dkrt

My wife and I will be in Beijing for 5 days mid-May. Our intended basic itinerary is as follows, but we're open to suggestions:

Day 1 - Arrival at airport 2:30pm and by the time we get to the hotel there probably won't be enough time to do much.
Day 2 - Forbidden City, Tianamen Square, Summer Palace
Day 3 - Great Wall
Day 4 - Hutongs and shopping
Day 5 - Open

Any other recommendations?

Also, we are staying at the Doubletree - Hilton on Guang An Man Wai Avenue.
- Is this hotel centrally located for our touring?
- Any good recommendations for a nice dinner (perferably peking duck)?
- Where is the best area to shop?
- And is it safe to walk around at night?

Thanks for the help.

PTravel

The hutongs are interesting, but there really isn't that much to see -- hutong means, I think, "alley," and that's what you'll see -- narrow walled alleys. Behind the alleys are courtyard houses, some of which might be spectacular, but they're private and not open to the public. I've been to Beijing a number of times. For me, it means great restaurants. I've been meaning to try to catch some theater (Beijing has an excellent theater scene), but haven't yet found a show that, though in Mandarin, would still let me follow along. You should probably check out some of the spectacular public works buildings, like the Olympic Bird's Nest and the new National Theater. The National Museum (not far from either) has a wonderful and eclectic collection and in interesting gift shop that sells, along with the usual reproductions, a small scattering of genuine antiques at relatively reasonable prices.

You mentioned shopping -- my opinion only, but the Silk Market is a complete waste of time. Hundreds of aggressive vendors all selling the same junk to western tourists. The Friendship Store, near the St. Regis, has some genuine bargains. Last month, we picked up some nice cashmere products (I got a sweater, Mrs. PTravel a shawl),

For Peking duck, after trying all the others, my favorite is still Quan Jude -- the old restaurant at the far end of Tienanmen, not the newer one in the office building.

anacapamalibu

I like the Silk Street market, amongst the myriad of bootleg vendors there is a decent selection of low priced Chinese crafts. Granted the crafts at Friendship store are better quality, you can still get decent trinkets/souvenirs at Silk St.
They do have some people that custom make the Chinese character stuff which is a nice inexpensive gift item. Also I once had the guy that sculpts clay heads make one for a client that I used for a CGI project. It costs $75 there instead of paying $900 in LA.


Hey you watch..bag..dvd.

@:-)I would like to put some kind of electrical shock contacts in my sleeves so when
those aggressive vendors grab your arms and start pulling on you , you can shock em.

PTravel

Chops do make good gifts but, per my wife, the ones at Silk Street are of low quality and, worse, the translations of western names are . . . well . . . "creative," but no complimentary.
Wallet?

[/quote]@:-)I would like to put some kind of electrical shock contacts in my sleeves so when
those aggressive vendors grab your arms and start pulling on you , you can shock em.[/QUOTE]Oh god, yes. To me, that is the worst part of Silk Street. I avoid the tourist places like that like plague -- nowhere else in China do I get bothered like that.

rdchen

- For Peking duck, I strongly recommend DaDong. It has 2 locations (I've only been to the latter):

1. 大董烤鸭店(团结湖店)
   address: 朝阳区团结湖北口3号楼(长虹桥东南)
   phone #: 65824003 65822892
   
   
2. 大董烤鸭店(东四十条店)
   address: 东城区东四十条甲22号南新仓国际大厦1-2楼(东四十条桥西南)
   phone #: 51690329

- It is very safe to walk around at night.

cpx

Plenty.. just search through the rest of the China forum and you'll
see enough references.
Lama Temple, Confucius Temple, Temple of Heaven,
Ho Hai (Dinner, and evening walking around area)
BaiHai (Walk between BaiHai and NanHai)

And if you have time, you could consider Old Summer palace
(or European Ruins)


I found the Metro to be very useful to go around during peak hours..
they are crowded, but fast when you want to get around the city
during rush hour. If I recall correctly, the card will cost you 20RMB and you
can add money to use. (you can get the 20 refunded if you return it)
I think a single trip is 2-3RMB.

Here is a PDF Map of the city that might come in handy:
http://www.cityofnanaimo.com/asia/China/Beijing.pdf


Before Olympics, they were reconstructing the area south of Tianamen Sq
into a shopping district. It should be ready and might be a good
place to check out.

Silk market is a good place to buy souvenirs, but I don't think you'll really find
any genuine art there. You "might" get lucky at the "weekend market"
(I think thats what they call it) Its like a flee market and they have all
sorts of vendors.

While shopping in these tourist areas.. keep in mind, you pay 1/10th
of the asking price or less.

Shopping could certainly get entertaining. (thats the only reason I
shop there) Be prepare to say a few phrases:
"you're crazy"
"no money"
etc..

and be prepared to show a wallet or pocket with just 5-10RMB.
That will keep em from bothering you if they get pushy.

tom911

We went there during the Olympics and had a very nice dinner. RESTAURANT PHOTOS

My friends, who are astute bargainers, came home with silk comforters and strings of black pearls, from the Silk Market. I know they paid $15 for the black pearls and they were very nice.

PTravel

We ate at Da Dong this past trip. Though it was good (and the presentation was immaculate) we both decided that we still preferred Quan Jude.

PTravel

That's the place. I love the happy duck out front saying, "Come in! Eat me!"

anacapamalibu

It is very annoying...you want to say " get your (bleeping) hands off me,
you (bleeper)"

rdchen

I love QuanJuDe as well, the reason I prefer DaDong over QJD is because its duck is less greasy.

PTravel

That's actually why we prefer QJD -- we thought the Da Dong duck was dry. I like just a smidgen of duck fat/grease -- I think it adds flavor.

anacapamalibu

Great Photos from the Olympics! Wow ...Cindy Crawford sure is beautiful

PTravel

Ooops. I just took a closer look at the photos. That's the new Quan Jude restaurant -- the old one is on a crowded street a few blocks below Tienanmen. We've eaten at both. The new one is good but the old one is perfection!

Peter_N-H

Consider going to the northeast of the city, to the Da Shanzi District, and visiting the (odd combination of) National Railway Museum, and the 798 Art District (or, if you're a bit more hardline about your art, the Caochangdi art district, which has less commercialism. But the commercialism of 798 is part of the fun.) There's a lot to look at in what is a post-industrial complex with dozens of galleries and studios to visit, sprinkled with cafes, restaurants, and bookshops. Crowded at weekends, and with many places closed on Mondays. Second half of the working week best.

A day trip out of town by bus (from outside Pingguo Yuan subway station) to the leafy Tanzhe Si and Jietai Si gives you a glimpse of rural Beijing, and are both enjoyable temples in their own right.

Hutong (which is both singular and plural form--no 's') does indeed mean 'alley', as does 'xiang', which you'll also see frequently. The attraction here is in the eye of the beholder (and in the nose), and for all those who think these are the heart of real Beijing there are those who see them as hideous slums. Some have now been totally rebuilt with their residents driven out and replaced by local officials in modernised two-car-garage versions of the original courtyard houses. Some have been trendified for visitors, with little cafes cropping up here and there, gradually growing to a deluge of bars and restaurants.

You might consider wandering around the Drum and Bell Towers a little, although much in that area has now been destroyed, and then east, wandering the alleys around Bei Luogu Xiang, before heading south into Nan Luogu Xiang which is the full-scale every other house an espresso bar scene. Turnings off here are also less developed, though, and there's the odd hidden princely mansion.

The area around the now largely vanished Huguo Si, east if Xin Jiē Kou is worth a look, with a lot of shops selling traditional Beijing snacks and a possible wander east to the courtyard house of Mei Lanfang (the opera star).

Many siheyuan (courtyard houses) are open now as museums to big political or cultural names (in post-1949 China there was no one without the other, however) who formerly lived in them, or as restaurants often not only of some charm but of excellent food. And more than 30 are now hotels. So access isn't so hard.

There was some mention of the National Museum, but unless that has opened ahead of schedule, it's closed until next year. The brand new Capital Museum is for now the best bet.

I would second the Nan Xin Cang branch of Dadong, if it's duck you want, although there's a great deal more to Beijing cuisine than that. While there you can enjoy looking at the 'south new storehouses' (Nan Xin Cang), which are squat, immensely old warehouses, one now a theatre, one a club, one a gallery, and so on.

If anyone recommends Duck de Chine for your duck dinner, as has recently become fashionable, please note this is a vastly overpriced experience, and best avoided.

For what?

As a general rule almost anywhere except the tawdry overpriced tourist-as-victim places like the almost silk-free 'Silk Street', the Hong Qiao 'Pearl' Market, and so on. You should not in any case be shopping for anything of any value unless you are an expert both in that thing and in current prices at home for items of similar quality (and if you are you won't be shopping). So forget 'pearls', 'jade', 'antiques', etc.

For silk you should visit the Beijing Silk Store at the west side of the north end of the newly revamped Qian Men Dajie. For tea go to Malian Dao, which has nothing but tea shops. For general souvenirs, clothing, toys, and just about anything you can think of visit the Tianyi Market in Fucheng Men Wai Dajie (again avoid weekends--it's throbbing then). This is where the locals shop, and this is where prices are best.

Peter N-H