Mar 19, 2017, 7:26 pm
Last edit by: muji
Central Beijing
Jingshan (Prospect Hill) Park is a royal landscape garden park located upon Jingshan hill, facing the north gate of the Forbidden City and affording a full view of the Forbidden City.
The Forbidden City was the Chinese imperial palace from the Ming dynasty to the end of the Qing dynasty - the years 1420 to 1912.
Tiantan (Temple of Heaven) Park is where the emperors of the Ming and Qing dynasties visited for annual ceremonies of prayer to heaven for a good harvest. The temple is enclosed by a long wall. The northern part within the wall is semicircular symbolizing the heavens and the southern part is square symbolizing the earth.
taxi information: http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/china...-services.html
Jingshan (Prospect Hill) Park is a royal landscape garden park located upon Jingshan hill, facing the north gate of the Forbidden City and affording a full view of the Forbidden City.
The Forbidden City was the Chinese imperial palace from the Ming dynasty to the end of the Qing dynasty - the years 1420 to 1912.
Tiantan (Temple of Heaven) Park is where the emperors of the Ming and Qing dynasties visited for annual ceremonies of prayer to heaven for a good harvest. The temple is enclosed by a long wall. The northern part within the wall is semicircular symbolizing the heavens and the southern part is square symbolizing the earth.
taxi information: http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/china...-services.html
1 day in Beijing
Sep 20, 2011, 5:15 pm
#16
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Basically just the one full day in town so no trip to the wall or tombs. I'm guessing an hour or two in the Forbidden City will be enough just walking through; I'm not much into museums anyways.
Sep 20, 2011, 8:05 pm
#17
Join Date: May 2008
Location: BOS/SIN
Programs: SQ
Posts: 2,704
I'm there from 4:30pm on Monday to 3:30pm that Wednesday at the end of October so I may be looking for your details.
Basically just the one full day in town so no trip to the wall or tombs. I'm guessing an hour or two in the Forbidden City will be enough just walking through; I'm not much into museums anyways.
Basically just the one full day in town so no trip to the wall or tombs. I'm guessing an hour or two in the Forbidden City will be enough just walking through; I'm not much into museums anyways.
I don't see any reason why you can't go see the wall....I think any visit to BJ warrants a visit to that....
Make sure you have some kind of a plan of what you see before you go - everything is a lot further apart than you will expect and it helps to have some sort of plan, especially if you're on a tight schedule. Meaning - it will take you 2 hours to see the Forbidden City, but factoring in transportation and walking around will add more time than you think
Sep 22, 2011, 8:35 pm
#18
Join Date: May 2008
Location: WAS
Programs: AA Ex Plt
Posts: 1,630
While I wouldn't say that I sprint through it, my average time there is under an hour per visit. As I've suggested many times before, the vast majority of people that I bring to the Forbidden City are actually more impressed by Beihai Park (we often spend 2+ hours there when the weather is nice).
Cheers -
Sep 22, 2011, 8:41 pm
#19
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Location: Shanghai
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It shouldn't be super cold then. Shortly after posting my remark about winter already setting in yesterday, I walked outside and experienced 85 degree weather. You'll be fine (very low chance of precipitation and count on temperatures between 45 and 65 degrees).
Oct 16, 2011, 10:13 am
#20
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Alternate plan (for the hipsters among us)
I arrived in BJ late Friday night (after a 6 day, 6 city blitz in the US/Canada/HK), and was planning on chilling in Shuangjing for the weekend. But, then my little cousin showed up, and I felt compelled to do stuff with him.
On Saturday, we attended a polo match near 798, which we followed up with a b'day party near sanlitun. This was really cool.
Sunday morning, my cousin woke me up and asked me to bring him to a park. My first thought was Chaoyag Park because it is big and nice. But, he got on the internet and implored me to go to the old Summer Palace (圆明园). We entered from the south gate (near the subway station), circumabluated the stuff we're supposed to care about, and headed west.
As we progressed, "culture" became increasingly displaced with roaming through baron fields. We ended up climbing a fence and hailing a cab on a fast moving highway, which we directed to our beloved "Great Leap".
In short, it was a great day. If any of you fancy to replicate this journey, you'll have a good time, but I liked most about it is that it reminded me that Beijing is a really interesting place... the city itself is infinitely cooler than the history that lies behind it. People that stick to the straight and narrow are depriving themselves of it.
On Saturday, we attended a polo match near 798, which we followed up with a b'day party near sanlitun. This was really cool.
Sunday morning, my cousin woke me up and asked me to bring him to a park. My first thought was Chaoyag Park because it is big and nice. But, he got on the internet and implored me to go to the old Summer Palace (圆明园). We entered from the south gate (near the subway station), circumabluated the stuff we're supposed to care about, and headed west.
As we progressed, "culture" became increasingly displaced with roaming through baron fields. We ended up climbing a fence and hailing a cab on a fast moving highway, which we directed to our beloved "Great Leap".
In short, it was a great day. If any of you fancy to replicate this journey, you'll have a good time, but I liked most about it is that it reminded me that Beijing is a really interesting place... the city itself is infinitely cooler than the history that lies behind it. People that stick to the straight and narrow are depriving themselves of it.
Oct 18, 2011, 9:11 am
#21
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Join Date: Apr 2001
Location: PSM
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Are those arrival and departure times?
I don't see any reason why you can't go see the wall....I think any visit to BJ warrants a visit to that....
Make sure you have some kind of a plan of what you see before you go - everything is a lot further apart than you will expect and it helps to have some sort of plan, especially if you're on a tight schedule. Meaning - it will take you 2 hours to see the Forbidden City, but factoring in transportation and walking around will add more time than you think
I don't see any reason why you can't go see the wall....I think any visit to BJ warrants a visit to that....
Make sure you have some kind of a plan of what you see before you go - everything is a lot further apart than you will expect and it helps to have some sort of plan, especially if you're on a tight schedule. Meaning - it will take you 2 hours to see the Forbidden City, but factoring in transportation and walking around will add more time than you think
Do you think it makes sense to try to tourist in town a bit on Monday night and Wednesday morning and get the Wall in on Tuesday during the day?
Aug 14, 2013, 9:55 am
#22
Join Date: Oct 2012
Posts: 771
would this day trip work in early January? ! we'll be there 1/1/2014 to 1/3/2013 with one full day (1/2)..
Aug 14, 2013, 10:23 am
#23
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You might want to craft a backup plan that focuses more on indoor activities like eating and massages... just in case.
Aug 14, 2013, 12:54 pm
#25
Join Date: Oct 2012
Posts: 771
the beijing day is the last leg of our trip and we may just pick few things and relax as we will arriving the night before from phuket and then a long flight to JFK the next day. i do want to make the best out of the day ! i am actually trying to see if i can extend my award ticket to another day but i am not finding saver flights ;/ well i did a few weeks ago but i didn't take advantage of it in time ...so for now it is ONE day !
Oct 1, 2015, 2:54 pm
#26
Join Date: May 2009
Location: Washington, DC
Programs: UA 1K 1MM, AA, DL
Posts: 7,418
Looking for ideas for most of a Saturday before my evening flight leaves - mid Oct.
I've been to all(?) the "major" sights (FC, SP, Tiananmen, Mutianyu Wall, Beihai, Temple of Heaven, Lama Temple, Olympic Park). Looking for new ideas for a morning to mid-afternoon before going to airport.
I've been to all(?) the "major" sights (FC, SP, Tiananmen, Mutianyu Wall, Beihai, Temple of Heaven, Lama Temple, Olympic Park). Looking for new ideas for a morning to mid-afternoon before going to airport.
Last edited by drewguy; Oct 1, 2015 at 9:37 pm
Oct 3, 2015, 8:48 pm
#27
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Looking for ideas for most of a Saturday before my evening flight leaves - mid Oct.
I've been to all(?) the "major" sights (FC, SP, Tiananmen, Mutianyu Wall, Beihai, Temple of Heaven, Lama Temple, Olympic Park). Looking for new ideas for a morning to mid-afternoon before going to airport.
I've been to all(?) the "major" sights (FC, SP, Tiananmen, Mutianyu Wall, Beihai, Temple of Heaven, Lama Temple, Olympic Park). Looking for new ideas for a morning to mid-afternoon before going to airport.
Possible specifics:
-walk beida/tsinghua campuses
-join pick up basketball game
-coffee shop
-chances are, you will meet some really smart people along the way
If you decide to go this route, plan it in a manner that does not require backtracking (e.g. arrange driver).
Oct 4, 2015, 10:08 am
#30
Join Date: Oct 2007
Location: Southeast USA
Programs: various
Posts: 6,710
Do not try to go to Xiangshan (or Botanical Garden which is in the same area) on an October Saturday. Traffic jams are a nightmare, with half of Beijing trying to get there to see the autumn leaves.
Panjiayuan only if into markets/shopping. 798/Caochangdi Art Districts if you're into that.
--Central area: Zhihua Temple then Ancient Observatory then Dongyue Miao. Onsite needs are 1 hour, 1 hour, and 1.5 hours. Transport between the first two could be done on foot, then subway one stop up + a walk between the 2nd two.
--Near SW side: Fayuan Si, Ox Street Mosque area, then Tianning Si (oldest building still left in Beijing, Liao dynasty), Yuyuantan Park, and either Military or Capital Museums. All of this could be done in a circuit fitting your time frame.
--The newish Automobile Museum, SW part of city. If into cars.
Panjiayuan only if into markets/shopping. 798/Caochangdi Art Districts if you're into that.
--Central area: Zhihua Temple then Ancient Observatory then Dongyue Miao. Onsite needs are 1 hour, 1 hour, and 1.5 hours. Transport between the first two could be done on foot, then subway one stop up + a walk between the 2nd two.
--Near SW side: Fayuan Si, Ox Street Mosque area, then Tianning Si (oldest building still left in Beijing, Liao dynasty), Yuyuantan Park, and either Military or Capital Museums. All of this could be done in a circuit fitting your time frame.
--The newish Automobile Museum, SW part of city. If into cars.