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Hello good gentlemen of TL.
I'm planing my first trip outside of the Americas and venturing into China for about three weeks. Mostly Beijing, but will probably go around the area. Would like to know what are the must see/do things in China, as well as the best places to eat. I have done very little planning because the opportunity just popped up about two days ago. The Great Wall is a must and am thinking of going to see the Temple of Heaven, and the Terracotta Warriors.
Want to eat as much as I can. The more inedible the food looks the better for me. As long as it's considered food; somewhere. The first thing I will probably do is venture into a small market and eat insects or some sort of invertebrate. I hope the travel channel hasn't lied about this.
I am staying with a relative, but seeing as she is in school and works she won't have that much time to hang out. If your in the area and want to hang out or if you need a friend for a couple of days I'm available. I'm kinda of your atypical nerd; although not really that shy and can hold a conversation rather well. Pic of me should be in the TL gallery.
Tomorrow I will apply for the Visa because apparently you need one (not just a passport :p). But will be in China from the 18th of March to the 10th of April. I'm 23 so I'm legal although I'm not sure what the ages for drinking or clubs are.
Yep, I guess that's it. Sorry for any typos its 4:30 am and just got off the phone finalizing everything with the person I'm staying with. Woo!
 
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After spending 3 weeks and returning to the States you will know the meaning of fresh air.
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Great wall is an amazing experience, but if you go early March, it'll still be hella cold, so bundle up. Also try to see the Summer palace in April if you can, if it's defrosted by then.
To me the Terracotta warriors were a bit overrated and over-commercialized, but that's just IMO.
The food is great, expect to eat lots of watermelon though, try some legit duck, and have fun.
Also, make sure you bring airbourne or whatever helps you feel/get better when you get sick, cuz you probably will get sick.
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There's functionally no drinking/smoking age in China, so you can go to whichever clubs. Clubs and drinks are really cheap in Beijing. You probably want go to sanlitun's bar street next to The Village, even though everything there is of questionable quality just because it's kind of sketchy and shitty. Also, you can get mutton on a sticks (羊肉串) and fried pancakes (煎饼) from stalls there, along with fish and chips (Fish Nation). Vics is the standard club, in the north gate of the worker's stadium (工体北门). There are a couple more, but despite Beijing's amazing nightlife, it'll probably be boring going alone all the time.
I wouldn't recommend going sightseeing in Temple of Heaven, just because the temple itself is iconic, but not really that interesting in person, especially since you're not allowed in. However, there's a park around it that's populated by locals doing whatever, which can be really interesting. The Forbidden City/Tiananmen is more interesting, even if most of the artifacts are in Taipei.
Food in general is great everywhere as long as you don't really mind dirty environments. In Beijing, I would recommend you to go to the Lotus Market (荷花市场) which is along a lake and has a couple of pretty good restaurants. If you haven't had good dimsum, there's a chain called DinTaiFung (鼎泰丰) that's pretty good and has a couple of locations. You need to get the roast duck. There's a couple of locations for it, depending on your price range. Wish (梧桐) near Lido is good, but expensive, and serves a sort of modern Chinese cuisine. Dadong (大董) is more famous, but is also more expensive, and you'll need to reserve. I recommend a good hotpot place, both for lamb and beef. Little Sheep (小肥羊) is pretty decent, and a chain restaurant so locations shouldn't be hard to find. Beef is harder to find, especially since the older places like DongLaiShun have declined in quality and increased in price. I lived in the suburbs, and went to some more local places that I'm not sure how to describe, so I can't really give a good recommendation. Still, Little Sheep serves passable beef as well. Also, you should try some fresh ramen. There aren't really super fantastic ones that I can think of off the top of my head, but just look for a crowded place with 拉面 (meaning ramen/stretched noodles) and you should be golden.
Also, I'm not sure if you're really aware of just how big Beijing is. It easily takes 20-30 minutes to get places, even though taxis are plentiful and very cheap. However, it makes it hard to go to some random small market like you might want to do. Also, while areas frequently by foreigners and expats are relatively safe, wandering off to the really local places can be a little dangerous. Also, the locals speak little to no Chinese and it's really easy to get lost.
Last thing, if you go shopping for fake stuff, YaXiu (雅秀) is usually where people go. Just keep in mind to bargain to like, 1/3 of the price they give you. And you'll probably be ripped off even then. You're non-asian so it's unavoidable anyway, so expect to overspend, even if it's still less than what you would spend in Western cities.
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Good stuff bro 
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Visit the Summer Palace rather than the Temple of Heaven.
Enjoy your trip.
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On March 07 2011 19:47 endy wrote:
Visit the Summer Palace rather than the Temple of Heaven.
Enjoy your trip.
I enjoyed temple of heaven more tbh. Arrive early to the park at temple of heaven and you'll see groups of people playing games, doing gymnastics, singing etc. Though I don't know if they also do that in march...
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On March 07 2011 19:52 Ghostcom wrote:Show nested quote +On March 07 2011 19:47 endy wrote:
Visit the Summer Palace rather than the Temple of Heaven.
Enjoy your trip. I enjoyed temple of heaven more tbh. Arrive early to the park at temple of heaven and you'll see groups of people playing games, doing gymnastics, singing etc. Though I don't know if they also do that in march...
With any of these landmarks, it's important that you go there and take a picture. But that's about it - there isn't much to see, per se.
Don't count on the Great Wall too much. Even though it's one of the biggest man-made structure, it's very uniform: each segment is almost exactly the same. After walking for 10 minutes on it you are guaranteed to be bored of it.
Again, just take lots of pictures and show off to your friends.
I am skeptical that you can actually get those 'insect' food in Beijing.
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Being of a certain age is not required for any of the pleasures offered in this city.
Have a good trip. GREAT WALL ADVICE: A nice section of the Great Wall to vist is called 黄花城 huang2hua1cheng1. Go there and avoid BaDaling at all costs.
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get ready for the worst pollution on the planet lol. (mostly air pollution)
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I miss the smell of smoke and people from China. Don't worry so much about air pollution, it's quaint in a city-like way and your lungs will live. It sucks when you walk past sewage though.
I don't have many suggestions for Beijing :-( but my favorite part of China is making random friends. If you speak any Chinese, go get a haircut (SO CHEAP AND SO GOOD) from a pretty girl/boy and chat them up.
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#VikingKong and everyone else- Thanks for the awesome post(s).
#nemY - I'll actually be in California after China for about 10 days. We should meet up this time for real.
And in regard to the air pollution I've been to Guadalajara and Mexico City so I'm kinda of used to the smoggy smell that puts hair on your balls.
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I just visited Beijing this summer, and the Bird's nest and the Olympic village is definitely a good choice to visit. Also just roam around the city, and just take in the sights. The restaurants are all very very cheap and very good for its price, and the street vendors with their mutton on sticks are a must eat, as mentioned by VikingKong.
I hope you have fun! and write a blog about your experience when you come back
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TossFloss
Canada606 Posts
Lived in Beijing for almost two years. When scheduling your plans keep in mind that Beijing's traffic ranks as the #1 worst in the world (tied with Mexico).
I'm not even sure if there's a legal drinking age in China. Foreigners would be excluded from it anyways (Great fun running into my 16 year old students at clubs)
Here's my list, I'll exclude the obvious ones.
Places to hang out at night
San Li Tun Beer District 三里屯啤酒街
Hou Hai 后海
Must see attractions
Silk Street 秀水街 (*)
Tian An Men Square 天安门广场 (**)
Hou Hai HuTongs (***)
New Summer Palace 颐和园
WangFuJing Shopping District王府井
Hidden Gems Most Foreigners Never Visit
Ruins of Old Summer Palace 圆明园
Fragrant Hill 香山 (+)
Ren Min University 人民大学 (++)
Situational
ZhongGuanCun Electronics District 中关村
(*) Go there only to experience Chinese merchants at their most aggressive. Do not eat at any of the neighboring restaurants - overpriced/low-quality.
(**) It's a big square. Don't expect to spend more than 20 minutes.
(***) HuTongs are traditional Chinese homes. The Hutongs behind HouHai have been preserved.
(+) Allocate the entire morning/afternoon for this visit.
(++) One of the best university campus I've ever seen.
Edit:
General structure of Beijing:
West quadrant: Haidian & Xicheng district - universities and electronics stores; lower quality of life compared to the eastern side.
Eastern core: Dongcheng district - Huge amount of wealth is located here
ChaoyYang district - Modestly prosperous section of the city
Things become progressively less classy further away from the core.
Also foot/body massages are a must for any China experience. The Oriental Taipan chain offers excellent clean service starting at ～100RMB. You can go much cheaper at other places, but you will have to do some searching.
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My list looks a lot like TossFloss's above me...
I'll just reemphasize that San Li Tun and Hou Hai are great. Summer Palace was by far my favorite sightseeing destination.
For food, my recommendation would be to get the duck and a bottle of baijiu at Quan Ju De (全聚德). Amazing dining experience. I don't know if you have to order a day or two in advance, a Chinese host took me there, so she handled the reservations and all.
Oh, and go to the night market at Wang Fu Jing for all sorts of wild food on sticks (insects, organs, and more)
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Go out to any big intersection at night and look for those street vendors selling sheep on a stick. Ask for like 100 of them, usually 1 yuan each. SOOOOO good.
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TossFloss
Canada606 Posts
On March 08 2011 02:21 JamesSwift wrote:
My list looks a lot like TossFloss's above me...
I'll just reemphasize that San Li Tun and Hou Hai are great. Summer Palace was by far my favorite sightseeing destination.
For food, my recommendation would be to get the duck and a bottle of baijiu at Quan Ju De (全聚德). Amazing dining experience. I don't know if you have to order a day or two in advance, a Chinese host took me there, so she handled the reservations and all.
Oh, and go to the night market at Wang Fu Jing for all sorts of wild food on sticks (insects, organs, and more)
Oh yeah Quan Ju De is awesome =)
Normally shouldn't need to order in advance. However, expect 1-2 hour line up.
On March 08 2011 03:56 TOloseGT wrote:
Go out to any big intersection at night and look for those street vendors selling sheep on a stick. Ask for like 100 of them, usually 1 yuan each. SOOOOO good.
Do they still exist in Beijing? I heard a few years ago they started cracking down on food vendors =(
My fondest memories in Qingdao involve consuming large quantities BBQ and beer on the side of the street after midnight =)
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On March 08 2011 05:01 TossFloss wrote:Show nested quote +On March 08 2011 02:21 JamesSwift wrote:
My list looks a lot like TossFloss's above me...
I'll just reemphasize that San Li Tun and Hou Hai are great. Summer Palace was by far my favorite sightseeing destination.
For food, my recommendation would be to get the duck and a bottle of baijiu at Quan Ju De (全聚德). Amazing dining experience. I don't know if you have to order a day or two in advance, a Chinese host took me there, so she handled the reservations and all.
Oh, and go to the night market at Wang Fu Jing for all sorts of wild food on sticks (insects, organs, and more) Oh yeah Quan Ju De is awesome =) Normally shouldn't need to order in advance. However, expect 1-2 hour line up. Show nested quote +On March 08 2011 03:56 TOloseGT wrote:
Go out to any big intersection at night and look for those street vendors selling sheep on a stick. Ask for like 100 of them, usually 1 yuan each. SOOOOO good. Do they still exist in Beijing? I heard a few years ago they started cracking down on food vendors =( My fondest memories in Qingdao involve consuming large quantities BBQ and beer on the side of the street after midnight =)
Last time I was there was for the Olympics, so if this is the case now, + Show Spoiler +NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOQQOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO
I did, however, go to many good smaller restaurants that still cooked Yang Rou Quan in a street vendor style, but the taste was a little bit off.
Even if the police were cracking down on them, I would walk my ass off to find one.
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I've only visited BJ like four times, so I don't know much:
Quan Ju De and Da Dong are both really good for crispy ducks.
Right beside Quan Ju De, there's a little meat bun shop called "Gou Bu Li" (from Tian Jing) that's also ridiculously good and cheap.
There's a bunch of stuff to see in Beijing, but you probably know most of that by now.
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the cheap food vendors are still there do not worry child
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EPT
