Beijing Travel Guide

  The Pavilion of Embodying Benevolence
by cal6060
 
  • The Pavilion of Embodying Benevolence
      The Pavilion of Embodying Benevolence
    by cal6060
  •   Beijing
    by mingomatic
  •   Ming Tombs
    by machomikemd
  •   Great Wall
    by wilocrek
  •   Great Wall
    by wilocrek
 

Pro

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 The gracefulnes that lies within the mayhem of the city 


Con

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 Polluted, crowded, difficult to communicate 


In a nutshell

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 At first it seems surprisingly modern, but look closer and you'll find the true beijing 

 

Explore Beijing

Things to Do  

Forbidden City

Forbidden City, Beijing

 383 Reviews  Yes... the remains from the imperial era. This is the largest palace complex in the world to date, so be prepared to allocate plenty of time for the palace visit if you truly want to experience the grandeur of the glorious past. Some of the places and structures are quite run down and not all the... 

Great Wall - Mutianyu

Great Wall - Mutianyu, Beijing

 74 Reviews  I learned that Mutianyu has less crowd than any other great wall. So, I decided to go there with great expectation of natural beauty surrounding the great wall with less tourists. I went there during National Holiday, they have special tourist buses for this route. Well, it is true that it is less... 

Hotels  

Park Plaza Beijing Wangfujing

 4 Reviews and 1075 Opinions  Located centrally in the Wangfujing area, this hotel is close to everywhere you want to get to... 

St. Regis Beijing Hotel

 1 Review and 333 Opinions  At the moment of stepping in the hotel, I said 'Fantastic'. The building has high ceiling with... 

Restaurants  

Quan Ju De (Peking Duck)

Quan Ju De (Peking Duck), Beijing

 49 Reviews  I recently visited the Quanjude restaurant at Wangfujing in Beijing. This was the best Peking duck that I have had - the ambience was nice and the prices reasonable. A must do experience in Beijing! Peking duck .... obviously and thats the speciality! 

Beijing Da Dong Roast Duck

Beijing Da Dong Roast Duck, Beijing

 11 Reviews  After a tiring day of walking around in Beijing, the time had come to indulge ourselves in local cuisine and we chose Dadong to tantalise our taste buds. This elegant restaurant offers one of the most exquisite Peking Duck specialty in Beijing. I really enjoyed the duck and how it was served. The... 

Nightlife  

Wangfujing Street

Wangfujing Street, Beijing

 22 Reviews  Be careful.... Two hot girls and a guy approached me saying they want to learn English and be friends.... they seemed very nice and very educated.... they take me to a bar in the area and they took all my cash (200usd) and attempted to charge ~3500usd to my credit cards... The name of the bar was... 

Sanlitun Bar Street

Sanlitun Bar Street, Beijing

 22 Reviews  Sanlitun is one of the best know and most popular bar streets in Beijing. Sanlitun, which is also used to refer to the general area, is located in Eastern Beijing in the Chaoyang District and forms part of the Gongti nightlife area . Despite several threats of closure, it remains fashionable with... 

Transportation  

Subway

Subway, Beijing

 77 Reviews  There's a lot of traffic going on in Beijing, so you should know that getting on a taxi isn't the best way to get around the city. You'll be stuck in traffic jams for a long time and even if there won't be any traffic jams, Beijing's roads are "ring roads" and it may take a while to get on the right... 

Airport

Airport, Beijing

 43 Reviews  When you take an international flight to Beijing, many flights arrive in the Beijing Capital International Airport (BCIA) at the new Terminal 3 (T3). After passport control, before collecting your luggage, you have to take the connecting monorail to the T3C station, the center of the huge Terminal... 

Shopping  

Silk Market

Silk Market, Beijing

 49 Reviews  The Silk Market is the most famous of all the shopping options in Beijing and for good reason. Its five levels of massive rooms filled to the brim with tightly filled aisles of shops, basically it looks like a Middle Eastern marketplace. The building is chockful of just about everything you can... 

Wangfujing Street

Wangfujing Street, Beijing

 47 Reviews  A company called Four Colors Earth (FCE) makes long-sleeved men's Chinese modernised traditional dress. Not many clothes apart from the Mao suit makes a man here in China, but this one will. They are all hand made, come in a varity of designs (both for men and women) and colors, and you will... 

Local Customs  

Eating and Drinking

Eating and Drinking, Beijing

 49 Reviews  The Y files, where Y stands for "yummy!". Peking duck is, according to some, the dish that represents the city the most. I'm not really a fan of duck (or fowl) but I went to China with as much of an open mind as I could when it comes to food (due to food allergies) and I wanted to give the duck a... 

Spitting

Spitting, Beijing

 11 Reviews  The Chinese are huges fans of hocking up everything in their throat and spitting it anywhere and everywhere. They believe that it is a hygenic thing to do, more so than our western tradition of blowing our noses and sticking the tissue in our pockets! Do not be offended by the constant sounds of... 

Warnings and Dangers  

Safety

Safety, Beijing

 39 Reviews  Taxi drivers everywhere in China are looking for a free hand out. You have to remember there is no tipping. I stayed at the Shangri la Hotel which is a good move in the end. The hotel checks out all Taxi's going and coming. Gives you a slip with the cab number and drivers name. He will be banned... 

Toilets

Toilets, Beijing

 15 Reviews  Well they have these in Japan, too and I hate them. Fortunately, a lot of places (in Japan) have modern ones. China not so much (actually I'd think hardly at all). On the other hand, it's better than a tree or bush or whatnot. 

Tourist Traps  

Tour Scams

Tour Scams, Beijing

 53 Reviews  I've visited Beijing last week with other 15 people accompanied by the local tour guide who can speak Bahasa so good. He brought us to silk factory, jade factory, bamboo factory, tea house, massage herbal factory and pearl factory. I didn't shop a lot as I only brought 1200 RMB to Beijing. Lesson... 

Badaling Great Wall

Badaling Great Wall, Beijing

 21 Reviews  Some people condemn the stalls by the monuments, and their oppression on the tourists. Some times they are right - it becomes uncomfortable - but not always. In an isolated place where thousands of people merge each day, a basic structure of support is fundamental. If they don’t force you, (and... 

Off The Beaten Path  

Great Wall

Great Wall, Beijing

 34 Reviews  Visiting the Great Wall of China is a must when in Beijing. Most people will visit the extremely touristy and most visited section of the wall at Badaling which is only about 50 miles (80km) outside of Beijing. Many others will opt for the Mutianyu section of the wall which is older than the... 

Hutongs

Hutongs, Beijing

 35 Reviews  For visitors looking for a fun way to experience Beijing's hutong, you should consider doing a motorcycle sidecar tour. I know someone who recently started a company called Peking-Around (www.peking-around.com) that does small tours and can cater to your needs. Motorcycles can swiftly squeeze into... 

Sports & Outdoors  

2008 Olympics (venues)

2008 Olympics (venues), Beijing

 9 Reviews  The 2008 Summer Olympics was one of the most spectacular ever. I was in Beiing in 2007 while the Olympics complex was still under construction and our tour bus just swung by on our way to the Great Wall. In September 2008, I visited the Olympic Complex but the Paralympics was on-going so the area... 

Favorites  

Forbidden City

Forbidden City, Beijing

 53 Reviews  There are two essentials to see - the Forbidden City and the Temple of Heaven Park. At the Forbidden City keep to the edges. The main central buildings are crowded and it is difficult to get through the croiwdsto see inside (in general one can't enter the buildings). It can also be hot and... 

Comments

Map of Beijing