Hello everyone,
Headed to Beijing July 12 - 15. We have a rough idea of what we want to do/see, but would love some feedback from the experts!
We are getting in very early on the 12th (6:30 am). We are staying at the Crowne Plaza in Wangfujing.
After reading many posts, I see that hiring a private tour guide is more highly recommended than going on a group tour. That being said, do you have recommendations for a good tour guide? It is our very first time in China, so we have no idea what we%26#39;re doing!
We thought we%26#39;d get a tour guide for the first day, and see the major sights:
Tian%26#39;an men square
Forbidden City
Lama temple
Summer Palace
Temple of Heaven
In what order or grouping should these sights be seen? The first 3 seem relatively close to each other, then the others a bit farther.
Our second day, (Friday, July 13th) we were going to go to the Great Wall. From my reading so far, I think that the Mutianyu section would be our best bet (my husband has some back problems, so we can%26#39;t do anything too strenuous). Would you recommend this area?
Where is the best shopping area? Would love some great (not tacky) souvenirs.
Is it worth fitting in an acrobatic show and/or a kung fu show? If so, what are the best places for these?
What should we do in the evenings (besides eat, of course!)
We love food, so any great restaurants or eateries that are a must when in Beijing would be greatly appreciated as well (I would love to try the Peking Duck, as well as any other specialty).
I%26#39;m sure I%26#39;m missing a lot, so please tell me what are some must dos that we need to fit in!!
Can%26#39;t wait to hear what you have to say!! Thank you!
Beijing 3 days in July: need advice on tour guide, itinerary
Hi Irishgirl,
I can%26#39;t comment on any of the above but I would really appreciate it if you caould take some time to write a trip report when you get back. I have read several already but I am particularly interested in knowing how less mobile people go getting around in China. I will be going with my Mum later this year and she has problems with her Archillies tendon and so it hurts her to walk too much. I%26#39;m told there is alot of walking everywhere so I%26#39;ld be interested in hearing of your (and particularly your husband%26#39;s) experiences.
Cheers,
WM
Beijing 3 days in July: need advice on tour guide, itinerary
You won%26#39;t be able to see the major sights that you listed on only 1 day. These are all big places, you%26#39;re being unrealistic.
Mutianyu Great Wall should be ok.
What time are you leaving on the last day Sun 15/7?
Thu 12/7: arrive Beijing 0630, check-in hotel, Forbidden City, sunset flag-lowering at Tiananmen Square, Wangfujing pedestrian street, Chinese acrobat/kung fu show (pick one), Donghuamen night snack bazaar
Fri 13/7: Mutianyu Great Wall, Summer Palace, Peking duck dinner, foot massage
Sat 14/7: Panjiayuan Market, Temple of Heaven, Hongqiao market, Yonghegong Lamasery, dinner on Gui Jie (Ghost Street), Qianhai/Houhai nightlife area
Sun 15/7: leave Beijing
Summer Palace (yihe yuan) [in my personal opinion much better than Forbidden City and this time of year should be is beautiful]
Traditional Peking Duck (if you are not vegetarian) at:
Long March Resturant (chang zheng fanzhuang) 17 Haidian Lu, Haidian District [or you can go here for a snack as it is about 10-15 minutes from the Summer Palace and not more than 5 minutes from Peking University if traffic is not so bad, Note that this is not an upscale resturant but one that is noted for delicious Peking duck]
If you are vegetrian then try out:
Green Tianshi Vegetrian Resturant [www.greentianshi.com This is a bit more upscale the food is delicious here even if you are not vegetarian worth a try]
AND / OR
Gong De Lin Vegetarian Resturant [This is not so upscale vegetarian but again very delicious it is located at Qian De Lin Nan Da Jie - sorry I only have the Chinese ask the hotel to help this is worth a trip!!]
Chaoyang Theatre (chaoyang juchang) [these acrobats are worth seeing have the hotel arrange tickets, performances are nightly and I beleive that may have started an afternoon performance]
Shichahai [this is a great place it has 3 lakes with several bars and resturants that foreigners frequent and is in the Hutong District. There is one place that is very interesting to get a drink and relax in a hutong it is called the Buddha Bar but nothing like the one in France and worth a trip]
Walk around one of the Hutong districts and visit a tea house during the day - makes for great pictures too!
Peking University (biejing daxue) [the campus is extremely scenic has beautiful gardens and a very scenic lake]
Lama Temple (yonghe gong) [Beijing has a ton of temples if you have limited time then I suggest that this one is worth a visit as it is colorful]
Frangrant Hills Park %26amp; Botantical Gardens (xiangshan zhiwu yuan) [This is outside of Beijing but if spring is in bloom or has bloomed in Beijing worth a trip]
Great Wall at Mutianyu [This is less commercialized than Badaling and the view in my personnel opinion is more scenic]
Great Wall Simatai [This is less commercialized than Badaling and the view in my personnel opinion is more scenic and this part of the wall has not been restored - this for those who want to hike in a bit more rugged and less commercialized environment]
If you go to the Great Wall at Badaling then you can also go to the Ming Tombs (ming shisan ling) as well
Grand View Garden (daguan yuan) [The TV movie Dream of Red Mansion was filmed here]
Have a great time Biejing is a wonderful city many people speak English and it is common for University Students to approach Foreigners in a public place just for a small chance to chat in English as they don%26#39;t often get the opportunity unless they go and create the opportunity. If this happens I suggest taking a minute or two and just asking a few questions such as ';what is it like going to school in China'; ';Are you from Beijing? ';If yes what do you like the most about the city'; If No, how is Beijing different from your home town';
Summer Palace (yihe yuan) [in my personal opinion much better than Forbidden City and this time of year should be is beautiful]
Traditional Peking Duck (if you are not vegetarian) at:
Long March Resturant (chang zheng fanzhuang) 17 Haidian Lu, Haidian District [or you can go here for a snack as it is about 10-15 minutes from the Summer Palace and not more than 5 minutes from Peking University if traffic is not so bad, Note that this is not an upscale resturant but one that is noted for delicious Peking duck]
If you are vegetrian then try out:
Green Tianshi Vegetrian Resturant [www.greentianshi.com This is a bit more upscale the food is delicious here even if you are not vegetarian worth a try]
AND / OR
Gong De Lin Vegetarian Resturant [This is not so upscale vegetarian but again very delicious it is located at Qian De Lin Nan Da Jie - sorry I only have the Chinese ask the hotel to help this is worth a trip!!]
Chaoyang Theatre (chaoyang juchang) [these acrobats are worth seeing have the hotel arrange tickets, performances are nightly and I beleive that may have started an afternoon performance]
Shichahai [this is a great place it has 3 lakes with several bars and resturants that foreigners frequent and is in the Hutong District. There is one place that is very interesting to get a drink and relax in a hutong it is called the Buddha Bar but nothing like the one in France and worth a trip]
Walk around one of the Hutong districts and visit a tea house during the day - makes for great pictures too!
Peking University (biejing daxue) [the campus is extremely scenic has beautiful gardens and a very scenic lake]
Lama Temple (yonghe gong) [Beijing has a ton of temples if you have limited time then I suggest that this one is worth a visit as it is colorful]
Frangrant Hills Park %26amp; Botantical Gardens (xiangshan zhiwu yuan) [This is outside of Beijing but if spring is in bloom or has bloomed in Beijing worth a trip]
Great Wall at Mutianyu [This is less commercialized than Badaling and the view in my personnel opinion is more scenic]
Great Wall Simatai [This is less commercialized than Badaling and the view in my personnel opinion is more scenic and this part of the wall has not been restored - this for those who want to hike in a bit more rugged and less commercialized environment]
If you go to the Great Wall at Badaling then you can also go to the Ming Tombs (ming shisan ling) as well
Grand View Garden (daguan yuan) [The TV movie Dream of Red Mansion was filmed here]
Have a great time Biejing is a wonderful city many people speak English and it is common for University Students to approach Foreigners in a public place just for a small chance to chat in English as they don%26#39;t often get the opportunity unless they go and create the opportunity. If this happens I suggest taking a minute or two and just asking a few questions such as ';what is it like going to school in China'; ';Are you from Beijing? ';If yes what do you like the most about the city'; If No, how is Beijing different from your home town';
If you want to get around Beijing more efficiently and get some more historical background on the places you will go and see - Uni Student Guides some are still studying other have recently graduated. These guides are typically English majors just earrning extra cash to off set their spending the older - honestly I don%26#39;t think they are any better than the student guides.
Ellyse and Chad,
Your posts are so helpful! My husband and I are so eager to get there! Thank you! We aren%26#39;t leaving Beijing until 6:30 pm on the 15th, so hopefully we%26#39;ll be able to fit in a few things that day as well.
My experiences are you get more reliable and certain information (than a local tour guide) if you buy the DK Eyewitness Travel Guide ';Beijing %26amp; Shanghai.'; You get the introduction ';Four Great Days in Beijing'; all laid out for you, including page references to the details inside the book. (Not every recommendation is perfect, but you get the idea.) Like all DK guides, this is beautifully illustrated on every page with full-color photos, artwork, cutaways, streets maps and walking tour maps.
The DK guides are not much as to hotel and restaurant recommendations, but there is a ';practical information'; section in the back that will answer many of the questions asked every day here at the China Forum, such as currency, airports, local transportation, personal security and so forth.
We hired a private guide for three of our days in Beijing and we were very happy we did. On one day he took us Mutianyu. You should absolutely go to this section. You can take the ski lift up and down so the only walking would be on the wall and you could do as much of that as you want. Our guide arranged a car which was so nice and spacious. I am six-feet so that was so wonderful for the long drive. We actually did Temple of Heaven and Lama Temple on our own. You need to go to Temple of Heaven early in the morning (before 10) and take a walk around the park. That was the most interesting part of our time in Beijing. You need to make sure and see the exercise park and the people ballroom dancing. Our guide took us to Tian鈥檃nmen and Forbidden City, and then we also went on a Hutong tour. We walked through the Hutong and to a local vegetable market. Might not be the best if you have trouble walking though. We also saw an acrobats show at Tiandi (I think that was the name of it-Heaven Earth Theater). The performers were probably all under the age of 12. Our guide arranged tickets for us. Hope you enjoy your time in Beijing. Let me know if you want the information for our guide.
Adaptabletourist - can you give me some more info about your guide?
Thanks!
why don%26#39;t you stay at Sage International youth hostel. From there, you can walk everywhere.
All of the following in one day? Impossible!
Tian%26#39;an men square
Forbidden City
Lama temple
Summer Palace
Temple of Heaven
Suggest you break up according to Ellyse%26#39;s schedule. Thats another second opnion if you need to be convinced.
Closeby T square (to the south) is another very interesting antique/souvenir area featuring traditional looking shops on cobbled stone streets. Rickshaw rides available too - the name is Liulichang.
Also a guide is not required for most of these destinations - enough English signage to get by and point on a map for taxi drivers (or have concierge write down all of your destinations for the day in Mandarin). The other thing is book your tickets for Kung Fu/Acrobatics on the day you arrive before going out.
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