TheAccidentalFlier

Everyone will have their own preferences, but let me second this one. It is my favourite place in Beijing, I try to visit it every time The last time, I think I spent almost four hours just walking around the grounds.

moondog

ToH is one of those destinations that I leave off of my short list (it's too far away from the rest of my circuit), but I do like it. That having been said, I don't think it warrants a spot on quick itins.

TheAccidentalFlier

For sure, it wouldn't get the four hours I spent there

jiejie

90 minutes at rush hours no way, but in middle of day should be OK, and Tiantan is the kind of place where you can slow down or speed up and not get too bottlenecked with crowds, as one sees how the time schedule is playing out. Back up is to have taxi go from Badaling to Tiantongyuan (northern end of Line 5 subway), then Subway down to Tiantan (East Gate)--which should definitely be doable in 90 minutes. Then do reverse walk towards west, then taxi to Tiananmen.

i7654

hi, this info is perfect for me, im in the same situation as the op.

i have a quick request tho, can u provide details on how to get to the places, ie, how would i get from the airport to the GW, or should i just take a cab?

how easy would it be use the subway.

thanks

drewguy

Better to hire a driver to go airport->great wall

Subway is very easy, but not to get to the Great Wall. Everything is in English as well as Chinese.

i7654

thanks, ill guess ill go back to the beijing drivers thread and pick one from there

anaidross

Dear all

At Beijing, I will have a 14 hour stop over (arriving 7:10am and connecting 3:25pm).

I would also like to visit the silk market to get some fake stuff and eat the famous peking duck from Quanjude.

I was being recommended to take a bus ("Daba") to the city and then take a metro back to the airport as the traffic could be bad.

So I have the following questions:

a. Is the above valid recommendation
b. Is there any possibility to squeeze a visit to the forbidden palace with my itinerary?
c. Which is the nearest Quanjude nearest the silk market I could visit for lunch (btw, I am eating alone...I hope I can manage that duck)
d. WOuld an hour and half be sufficient to get back from the city to the airport using metro.

Thank you in advance for your kind advices.

moondog

Either your math is off or you made a typo. Assuming the latter is the case, you can do quite a lot during those 14 hours. The most famous Quanjude is the Qianmen branch. One nice thing about that location is that they have a fast food style setup connected to it (same duck, just not banquet style, so maybe better for you since you're traveling solo). I probably wouldn't bother with the metro to the airport if you need to transfer more than once, and/or aren't flying out of T3.

anaidross

Thank you moondog for the tip. You are right. I have actually counted wrongly. I have only 8 hours...

So I guess squeezing forbidden place and silk market with a meal at Quanjude is not doable with only 8 hours.

What does fast food style set up in all Quanjude mean? Is it like McDonalds?

I heard that there are equally good peking duck restaurants in Beijing but are not as expensive. Is this true and could you recommend somewhere else I could go to?

Thank you.

fimo

You can hit Wangfujing for Quanjude and also get fake stuff from the shops/stalls just opposite the pedestrian mall where the street food market is located. Fake stuff selection isn't as good I think.

Or, you could head to Yashow at Sanlitun, which is same concept as Silk Street, and a 10min walk will take you to Dadong next to the Tuanjiehu subway station for roast duck.

Which day of the week do you arrive? 7ish on a Monday could mean a 2hr taxi journey into the city. That's how long it took my colleague to arrive at JW Marriot this morning, off a 6ish AM flight.

moondog

I'd be tempted to go with this strategy because SLT is a lot closer to PEK than Wangfujing/Tian'anmen, but the latter approach is still doable, and certainly presents a more iconic picture of Beijing (I rarely go downtown any more unless I have visitors to show around, but it is certainly worth seeing at least once). I don't think any of the markets open before 9, though I could be mistaken, so even if you hit traffic on the way in, you won't be missing out on much. That having been said, you will be in a rush the entire time if you go downtown:

-let's assume you get to the silk market at 9, sharp
-spend 1 hour there
-take taxi or subway to Tian'anmen for 1030a arrival
-get someone to take a picture of you in front of the Mao portrait
-walk across the square down to Qianmen, eta = 1115a
-grab some duck in the fast food section of Quanjude; yes it is like McDonalds, but the formal part of Quanjude costs (much) more, and isn't well suited for a party of one (Made in China, maybe; Dadong, not much different than Quanjude, but the simple fact that it is 30 minutes closer to the airport makes this plan attractive to me)

FYI, you're unlikely to get many great bargains at either Yaxiu or the silk market at 9a because morning prices are the highest (many vendors would rather lose the sale than have to visit the restocking room before noon).

Regarding transportation, if you're arriving in terminal 2 and/or departing from terminal 3, the train works for the SLT plan (only one transfer, and a few stops on line 10), but not so well for the downtown plan (line 1 is extremely unpleasant). I'd also pass on the bus during the morning run; while it's cheap and comfortable enough, when you disembark, you'll likely need to find a taxi, which is not easy during rush hour. (Getting a taxi at the airport usually isn't all that difficult, and traffic usually isn't bad until you reach third ring, at which point, you can switch to line 10, if need be.)

anaidross

I will be arriving on Saturday. My colleague told me that to get into the city is not a problem as I am there very early in the morning. So I could take a bus "Daba" to Wangfujing.

But returning, I should use the metro. As Saturday, there is no control on which cars are allowed to travel, the traffic could be bad.

But thank you for the tip. Actually the fake stuff is not so important. I just want to have a look that is all.

If I could visit the forbidden palace and tiananmen, then I will visit the quanjude branch at wangfujing.

is there a dadong as good as quanjude and is there a branch near wangfujing too?

drewguy

Here's my stab at it. Ditch Quanjude.

-Take taxi from airport to north entrance of Forbidden City (opens 8:30a). -Walk south to Tiananmen Square (you can take Mao picture from this side, although this is opposite the usual approach of entering on south).
-Hop line 1 to Silk Market and shop.

From silk market, which is near 3d ring road, either take a taxi or get on Line 10 at Guomao and transfer to airport express.

As others mentioned, there's a Quanjude on (just off) Wangfujing and a Da Dong a few blocks east of Wangfujing on Jinbao Street.

anaidross

Thank you for the interesting tip. Please allow me to ask four further questions:

a. Is Quanjude really not worth the money?

b. How much would the taxi cost compared to metro and does it save lots of time?

c. I read it is not possible to get an audio guide from the north entrance. Is this true?

d. Is silk market really worth the visit or could I get to another fake stall market at Wangfujing like fimo has kindly suggested.

e. Is it possible for me to get to the Great Wall and Ming Tomb within 5 hours from the airport (assuming I give up duck and fake goods)? I gather from the discussion in the driver tread, this would cost about RMB600?

Appreciate your kind advices.