BEIJING

from lonelyplanet.com

When to Go

Of the shoulder seasons, autumn is optimal - the weather is gorgeous and fewer tourists are in town. Locals describe this short season as tiangao qishuang - literally 'the sky is high and the air is fresh' - with clear skies and breezy days. Spring is less pleasant - not many tourists but lots of wind and dust. Summer (June to August) is considered peak season, when hotels typically raise their rates and the Great Wall nearly collapses under the weight of marching tourists. Winter is the extreme opposite but makes for pretty surrounds if you can stand the freezing temperatures; you'll have Beijing to yourself and many hotels offer substantial discounts. Everything is chock-a-block during the Chinese New Year (usually in January or February) and the week-long holidays of International Labour Day (May 1) and National Day (Oct 1).

Weather

Autumn is lovely, with clear skies and breezy days. Arid spring is ok, apart from the (worsening) sand clouds that sweep in from Inner Mongolia and the ubiquitous static electricity that discharges everywhere. Spring also sees the snow-like liuxu (willow catkins) wafting through the air like snow and collecting in drifts. From May onwards the mercury can surge well over 30°C (86°F). Beijing simmers under a scorching sun in summer (reaching over 40°C/104°F), and there can also be heavy rainstorms late in the season. In winter it's glacial outside (dipping as low as -20°C/-4°F) and the northern winds cut like a knife through bean curd. Note that air pollution can be very harsh in summer and winter.

Itinerary

Tiananmen Square & Foreign Legation Quarter Walk

Start from the Gate of Heavenly Peace and take the underground tunnel beneath Dongchang'an Jie to Tiananmen Square. To your west rises the monolithic mass of the Great Hall of the People, its columned pomposity mirrored to your east by the Museum of Chinese History and the Museum of the Chinese Revolution. Ahead of you stands the Monument to the People's Heroes, last stand of the 1989 student demonstrators before they were driven from the square. Further south is the squat Chairman Mao Mausoleum and beyond it Zhengyang Men and the Arrow Tower, together known as Front Gate. Walk to the east side to the square and enter Dongjiaomin Xiang (formerly known as Legation St). Ahead on your right-hand side at No 40 is a green-roofed, orange brick building that was the site of the former Dutch Legation 8.

Further along on your left hand side is the Supreme Court (Zuigao Renmin Fayuan), and on the other side of the road stands a building with huge pillars, the former address of the First National City Bank of New York (Huaqi Yinhang), now serving as the Beijing Police Museum. About 20m (66ft) up the road at No 34 (on your right) is an imposing, red brick building with pillars, the former address of the Banque de L'Indo-Chine (Dongfang Huili Yinhang). Look very carefully under the window on the right, and you will be able to make out ghostly, faded Chinese characters that say 'Long live the mighty leader Chairman Mao'. Under the window on the left are the discernible characters 'Long live the mighty Chinese Communist Party'. Keep walking east to the domed Minsheng Bank at 4a Zhengyi Lu, on the corner of Zhengyi Lu and Dongjiaomin Xiang, which was the Yokahama Specie Bank during legation days. Pop in and take a look at the period features adorning the interior, especially the ceiling. North up Zhengyi Lu on the right-hand side of the road was the former Japanese Legation, opposite the British Legation to the west, now occupied by the Ministry of State Security and the Ministry of Public Security. South down Zhengyi Lu and beyond the branch of CYTS is the Huafeng Hotel, on the site of the former Grand Hotel des Wagon-Lits (Liuguo Fandian). Backtrack and continue along Dongjiaomin Xiang. The low, grey building at No 19 is the former French post office, now serving as the Jingyuan Sichuan Restaurant. Further ahead behind the grey wall is the former French Legation. The main gate stands at No 15, a big red entrance guarded by a pair of stone lions and impassive security guards. The Capital Hotel on the other side of the road sits on the grounds of the former German Legation. Ahead of you at No 11 rise up the twin spires of the Gothic St Michael's Church (Dongjiaomin Catholic Church). Walk north along Taijichang Dajie (formerly Rue Marco Polo) and look out for the brick street sign embedded in the northern wall of Taijichang Toutiao, carved with the old name of the road, Rue Hart 18.

A Top Day in Beijing

I've got to get out for a bike ride in the morning, not just to clear the cobwebs, but also to remind myself why I love this city. There's always something charming or wondrous to catch your eye. It could be a park filled with ta'i chi practitioners, or row upon row of Qing dynasty courtyards that have withstood (or not) the test of time. After a few hours of riding I settle into a local shop for a dumpling-and-beer breakfast (it's Beijing!). Then I wander over to the Forbidden City. I won't go in today (it requires a morning and afternoon), but I will skirt the outside walls and soak in the atmosphere. After passing through the Gate of Heavenly Peace I find myself in the underpass crossing over to Tiananmen Square. I always like to see what's being sold down here. Today, it's propaganda-era posters. Up in the square, I watch the touts flying immensely long kites and then halt before the Arrow Tower. I can't see this immense fortification without picturing myself up on the wall walk, freaking out as the Mongol hordes descend on the city. Still, the Mongols did bring lamb hotpot to Beijing, and I am so grateful for this that I'm going to have it for lunch. Afterwards I head to Liulichang Street for some curio and faux-antique browsing. By the time I find something I like, it's late in the afternoon, and there's no better time to head out to the Summer Palace. It may seem an odd time to go, especially considering how enormous the place is and how early they close ( 18:00 in summer), but here's a secret: they don't kick you out right away after closing time. I stay to watch the sun set and finish off the experience with a beer down by the quiet shore of Kunming Lake. When I get back to the city I'm tired, but I agree to meet some friends for snacks and drinks on Lotus Lane. Just one beer, I say. Well, maybe two (it's Beijing!).

Author: Robert Kelly

Places to stay:

Beijing City Central International Youth Hostel 

Lonely Planet Review

 With its modern design, multistorey capacity, large dorm rooms, and hotel-quality privates, this newcomer is ready to take on all competition. With a location just a stone's throw from the main train station, it looks likely to succeed. And having room service doesn't hurt at all.

You read that right - room service (06:00 - 23:00)! This place takes itself very seriously. There's a service package for Pete's sake in every room to explain the hostel's amenities. These include a very large bar with pool tables, a cafe and restaurant, a huge self-serve kitchen, access to a 24-hour supermarket, a big-screen movie room, a computer room and a travel centre. Dorm rooms have a fresh appeal and are surprisingly large, with upper-floor rooms sporting excellent big-city views. Private rooms come in various sizes and the better of them are hotel quality. As a safety precaution in an operation this size, the hostel has attendants guarding and servicing each floor. Our only complaint is that the wood flooring sags in many rooms. Hopefully this doesn't herald any future structural problems.

http://hotels.lonelyplanet.com/hotel/-P165844.html

others:

http://www.lonelyplanet.com/worldguide/china/beijing/where-to-sleep?neighborhood=-1&keyword=1282&poiTypeId=56&ec_crd=15&ec_s_name=asc&ec_s_addressNeighbourhood=&ec_s_priceRange=&x=30&y=14

Getting There and around

Orientation

Beijing is located in the northeastern corner of China. Its city limits extend some 80km (50mi), including the urban and the suburban areas and the nine counties under its administration - in other words, it's huge. Though it may not appear so in the shambles of arrival, Beijing is a place of very orderly design. Long, straight boulevards and avenues are crisscrossed by a network of lanes. Places of interest are either very easy to find if they're on the avenues, or impossible to find if they're buried down the hutongs (narrow alleys).

The Forbidden City acts like a bull's-eye, surrounded by a network of roads, including five ring roads which cup the city centre in concentric circles. The First Ring Rd is a mapmaker's fiction and just part of the grid around the Forbidden City. However, the Second, Third, Fourth and Fifth (opened in 2002) are multi-lane freeways. Roughly within the Second Ring Rd are the four central districts: Xicheng, Dongcheng, Chongwen and Xuanwu. Outside the Second Ring Rd are the so-called 'suburban' (now urbanised) districts of Chaoyang (east), Fengtai (southwest) and Haidian (northwest). Then there are the 'villages' ( li ). Beijing was once surrounded by many tiny villages, though over time these have in fact become neighbourhoods within the megalopolis.

Getting There, Getting Around

Getting There

Beijing has direct air connections to most major cities in the world and many travellers make use of the direct Beijing-Hong Kong flights on CAAC or Dragonair. Guangzhou and Shenzhen are both near Hong Kong and have direct domestic flights to Beijing (Hong Kong is treated as an international flight). Trains connect Beijing to Russia, Mongolia, North Korea, Hong Kong and Vietnam. No international buses serve Beijing.

• Train

  International trains to Moscow, Pyongyang and Ulaan Baatar arrive at and leave from Beijing Train Station; trains for Hong Kong and Vietnam leave from Beijing West Train Station.

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Getting Around

The subway, or Underground Dragon, is definitely the best way of travelling quickly within Beijing. Oversized and overstuffed buses are the norm, and on the whole best avoided.

Beijing taxis are multiplying fast: finding one is not difficult, but making yourself understood in English may be a bit more problematic. Costs are around Y10.00 for the first 4km (2.5mi).

Like much of China, Beijing looks so much better once you're pedalling. A bike shortens those long dreary stretches, avoids the footpath throng, and helps you feel a lot more like a local.

• Bus

  If you simply must catch a bus around town, sharpen your elbows, chain your wallet to your underwear and muster all the patience you can - you'll need it. There are about 140 bus and trolley routes, which makes navigation rather confusing, especially if you can't see out the window.

• Taxi

  If you don't speak Chinese, bring a map or have your destination written down in Chinese characters. Telephone bookings are possible.

• Bicycle

  Hotels - especially budget hotels - often rent out bikes at reasonable rates, or there are the numerous bike-hire outfits in the streets around hotels and tourist spots.

• Underground Rail

  The Underground Dragon can move at up to 70km (43mi) per hour - a jaguar compared to the lumbering buses. But while it's clean and easy to use, the trains are starting to show their age.

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