Beijing: Past Present and Future
A city set in the past with its eyes focused on the future, Beijing provides a surprisingly contrasted experience. Well know ancient relics can be seen in one of the world's largest museums, Beijing National Museum. Bring out the Mongolian in you and conquer the Great Wall. Wander through the 9,999 rooms in the Forbidden City and step out into the infamous Tiananmen Square. Hop from studio to studio in the 798 Art Zone before becoming awe-struck at the incredible modern architecture and advancement in Chaoyang. Tokyo is modern, but without the ancient influence of Beijing. Kyoto is ancient, but not quite as modern. Beijing brings together eras and generations, and spits out (literally) an urban experience like no other.
I actually visited Beijing three years ago on a school trip, and only did so for a few days. Even still, I felt like I barely saw the city at all outside the standard tourist sites. I was left with not necessarily a bad impression, I simply had no impression at all. With that said, there was nothing I knew about Beijing that was particularly exciting, but after being there for nearly a month, its safe to say that I would gladly go back to this incredibly unique city.
Historically, Beijing is second to none. The city is littered with temples, museums and palaces, so I'll start this blog post with the start of Beijing (if that makes sense).
Great Wall
No matter where you end up on the wall, it truly is a sight to behold. More than 20,000 miles long (~13,000 km) over incredibly mountainous terrain, the Great Wall is…well, great! Reviewing a wall is somewhat humorous because it really is just a wall, but there are some things to know before you visit this wonder of the world.
It goes on and on and on and...well you get the point!
First of all, there are several places you can actually see the wall. Ba Da Ling is the most famous because it is by far the most developed, with hotels, restaurants, shops and tourists galore, not to mention only 30% of the original wall as the rest has been refurbished to accommodate the huge crowds. It is the most convenient though, as you can take the bullet train for super cheap from the city center of Beijing to Ba Da Ling in 20 minutes. The drawback to Ba Da Ling are the crowds. Dozens of huge tour buses and massive crowds dominate much of the scenery before you actually walk far enough along the wall. Which brings me to another point: if you do end up going to Ba Da Ling for it's convenience and better prices, make sure you go left once you start walking up the wall. Sounds super vague, I know, but from the ticket booth/entrance you go up a set of stairs on the side of the wall and have the choice of either going right or left. Going right is an easier walk, but much more crowded, whereas going left is not nearly as crowded, albeit a more difficult. What did we do on the wall? Walk up and down, take photographs and check out the guard outposts (goot the top if you're allowed)
As an alternative, there is also Mu Tian Yu, which is where I went when I visited three years ago. I personally prefer this location much more than Ba Da Ling because it feels more authentic. The views are just as good, but the crowds are virtually non existent, and the wall itself is not refurbished which is a good thing because if you walk down far enough you can see parts of the wall that are overgrown with foliage, something this makes for an incredible site. Be warned though, getting to this part of the wall requires climbing hundreds of stairs and it is seriously a challenge, even for a teenager (at the time). If you don't want to destroy your legs, there is also a ski lift to go up and a bob-sled on the way down which is an absolute blast! Just check and make sure it is open before you decide to go to Mu Tian Yu for the ski lift and bob sled, I had a friend who went in large part because of those two reasons, both of which were closed much to his dismay.
Ming Tombs
Another reason to visit Ba Da Ling instead of Mu Tian Yu is the fact that the Ming Tombs are in the same general direction, meaning you can kill two birds with one stone. The Ming Tombs are a beautiful area with 13 tombs from the Ming Dynasty spread around a massive complex. Walking down a road with statues of different animals makes for an incredibly peaceful and relaxing experience, and seeing the tombs and historical relics is interesting as well, although we did not spend too much time as we took our sweet time strolling down the path of animal statues (and taking very mature photographs with them obviously).
A nice place for a peaceful stroll before braving the crowds of Ba Da Ling
Forbidden City
Views from Jingshan over the Forbidden City
9,999 rooms and a kilometer long, this place is intimidatingly large. The entire city is centered around the Forbidden City, which is ironically representative of the country. Literally everything is forbidden. Anyways, this is an obvious must do, along with the Great Wall, while in Beijing. While it may seem monogamous and repetitive, the area is so large that there is always something to see and do. Walking from the entrance by Tiananmen Square on the left side (the west side) is the most interesting, with a more diverse range of architecture. Each area has its own collection of historic memorabilia. Walk the entire "city" and just enjoy the sights and sounds. Neither time I went did I have a tour, and neither time did I felt like I really needed one. I enjoyed being able to just roam on my own time for hours on end. And once you finish walking down from one end, be sure to walk up the man-made mountain called Jingshan Park where you have a beautiful view over the Forbidden City and Beijing. Worth the climb, as long as you buy a Mango Popsicle for $0.50.
The place is massive, be sure to take your time to stop and appreciate the beauty of it!
Temple of Heaven
Perfectly symmetrical grounds-a common feature of historic sites throughout China
Located in a beautiful park with perfectly symmetrical trees lining up to frame temples, the Temple of Heaven is one of the most scenic spots in all of Beijing in my opinion. A unique, circular temple surrounded by small museums explaining the history behind the temple made this one of my favorite spots in the city. Not much to talk about other than the fact that this is a beautiful area to spend a couple hours in!
A beautiful, circular temple makes for an interesting and photogenic visit
Summer Palace
Beautiful scenery everywhere you look in the Summer Palace
A little Kyoto in Beijing! And just as crowded...
Home to emperors and royalty, the Summer Palace is truly fit for a king. With a huge lake in the center and temples and hills on all sides, this is a magical place. Climbing to the top of Wan Shou Mountain via the temple's stair case reveals a magical view over the entire palace and city. Get a paddle boat and cruise around the lake, or just take one of the dragon boat ferries across. Go temple hopping and enjoy the beauty of each spot. This was a spot that for some reason I did not go to on my first visit to Beijing, but is without a doubt somewhere you need to go on your visit to this city. Fascinating history set in beautiful scenery is a combination that you can’t go wrong with!
The climb to the top of this temple is worth it for these views over Beijing
Beihai
What used to be somewhat of a playground for royalty living in the Forbidden Palace has now become a place to enjoy a leisurely stroll or a boat ride through the lake. Somewhat similar to Summer Palace (given that I did just write almost the exact same sentence), Beihai literally means "North Lake", and is in a convenient location, right off line 6 (the most used line during my stay in Beijing). A nice place for a stroll, which if you walk all the way around the lake from the entrance, you will hit Houhai (which means back lake) for a nice dinner and drinks.
Take a nice duck boat ride around Beihai on a Sunday for a perfect afternoon
Tiananmen Square
It's seriously massive. That's a word I use a lot when describing Chinese public buildings and spaces so get used to it!
The National Museum of China on a rainy afternoon
This museum is massive and even though it's so crowded, you'll be able to find your own space thanks to the sheer size
Incredibly boring but intimidatingly large, Tiananmen is one of the largest public squares in the world. Known in the Western World largely because of the famous, or infamous, photo of someone (the world still doesn't know who for sure) holding groceries in front of a tank on June 4th, 1989, Tiananmen is heavily guarded. In fact, you need to go through security just to get into the public square, and you'll see dozens of soldiers marching up and down the square. A massive photo of Mao Ze Dong will watch you wherever you walk around here, as will all the native Chinese people if you look like a foreigner. That's a thing in China, they've almost never seen anyone from outside of the country, especially those with blonde/red hair so if you meet those criteria, have fun taking photos with dozens of Chinese people! The square itself is rather mundane, but the flanking museums and "future" museum house interesting things to see. The National Museum of China is one of the largest museums in the world and it has literally everything you could imagine in a museum. While the sheer quantity of people and exhibits is impressive, the museum itself really did not capture my interest at any moment, and after not even two hours we decided to leave. That was a common occurrence during my time in China, almost every museum was entirely not worth it, with the only exception being the Nanjing Massacre Memorial. So take that bit of knowledge with you before you decide to waste time and money at museums. Plus, all of Beijing itself is basically a museum so what's the point?
798
Now this caught me seriously off guard. Easily the most impressive and unexpected part of Beijing in my opinion, 798 is an area in the northeast corner of the city littered with art studios, sculptures and abandoned warehouses, this was a dream for an architect like myself. I felt like I was in an artsier version of LA (I know, it's possible). I would say the vibe of the place and the people was a combination of Tokyo and it's fashion-forward demographic, Los Angeles with it's trendy coffee shops and New York's Highline with it's architectural composition. This is a place best described with photographs, as words don't do it justice. Check out some of the shots I got on my day trip to this beautiful area, a place not only artists, but everyone should go to while in Beijing.
China is weird. 798 is the epicenter of that, but in beautifully artistic fashion
Works of art are scattered around the streets of this trendy neighborhood
Subtle artistic movements to add to the language of 798, including this entrance to an art studio
You'll find dozens of trendy cafes around 798-I felt like I was back home in LA!
Silk Market
A buzzing market selling everything you can think of, Silk Market is a fun place to gamble and buy fake stuff for cheap prices. I bought some "Dolce and Gabana" shirt for $20, which started at $50. These guys are scared of any under cover government officials roaming the place so you have to bargain with them inside their shops, and they will do anything to sell their product so don't be afraid to go way lower than their original price and simply walk away if they decline your offer (they'll come back, trust me). Michelle Tan, from the Ritz Carlton Shanghai, told me that if you're going to buy fake stuff, buy the real fake stuff-Chinese fake stuff. And this is the place to do it, at the Silk Market.
So if you asked me to make you a daily itinerary based off these of my favorite spots, I would say do it like this:
Day 1:
Morning in Tiananmen/National Museum (not interesting but worth an hour or two visit).
Walk through the Forbidden City for four hours.
Lunch at the north end, around Jingshang.
Climb up Jingshan and enjoy the views out over the Forbidden City and Beihai.
Walk over to Beihai and roam around, check out the temples, ride in a paddle boat.
Walk to Houhai and get dinner/drinks to finish out the day.
Day 2:
Ming Tombs in the morning for about an hour or so. Give or take depending on your mood.
Great Wall all day, simple. Take your time enjoying the beauty and grandeur of the wall.
Day 3:
Temple of Heaven (and surrounding temples of the park) in the morning
Go up the train and hit the Silk Market in the afternoon
Day 4:
798 for as long as possible (seriously, it's cool)
Day 5:
Summer Palace
So that right there is how I thrived in Beijing! I hope you do as well!