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When to go: Welcome to Beijing anytime! Hot in summer, cold in winter. Spring is short, not cold but suffering from the yellow wind and dust in recent years. Then autumn turns to be the golden season for tourists. The best time is in May, September and October when the weather is so comfortable and the scenery is so charming. Well, although it's quite cold in winter, it shows another beauty of this city. Skiing in Beihai, viewing the snowy sights on West Hill, enjoying the steaming hotpot are really the fun of winter tours. Just keep warm! |
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Transportation: By flight:
As the capital of the country, Beijing is its important transport hub with convenient transportation extending in all directions. Flight: Beijing Capital International Airport is about 30km from downtown, in Shunyi District northeast of the city. There are about 200 domestic and international airlines accessible from this airport. Flight services between Washington, Chicago, San Francisco and Beijing has all been established. Nanyuan Airport is smaller but more convenient for tourists who plan to visit Harbin, Wuxi and Dalian.
By train: Beijing is the railway hub of the nation, with trains to most provincial capitals and all neighboring cities and even international trains including the lines directly to Moscow, Pyongyang and Ulan Bator etc. The thing you have to pay attention is that there are four passenger train stations: Beijing railway station, the West station, the South station and the North station. So please get very clear which station to go to catch your train.
As for getting around the city, taxis, subways, buses, special tourist buses, rickshaw and bicycles, are all available. Taxi drivers in Beijing are learning to speak daily English especially for the coming Olympics, and that would be easy for you to call a taxi to your destinations. Riding a bicycle through the Hutongs in Beijing is a wise choice for exploring the city thoroughly. Rickshaw travel is also an excellent way to experience the hutongs (alleyways). |
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Food & Entertainment: Peking Roast Duck Beijing offers visitors an exhaustive variety of Chinese cuisine. And yes, we still have to mention the you probably know it well. Visitors will enjoy the duck just as they will climb the Great Wall once in Beijing. Best known restaurants are Quanjude and Bianyifang. Quanjude roasts their ducks over burning wood while Bianyifang roasts its ducks using radiant heat from the oven walls.
Snacks There are probably 200 varieties of snacks in Beijing including Quick-Fried Tripe (Bao Du); Pot-stewed Tripe (Luzhu); Bean Soup (Dou Zhi) and Sweet Cake (Tang Huo Shao). Most of the snacks can be found throughout the city, but a prime location is in the Qianmen Gate area. The luxury
Imperial Cuisine is well-known by the original features of the raw material and carefully selected ingredients and are decorated by different colorful vegetables and fruits carved into various shapes. Fang Shan Restaurant in Beihai Park offers the best flavor. Never concern the food in this foreign city, Beijing offers a vast number of Foreign restaurants Never concern the food in this foreign city, Beijing offers a vast number of Foreign restaurants featuring dishes from virtually every location on the globe. You can still feel like home.
Entertainment: From traditional performances such as the Beijing Opera, acrobatic shows and martial arts performances in the teahouses, to pubs, clubs and cafes, Beijing will never make you feel boring. Take a stroll along Chang'an Street to Tian'anmen Square is fast way to get acquainted with the city. A few popular places recommended: Tianqiao Theater(Over bridge) specializes in modern song and dance performances; Tianqiaole Tea House (Happy Over bridge) offers the more traditional arts of Beijing Opera, Acrobatics, Kungfu (Martial Arts) as well as folk songs. Laoshe Tea House is a place where you can experience the famous Chinese tea culture and find a quiet place to relax and maybe do some reading. Liyuan Theater shows nightly performances at 19:30 pm of genuine Beijing Opera and other folk performances with boards displaying a translation. Rock-and-roll, hip-hop and Jazz and other activities can be found in Sanlitun Pub Street and the surrounding Embassy Area in Chaoyang District.
Peking opera is a synthesis of music, dance, art and acrobatics. It is the most influential and representative of all operas in China. Its repertoire includes historical plays, comedies, tragedies and farces, many historical events are adapted into Peking Opera plays. The actors and actresses, in addition to singing, use well-established movements, such as smoothing a beard, adjusting a hat, jerking a sleeve of raising a foot, to express certain emotions and meaning.
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Shopping: Specialty stores and large shopping malls for daily necessities all can be found. Business centers: Wangfujing Street, Qianmen Street, Xidan Commercial Street and Dongsi Street. Looking for jewelry, antiques, ancient calligraphies and paintings, Liulichang Cultural Street is a good place. Bargain for bags, shoes, handicrafts etc whatever you wish, Silk Alley (Xiushui Street) near the US Embassy is recommended. Women Street covers clothing, general merchandise and shoes and hats, and mainly includes imported from Guangzhou, South Korea, Hong Kong and Taiwan as well as other international fare. |
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The Great Wall |
| The Great Wall is a must see once you are in Beijing. This immense wall was built to keep out invaders as well as to retain the inhabitants. It spans five provinces (6,700 kilometers, or 2,587 miles) from Shanhaiguan Pass in the east to Jiayuguan Pass in the west. Just outside Beijing, it is possible to climb a section of the Great Wall and enjoy a splendid panoramic view that you will remember for the rest of your life. |
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Forbidden City |
| Forbidden City shows in many Chinese films and TV plays. Called Gu Gong in Chinese, it was the imperial palace during the Ming and Qing dynasties. It is a symbolization of the ancient imperial feudalism, but we can't admit the splendid painted decoration, the grand and deluxe halls of these royal architectures. |
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Bird's Nest |
| The Bird's Nest a new star in Beijing tours for the 2008 Games, the National Olympic Stadium. |
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