I visited five places during my trip to China, the first of which was the capital, Beijing. I spent three full days here and managed to discover most of the attractions.
Unfortunately, I missed the National Museum of China. Although admission is free, registration is required. Due to the May 1st holiday, there were no spots available. With this exception, I visited almost all important places.
In part 1, I shared important information (payment, mobile internet, etc.), it’s worth starting with that!
Table of Contents
Travel, getting to the city center
I traveled with Hainan Airlines with a transfer in Shenzhen. I was completely satisfied with everything. We received meals twice, and could request drinks anytime in between. We were provided with blankets, pillows, socks, eye masks, toothbrushes, and toothpaste. The seats were also fine; even with my height of 190 cm, I fit comfortably.
I arrived at Beijing Capital Airport on Tuesday at 1 PM. The easiest way to get to the city center is by the Airport Express train (ticket costs 25 yuan). It’s well-marked in the arrival hall where to go. It stops at three stations in the downtown area, each with connections to other metro lines.
Metro
Beijing has many metro lines, you can get almost anywhere. I only used the metro; it’s very punctual and clean (this was true for every city’s metro system).
At the entrance gates, there are several machines that can be switched to English. You always need to select the line number of your destination and then the specific destination. Based on this, the system calculates how many yuan you need to pay (the price ranges between 3-6 yuan depending on the distance). You get a card which you need to tap at the sensor to enter. At the exit gate, you insert the card into the slot. The machine also accepts credit cards directly!
It’s important to note that there is a security check at every metro station: you only need to put your bag on the conveyor belt; mobile phones, wallets, etc. can stay with you.
Wednesday
Coal Hill
My first trip was to the hill (more like a larger mound) rising north of the Forbidden City, offering the best view of downtown. The entrance fee is only 10 yuan.
It’s actually a large park with pagodas at the top. From here, you can clearly see how large the Forbidden City is. The yellow tiles offer a wonderful sight across the rectangular area.
Wangfujing Street
After that, I walked to Beijing’s main street, passing by the National Art Museum of China.
For a capital city, it’s quite a nondescript street: it tries to be modern, but somehow doesn’t fit into the cityscape. It’s worth walking through once; perhaps a Catholic church and a nice socialist realist type building stand out.
Qianmen Street
I also walked here. At the southernmost part of Tiananmen Square stands the former city gate (Zhengyangmen), from where this charming pedestrian street extends southward.
This is a much more pleasant street, full of shops, restaurants, and teahouses. In the side streets, we can find hutongs, so it’s worth spending time here and exploring the area. There’s also a scenic tram running along the street. For children, this can be a great program.
As I approached the end of the street, the wind suddenly picked up and it got quite cold. It also started to drizzle, so I went back to my accommodation, having completed my quota for the day. 🙂
Thursday
Forbidden City
One of the most popular attractions in Beijing, it opens from Tiananmen Square. I had tickets for May 1st, and there were many people. It’s worth buying tickets online, though I met Hungarians who bought them on-site. The entrance fee is 60 yuan.
The entrance is on the southern side (Meridian Gate), through the famous gate adorned with Mao’s portrait.
It’s a huge complex with many beautiful buildings and a garden section. It’s interesting to imagine how luxuriously the emperors once lived in the middle of the city. It’s worth taking your time and seeing everything. It took me about 3 hours; I didn’t rush, thoroughly enjoying the good weather and pleasant environment.
Summer Palace
I took metro line 4 to Beigongmen station, from where it’s a few hundred meters to the entrance. This was the emperors’ retreat: a huge lake with the palace on the shore. I bought a combined ticket (60 yuan), which allows access everywhere.
Due to May 1st, there were many people, but because of the large area, it was only crowded in a few places. Getting to the palace requires climbing some steep stairs from the lakeshore, and you need to climb a bit from the entrance too. But the view is well worth it! In the foreground is the lake with many boats, and in the background is the view of Beijing.
If you enjoy walking a lot, I recommend walking around the lake. It’s about 5 km, but the view is magnificent from everywhere. If you prefer not to walk, you can enjoy the scenery from a pleasure boat.
Friday
Two must-see attractions remained, which I visited on the last day.
Temple of Heaven
One of Beijing’s and China’s most sacred temples stands in a large park; don’t miss it! I bought a combined ticket here too (34 yuan), which allows direct entry into the temple as well.
Due to the long weekend, there were also many people here: it’s not enough to get in; there’s also a long line at the gate leading to the temple. You need to be clever, walk around, and find the shortest line. With this strategy, I managed to reach the square surrounding the temple in about 15 minutes.
It’s truly beautiful from the outside (I didn’t go in because of the huge line), but in retrospect, I feel like I’ve seen more beautiful ones. Okay, I know it’s a sacred temple, not primarily visited for its beauty.
Lama Temple
Beijing’s most significant Buddhist temple is located in the northern part of downtown, at the intersection of metro lines 2 and 5.
The rising smoke from the incense burned inside is visible from outside. Everyone gets a bundle, so we can also try praying or just meditating with incense. I tried it; you can’t find a more calming environment. 🙂
The entrance fee is 25 yuan, and despite the long line, I got in quickly here too. Besides the pagodas, we can see many Buddha statues and crowds of people praying. The biggest attraction is the huge, gilded, standing Buddha. It’s truly monumental standing next to it.
Hutong
When visiting Beijing, you can’t miss visiting at least one hutong! These evoke the old times; this is roughly what the streets of the past looked like. Except for the shops, of course…
Next to the Lama Temple, there’s a trendy hutong, known as Wudaoying. It’s a few hundred meters long, full of shops, cafes, restaurants, but it’s laid out very atmospherically. I ate some good Chinese food here, just to try something other than the food stalls. 🙂
It was starting to get dark, so after an exhausting three days, I returned to my accommodation and prepared for the next day’s trip to the Great Wall. The next part will be about that.
