Things To Do in Beijing

930-1122 A provincial town roughly on the site of modern Beijing becomes the southern capital of the Khitan Mongol Liao dynasty, thousands of kilometers from the ancient centers of early Han Chinese empires. 1122-1215 The city is taken over by the Jurchen Tartar Jin dynasty, first…

Competition for the disposable income of Beijing's one-child families is intense -- advertising ruthlessly targets children. Alas, few of Beijing's just-for-kids attractions are of a standard that will appeal to Western children, and those few tend to be overcrowded. Some exceptions…

Area Codes -- The local code for Beijing is 010. Banks & ATMs -- Larger branches of the Bank of China typically exchange cash and traveler's checks on weekdays only, from 9am to 4pm, occasionally with a break for lunch (11:30am-1:30pm). Most central is the branch at the bottom…

State limitations on freedom of expression, the profusion of black market DVDs, and ready access to illegal download sites have taken their toll on China's film industry, but the "movie theater experience" has taken off in recent years and Beijing now has enough film fanatics to…

One of the best things about any visit to China is the food, at least for the independent traveler. Tour groups are often treated to a relentless series of cheap, bland dishes designed to cause no complaints and to keep the costs down for the Chinese operator, so do everything you…

Strolling Around the Back Lakes: You'll find everything around these man-made lakes, from historic courtyard homes, to tranquil spots, to amusing entertainment. Speedo-clad elders dive into the lake year-round -- including the chilly winter months -- and ducks congregate on a small…

Rainbow Sexuality Under the Red Flag Same-sex relationships between men have a history of acceptance in China dating as far back as the Zhou period (1100-256 B.C.). In official records of the Han dynasty (206 B.C.-A.D. 220), 10 emperors are described as openly bisexual and are…

By Metro The Beijing metro system (ditie) is undergoing a process of rapid expansion. This is leading to traffic snarls at ground level, which make using the existing lines essential. The Olympics ushered in a host of new lines, brand-new trains, and modern electronic ticket-reading…

Main Streets The main west-to-east artery of interest to visitors runs across the top of Tian'an Men Square, past the Tian'an Men (Gate of Heavenly Peace) itself. It changes names several times, but is most importantly Xi Chang'an Jie to the west of the square, Dong Chang'an Jie to…

Constructing memorial halls to the heroes of past and present dynasties has a long history, and the Communists have adopted this tradition with élan. As before, historical accuracy matters little; cultivating patriotic subjects is the goal.

Under Mongolian Rule Modern Beijing stands on the site of the capital founded in 1271 by the Mongols, when the territory of modern-day China was merely a part of a far larger Mongol empire. Known to the Mongols as Khanbalik and to their Chinese subjects as Da Du or "Great Capital,"…

Beijing is a frenetic city. The people-watching opportunities here are endless: On any given day you are likely to run into migrant workers on their way to work, carrying their own tools over their shoulders and sporting yellow construction helmets; the newly moneyed clogging the…

Fortunately for the harried tourist, when the Mongol founders laid down the Beijing (then Khanbalik) city grid, it was on a north-south axis, making navigation straightforward and grouping the key landmarks in a central location. The main downside, for which Kublai Khan cannot be…

It's time to get away from the city center. For the third full-day tour, we take you to the far-northwest corner of Beijing. The district is home to China's top two universities, the self-styled Harvard and M.I.T. of China, as well as the Beijing Foreign Language and Culture…

If you've survived "The Best of Beijing in 1 Day," you'll find that your second full-day tour takes in a different side of Beijing. Today we'll take you to the Lake district, our favorite city retreat, and a couple of impressive temples for good measure. Start: Bei Hai…

As distinct as Beijing's palaces, temples, and parks may be, it is the hutong that ultimately set the city apart. Prior to the 20th century, when cars and the Communist love of grandeur made them impracticable, these narrow and often winding lanes were the city's dominant…

Chinese is not as difficult a language to learn as it may first appear to be -- at least not once you've decided what kind of Chinese to learn. There are six major languages called Chinese. Speakers of each are unintelligible to each other, and there are, in addition, a host of…

Although malls and shopping centers are becoming more popular, the majority of Beijing residents still shop in markets. Whether indoors or out, these markets are inexpensive, chaotic, and, for the visitor, tremendously interesting. Payment is in cash, bargaining is essential, and…

Ming Tombs (Shi San Ling) 48km (30 miles) NW of Beijing Of the 16 emperors who ruled China during the Ming dynasty (1368-1644), 13 are buried in a box canyon at the southern foot of Tianshou Shan (hence the Chinese name Shisan Ling, the 13 Tombs). The first emperor of the Ming,…

In keeping with the Communist (and Confucian) passion for naming and quantification, Beijing has a museum for everything -- police, bees, even the humble watermelon. If you share this passion and plan on spending a week or more in the capital, invest in a bowuguan tong piao (¥80),…

Citywide architectural uniformity makes the boundaries of Beijing's official districts rather arbitrary, so we've avoided them in favor of maps showing in more detail the areas of most interest to visitors for their clusters of accommodations, restaurants, and attractions. Beyond the…

During a visit to Bei Hai, writer John Blofeld chanced upon an elderly eunuch, and inquired as to how he was making a living. He touchily replied, "I manage well. I am a guide -- not one of those so-called guides who live by inventing history for foreigners and by making commissions…

Tanzhe Si & Jietai Si Tanzhe Si 48km (30 miles) W of Beijing; Jietai Si 35km (22 miles) W of Beijing Buried in the hills west of Beijing, Tanzhe Si (Temple of the Pool and Wild Mulberry) and Jietai Si (Temple of the Ordination Platform) are the tranquil kinds of Chinese temples…

Eastern Qing Tombs (Qing Dong Ling) 125km (78 miles) E of Beijing The Qing Dong Ling have been open for more than 20 years but are still little visited despite offering considerably more to visitors than tombs of the Ming. Altogether 5 emperors, 15 empresses, 136 concubines, 3…

Books The best single-volume introduction to the people of China and their world is Jasper Becker's The Chinese. Longtime resident of Beijing and former Beijing bureau chief for the South China Morning Post, Becker delivers an immensely readable account of how the Chinese got to be…

Freedom to practice religion is enshrined in the Chinese constitution. In reality, of course, this right is subject to frequent and occasionally violent suspension -- during times of political upheaval like the Cultural Revolution (1966-76) or, as in the case of Tibetan Buddhism and…

Antiques & Curios The Panjiayuan Jiuhuo Shichang market was once the place to look for antiques, and it still is for bric-a-brac and oddities. If you're not in town on the weekend, visit Baoguo Si Wenhua Gongyipin Shichang market , which has similar curiosities in a more…

The hills around Beijing are dotted with fascinating sights, the foremost, of course, being the Great Wall. Many of the sights listed in this chapter can be seen in a single excursion, which can include other sights just on the outskirts of the city. Nearly all organized tours…

Imperial Restaurants Elaborately presented but seldom appetizing, dishes cooked in Beijing's much-hyped imperial style are one of the city's biggest scams. Famous imperial restaurants Fang Shan Fanzhuang in Bei Hai Park and Li Jia Cai (Li Family Restaurant) in the Back Lakes area…

Spectator Sports Gongren Tiyuchang (Workers' Stadium) is the home of the capital's football (soccer) team, formerly known as Beijing Guo An, now called Beijing Xiandai (named for the Hyundai car company). A fanatical green-and-white army of fans follows the team, which perennially…

Seeing Beijing in a day? You must be kidding. It is technically possible to see the big-name attractions -- the Forbidden City, Temple of Heaven, Summer Palace, and Great Wall -- in as little as 3 days, but you'll need at least a week to get any sort of feel for the city. But if a…

While signs around Beijing whip up indignation at the destruction of Chinese temples by foreign forces in 1860 and 1900, most destruction was carried out by the Chinese themselves, particularly after 1949. Medium-size houses of worship -- Buddhist, Christian, Confucian, Daoist, and…

Although most average Chinese still prefer to get drunk at dinner, the Western pub tradition has gained ground among younger locals, and the city has a large, ever-growing population of establishments devoted exclusively to alcohol. Drinking in Beijing occurs in one of several…

Live Music Most of the bars on Sanlitun North Bar Street offer nightly live "music" performances by cover bands, usually of scant talent and almost invariably Filipino in origin. But several small venues, most of them in Chaoyang, host an increasingly varied lineup of musical acts.…

The universally accepted symbol for the length and grandeur of Chinese civilization is undoubtedly the Great Wall, but the Forbidden City is more immediately impressive. A 720,000-sq.-m (7,750,016-sq.-ft.) complex of red-walled buildings and pavilions topped by a sea of glazed…

The Great Wall (Wanli Changcheng) Even after you dispense with the myths that it is a single continuous structure and that it can be seen from space (it can't, any more than a fishing line can be seen from the other side of a river), China's best-known attraction is still…

Beijing Opera Beijing opera (jingju) is described by some as the apogee of traditional Chinese culture and, at least according to one modest Chinese connoisseur, is "perhaps the most refined form of opera in the world." Many who have actually seen a performance might beg to differ…

This expanse of elaborate Qing-style pavilions, bridges, walkways, and gardens, scattered along the shores of immense Kunming Lake, is the grandest imperial playground in China, constructed from 1749 to 1764. Between 1860 and 1903, it was twice leveled by foreign armies and rebuilt;…

At the same time that the Yongle emperor built the Forbidden City, he also oversaw construction of this enormous park and altar to Heaven directly to the south. Each winter solstice, the Ming and Qing emperors would lead a procession here to perform rites and make sacrifices designed…

This is the world's largest public square, the size of 90 American football fields (40 hectares/99 acres), with standing room for 300,000 people. It is surrounded by the Forbidden City in the north, the Great Hall of the People in the west, and the museums of Chinese History and…

The Cuisines China has between four and ten seminal cooking styles, depending on who you ask, but regional permutations, minority contributions, and specialty cuisines like Buddhist-influenced vegetarian and medicinal dishes push the number into the dozens. Most of these have at…

One of my first Beijing shopping trips was to Wangfujing Street, back in 2004. The pedestrian-only avenue offered a rare reprieve from the city traffic, and the wide lane was clean and orderly. As I was sidling up to one of the gleaming new retailers, I spied a young woman in front…

Liulichang & Da Zhalan Start: Zhengyi Ci Xilou, just south of the metro on Qian Men Xi Heyan Jie (metro: Heping Men). Finish: Qian Men, south end of Tian'an Men Guangchang (metro: Qian Men). Time: 3 hours. Best times: Any weekday starting at about 9am or 2pm. Worst times:…

Back Lakes Ramble Start: Huitong Ci (metro: Jishui Tan). Finish: Mei Lanfang Guju, west side of Qian Hai (metro: Jishui Tan). Time: 4 hours. Best times: Any time between 9am and noon. Worst times: Mondays, when some sites are closed. Weekends can also be crowded. There is,…

Wangfujing Start: Wangfujing Paleolithic Museum (metro: Wangfujing). Finish: Dong Si Mosque (metro: Dong Dan). Time: 3 to 4 hours. Best times: Weekday mornings or late afternoons. Worst times: Weekends when window shoppers run rampant. Lunchtime can also be crowded. Wangfujing…

Lidai Diwang Miao & Huguo Si Start: Lu Xun Bowuguan (metro: Fucheng Men). Finish: Desheng Men Jianlou (metro: Jishui Tan). Time: 4 to 5 hours. Best times: Any time between 9am and noon. Worst times: Mondays, when some of the museums and sites are closed. With the Shicha Hai…

Taking a stroll in Beijing can be hard work. The main boulevard, Chang'an Dajie, is a soulless and windswept thoroughfare, and the rest of town seems to be a huge construction site choking on dust and car fumes. These strolls will show you a gentler Beijing, where older Beijingers…