dina4

so i've been lurking around the asia board, reading my guidebooks, and trying to figure out how to make the most of 3 days in Beijing... (our first trip to asia)

needless to say, i'm a bit overwhelmed!

we will be traveling the first week in march and staying at the st. regis.

below is a list of things i'm hoping to fit in, but i'm not quite sure how to do it most effectively in our short time.

i truly appreciate any advice, tips, comments, or further suggestions!!
(i apologize in advance for spelling mistakes!)

excursion to GREAT WALL
-- still torn between the closer Badaling and the less touristy Mutianyu

exploration of the lake district and drum tower

exploration of hutongs (in lake district or elsewhere?)

forbidden city / tienan men square

summer palace

temple of heaven

lama temple

shopping ???

night market (can't quite figure out where this is)

Thank you!
dina

dina4

i should add that my husband and i are in our mid-40s, interested in history, culture, and beautiful architecture.

thanks!

thursdaysd

If you have three full days you should be able to fit all of that in - except perhaps for shopping. On day for the wall, one day for the next three items, one day for the next three.

The night market is off Wangfujing Street north of the Foreign Language Bookstore. But even last time I was there (2004) it had been cleaned up and become very touristy, and there was a recent post from someone who didn't enjoy it at all.

ekscrunchy

I agree. Do not worry if you miss the night market--after the surprise of seeing some of the odd foodstuffs--scorpions on a stick, etc--there is not much left and even when I was there in 2007 it did attract quite a few tourists.

Please try to set off early for the Great Wall to avoid the tourist throngs. My guess is that Mutianyu will also be very busy by late morning.

I also advise a very early start for the Temple of Heaven--see if you can be there by 8am to see all the activity in the park...maybe even earlier in order to pack in lots of sights that day..

Do not forget to have Peking duck one night! Book ahead.

You have a fantastic adventure ahead of you. Enjoy!

Shanghainese

If you start out early for the Great Wall, you can stop at the Summer Palace on your way back. The rest of the sites/sights are not far from your hotel so that will give you some time to shop. Have great fun!

dina4

okay, thanks so much!

1. can any one comment on roughly how long one might spend in these places?

2. also wondering if you think batalyng will still be really crowded in march, like it as in the summer. perhaps it's always a mob scene?? i like the fact that its a shorter drive.

thanks so much!!

PeterN_H

In some haste:

Don't overthink this or try to plan in too much details: this was lies disappointment. Simply read widely about Beijing and draw up a list of priorities. Tackle this list in order from most important downwards, and do not expect to see absolutely everything. The traffic is terrible, so group the things you want to see together as much as possible either because they are next door to each other or because they are on the metro (subway) system. The metro is the way to get rapidly around the city.

The Hou Hai area ('back lakes' not 'lake district') is a bit tawdry now due to the mass transfer of low-quality bars from a redeveloped bar street. But there are areas of reasonably well-preserved hutong south-east of the Drum and Bell towers that make for pleasant walking, and amongst them the not yet quite over the top bar/restaurant/shopping hutong of Nan Luo Gu Xiang, in which to take a break.

The reduced touristiness of Mutianyu is close to being a myth that exists in the minds of those who went there but never to Badaling. If you are giving up a whole day to the Great Wall then you want to go further afield to somewhere with far fewer visitors and more atmosphere: Jin Shan Ling, for instance. If you want to give up less time then go to Juyong Guan, as rebuilt as the others, but closer to Beijing than any of them, and yet also little visited.

The Summer Palace (Bei Gong Men station), Temple of Heaven (Tian Tan Dong Men station), and Lama Temple (Yonghegong station) are all on metro system and so not hard to reach. The Temple of Heaven and Lama Temple are on the same line, so no problem to see them together in the same day.

The 'night market', assuming that's the Wangfujing Food Street, is a tawdry tourist destination well worth avoiding.

Peter N-H

dina4

Thanks, Peter!

Thanks for the advice of just working our way down the list. Great idea!

I do have a question though -- proabably a really dumb one -- but i keep reading about tourists using the metro. How difficult is this -- reading signs, getting tickets -- if you don't speak any Chinese at all. Are there English translations for tourists on the signs? And I was wondering the same thing about the signs on the streets?

I'd rather not give up a whole day for the Great Wall, so I will look into Juyong Guan or Badaling. I'd like to take Shanghainese's advice of stopping at the Summer Palace on the way back.

Thanks,
dina

p.s. I'll scratch the night market off the list!

cwn

Hi,

It has been five years since we were in Beijing. But maybe what we did over our two days will help your planning.

We were there in Nov(it was cool to cold). The first day we did a trip to Badaling. We left the hotel at 7AM and were there even before the junk shops opened! There were no tour busses, it was great! It was wonderful having the wall almost to ourselves and we have beautiful pictures with no one in them even right at the entrance. We stayed maybe an hour, but I didn't walk too far as there were many steps and steep ramps. My husband walked up to one of the towers to the right of the entrance. Time at the wall depends on how much you plan to walk.

We then drove back to the Summer Palace. As Peter says, doing it in that order is a good use of time. Again you could spend the rest of the day at the Summer Palace, but we only stayed a couple of hours and saw the main places of interest. Even in the middle of the day, it wasn't too crowded. It was misty when we first arrived and got some great pictures of the lake. Fortunately the sun came out before we left. We had a late lunch after the Palace visit.

Back in town that afternoon. we went to the Forbidden City and Tienanmen Square. That took up the rest of the afternoon for us, less than two hours.

Early that evening we went over to a neat area across the main street in front of the Square. We walked into the area for about two blocks and turned left(if you are facing the Square) and walked for three or so blocks. It was an old area with some small gallaries, food stores, bars and various shops and homes. We found some wonderful things to buy there. Unfortunately that may be one of the areas that was lost to the building craze the last few years.

The next morning, again at 7am, we went to the park around the Temple of Heaven. We spent about an hour walking the park area, watching and visitng with the people doing their morning thing. I think that was the best part of our stay. We then toured the Temple of Heaven complex.

From there we walked across the road and went to the pearl market...very touristy, but fun none the less. I had priced some things at home and was able to seriously bargin and get some small things for a good price, but there was a lot of junk on the lower floors. The "good pearls" are on the upper floor. I don't know if that Market is still there.

We had an early lunch and then that afternoon drove around looking at some of the other sites: around the lake district and drum tower, the hutongs in that area and the Lama Temple before leaving to go to the port.

So if you have three days you should be able to see all you want to. I think the trick to Beijing is to get out early before the tour groups hit the sites. You will see more of the local lifestyle also.

Have a great trip.

cwn

I see you asked about the metro, we didn't use it, but I did see the entrances near most of the places of interest as we moved around. Also taxis were cheap and plentiful when we were there.

It is very hard for me to do steps, so we had a car and driver/guide. We really lucked out and hired a young University student. She was delightful and really encouraged us to interact with the locals at the park that morning.

We drove by Juyong Guan on the way to Badaling. I think I liked Badaling better. Seemed like there was more to see, maybe that is just because the Balaling area is the picture you see so often.

PeterN_H

>I do have a question though -- proabably a really dumb one -- but i keep reading about tourists using the metro.

It's being recommended because it's doable, not because it isn't. Getting around Beijing really is very straightforward.

Even tiny hutong signs are mostly bi-lingual, all metro signage is in Chinese and Roman script, as are the ticket machines (or just plonk ¥2 down at the ticket window), and the announcements on both platform and train, and the animated displays that show you where you are when on board the train.

It takes an hour by car to reach the Summer Palace in the middle of the day when the traffic is light. The metro is much quicker.

Peter N-H

wiselindag

Dina,

The advice given above is really excellent. If you'd like to read about our visit to Beijing, here is the link to my trip report from two years ago.

http://www.fodors.com/community/asia...ort-begins.cfm

I would second Ek's advice on the duck... one of the highlights of our visit!

Linda

dina4

Thanks so much for all your help!

Especially wiseilindag and cnw for your trip details!

I'm working on an itinerary and will be back for more comments!

thanks again!

dina4

So far, this is what i've put together with all your advice.
Let me know what you think...

Day 1 (Thursday)
Great Wall (early morning departure)
-- but still can't decide between Badaling and Mataniyu!!
Summer Palace
Lama Temple -- is this too much?


Day 2 (Friday)
Tieinemen Square
Forbidden City (early morning departure)
Hutong Tour
-- lakes area? or somewhere else?
Spa treatment -- dragonfly (wiselindag- i loved this idea!)

day 3
Temple of Heaven (early morning again)
Pearl Market
more shopping -- where?

Question -- what time do shops generally close?

Thanks for any suggestions!
dina

cwn

When we were there, the shops were open till at least 6pm.

Day one sounds good, if you go to Badaling as it is closed. Just check on the hours for Lama Temple, it was closed when we tried to visit

Also the same for Day two, check the openning time for the Forbidden City, be there when it opens for sure. The tour buses seem to like the 10-2 time frame everywhere. Do spend some time in the Lake area and in the area near the Forbidden City...just get out and walk.

Check around your hotel for shopping too. You may find shopping areas as you move around the city. There have been many changes since we were there.

Have a good trip!

marya_

OK, here is a different opinion on day 1. It doesn't sound good to me -- too packed full of wonderful places that are each grand in scale and separated by snarling traffic. I know that I like to move more slowly than many or even most, but trying to visit all three of these remarkable places in one day sounds counterproductive.


The Great Wall and the Summer Palace in one go already makes for a very full day. Since you are interested in "history, culture, and beautiful architecture," you are likely to want to take your time at both the Summer Palace and the Lama Temple.

You also need a restorative lunch break at a minimum.

I would definitely move the Lama Temple to another day. If others disagree strenuously, they will speak out.

Enjoy the St. Regis. I haven't stayed there but heard good things from my husband and colleagues.

Gpanda

On day three, you could easily pop over to the dirt market. It's fun. We bought a pair of ceramic Fudogs. Ekscrunchy bought an accupunture sculpture.

dina4

Thanks for your replies!

marya -- i was worried it was too much for day 1. how much time would you account for the summer palace and lama temple? maybe we should move the lama temple to day 3 after the temple of heaven? too many temples?

gpanda-
i was thinking of the dirt market for saturday. how far is it from the city centre?
oh, and sorry but what's a fudog?

cwn -
i'll definitely check the hrs for the lama temple. how sad it was closed when you tried to visit!

am now thinking badaling might be a better place to visit the wall because it's closer. does anyone disagree??

thanks so much!!!

marya_

Dina:

While a modicum of experience does embolden me to caution when an itinerary seems too stuffed to be pleasurable, I find it hard to counsel people on how much time to allocate to any one attraction. So much depends not only on your personal style but also on all the uncertain variables (crowds, season, weather, traffic/transportation, health, unexpected closings, etc.) that will conspire to influence your particular experience of a place.

I always, always do the two things in tandem that Peter N-H counsels upthread -- 1) draw up a list of my priorities based on my interests, and 2) try to get a sense of basic geography by studying both maps and descriptions of transit options.

Since things don't ever go exactly according to plan -- well, not on the best trips, anyway -- I can stay ready to reshuffle and recombine my options based on how events on the ground are playing out. You always need more interests on your list than you think that you could possibly get through because there can be unanticipated closings and even disappointments. There are also, happily, unanticipated opportunities.

As far as your question about "too many temples," I am one of those people who find them endlessly fascinating so I don't ever seem to reach my limit. The Temple of Heaven and Lama Temple are, in any event, very different entities so even someone who is less than enthusiastic about temples would probably be fine with combining them in the same day.

With only three days in Beijing, you will naturally strive for a certain tight control so that you see everything on your (quite reasonable) list. The scale of these sights is enormous though so do be prepared to spend considerable time at each and bring the clothing you need for spending extensive time out of doors.

Oh, and by the way... If you got to the Lama Temple and found it closed (as did a poster above), you could very well abandon the neighborhood and move on to something else on your A list. Another idea for someone with your interests though is to visit the lovely Confucius Temple that is very close by the Lama Temple.

Have a wonderful trip!

cwn

Marya..Good points on going with what you are served on a trip. We actually were able to do our must sees. Lama Temple was an add on when we drove by.

Dina...given how we like to do things, you plan seems very doable, almost easy, each day. With only one major sight on day three, it gives you the chance to go back to anything you missed because you spent longer than planned at an earlier site. It also gives some time for an unexpected find.

The time you spend will depend on how indept a visitor you are. The Summer Palace is a spread out complex, but you could see the major areas in two hours and have a good feel for the site, or you could spend all day exploring all the paths, depends on what your style of sightseeing is. The same is true for the Great Wall, the Forbidden City and the Temple of Heaven. We did spend longer at the Temple of Heaven because we spent so much time in the park visiting with various people with our young guide as translator.

Have a great time!

Many people have negative comments on Badaling because they feel it is too crowded. That is the reason to be there really early! If you go to Mutianyu, it will eat up more of your day. For us, Badaling was everything we though the Great Wall would be...we have no reggrets about going there.

When we were planning, I found some write ups on the dirt market...do a search here and on tripadvisor. Seems like it was about a hours drive from our hotel on the second ring road. It sounded interesting and like it could eat up a lot of time we didn't have so it was not on my list.