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A Four-day trip to Beijing---Part I
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Before starting our journey to Beijing, many friends of mine told me not to go there during the National Day Holidays. “The tourists, transportation etc will surely let you down”, Lee, my best Chinese friend said. I also had heard about many horrible things. However, I had no choice. My wife and my lovely son came from Spain to see me. They hadn’t been into China before. So I decided to visit Beijing with my wife and son.
Thanks to my Chinese friends, they helped me work out a perfect itinerary and collected some very useful travel tips. Andy, my Chinese colleague, learnt that I would visit Beijing during the National Day Holidays and suggested me booking a hotel in advance. “Many Chinese tourists would go out with their families like you. So it is wise to book one in advance to make sure that you won’t sleep in the streets”, he said. What a cute boy! I accepted his advice and booked two rooms in the Orange Hotel (Asian Sports Village) with his help. He recommended this hotel to me and promised that I would love the rooms. He was right. I loved the rooms. Very comfortable but not expensive! However, the internet connection service disappointed us a bit.
Look at this photo! It was the breakfast offered by the Orange Hotel, a banana, an egg, a box of juice, a bowl of soup and a chunk of bread. Very cheap! It just cost 5 kuai per person. I loved the vegetable soup. It tasted good.
My wife, my son and I took our flight at 19:30 from Shanghai Airport and arrived at 22:00. It was the first time that we had come to Beijing and we didn’t know how to go to our hotel. So I called my colleague Andy for help. He had been to Beijing for several times. He told us to take airport line 5, get off at Anhuiqiao and then cross the road to get to our hotel. We did as he said and successfully arrived at our hotel.
Day 1 Mutianyu Great Wall-Nan Luo Gu Xiang-Dadong Roast Duck Restaurant
Our hotel is about 500 meters to the subway station. The hotel staff was very helpful. She told us to take No. 916 bus (fast line) at Dongzhimen to Huairou Bus Station and then hire a mini-bus to Mutianyu Great Wall. By the way, she wrote us a note, telling us how to get to Dongzhimen by subway. We made it!
We didn’t climb the Great Wall because we wanted to save energy for our remaining journey. Instead, we took the cable car to the top of the Great Wall and got down on the side way. My son loved the sideway. He told me that it looked very similar to the slide in the park.
At around 14:00, we finished visiting the Mutianyu Great Wall. Then we got back to Dongzhimen and took a taxi to Nan Luo Gu Xiang. It cost us 18 kuai. The Nan Luo Gu Xiang is actually a typical Hutong (lane) in Beijing. There are many unique shops on this lane. Well, I thought it was too commercial. When I came back to Shanghai, my friend said that I should go to visit some other REAL hutongs in Beijing, where you could see the local’s daily life. Unfortunately, we didn’t have time to experience the Real Hontong.
My wife and son couldn’t help trying Peking Roast Duck. So we just spent one hour touring the Nan Luo Gu Xiang and headed for Dadong Roast Duck Restaurant. Forgot to say, we just took No.623 bus and got off at Dongsishitiao.
Again my friend recommended Dadong Roast Duck Restaurant to me. Most foreigners have heard about Quanjude Roast Duck. In fact, there are some other good roast duck restaurants in Beijing.
It was 18:30 when we got there. There were a lot of guest who were waiting for tables. We then understood how popular it was. I asked my wife and kid whether we had to wait for tables. They agreed. Around 45 minutes later, a waiter came to us and then brought us to a table. We ordered a roast duck (CNY 198) and some other dishes. At last, they served several pieces of fruits. Then we paid for the bill and left. Generally, we were satisfied with this restaurant.
A tip: Guests must pay another 10 percent as service charge. Although their food was great, their service was just so so.
There is a subway station near the restaurant. Considering of our rest journey, we decided to take a cab back to hour hotel. It was more comfortable and could save some time. It didn’t take too long on the way. We just paied CNY 26.
D2 Summer Palace and Yuan Ming Yuan
The hotel staff told us that there was a direct bus to Summer Palace. It was about 14 kilometers from our hotel to Summer Palace, Google map said. Struggling for a second, we still decided to take a cab. It cost us CNY 33 to the East Gate of the Summer Palace. We just spent around 2 hours there and then headed for the Yuan Ming Yuan.
A two-hour journey can’t let you see the whole Summer Palace. If you are really interested in Summer Palace, you can buy the combination ticket to see the whole Summer Palace. I guess you will spend more than a half day. Pavilion of the Fragrance of Buddha is worth a visit. The entrance fee is CNY 10.
Getting out of the North Gate of the Summer Palace, we went to a restaurant that specialized in Northeastern Chinese cuisine. If you like American fast food, you can go to the Mc Donald’s next to the restaurant.
Well, you may order the lamb chop if you are in a group. The waiter said it was their specialty. We were just three people and couldn’t eat it up. So we missed it.
Our next stop was the Yuan Ming Yuan. We didn’t know where it was. So we asked help from the waiter in the restaurant. He told me “turn left and keep walking until you see a bus station. There you can take bus to Yuan Ming Yuan”. We finally bought the tickets and got to the South Gate of the Yuan Ming Yuan.
Here I recommend you buy the combination ticket (CNY 25). There are two attractions (Sites of European Palaces and Exhibition Hall of Yuanmingyuan in Heyday) inside that require the admission fee.
Actually, you can get to the above two attractions by water. A boatman paddles at the bow of the boat and you just sit there and imagine of the heyday of the Yuan Ming Yuan. Wonderful!
We got out of the East Gate of the Yuan Ming Yuan. The other side of the road is Qinghua University. Many Chinese tourists brought their kids to visit Qinghua University, hoping their kids would study there one day.
My wife and my kid had no interest in the Qinghua University. So we got back to our hotel by taxi and went shopping in a supermarket beside the hotel. Before I went to Beijing, my Chinese friend recommended “Dong Lai Shun” Hotpot to me. We tasted Shuan Yang Rou (instant-boiled mutton). It was wonderful.
Thanks to my Chinese friends, they helped me work out a perfect itinerary and collected some very useful travel tips. Andy, my Chinese colleague, learnt that I would visit Beijing during the National Day Holidays and suggested me booking a hotel in advance. “Many Chinese tourists would go out with their families like you. So it is wise to book one in advance to make sure that you won’t sleep in the streets”, he said. What a cute boy! I accepted his advice and booked two rooms in the Orange Hotel (Asian Sports Village) with his help. He recommended this hotel to me and promised that I would love the rooms. He was right. I loved the rooms. Very comfortable but not expensive! However, the internet connection service disappointed us a bit.
Look at this photo! It was the breakfast offered by the Orange Hotel, a banana, an egg, a box of juice, a bowl of soup and a chunk of bread. Very cheap! It just cost 5 kuai per person. I loved the vegetable soup. It tasted good.
 |
My wife, my son and I took our flight at 19:30 from Shanghai Airport and arrived at 22:00. It was the first time that we had come to Beijing and we didn’t know how to go to our hotel. So I called my colleague Andy for help. He had been to Beijing for several times. He told us to take airport line 5, get off at Anhuiqiao and then cross the road to get to our hotel. We did as he said and successfully arrived at our hotel.
Day 1 Mutianyu Great Wall-Nan Luo Gu Xiang-Dadong Roast Duck Restaurant
Our hotel is about 500 meters to the subway station. The hotel staff was very helpful. She told us to take No. 916 bus (fast line) at Dongzhimen to Huairou Bus Station and then hire a mini-bus to Mutianyu Great Wall. By the way, she wrote us a note, telling us how to get to Dongzhimen by subway. We made it!
We didn’t climb the Great Wall because we wanted to save energy for our remaining journey. Instead, we took the cable car to the top of the Great Wall and got down on the side way. My son loved the sideway. He told me that it looked very similar to the slide in the park.
 |
 |
| The sideway |
At around 14:00, we finished visiting the Mutianyu Great Wall. Then we got back to Dongzhimen and took a taxi to Nan Luo Gu Xiang. It cost us 18 kuai. The Nan Luo Gu Xiang is actually a typical Hutong (lane) in Beijing. There are many unique shops on this lane. Well, I thought it was too commercial. When I came back to Shanghai, my friend said that I should go to visit some other REAL hutongs in Beijing, where you could see the local’s daily life. Unfortunately, we didn’t have time to experience the Real Hontong.
 |
| Nan Luo Gu Xiang |
My wife and son couldn’t help trying Peking Roast Duck. So we just spent one hour touring the Nan Luo Gu Xiang and headed for Dadong Roast Duck Restaurant. Forgot to say, we just took No.623 bus and got off at Dongsishitiao.
Again my friend recommended Dadong Roast Duck Restaurant to me. Most foreigners have heard about Quanjude Roast Duck. In fact, there are some other good roast duck restaurants in Beijing.
It was 18:30 when we got there. There were a lot of guest who were waiting for tables. We then understood how popular it was. I asked my wife and kid whether we had to wait for tables. They agreed. Around 45 minutes later, a waiter came to us and then brought us to a table. We ordered a roast duck (CNY 198) and some other dishes. At last, they served several pieces of fruits. Then we paid for the bill and left. Generally, we were satisfied with this restaurant.
A tip: Guests must pay another 10 percent as service charge. Although their food was great, their service was just so so.
There is a subway station near the restaurant. Considering of our rest journey, we decided to take a cab back to hour hotel. It was more comfortable and could save some time. It didn’t take too long on the way. We just paied CNY 26.
D2 Summer Palace and Yuan Ming Yuan
The hotel staff told us that there was a direct bus to Summer Palace. It was about 14 kilometers from our hotel to Summer Palace, Google map said. Struggling for a second, we still decided to take a cab. It cost us CNY 33 to the East Gate of the Summer Palace. We just spent around 2 hours there and then headed for the Yuan Ming Yuan.
A two-hour journey can’t let you see the whole Summer Palace. If you are really interested in Summer Palace, you can buy the combination ticket to see the whole Summer Palace. I guess you will spend more than a half day. Pavilion of the Fragrance of Buddha is worth a visit. The entrance fee is CNY 10.
 |
Getting out of the North Gate of the Summer Palace, we went to a restaurant that specialized in Northeastern Chinese cuisine. If you like American fast food, you can go to the Mc Donald’s next to the restaurant.
 |
| The restaurant |
 |
| A soup with mushroom. |
 |
| Tofu, a little sour and spicy. |
 |
| Self-made yoghurt. |
Well, you may order the lamb chop if you are in a group. The waiter said it was their specialty. We were just three people and couldn’t eat it up. So we missed it.
Our next stop was the Yuan Ming Yuan. We didn’t know where it was. So we asked help from the waiter in the restaurant. He told me “turn left and keep walking until you see a bus station. There you can take bus to Yuan Ming Yuan”. We finally bought the tickets and got to the South Gate of the Yuan Ming Yuan.
 |
| Yuan Ming Yuan |
Here I recommend you buy the combination ticket (CNY 25). There are two attractions (Sites of European Palaces and Exhibition Hall of Yuanmingyuan in Heyday) inside that require the admission fee.
Actually, you can get to the above two attractions by water. A boatman paddles at the bow of the boat and you just sit there and imagine of the heyday of the Yuan Ming Yuan. Wonderful!
We got out of the East Gate of the Yuan Ming Yuan. The other side of the road is Qinghua University. Many Chinese tourists brought their kids to visit Qinghua University, hoping their kids would study there one day.
My wife and my kid had no interest in the Qinghua University. So we got back to our hotel by taxi and went shopping in a supermarket beside the hotel. Before I went to Beijing, my Chinese friend recommended “Dong Lai Shun” Hotpot to me. We tasted Shuan Yang Rou (instant-boiled mutton). It was wonderful.
 |
| Dong Lai Shun Restaurant |
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