roundtheworld

I am in Beijing on July 10. Arrival 8:am departure 16:35.

I have a visa.

What can I do in those 8 hours. In other places I usually go into town and look around / shop.....

Please advise!!!

fallinasleep

First trip to Beijing? Arriving during weekday?

You really have less than 8 hours since it will take about 30 minutes to get off the plane and clear immigration and you need to get back to the airport about an hour before your flight (assuming you can get your boarding pass before you leave the airport).

Once you leave the airport, you will hit rush hour traffic if you decide to head into the city (try the Fourth Ring Road for easier access) and visit the usual sightseeing/shopping suspects. You can easily visit the Forbidden City with 6.5 hours, although you won't have time for much else. Or you can focus your visit on shopping at the New Silk Market or Hongqiao Market.

Personally, I would hire a taxi from the airport and visit the Great Wall at either Simatai (farther away) or Mutianyu (30 km closer). It's roughly two hours in each direction, so you would still have time for lunch and a stroll along the wall...

roundtheworld

Thanks I will try my best to go to the great wall.... I think that is much higher priority than shopping...

Also I should have my BP ready, so no problem of just going to immigration and customs...

I hope I will make it ... any idea how much (shall I bring Euro / USD or just get money at the airport?)

moondog

simatai and mutianyu are both a bit overwelmed with tourists these days, though the former does have an alpine slide if that's of interest to you.

if you're interested, i can try to set you up with a driver for the day (around y400 if you just want to hit a great wall site; maybe y500 if you want to add something else logical to your itin). i'm not in china right now so i'll probably only be able to pass on a few phone numbers to you, but they guys i use are quite familiar with the great wall so not much communication should be required.

fallinasleep

As for cash, you can change USD or EUR cash at the airport or withdraw from an ATM. You should use moondog's offer to set you up with a driver -- easier than negotiating with a driver at the airport, especially if you don't speak Mandarin. However, they may ask you to pay up front, since it will cost the driver time and money to get to the airport in the first place.

This is China. Where aren't there tourists? Are there any other sections that are open and within 100 km of the airport?

Bogbrush

If you want to do the wall I'm sure Moondog can help you. Mutianyu last Monday was pretty quiet and I got there about 10:30. I would say less than 30 people total on the wall and you can very quickly get to some failrly isolated spots. The only downside was the hawkers on the way in/out trying to sell you "3 t shirt $1" were a bit tiresome :-). You should be able to make it from the airport in less than 90 mins.

The other alternative is as fallinasleep mentioned, Tiananmen Square, the Forbidden City and Temple of Heaven. Even though parts of both the FC and ToH are undergoing some renovation right now (just got back last week myself) they are still both fantastic experiences although the latter may be pushing it in the time available. If you do the first two and decide to forego the last you should still have time to walk up to the top of Jian Shan Park for a great view over the city, maybe even a quick bite to eat. Good luck, Beijing is a fascinating place!