Beijing is a huge city with tons of neighborhoods, circuitous interconnecting streets, and more to do than one could reasonably expect to accomplish in a lifetime. I often remind myself of just-how-big Beijing is when Chelsey and I pass by something amazing and lament that we hadn’t already discovered it yet. There is just so much stuff here. In this post we will break down some of our favorite discoveries so far. We will most likely share some, or most of these experiences with you if you visit because we think they’re the best. But we will also explore new things. In fact we have not visited some of the city’s most popular destinations, anticipating that we will experience them for the first time alongside our visitors.
The Great Wall of China
One of the most obvious destinations in China is the Great Wall. You might be surprised to know that it’s only a 1 hour car ride from Beijing. With the iconic Wall at your finger tips, you would be a fool to skip this Wonder of the World. So that means that you have to find transportation. Though it seems like there are public transport options, our impression is that hiring a personal driver is superior in terms of speed, comfort, and flexibility. The drivers offer rides to the Great Wall for about RMB 500 / day, which generally includes multiple destinations if desired. Chelsey and I can recommend a driver who might be the fastest in all Beijing. When you let go of fearing for your life, the experience is kind of exciting. And besides you’ll get there before everyone else.
There are several different portions of the Great Wall that are within driving distance to Beijing. Chelsey and I and some of our friends from Austin had the opportunity to visit the Mutianyu section in December. We had a terrific time, and would recommend this section to anyone. There’s just something deeply surreal about going to the Great Wall of China. Besides the existentialism, there are some other cool features that make Mutianyu stick out. You take a chair lift to the wall, and you have the option to take a wheeled toboggan ride down the mountain back to the base. We had so much fun on the toboggan ride, which was a fun coda to the breathtaking views and awe-inspiring reflection on the passage of time that the Wall imbues.
When faced with future opportunity to visit the Wall I would be happy to go back to Mutianyu, or try another section. In Mutianyu you start and stop in the same place- the chair lift and toboggan are next to each other. In other sections it is possible to arrange a drop off and pick up in different places so you hike for about 6 hours, if that suits you.
East of our neighborhood: Confucius Temple, Lama Temple
Historically significant temples and modern night life destinations sandwich our neighborhood, the Wudaoying Hutong. Walking around our neighborhood would be a great first day activity. As the jetlag wears off you can make your way to the Confucius Temple. This 700 year old site is a stone’s throw from our patio. The self guided tour through the temple includes beautiful statues, temples halls, historic academic buildings, and regular dance performances.
If you keep walking east on Guozijian Street for a block, you encounter the Yonghegong Lama Temple. I have not seen this famous temple yet, but I walk by it all the time. I’m overdue for a visit.
West of our neighborhood: Gulou, Luogu Houhai, Shichahai
To our West lie some of the most popular shopping and tourist destinations. South Luogu Lane (Nanluoguxiang) is a major tourist destination, with tons of shops and many people filling the narrow pedestrian lane that, inexplicably, cars manage to drive down once in a while. If you keep walking west you will get to the Drum and Bell Towers. You can go inside them, and I suspect the view would be pretty cool from there. If you walk farther south and west from the Drum and Bell Towers, you will meet another tourist attraction curved alleyway leading to interconnecting lakes, like Houhai lake.
Dining out
One of the best things about Beijing is the diversity and quality of cuisine. We will probably have a whole post on Dining Out at some point, but for now we will list some highlights to give you a metaphorical taste of what’s in your future if you come through China’s Capital. I suppose most Westerners don’t come to Beijing to have Western style food. But if you’re here long enough a visit to Taco Bar or NOLA may convince you that we’re getting by just fine on the Taco and grits front.
Yunnan
- Dali Renjia
- Middle 8th
Hot pot:
- Heart shaped secret place
- Hai Di Lao
Dumplings:
- Mr. Shi’s
Tacos
- Taco Bar
- Pebble Courtyard
Korean
- Palms L.A. Kitchen
Vietnamese
- Susu
Moroccan
- Cuju
Indian
- Indian Kitchen
- Ganges
- Taj Pavilion
Western/European
- Gung Ho! pizza
- Ramo
- Vineyard
- NOLA
Vegetarian/Vegan
- Veggie Table
- Blossom
- Ye Bo Zhai
- King’s Joy ($$$)
Dining in
If it’s been a long day exploring and you just want to stay home and enjoy a home cooked meal, you are in luck. Chelsey and I maintain a limited but solid menu. It’s even better with a choice of one of our red wines.
Chez Chugly
- Breakfast tacos
- Thai Curries
- Spring rolls
- Chana masala
- Kala Chana
- Dal
- Kitchari
- Aloo Gobhi
- Old fashioned cocktail
- Pimm’s Cup cocktail
- Oatmeal
- French Press Rickshaw Roasters Coffee
Parks in Beijing
There are tons of parks in Beijing. If you want some relaxation time away from the buzz of tourists and museums, the parks offer a glimpse at the more serene. You can find folks playing a hacky-sack like game with a shuttle-cock like object. I forget the name of it, but something like “shinza” rings a bell. Ditan park is so close to my house, but somehow I have not visited it yet! I had the pleasure of visiting Ritan park several times when we first arrived, and even threw an American football around. Don’t underestimate the parks- lots of hidden beauty here off the beaten path, and a good respite from the busy streets.
The Temple of Heaven is somewhere above mere park status, but probably still below heaven status. But I haven’t been to either one so I cannot say for sure. What I do know is that everyone tells me this site is one of the crown jewels of the city.
North west: Summer Palace and Peking University
The Summer Palace is near my work! In fact, the Kavli Institute building is on the south side of the Old Summer Palace, which was destroyed by British and French in the 1860s. You can visit the ruins by going to the Yuanmingyuan Park Station on Subway Line 4. But three train stops farther west brings you to Beigongmen Station, which is the train stop in front of the rebuilt Summer Palace, which is amazing by all accounts. Again, I have waited to visit this site alongside a visitor, so that could be you. The University campus itself is very beautiful- a visit to the East Gate of Peking University station will get you there. If you visit me at work I can make you a cappuccino and tell you about infrared spectroscopy. The nearby Haidian and Wudaokou areas could be good destinations for lunch or shopping.
Museums
There are tons of museums here. Chelsey and I have only been to the Today Art Museum which we could not recommend more! It had so much good stuff. For the rest of the museums I’d recommend doing a little research into whatever interests you. Websites or guidebooks are the best resource here.
Nightlife and beer
If you are interested in exploring the night life here, the Sanlitun area is hard to beat. Chelsey and I rang in the New Year at Jing A with our Austin friends Chase and Lauren. Our neighborhood also has some great destinations, including the School Bar, a small live music venue. The nearby Temple Bar in Gulou is cool too. Chelsey and I recently discovered tons of cool bars on the Fangia Hutong, just 2 blocks south of us. I told you, it would take a lifetime to explore this city…
Some friends recently recommended I checkout 2 Kolegas, Mao, and YiGongYiShan, all live music venues sprinkled around the city. If you are interested in Lindy Hop swing dancing, Chelsey and give you a destination for any night of the week.
Forbidden City
The Forbidden City is probably on everyone’s must see list– it’s in fact, the most visited museum in the world. I know it could sound quite spoiled of a thing to say, but we were sort of underwhelmed by the Forbidden city. Part of it was that I personally lacked the historical context to appreciate what I was seeing. The structures themselves are quite remarkable and beautiful. But the historical writings are (obviously) in Chinese characters, so you miss some of the deeper meaning. I could find only scarce information about the history of the place and the buildings; instead the plaques list the dimensions of the buildings to a precision of interest only to architects and pedants. Knowing all this, I would recommend that you invest in an English language tour guide, or at least read some history of the place beforehand. Anything to prime yourself to appreciate that your mere presence inside the walls is a lucky coincidence of you having been born in the last 100 years, since it truly was a forbidden imperial city for most of its 600+ year history.
Final thoughts
There really is just so much to see and do here. I cannot possibly list them all. But here we listed a smattering of some of our favorites. The best part of traveling is breaking into the unknown and having cool experiences. If you come visit, we’ll probably talk about all of these over dumplings at Mr. Shi’s anyways. Good luck and safe travels!