Will be making first trip to Beijing this summer in August. Anyone ever been? Any advice on things to do/see?
Take those masks that people wear when painting or when they have Bird Flu on an airplane. There was cleaner air in Washington state after Mt. St. Helens erupted.
Great Wall is a must see. Also a huge discount shopping mall (can't remember the name) that is amazing. Should also visit Tiananmen Square because of its historical significance.
I think Aspen is referring to the Silk Market where you can get all kinds of knockoffs and discounted items (just make sure you negotiate everything down to a fraction of the asking price). I thought I heard it had closed, so you may want to check on that. There's a lot to see and do in/around Beijing - - The Great Wall (Badaling is closest to the city, plan to spend several hours there because you will want to go for a long walk) - The Summer Palace (awesome place) - Forbidden City (I would recommend either this or The Summer Palace, but not necessarily both - Tiananmen Square (good place to walk around for a while) - see an Acrobatics show, they are amazing - eat Peking Duck
You will enjoy your trip. I have been there. Most of the comments above are very good. Don't stay in Beijing too many days. The pollution from the coal plants will burn your eyes after a few days. The sun almost never shines. Don't drink the water, even at the finest hotels. It will burn your gums because there is so much chlorine and flouride in it. Buy bottled water for 2 yuan and brush your teeth and drink with that.
Further to PofF's warnings... You will be approached by tons of people claiming to be students selling art to raise money to travel to NY City. Its all a lie and everyone is selling the same reproduced art. Be wary of the tea house scam. It happened to me. Two cute girls will talk to you for hours, then drag into a tea house, possibly drug you, and then try to charge you $400 for a few cups of tea. I ended up buzzing like a chainsaw thanks to whatever was in the tea and getting into it with the girls. I was close to getting the cops, but I was able to get out after just giving them $20. You can get on yahoo travel and see hundreds of posts on the various scams in Beijing and Shanghai.
Thanks for the warnings and the list of things to do. We will also be in Beijing in August. I would imagine that the con artists will be out in full force then. Does anyone have any connections for Olympic softball, swimming or any other tickets? Believe it or not, softball tickets are supposedly sold out. And none have been set aside by the Chinese for athletes' families to purchase. I am guessing we will be at the mercy of scalpers.
Get the Lonely Planet guide book - it's the only one you need. Take cabs - they are cheap, and if you point to the place you want to go in your LP book (also written in Chinese) you can go anywhere easily. The Summer Palace is incredible. I think you can do both that and Forbidden City - just don't linger too long in the FC. The Lama Temple is a must-see. For fun, if you get a chance visit the Dongyue Temple. Stroll on Wangfujing street at night. Stop by the night food market if you're brave. Find one of the remaining hutongs and just start walking. Get the best Peking duck in the world at Quanjude Roast Duck Restaurant (off Wangfujing). Amazing. Ducks are smaller there than here - two people should have a whole duck (multiple ways). Go to the Peal Market (the real stuff is on a tucked away elevator to the top floor). If you don't want pearls, go to the basement food market and check out the vast array of every live and dead fish and mammal you've ever seen, and many more from a different planet. Tired of Chinese food? Head to the JOhn Bull Pub in the embassy district for a pint of British beer and some passable fish and chips. Near the embassy area, have dinner at the Tibetan restaurant Makye Ame - I recommend the broiled lambs ribs and spicy yak in chili sauce. On some nights, dinner will be interrupted by your servers performing Tibetan music and dance, and the restaurant is their stage. To this day that meal is one of the highlights of my trip to China.
Good grief - just read a few of the responses above. The pollution can be bad, but you'll live. There are tourist traps as mentioned (the 'art student' one in particular), but they are at Tienamen Sq., and the Summer Palace. Just say no. In general, be prepared to be treated like a rock star. Smile, and you will have people wanting to have their picture taken with the big tall American. Get a Mandarin phrasebook and learn a few simple phrases (yes, thank you, delicious, etc). People in Beijing are ridiculously friendly, moreso than anywhere else in the country. Be open to it, and you will be rewarded. In general, I've had a much more frustrating and difficult time navigating the Italian railway than travelling in and between cities in China. A lot of people speak English and are proud to show you that they can (unlike SOME countries). Restaurants in the LP book cater to foreign travellers, but in a good way - staff may have some English or the menu has pictures.
Goose and Duck Pub & The Pavillion are two other ex-pat bars. Watched several matches of the World Cup at The Pavillion and it was a blast. Enjoy a Kilkenny and a Cuban cigar there.
Hadn't checked this thread in a while. Thanks for the responses. Thought I would bump it to see if there are any others?
Just got back last night and the pollution was relly bad which is depressing. I had thought they for sure would have a handle on it by crippling the local economy, banning cars and blacking out western china but it's the worst I've ever seen it. Visibility about 100 yards in the daytime. Still, I love Beijing. Get something called the luxe guide to Beijing. Eat at 'the source' Sichuan. The Link No matter how bad it is (and I think the Olympics will be a huge mess) remember millions of people worked for years to bring the games to you. I feel terrible for the common people in China who were so looking forward to a games they could be proud of and now they are going to get smog, algea blooms and tibetan protestors. Also - when you go to forbidden city or anywhere PAY FOR A GUIDE - it costs like 20 bucks and will change the experience a ton.
Get a guide. The pollution is bearable and people just go on. We had some nice clear skies when I was there over a month ago. The square, the forbidden city and the summer palace were all very good with incredible history. We went to "Made in China' which was in our hotel and had the best meal I had while in China. The duck was insane. They had mustard oil that was hot as hell but good with one of their dishes. Have fun! Learn some of the language.
For a guide, we found a college student (a friend of the owner of the house we are renting) to go around with us. Eating out, how much do they use peanut oil and peanut products in food prep? If we have our college student with us to translate, I hope we can learn what is in any dishes we order. My nephew has a peanut allergy and those are nothing to mess with. I really don't want to get to know the Chinese medical system. It is a shame that the Chinese government is making this such a frustrating ordeal to go. Our host talks so much about how the common people are trying so very hard to make this a great experience for visitors. Off to the bookstore today to get one of the guides mentioned above. Thanks Mike for bumping this up - I had it in mind to look for it as time got closer to leave.
My question deals with jet lag and travel to Beijing. I get there at 9:00pm- so I am agoing to guess I should try to stay awake on the flight over as much as possible. On the way back any advice? I have a hard time when I come back from Europe, not so much on the way over.
Thanks for the advice, y'all! I think we are now covered with guides and such. Next week will be here soon enough ...
The 14 hour flight is brutal. Hard to get around it. I don't do well after 7+ hours in the air. But, a lot of the Chinese passengers will chat and tell you about history and other interesting things along the way
