Top Ten Attractions
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The Forbidden City
One of the world’s most complete historical sites, this remarkable palace complex lies right at the heart of Beijing. Magnificent and awe-inspiring.
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Tiananmen Square
The largest urban space in the world, able to accommodate up to a million people. The site of a dark moment in China’s history when a student uprising was crushed in 1989.
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The Great Wall
The single greatest tourist attraction in China, with upwards of five million visitors a year. The most accessible section is at Badaling, some 38 miles north-west of Beijing.
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The Ming Tombs
A standard part of the Great Wall tour package, this is the burial site of 13 out of the 17 emperors of the Ming Dynasty (1368-1644)
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Temple of Heaven
Set in the midst of an attractive park, the collection of ancient buildings here is a superb legacy of imperial Beijing. http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/english/livechina/...
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Summer Palace
A magnificent imperial garden containing pavilions, mansions, towers, halls, temples, bridges and an enormous lake. http://www.thebeijingguide.com/summer_palace/in...
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Lama Temple
The city’s most important Buddhist place of worship. A beautiful and thriving religious centre.
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Beihai Park
An attractive imperial playground with historic buildings and picturesque lakes.
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Hutongs
The narrow alleys that have been the hub of the city?s street life for 700 years.
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Tea
Take it Chinese-style at a tea-house. Some of them stage short performances of acrobatics, magic and other entertainment.
Eating and Drinking
Beijing offers a bewilderingly wide choice when it comes to dining out. Not too long ago, foreign visitors were relegated to the Beijing Hotel as their only option. But times have changed. Restaurants open and close in the blink of an eye, and sometimes it’s difficult to keep track of the gastronomic scorecard. Given that this is the capital of the People’s Republic, it’s not surprising there’s a wide mix of international cuisine available. Diners can take their pick from French through Thai to African food. There are also many regional specialities in Chinese cooking. You will find most of the city's restaurants in east and central Beijing, in the Chao Yang and Dong Cheng districts. The most famous local dish is unquestionably Peking Duck. Equally important are the dishes served alongside it: very thin pancakes, little sesame seed rolls, spring onions and haixian sauce, a sweetish bean sauce flavoured with garlic and spices. Alcohol is often an integral part of a Chinese meal. The leading brand of beer is Tsingtao, while several Sino-French joint ventures produce passable, inexpensive wines. A word about table manners: many westerners struggle with chopsticks, with small and loose rice grains a particular menace. It’s perfectly acceptable to raise the rice bowl to your lips and shovel the elusive morsels into your mouth. Scraping and slurping are not considered impolite. Don’t, however, commit the faux pas of sticking your chopsticks vertically into your rice. This is said to resemble incense sticks in a bowl of ashes and is considered an omen of death.
Shopping
Shopping in Beijing is becoming more convenient by the day. Every year new shopping centres and plazas sprout up all over the capital. Just a few years ago there were only a few department stores and small bazaars, but now there are many superstores, mega-malls and markets where you can buy just about anything you need. Recently, the first IKEA opened in the north of the city. For visitors, silk, jade, cloisonné, lacquer-ware, jewellery, carpets, watercolour paintings and clothing all make popular gifts or souvenirs. Prices vary considerably and good items can be expensive. The city is also well known for its fake designer goods, available in many of its markets. All hotels have shops and the top hotels have elegant shopping arcades. But the most interesting and inexpensive way is to wander around one of the main shopping areas in the capital, such as Wangfujing or Qianmen. Here you will find a typical Chinese shopping atmosphere and get a vivid impression of the huge numbers of shoppers in China. Also check out the Xidan and Dazhalan areas. Liulichang is often known as Antique Street. Objects dating from before 1840 cannot be exported. Most antiques date from the early 20th century. In recent years, factories have produced many replicas and it’s becoming increasingly difficult to find really beautiful pieces such as woodblock prints of traditional pictures. Shops generally open from 9am-8pm every day. In department stores, chain stores and larger shops, prices are usually fixed, but bargaining is definitely expected elsewhere. There are numerous markets in Beijing, the most popular being Hongqiao (food, electronics, clothes and antiques), Panjiayuan (crafts, jewellery, furniture and books), Guanyuan (birds and fish), Ritan Office Building (clothing, jewellery, shoes and knick-knacks) and Ya Show Sanlitun (clothing and souvenirs).
Night Life
Once you could only find bands, dancing, foreign beers and mixed drinks in the large hotels of Beijing, but now several areas popular with affluent locals or expats have whole streets full of bars. Some close around 2am, although many stay open until 4 or 5 at weekends. In some you can find live rock music or jazz; in others, DJs spin dance tunes. Discos break up the dancing and laser shows with performances by singers and cage dancers. The most popular bar area (heavily frequented by foreigners) is Sanlitun, in the northeast of the city. The bars here all offer draught beer at western prices, and are generally much livelier than any of the hotel bars. Other places can be found on Xinjiang Kou, a street full of restaurants, which is the place to go on hot summer nights. New bar districts are opening up all the time, particularly in the lakeside area of Houhai and along Lotus Lane on the northern bank of the Ba River.
Details of events (including gigs) are listed in the city's guide Beijing This Month (www.btmbeijing.com) or on the Xianzai Beijing website (www.xianzai.com) The two best city listings magazines are That's Beijing (monthly; website: www.thatsbeijing.com) which also publishes the extremely helpful Insiders' Guide to Beijing handbook, and City Weekend (every two weeks; website: www.cityweekend.com.cn). Time Out Beijing began publishing a monthly edition in October 2004.
