In my last week in China, I traveled to the capital, Beijing. Beijing is a bustling city full of history, sights all around, and people; about 22 million. I decided to write a post about things you should do prior to your departure and some highlights. Enjoy!
Before you leave:
- Make sure your passport and Visa and documentation (tourist, student, etc.) is complete.
- Download a VPN or virtual private network so you are able to access websites like Facebook, Google, Twitter, etc. Here is more information about the “Great Firewall.” I used StrongVPN, but there are others like Betternet, which is free.
- Download the Air Quality China app AND bring masks with you (N395s) to prevent health issues from the air. I monitored the levels constantly because they change hourly. When I was in Beijing the Parts Per Million (PMI) ranged from 50 (Good) to over 400 (Posing serious health issues for anyone); I opted to wear a mask when it reached to the very unhealthy levels.
Now on to more fun stuff!
Since I was already in the country, I took the high-speed train from Dalian to Beijing, which took about 7 hours. If you take a train in China, you can see so much more of the country than if you fly, plus the high-speed train is air-conditioned and cheaper, about 260 RMB or $40 USD. If Beijing is your first point of entry, you will most likely fly into Terminal 3 of the Beijing Airport. It’s about 45 minutes from downtown; a cab ride costs about 100RMB (depending on traffic and the time of day) and the metro is about 5 RMB. I LOVED the Beijing metro! It’s cheap, convenient, and fast. When purchasing tickets, go to the ticket booth and let the attendant know your last stop so they will know what to charge you for a ticket. Most fares are around 2-3RMB and can cost more depending on distance. I always brought a map of the metro with me (you can find them at almost all metro locations) and pointed to the location in case my pronunciation was incorrect (It usually always was).
There are a ton of hostels and accommodations in Beijing. I booked through HostelWorld and stayed at the Happy Dragon Hostel near Tiananmen Square; the staff was wonderful, helpful, and I felt very safe walking there at night. I would recommend staying near the square as its central to most of the rest of the city and is easily accessible by the metro.
Some points of interest in Beijing include:
The Great Wall
There are different parts of the wall where you may travel. The most popular is Badaling. I traveled to Beijing during the Autumn holiday, so many tourists, mostly people from China, traveled to their capital to sightsee. Since Badaling is the most popular location and I knew it would be very busy, I went to a less known location, Mutianyu, which a friend recommended to me because it is less busy. I would recommend this location, as there are places on this part of the wall that have not been retouched. It was less crowded and I was able to actually enjoy the wall, ather than try to squeeze through people. I found it was easier to book the tour through my hostel, since transportation, breakfast and lunch, and my entry were all included. If you choose to go to Mutianyu, taking the tram (100RMB) to the middle of the wall is a great experience as the views are unobstructed and you can walk to the edge of the wall that has been reconstructed.
I’ll just leave this here…
Tiananmen Square and The Forbidden City
These two places hold a TON of historical significance for China. Tiananmen is connected to the Forbidden City and Tiananmen Gate, is used as a national symbol and means “Gate of Heavenly Peace.” It’s known for protests in 1989 and for many other events in Chinese history. I like to think of it as the center of China since Beijing in the capital and this is the center of Beijing. It’s quite easy to walk around the square and take in the sights. To enter the Forbidden City (an imperial palace for 24 emperors), you need to purchase tickets by going through the Tiananmen Gate. There are a limited number of tickets sold per day, so go early and bring your passport to enter. I was unable to go to the Forbidden City because it was a holiday and very busy, BUT plan to return some day! A word of caution, there are people who will ask you out to tea to “practice their English” around these areas. This is a scam. Most people will go to out to tea and then find their bill is HUGE. I was a victim of this and my bill, luckily, was only about $30 US, but some people have had bills as high as $1200! I was so mad when I found out about this after I had gone to tea with people and feel lucky it wasn’t super expensive.
A picture of the current president is always posted at the gate.
Summer Palace
This is the largest and most preserved Royal park in China and it is HUGE (9 miles)! Some points of interest include Longevity Hill, numerous gardens, hills, lakes, and so much more. You can forgo entering the main attractions (Dehe Garden, Tower of Buddhist Incense, Wenchang Hall, Suzhou Street and Danning Hall), and solely pay the park entrance, plus that will give you more time to see the rest of it. If you plan to go, spend the whole day there; most guides say three hours, but I felt that was not enough time to see most of the site.
Kunming Lake at Summer Palace
Temples
There are Buddhist temples all over Beijing. I was surprised that these were some of my favorite places to travel in the city. I saw Lama Temple and the gardens near Temple of Heaven. I liked that they were peaceful and quieter than other areas of the city – definitely less crowded and less chaotic. The Temple of Heaven is beautiful and I loved walking around the gardens listening to people sing and enjoying taking pictures of the flowers. At Lama Temple, I experienced people praying. It was interesting to see first-hand how they use prayer wheels, incense, and understand Buddhism a bit more. I would recommend you try to visit at least one temple in Beijing to experience how Buddhists live out their beliefs.
Incense in Lama Temple
If you get a chance, go to the Olympic Park too! I walked outside around the Bird’s Nest and Aquatics Center before the smog in the city rolled in. It’s easily accessible via the metro and worth a walk around the area. Plus, you get to see where Michael Phelps made Olympic History and it’s free to walk around outside
Bird’s Nest
Beijing is an awesome city full of history, and I am sure your travels there will be wonderful!
Stephanie is teaching abroad with API in China.
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