Visit Beijing

Beijing, Pekking, 北京- The capital of China for over 850 years is probably one of the most travelled cities in China with over 150 million visitors each year. Beijing or 北京 stands for ‘northern capital’ has to be one of my favourite cities in China. While Shanghai is an amazing city, I personally find that Beijing is so much richer in Chinese culture and has more to offer from a tourist perspective.

In Beijing you’ll find plenty to see from the Forbidden City （故宫）, the Summer Palace （颐和园）and the hutongs (胡同).

Tiananmen Square (天安门) is just off of the Forbidden Palace and is the largest public square in the world. Honestly it’s huge and takes roughly twenty minutes to walk from one end to the other.

From JingShan park(景山公园) you can get a spectacular view of the rooftops of the Forbidden City. Make your way across to Temple of Heaven (天坛) early in the morning to see the locals performing their morning thai chi and make your way to the Silk Market in the afternoon which is famous for its knock-off goods (how I love the Silk Market!)

Lastly a trip to Beijing isn’t complete without a trip to quan ju de（全聚得）the home of Peking duck (mmmmm). If you love Peking duck then you have to go to quan ju de to try the original recipe.

I’ll write more about each of these places later. If you want to know more about visiting China post a reply and I’ll get back to you.

Me at the Temple of Heaven


Recommended reading:

The Rough Guide to Beijing 3 (Rough Guide Travel Guides)