Details:
-Arriving Wednesday at noon - staying at Fly by Knight hostel (somewhere near Line 5 Dongsi Station) (jet lag will be a factor)
-all day Thursday and Friday
- leave for KWL at noon

First time in PEK. I've tentatively decided to skip the GW this time around because it's someplace I'd really like to explore in more depth at a later time.
So I think I want to see the 'big' sights - Tian'anmen Square, Forbidden City, Drum Tower, Summer Palace, Temple of Heaven - this time around.

I'll be jetlagged on arrival (long flight), so something less mentally taxing would be a good choice the first afternoon (gardens, a good place to walk and look and sit and not necessarily 'think'). Any guess-timates how long it will take me to get from the airport to my lodging at that time of day/day of week?

Two full days (Thursday and Friday).

Saturday departure - how early do I need to head for the airport (T3) for my domestic flight?

Since I have no sense of geography, even when looking at a map, I need help developing a sensible itinerary without a lot of unnecessary back-tracking. Restaurant suggestions at appropriate times/locations are appreciated!

Other possibly (or not) relevant info: I don't plan on shopping in PEK, but a good basic massage is always welcome.

Also...I return to PEK on a Friday at 2 PM. Is it going to be a nightmare getting from the airport to the hostel?
I'll have one more full day in PEK (a Saturday) - suggestions?

Use Google Maps, print off some central Beijing maps and take with you prior to travel.

Wednesday: With a roughly on-time arrival at noon, you should be through any arrival hoops and out to transportation options by 12:45. Assuming you take a taxi, traffic shouldn't be too bad and you should be to your hostel before 2 pm. Get checked-in and avoid the temptation to lie around.

Activity: Do it yourself walking, at your own pace. I'd recommend starting in your hutong neighborhood for a few minutes, then walking to the nearest main intersection corner (where Dongsi subway station is) and continue walking west until you get to the back of the Forbidden City and Jingshan Park opposite. If the day is clear, go into the Park and up the hill for a great view. Then down and continue your walk a short distance westbound to the south gate of Beihai Park. Enter and walk around the lake towards the north. Stop for a look by the Nine-Dragon Screen and the little building complex with rock garden in the back. Exit Beihai Park out the north gate. Cross the big boulevard to the other side and head into the old hutong area in the Houhai District. By now it will be late afternoon (estim 5:30-ish) and getting interesting, with the residents puttering about the alleys around the old courtyard homes, and the restaurants and bars around the lake ramping up for business. Pick a place and eat. Then if it's not dark yet, head to the Drum Tower for a look from the outside, then head back to your hostel by taxi. Get to bed relatively early, jet lag (assuming you're coming from the USA) won't be that much of an issue but fatigue will.

Thursday: Try to get up around 6 a.m. and get a taxi to Tiantan South Gate. Remember: South Gate. There's a public park between the road/taxi drop point and Tiantan proper, in which lots of locals will be doing their morning activities, worth a look. Then continue into Tiantan proper to take a look at the Temple of Heaven, Echo Wall, etc. Head out the East Gate where you'll find Line 5 Subway Stop, go north 2 stops to Chongwenmen and switch to Line 2, one stop to Qianmen. Get off and use Exit C. You'll be on the south side of the Arrow Tower at the south end of Tiananmen Square. Photo shoot and walk your way around the periphery of the Square. Up to you whether you want to stand in line for Mao Mausoleum (must check bags at counter of building opposite on the east side of square), or the National Museum. Work your way around to Tiananmen and the portrait of Mao. There are some spots to eat and snack in the vicinity but most of them are on the Qianmen side. Then head inside to the Forbidden City. Ticket booth for the FC is not when you first pass under gate by Mao portrait, but is to the back. When you've gone almost as far as you can go before running into the big gate and ticket check, look to your left and you'll see the ticket booth off to the side. Rent Audioguide if you want (English available). Go into FC and work your way around, expect it to take 2-3 hours.

This will be most of Thursday. By late afternoon, you might want to head back to hostel for a short rest, or head over to expat side, maybe Sanlitun or one of the hotels often mentioned here for drinks, etc. Maybe an FT'er will be around (I'm in USA now or I'd offer to meet up.).

Friday: Try to leave around 7:30 am and get a taxi to the Summer Palace, which may take about 45 minutes. Wait until 8:30 and it may take twice as long. Go to the East Gate. Enter and wander around. You can research from a guidebook. Most of the buildings are on the East and North side, so I suggest you concentrate your time there, then head out the back of the north side where the gardens are. Also the north gate which is closest to a Line 4 Subway Stop. I presume that it will now be around noon. Go south and get off at Xizhimen station, switch to Subway Line 2 and head east to Lama Temple (Yonghegong). Hop off and head towards the entrance. There are a number of good snack shops and decent restaurants around there, so have lunch before heading to the Temple itself. If you have additional time (depending on how late in the afternoon it is), you may want to either head to the nearby Confucius Temple, or down to the Drum Tower area again, or just wander hutongs back south until you get to your hostel.

For a domestic flight at Saturday noon from T3, I'd leave the hostel about 9:30-9:45 a.m. It shouldn't take more than an hour by taxi to get to T3, might be less. Another option if not heavily loaded with luggage is to taxi over to Dongzhimen Transport Hub then take the Airport Express out.

Massages can be done on Thursday or Friday evening (or both!). Search this forum for recommendations, most of them are in the part of town east of your hostel but not horribly far away, perhaps block out time for dinner and massage or viceversa in that part of town, returning to hostel later by taxi.

Second round arrival at Friday 2 pm--no shouldn't be too bad and if you are coming in on domestic, won't have to deal with Immy/Customs so should be able to grab bags and head out to taxi queue, hopefully getting to hostel by 3:30 pm when the ugly Friday aft traffic kicks in.

For the Saturday full day, earmark it for the Great Wall. Which will be either a 1/2 or full day depending where you choose to go.

There you are.

Thanks so much, Jiejie!

He should obviously do a quick stroll around the east side of Qianhai because it is directly across the street from the north gate of Beihai Park, and Yandai Hutong is mildly interesting, but Nanluoguxiang is much cooler IMO, and has better restaurants. It's only a 5-10 minute walk from Yandai Hutong (go east); maybe print out a map of the area because it's easy to get lost (I speak from experience).

Personally, I'd rank Wudaokou ahead of the Lama Temple because there are thousands of temples in China, but only one Wudaokou. Zhongguancun (on the way back) is also worth a look for those that are into electronics.

If I didn't live in China, I'd get massages every single day I was here. There are massage places everywhere; just look for the 足 character. While I know some people are fearful of being ripped off and/or offered special services, and therefore stick to the high end chains (most of which aren't all that expensive; e.g. 138 v 80, but the former often includes some sort of food), I've never once been fleeced by a massage parlor. I know of only one person who was, and this was kind of his own fault (I won't go into further detail; wink, wink). Basically, a little common sense goes a long way.

Please enlighten me as to why the Wudaokou area is unique and special vs Lama Temple area (not just the Temple which is grand, but also the area). Wudaokou is full of new buildings, commercial enterprises, lots of university students and related support buildings, and an electronics market. As University districts go, it's not even one of the more pleasant in China. Have I missed something in my last 11 years in Beijing (not to mention previous residence in Wudaokou)?

In short, for somebody who's never been to Beijing and has only 2 full days + 1 on the return, Wudaokou wouldn't make my top 30 of places to recommend.

T Square, Park and Forbiden city all there in one place...should keep you busy..The GW, quite a sight, you will never walk the whole thing...

Enjoy, we go over every year, always something new to see.

It presents a different side of Beijing than most tourists get to experience.

True, but so does Hackney in London, but I wouldn't recommend it on a short trip, and I live in this part of town!

I really like the Lama temple, the one time I went, two years ago, on my first ever trip to Beijing. There are temples everywhere, but the OP is not necessarily going everywhere, and even within that context, lama temple is pretty cool.

In the context of a longer or business trip, or if one is a student, wudaolou maybe makes more sense.

tb

Btw, went to "Eatalia" in WDK today for the first time: pretty good, italian style pizza 'al taglio', and ugly but v. tasty lasagne.

It is a short (well, two short) visits, so I know in advance that I can't begin to fit everything in. I'm not fussed about it, because I know I will be back (sooner rather than later, since my multi-entry visa is only good for a year).

Now I've got to try to sort out where to eat (duck, of course, no Western food on such a short visit)!

Moondog, thanks for the word on massage parlors. I admit to being concerned about inadvertently walking into the 'wrong' sort of place (happened to me once in Hanoi, at a hotel 'spa', no less).

It's pretty easy to tell which places are 'wrong' in China, but even 'wrong' establishments still honor their stated prices as long as the "foot" massage doesn't extend to other areas of the body. There is honestly nothing to worry about.

The OP is already going to see the TOH, Forbidden City, Beihai, Jingshang ++. He's going to be templed out!

Since you live in Wudaokou, you are in a better position to make a case for or against it than I am, but the culture up there never ceases to amaze me (e.g. playing basketball with Chinese students is kind of fun). You guys also have some interesting restaurants that are far cheaper than their counterparts in the CBD.

Regarding Eatalia, I'm friends with owner, and have helped him on the marketing front several times during the course of the past year. He is very easy to approach, and has an open mind.

as I will also spend a few days in beijing, allthough not having started this thread, thanks a lot to jiejie and all the others for the advice^

On a related topic: How long does it take from beijing to the big wall, and how to get there best?

Well, it's a pretty long wall, so it depends on what section you want to visit. If you search this forum for "great wall", you'll find at least 5 relevant threads. I suggest you find one of the more recent ones and post your thoughts/questions within.

You are looking at an at least 2 hour ride (with moderate traffic), to get to the "main" area of the Great Wall - the one with the cable cars going up and down. If you intend to go up the never ending stairs, old school way, there are spots closer to Beijing, however you're not saving much. The trip back can be done in an hour plus.

In other words, plan to dedicate at least half a day +, i.e. if you leave town at 8, you can be back by 14:00, having hung out at the highest part of the wall for 30-40 minutes.

thank you DrSavant