Quote:
Originally Posted by Makarov
Try to pick up a tiny bit of Mandarin before you go (just enough to order a bottle of beer, etc.) English will not be spoken anywhere but maybe your hotel.
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Autumn is definitely the best time of year to visit Beijing. Winters are cool (with poorly heated buildings for the most part.) Summers are hot, humid, and smoggy. Spring is nice but plagued by dust storms that blow in from the Gobi desert.
Visit the Forbidden City, Beihai Park, the Drum and Bell (Clock) Towers (and the surrounding hutongs/bar district of Gu Lou/Houhai/Dianmen St.
Visit Tiananmen Square and the National Museum of China.
Visit the Ancient Observatory.
Visit the Temple of Heaven and the nearby Hongqiao (Pearl) market to shop for counterfeit goods.
Visit Sanlitun embassy district and bar street and nearby Yashou clothing market for more counterfeit goods shopping.
Visit the Niujie mosque.
Visit Wudaokou (my old stomping grounds) to get a taste of Beijing's student nightlife.
Get out into some of the areas outside the third ring road to see how the average Beijinger lives.
Eat, eat, eat. You can explore all of the riches of Chinese cuisine from palatial imperial restaurants to neighbourhood Uighur restaurants.
Visit Chaoyang park, and the charming bars and neighbourhoods around it.
Visit Dashanzi Art District, the cutting edge of the Chinese (indeed, even the world) art scene.
My favourite place to see the Great Wall near Beijing is Junshanling, but there are several other good, less touristy places as well. Just, whatever you do, don't go to Badaling.
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I would add visit the Summer Palace, the newer one not the one destroyed by a coalition of Imperialist Foreign Powers.
If you want to check out nice malls, The Place near Silk Street is one to go check out for their large overhead LCD screen thing. (can't describe this well lol)
Also, I know Makarov said to eat, and I agree but if it looks sketchy it might be best not to eat there. Though i will recommend the roadside lamb skewers, Yum!
Tips:
Bring Diarrhea medicine like Imodium and Pepto, unless you are eating at 5 star hotels and opulent restaurants all the time you'll most likely need this as you might choose the wrong restaurant once or twice.
Keep wet naps and regular tissues with you everywhere you go, and I mean everywhere.
If you're out and about, expect squat toilets and no toilet paper, see point above about tissues. Look for nice malls and hotels for sit down toilets.