What to do in Beijing?

[coolumbla]

when i had a day i used this guy to see the wall a few years ago

| Great wall trip | wild great wall hiking | Great wall Guide | Great wall tour

Picked me up from the westin and dropped me back
Was about 300US for the day i think but saw much more of the wall than when i went with the family last year
Was on my own

Absolutely no tourists beyond the sign that says "this part of the wall is not open to tourists!

You may want to skip the trout fishing in the trout farm though , even though the meal was great!

SHane

 

[Tassie Devil]

I probably should have put a few extra days on my trip to see all these wonderful suggestions?

As it is now, i have an extra appointment on the Saturday morning, so it really only leaves me the Friday afternoon of arrival, Friday evening, Saturday afternoon and evening and all day Sunday to see the sights.

Given the time restrictions i may have to miss out on a trip to Badaling and the Great Wall and try and see us much locally in Beijing as i can.

 

[Tassie Devil]

I found out today that i have been booked in to stay the Sunday, Monday and Tuesday nights during my Beijing visit at Empark Grand Hotel in Haidan District. Has anyone had experiences of staying there and what is close by of interest? A quick search on google maps shows the Summer Palace isn't far away.

 

[Jeffrey O'Neill]

I was in Bejing just before the 2008 Olympics.

1) Try to avoid dealing with the locals as much as possible. China for me was the only country I've been to where i was shouted at, threatened, spat on by the locals.

2) Look at where organised tours go, then decide what you like, and get a taxi to take you there. It will be cheaper in the end, and you wont end up spending more of your time being forced to look at expensive jade and silk rather than seeing some amazing sites.

3) Pretend not to speak english if a younger local approaches you. it will save you the hassle of repeatedly saying no to tea ceremonies, art exhibitions, or what ever scam they are trying to pull.

I loved the history in China, i just only had bad experiences with the locals - taxi drivers who liked to phlegmatically cough over my change in the hope i would not accept it, being physically pushed by a motorcycle rider who was demanding i pay him in USD not CNY, Shanghai taxi driver who tried to charge me 250 CNY from the maglev station to my hotel in people's square, to quite a few other negative experiences

 

[munitalP]

I was in Bejing just before the 2008 Olympics.

1) Try to avoid dealing with the locals as much as possible. China for me was the only country I've been to where i was shouted at, threatened, spat on by the locals.

2) Look at where organised tours go, then decide what you like, and get a taxi to take you there. It will be cheaper in the end, and you wont end up spending more of your time being forced to look at expensive jade and silk rather than seeing some amazing sites.

3) Pretend not to speak english if a younger local approaches you. it will save you the hassle of repeatedly saying no to tea ceremonies, art exhibitions, or what ever scam they are trying to pull.

I loved the history in China, i just only had bad experiences with the locals - taxi drivers who liked to phlegmatically cough over my change in the hope i would not accept it, being physically pushed by a motorcycle rider who was demanding i pay him in USD not CNY, Shanghai taxi driver who tried to charge me 250 CNY from the maglev station to my hotel in people's square, to quite a few other negative experiences

Wow - sounds like you had some poor experiences!

I underlined the above because we actually used this to our advantage in Beijing. Being aware of the scams, when approached by a young English speaking "art student" outside the Forbidden City walls, we convinced him that we would pay him more to be our guide than he was going to get with the art scam - which would be nothing. He agreed, joined us for the walk, I bought him lunch from memory, and after many hours of a great English speaking guide, who also helped decipher the frequent Engrish encountered in the direct Chinese/English translations, he left with a handful of RMB as well.

As long as you know what to expect, sometimes these circumstances can work to your benefit.

The taxi drivers - there's another story, suffice to say, talk with the hotel concierge before heading anywhere, find out how much to expect to pay, before the taxi departs, ensure the driver knows you will be only paying x$ for the fare

 

[fabsnake]

I did a big family group tour of China in Sep-Oct 2010, starting off in Beijing. Some of my family had been on previous China tours and knew what to do and organised it with a local Chinese travel agent they knew - we had an organised tour guide & bus driver everywhere we went.

In Beijing, I also recommend the places previously mentioned - Forbidden City is a whole day if you want to see it properly, similarly Summer Palace could easily take up a day.

Tianamen square is next to entrance of Forbidden City and will only take a long time if you queue up to see Mao's tomb.

Great Wall is definitely worth a visit if you have the time.

Olympic Park is interesting but can't do much there unless something is on.

Silk markets are fun if you can handle the haggling, I managed to not buy anything there depsite being physically dragged into some of the stalls by the salespeople! I owuld only go there if you really want something as cheap as you can get it and are prepared to have a copy rather than the original. But since most things are made in China, who's to know if it's genuine or fake?

Wangfujin area for shopping is more interesting for the street food markets, where you can buy all sorts of poor creatures on skewers - scorpions, spiders, baby birds, starfish - make sure you have your camera with you!

The best part of Beijing I found was a rickshaw tour of an old area called the Hutong, where there is no modernisation or major developments going on, sort of an old heritage area of the city.

Also saw an acrobatic show that was quite entertaining and impressive athleticism.

Eating was good, a specialist duck restaurant will have a life sized yellow toy duck wearing a chef's hat out the front of it. They are not that uncommon.

Subway system is very easy to use and extremely cheap. Besides taxi drivers potentially being rude or trying to rip you off, driving in China is quite hair-raising compared to what we are used to in Australia. I felt like I was endangering myself every time I was in a taxi, road rules seem to be optional. Yet very few accidents are seen, probably because everyone drives like that!

I don't know the hotel you are staying at so can't make any comments on it.

I caught the same flights as you from HK to Beijing and return, no problems with getting your QFF points and SCs with Dragon Air/Cathay Pacific/China Eastern.

Have a great time there, hopefully it will make you want to go back and see other parts of China, it'a a fascinating country and so much to see. I want to go back!

 

[Cruiser Elite]

I was in Bejing just before the 2008 Olympics.

1) Try to avoid dealing with the locals as much as possible. China for me was the only country I've been to where i was shouted at, threatened, spat on by the locals.

2) Look at where organised tours go, then decide what you like, and get a taxi to take you there. It will be cheaper in the end, and you wont end up spending more of your time being forced to look at expensive jade and silk rather than seeing some amazing sites.

3) Pretend not to speak english if a younger local approaches you. it will save you the hassle of repeatedly saying no to tea ceremonies, art exhibitions, or what ever scam they are trying to pull.

I loved the history in China, i just only had bad experiences with the locals - taxi drivers who liked to phlegmatically cough over my change in the hope i would not accept it, being physically pushed by a motorcycle rider who was demanding i pay him in USD not CNY, Shanghai taxi driver who tried to charge me 250 CNY from the maglev station to my hotel in people's square, to quite a few other negative experiences

Jeez - I could not disagree more with any post I have seen in my brief time here on AFF.

I have been going to China 8 to 10 times each year for last 13 years - NEVER - NEVER have I witnessed virtually all of these behavioural patterns as you have listed - you sure must have had some bad luck.

IMHO China is one of the easiest countries on the earth if you have zero knowledge of local language.

Your hotel concierge is ALWAYS your best friend - ALWAYS ask him to write your destination in Chinese to show the taxi driver - you write the english under what he wrote - show the taxi driver - make sure taxi driver turns meter on - which they will do 99.99% of the time UNLESS it is from one of the tourist markets - or a tout at the major airports - or sometimes late at night from the really seedy bars (so my friends tell me). NO taxi driver in any city in China will speak more than a handful of english words - if you can deliver destination in Chinese then you OK - if not you must show destination written in Chinese characters.

Chinese people as a nation are beautiful gentle people - smile at them - say hello - 'ni hao' (knee how) - they will give you the warmest response.

As for highlights of Beijing - yes most of the 'must sees' have been listed - somebody mentioned the Hutong tours - these are just as big a must as Forbodden City and Great Wall IMHO.

As I said I have been there 100 times but the duck restaurants are still #1 on my hitlist every visit. If you can get to SOHO to see the light show it is fabulous - best nightlife - Xiu at Park Hyatt - love that place - this is probably the #1 night club in Beijing right now - wanna have a real eye opening experience - head to Chocolate at Ritan Park - Russian nightclub run by Russian mafia - don't go before midnight - enjoy the fabulous floor show - I also love this place.

Get a copy of 'Thats Beijing' from hotel conceirge - literally 1,000's of restaurants offering ALL foods listed - 100's of bars and night clubs - Beijing or indeed China in general never sleeps - always plenty to do by day or night.

Please do not ever be deterred from going to Beijing / Shanghai or anywhere in China because of a few negative posts - I have never felt safer in any country in the world than I have in China - except when on the roads that is - fly or train wherever possible.