldn't recommend doing Xi'an in that manner either. It's really too rushed.
The metro line from Beijing airport to downtown Beijing is complete but not for passenger operation yet. Where are you staying exactly and what time is your flight arriving? If you don't want to splurge on a taxi for the entire distance, I would recommend getting in by airport shuttle then transfer to a taxi.
I imagine you have already taken this trip, but I would totally recommend doing this trip..in fact I have a friend who will do this exact trip at the end of July. He will get a taxi from dong cheng district to airport (max 40min). He's catching an 8am flight to arrive at 10am where hes being met by a tour guide friend of mine and will head to Terracotta Warriors. Then he'll get some lunch and head into the city centre to see the Muslim Quarter before heading back to the airport for a 730pm flight arriving back in Beijing at 930pm...
That doesnt sound too horrible does it? Ive done worse trips!
You can climb onto the Tiananmen Gate to get a good view of Tiananmen Square. The Tiananmen Gate's second floor used to be closed to the public, but now you can look at the meeting areas of political leaders. Very interesting. It's just that you have to go through very strict security upon entering.
Again very useful and very cheap! it only costs 10 RMB at 24 hour convenience stores around Beijing (we bought ours at 7-11) and again due to the language barrier, just point it and pay it at counter. Like what I've said, having our baggages lost by the airline is such a hassle that you are forced to buy these stuff again hehehe. Good thing We had our baggages found and delivered pronto to our hotel after midnight.
It may seem odd to Beijing residents to describe Houhai as 'off the beaten track' but you can hardly stick it up with the Forbidden City and The Wall as 'must see'.
Houhai is the collective name for the two most northerly of the four lakes that run up from Zhongnanhai through Beihai Park and right up to the Second Ring Road.
Although a generic name, the hub of Houhai is at the Silver Ingot Bridge which is the bridge at the narrow channel joining the two northern lakes.
In all directions there are quiet hutongs, slowly disappearing from Beijing as the developers put up new skyscrapers. Actually, there are still thousands of hutongs in and around Beijing, but as most of the hip journalists and commentators can't get more than 200 metres from the Buddha Bar, they focus on the demolition of hutongs in this area. Many hutongs are being restored and renovated. There are good hutong tours by pedicab, but you can get a lot by just walking in any direction, around in circles and just exploring. People are friendly, but laowai will attract a lot of attention.
Look for the architectural details, doorway design, the way people live out in the street as well, the community spirit, the frequent public toilets (most hutongs have no plumbing), the use of bicycles everywhere, the old stones used for dismounting from horseback.
A little tip: if you get lost and it is hazy or you just can't tell directions from the position of the sun, look which way houses are facing. Most (but not all) houses face south (but remember that the main doorway could be on any of the east, south and west facades). Not infallible, but good as a rule of thumb.
Getting lost in the hutongs is easy and actually part of the attraction.
houhai has some very good restaurants, many good cafes and bars, and a very transient scene. It is becoming "passe" for the cool, trendy Beijing cognoscenti, but it is a definite step up from the crap on Sanlitun.
Houhai is a good place for lunch after the Forbidden City or the Drum and Bell Towers.
Recently, lots of VT friends ask about buying silk in China. Nowadays, peoples seldom wear silk, because it is expensiv and damageable. But buy some silk goods as a gift is good choice for a new visitor, I recommend Qian Xiang Yi, It was established in 1840.
Silk is of ancient China' main contributions to world civilization. China had a monopoly on world silk production for hundreds of years. Beijing silk store is one of the eight famous Silk Stores in Beijing,. silk see the qulity and the goods.
We rented a car to bring us around Beijing. It's much more convenient and better than booking yourself in the local tours where they bring you to the tourist sites and tourist shops to get ripped off.
This driver (Robinson Li) which we used was really quite good. He speaks reasonable english and gave us pretty good account of the historical sites (Tiananmen Sq, Forbidden City, Summer Palace etc).
Though it's not the cheapest around (he charges us about 800rmb for 4 people for a full day tour), it's still quite reasonable compared to the other tours.
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