Hotels in Beijing

The high point of my trip has to be the great wall at badaling. You can't explain how awesome it is until you scale the entire wall to the top (or cheat and get a cable car for apx £9 lol) but it is a must. Be careful and shop around for your deal as they vary hugely with getting to the wall and some don't include entrance. I personally did it myself as the subway to the train station is 40p each way and the train for one hour roughly was ONLY 60p each way! The entrance fee, out of season, is 35RMB which is about £4GBP so well worth it as the planned trips are between £10 and £38! I'm going to scale the mutianyu section before heading to hong kong for sure. The city centre palace museum is really cool but if you go there you don't have to follow the crowds and I recommend you break rank and experience the palace in your own layout (yes the arches to either side are also for joe public to walk). Also, I fully recommend beihai gardens just north west of the central palace museum in the middle of the afternoon so you can experience the night time lights and restaurants setup around the lake at the northern points. You can also reach this area with late night cobbled street shopping and excellent food from directly across the road and behind the ICBC buildings from the 'shichahai' subway station (check google or apple maps if unsure and head for 'Qianhai Dongyan' road round the north waters and at night you can't miss it as you look out across the waters).

I was in Beijing for only four days...For me personally, I only took a tour to the Great Wall. It was pretty easy for me to navigate where to go on my own. The city is pretty safe- I was a solo traveler. It's a must to visit the temple of Heaven Park early around 10am... you get to see all the locals (mostly elderly) dance and exercise... get the full access ticket ( you need a ticket to get into the park and another to go to the Temple of Heaven). The locals are sweet and even wanted me to join them to dance and were so happy and It actually brightened my day! Tiananmen SQ is a must to visit there are so many things to do/see. The Museum of China is near, Chairman Mao mausoleum, and Forbidden City. I think that its a must to visit those things if you are interested into seeing historical things. Also visiting the great wall is a must too! The subway is pretty easy to navigate and pretty inexpensive. Also visit the silk st market and bargain for souvenirs!!! don't pay the price that they offer.. you can go way lower. For example if the person wont budge just walk away ( like you don't care) and watch how quick they offer low prices.

Everyone has to go to the Forbidden City and Tiananmen Square, naturally. Beyond that, however, are a wide range of even more interesting attractions! My personal favourite is area 798, an interesting art district with quirky shops and a cafe culture. A lovely afternoon or a whole day if you really get into it. Summer Palace is magnificent but be ready for steep stairs. Temple of heaven is pretty and unusual, plus it is in a nice park - the locals are just as interesting as the temple, with formation dancing, sports and exercises around the park. Zoo is average with quite small cages but you do at least get to see pandas. Jingshan is a man-made hill at the top of the Forbidden City and it gives good views over the complex. Yashow Market is closed at the moment (Dec 2015) for refurb, I believe, but Silk Street Market at Yonganli Station is worth a visit. Despite the signs to the contrary, make sure you haggle! For a good bar, go and find a Great Leap brewery - great craft beer. Street food off Wngfujing is good, but don't go to the overpriced but pretty yellow and red row of stalls. Head further south to a much smaller alley, almost at the bottom of Wangfujing and running west. Less choice but cheaper, nicer and more authentic. Finally, for the best duck make sure you hit a Da Dong restaurant. Several in the city but all good!

The Great Wall was the highlight of my trip. I went to the JuYong section, and it was a steep climb, but the view was incredible! The Summer Palace was amazing! I didn't have time to walk around the whole place, but I did make it to the Temple of Budhist Incense. If you go to Beijing, don't miss the Summer Palace! The Temple of Heaven is also a must see. If you go in the morning you can see Beijingers doing dance lessons, doing Tai Chi, playing hackey sack and cards, practicing fancy sward fighting, and just doing what they usually do in the park. The temple itself is also amazing. Unfortunately I only made it to the outside of the Forbidden City. I bought my ticket, but arrived at the entrance maybe 2 minutes after it closed. In the winter it closes at 3:40, so I would suggest being mindful of the time. Getting around Beijing by subway is very easy. I visited the 798 art district as well. I got there a little bit too late in the evening though. It would be best to visit in the early afternoon. There were a lot of local artists and cool shops. I wish I had more time to see more of it. Also I went to a really cool street near the Namluanguxiang subway stop. There were a lot of really interesting restaurants, shops, and bars. It was a really great place to visit at night.

We stayed in Courtyard 7, a lovely courtyard hotel in a traditional Hutong in the Dongcheng district. From here it was easy to get to all of the main tourist activities and destinations. This wasn't our first time in Beijing, so we have seen a lot of the attractions before. We spent most of this trip exploring the Hutong areas, 798 arts district, trying exotic food and going off the beaten track. It was our first time in Beijing in winter, and was wonderful to see the city in a different season, especially the Great Wall in snow and ice skating on the frozen lake. It is very easy to get around, either by subway or taxi. Taxis are cheap, but make sure the meter is on (especially from the airport), and if you have your destination written in Chinese it really helps (your hotel can do this, or organise a taxi for you). Walking is the best way to see everything, but beware in the Hutong districts that the roadways and footpaths are shared by pedestrians and motor scooters, so keep your wits about you. I have no hesitation in recommending Beijing as a fantastic destination for intrepid travellers.

Modern first world and clean except the spitting on the pathways. But a great experience otherwise. Its a must do thing on any bucket list to go to Beijing. Great wall of China mind blowing but go in winter when less crowds and more chance of a clear view. Summer palace, Mao tomb, Pandas at the zoo, Forbidden city, night market, Lama temple, Yongle Ming emperor tomb, tea houses, Chianman street and the heavenly temple all must see attractions. Only negative is don't trust the taxi drivers, insist on meters and check your change is not fake so use small denomination notes but don't let that put you off, it's been one of our best holidays in years and we did all that in 6 days. And go in winter, the cold is fine if you wrap up and less crowds and 5 out of 6 days were blue skies and sunshine.