Places to visit in Beijing

Hi Julie,

There quite a few things to do in Beijing, here are my personal favorites:

1) 798 - a modern art district situated where an old East-German factory complex used to be

2) The "hutongs" - inside the second ring-road and south from Tiananmen square there are many old alleys with one story houses where you can still see the old Beijing life how it used to be before all the crazy development, you can do a whole day walking around easily and combine it with:
a) the Lama temple
b) the drum and bell towers
c) the lakes (Houhai)
d) Nanluoguxiang hutong

3)Hiking on the wild great wall (a bit difficult to do it completely by yourself, there are a few companies organizing such tours: Chinahiking.cn or Beijing Hikers)

4) I wouldn't spend too much on the usual touristy sights (Tiananmen square, Forbidden city, Temple of Heaven) part from the Summer Palace, which is unique, in the way that it is situated in the outskirts of the city and combines a park with a beautiful palace  area.

That's the general stuff, if you need more specific advice (shopping,historic sites, nature  etc. ) I'd be happy to share more.

Hope you have a great visit to Beijing!

Ilya Cheremnikh
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The Hutongs and the Great Wall. Everything else is optional.