HELPING YOU EXPLORE BEIJING Print E-mail
Olympic mascotBeijing is the repository of China’s great cultural icons: the Forbidden City; Tiananmen Square; The Temple of Heaven.  The Great Wall is accessed from Beijing, and the foothills to the northwest are dotted with the tombs of Ming Emperors.  Modern Beijing is busily building and tearing down to remake itself as the postmodern capital of the 21st century, adding new icons like the “Bird’s Nest” and the “Water Cube” and the “Big Egg” to the architectural pantheon as it gears up for the 2008 Olympic Games, one of the grandest coming-out parties humankind has ever staged.  

If you have only a few days to explore the capital, we can help you prioritize.  Our Beijing itineraries aim to communicate a taste of the suggested activities and a sense of place for proposed sites, so you can make your own choices.  They also include meal choices that make sense geographically and acquaint you with regional culinary styles and flavors. 


A few basic tips:

  • All three Beijing itineraries are modular, made up of half-day blocks, so you can rearrange the pieces to suit your arrival time and any other needs.

  • If you go to the Great Wall at Mutianyu, unless you leave at dawn and reach the Wall as it opens, you’ll likely return to Beijing around 3 or 4PM.  If possible, head to the Great Wall on a weekday for the smallest possible crowds.

  • Panjiayuan goes full force only on the weekend so if that looks good to you, you should make sure that part of your itinerary falls on a Saturday or Sunday.

  • Beijing is a very large city whose growth has outpaced its transportation system.  Traffic is unpredictable so be prepared for delays, even outside of peak rush hour times.  Ask your hotel if taking the subway or walking is a better option than a taxi.

  • These itineraries assume that you have a companion guidebook that describes the sites themselves in greater detail.