Top 10 Must do things in Beijing – Travel China

Top 10 Must do things in Beijing

After criss-crossing the beautiful country of China, we finally arrived at our last pit stop – Beijing. A city which is constantly evolving and reshaping itself as it heads to its future, yet indistinguishably linked to its celebrated and infamous past, Beijing is the cultural heart of China. It distinguishes itself by its Imperial delights, Architectural ambitions,  Artists and acrobats and of course in being a foodies heaven.

We were now in one of the bigger cities of China and towards the end of our China exodus we wanted something more relaxing so we opted for a part guided  and part self-exploration across this beautiful city.

1. Forbidden City

An early start and we first head to the Forbidden City. Right at the heart of the city ringed by walls, this UNESCO listed city is China’s largest and best preserved collection of ancient buildings. Immersed in numbing rituals and royal protocols, this palace was the home to two dynasties. Rectangular in shape, it is the world’s largest palace complex and covers 74 hectares.

We whisked through the Forbidden City which is filled with hoards of tourists. It’s a unique experience to visit this so much heard of place.

2. Tiananmen Square

As the sun set in the distance, we took a stroll from our downtown hotel to the notoriously famous Tiananmen square. Standing right across the Forbidden City, the so called world largest public square is a must see site on your first trip to Beijing.

Early risers can watch the daily flag-raising ceremony at sunrise, performed by a troop of People’s Liberation Army (PLA) soldiers marching at precisely 108 paces per minute, 75cm per pace. This stone paved square surrounded by soviet style buildings was filled with people.

This is a true heart of the Chinese universe.

3. Temple of Heaven

The Temple of Heaven is the largest ancient imperial worship architecture group in the world where the ancient Emperors prayed for peace and harvest. This oasis of tranquillity and peace is one of the busiest urban landscapes of Beijing.

It was really relaxing to just sit back and see hoards of people visit this altar of worship.

4. Summer Palace

The Beijing Summer Palace is a mandatory visit along with the Forbidden City and the Great Wall. This was the playground for emperors escaping the lethargy of the old imperial city. The Palace, its huge lakes and bridges and hilltop views are straight out of a traditional Chinese painting. We spend couple of hours exploring the grounds of this beautiful place.

Travelling China can be daunting at times. So please keep my travel tips for China handy – Click here.

5. Peking Opera

The Beijing Opera is the quintessence of China. Everyone has mostly heard about the Peking Opera, no matter whether they have visited China or not. There are mainly four type of performers – Sheng (生 male role), Dan (旦 female role), Jing (净 painted-face role) and Chou (丑 comic role which means clown) make up the show and every performing troupe has several of each.

At the end of our first day, we decided to visit the Liyuan Theatre – One of the most famous Peking Operas in Beijing. We had booked for a VIP table beforehand to get the best views – Click here. After a nightmarish experience calling a taxi, we finally reached the theatre and after collecting our tickets we settled in our seats to be served some delightful snacks. 300RMB for VIP seating with snacks was well worth it. 30 mins before the show starts you can see one of the artists put on makeup and costume on the stage.

The repertoire is an interesting combination of delightful humour and old Beijing culture. All three acts were performed with ambitious intricacy and style.

6. Hutongs

People say that the real culture of Beijing is the culture of the Hutong and Courtyards and that’s so true. They attract more tourists from home and abroad than the high-rise buildings and large mansions.

We had taken our hotel in one of these hutongs. Arriving at 2 AM in the morning, it was slightly intimidating but these are perfectly safe and usually well guarded. These narrow alleyways spread across the heart of the city are the essential arteries of this busy city. The Hotels here was quite old fashioned – so preferably opt for a one with a very good review or start rating.

7. Wangfujing Street

Wangfujing Street is one of the largest and most well-known shopping streets in Beijing. Featuring a mix of large modern department stores, luxury brand name outlets, small retail shops, and markets.

What makes it interesting is the famous side street called the Wangfujing Snack Street which has a huge range of interesting food stalls and is very crowded. One doesn’t need to doubt the freshness of the food sold here as many of them are still wriggling on the sticks! Food stalls selling skewered scorpions, beetles, starfish etc. is not a unique thing at Wangfujing Street. This colourful street comes alive in the night and is a must visit.

Read more about our food journey – Click here.

Though I would treat many of the edibles here with insecticide back home, it did smell good. But we stuck with the safe option of beef, calamari and chicken, the creepy and crawlies for another visit when I muster up the courage!

8. Tea experience

While on a guided tour there are quite few places which are pushed onto the itinerary to entice you into buying it. We were taken to a Traditional Chinese medicine centre where the foot massage was great but trying to push medicine worth 800Yuan was too much. Similarly, were then taken to a pearl market and also to a Jade carving factory – which anyways was out of our league! 

But one thing which is worth mentioning is the Tea Experience. Chinese folks love their tea – and I have never drank so much tea in my entire life as that as what I drank in 2 weeks. They seem to be carrying tea simply everywhere. This traditional tea experience was a unique insight into different flavours of Teas with a tasting session and shown exactly how Tea should be prepared. And none of these had Milk in it as compared to back home!

9. Ming Tombs

Situated 50KM away from Beijing city and enroute to the Great Wall Ming Tombs is worth a visit. This is basically a cemetery where the 13 emperors of the Ming dynasty were buried.

The site selected based on Chinese Feng Shui traditions is surrounded by mountains on three sides and a river flowing close by and is listed as UNESCO world cultural Heritage site. It features underground palaces, stone thrones, excavations, huge human and animal sculptures representing historic emperors of Ming Dynasty.

10. The Great Wall

Last but never the least the one reason for me visiting China – The Great Wall of China. One of Chinas greatest engineering triumph and a must see sight wriggles from its remains in Liaoning to the Gobi desert and faint presence in the sands of Xinjiang.

We head to the Mutianyu section of the Great Wall which is largely restored and offers some of the best view of the watch towers and the flowing wall.

This was really a dream come true.

I hope this comprehensive list provides an unique insight into the top 10 must do attractions on a short stay in Beijing. If you have any questions around this please feel free to leave a comment below and I’ll get back to you at the very earliest.