Visiting Beijing, China’s capital city, is a real challenge for tourists, but also a wonderful experience because of the mix between history and modernity. Travellers keep coming back to Beijing for many reasons, because they always find something new to visit or to do and because there are so many sites, landmarks and restaurants that can’t be missed.
For a great trip to Beijing, here are some useful tips and advice you should mind. Mostly because you won’t have time to visit all the highlights, you have to do a selection and here are the most important attractions, but also interesting facts to know.
1.Visit Tiananmen Square, the most famous place in Beijing. Surrounded on all sides by imposing buildings, the place is very popular for tourists and also famous for kite flyers. The atmosphere is different in the night, the place becomes more vibrant and worth to visit.
2.Go to the Great Wall and make a short walk there. The views are stunning and you get the feeling that the wall is endless. Even if in the summer the temperatures get high, take a few steps there because you don’t have the chance to walk everyday on one of the modern man made wonders of the world.
3.Temple of Heaven is another attraction you should see. It is a large park and temple complex, with a large tower in the centre. The park is the house of more than a thousand species of trees, some of which being hundreds of years old. But it is also a place where local artists come to practice martial arts, singing, dancing or painting. The entrance ticket is cheap and you can spend here an entire day without noticing how time passes.
4.Beijing Zoo, famous for its large collection of pandas, attracts many animals lovers. Here you can also see tigers, monkeys and giraffes and it is a wonderful place to go if you travel with your children.
5.August and September are the suitable months to visit Beijing. In the rest of the year, the temperatures are extreme, from a very cold season to hot days when you can only relax under garden umbrellas to bear with the heat.
6.Lively outdoor markets shouldn’t be missed. If you don’t want to shop from traditional stores, you can find local interesting things to buy at these markets, such as water pearls, silk and antiquities.
7.Try local food. Their food is for all tastes, but get used to spicy flavours in almost all the menus. Even so, taste a bit of everything: spicy diced chicken, roast duck or sweet and sour pork steaks.
8.Print the address of your destination in Chinese characters if you take a taxi. Taxi drivers don’t speak English and there isn’t another way to make them understand where you want to go. Remember that taxis are a little expensive, so you can choose the subway to save some money.
Beijing provides accommodation for all budget levels, so you can choose from boutique hotels, inns or star-rated hotels. Find the best accommodation by checking the complete list of hotels in Beijing on TripEconomy and start a challenging trip right now!