Beijing, the capital of China has been a tourist attraction site for hundreds of years. This ancient come modern city has many impressive cultural and historic heritages, magical natural views, and fashionable high-rise buildings.
Travellers from all over the world frequent Beijing every year. This is not without some alluring reasons. While there could be thousands of reasons to visit this city, this post will highlight the most vital reasons to have Beijing top your travel bucket list today.
Here’s why you should travel to this fascinating city.
Visit the Forbidden City
Beijing prides itself in being home to some of the most famous tourist attractions in the world and the Forbidden City happens to be one of them. Also referred to as the Imperial Palace Complex, the Forbidden City is among the biggest and best-preserved ancient sites in the world. The name ‘Forbidden City’ came up because the city was initially occupied by the court in 1420 and the area was barred from most of the subjects of the realm. Even the imperial family and government functionaries had limited access. The only one who had full-time access was the emperor alone.
The city is located in the center of Beijing and was built for 14 years from 1401 to 1420. It houses about 1,000 traditional Chinese rooms and large halls. In recognition of the vital role it played as the center of Chinese power for 5 centuries, the Forbidden City was designed as a UNESCO World Heritage site in 1987.
This is a good place to tour when you want to learn more about the traditional style of living for Chinese people as well as their history. Be warned though, you can’t tour all the interesting spots in one day. Allow yourself a few days if this is your main agenda.
Experience old Beijing
The world has evolved and modernity has taken over. These days it’s rare to come across historic places. But in Beijing things are different. Even though modernity has come in, not at expense of the history and cultural values of Beijing. Here, you can be sure to experience the remnants of the ancient world at their best. Visit the numerous authentic tea houses and temples to get a sight of old Beijing.
Beijing Hutongs
The desire to witness the old Beijing Hutongs is enough to see travel enthusiasts booking a vacation to Beijing. To those who don’t know, a hutong is an alley formed by traditional courtyard compounds lining on both sides. The hutongs in Beijing are believed to be more than 700 years old. With the likes of Forbidden City, the temple of heaven, and the summer palace representing superiority, the hutongs in Beijing are a good reflection of the common people’s culture.
The truth is, the original Beijing hutongs have disappeared in the history of Beijing and gotten replaced by the renovated and decorated modern hutongs attractive to tourists but the layout hasn’t changed. So, you’ll still enjoy viewing the layout and the now refurbished Beijing hutongs.
Since it may not be possible to tour all the hutongs in Beijing during your visit, make your tour more memorable by visiting the unique hutongs. For instance, visit Shichahai, to witness zigzagging hutongs cluttered around the three lakes namely the Back Sea, West Sea, and Front Sea. There is also the longest hutong of them all known as Dongxijiaomin Xiang. It is 4 miles long and it used to be the diplomatic area in 1860 after the second opium war. The shortest hutong; Yichidajie is 20 meters long. The oldest hutong is Sanmiaojie and can be dated back to 900 years ago. All these hutongs can make your visit to Beijing more memorable but don’t forget the most popular hutongs of them all. They include Nnluogu Xiang and Yandaixie Street. They are a hotspot for shopping and Chinese cuisines.
Indulge in Chinese delicacies
If you have always desired to sample Chinese food, a trip to Beijing will be one of your best. Of course, you can enjoy Chinese delicacies everywhere you go in china but Beijing has all kinds of Chinese dishes considering it is the capital city. Beijing is a melting pot of Chinese dishes from the most widely known dishes such as Guangdong, Shaanxi, and Sichuan to the street foods such as Jianbing and Shouzhuabing. So, come to Beijing prepared to take your taste buds on an adventurous trip as well.
Budget-friendly
Though not very cheap, you don’t have to be filthy rich to enjoy an unforgettable vacation in Beijing. Even the little you’ve managed to save can help you to actualize your dream to travel to Beijing. You just need to plan your itinerary accordingly and everything will turn out perfect.
The most impressive thing about Beijing is that you can find many free places for travellers to entertain themselves. Places such as the National Museum of China, the Silk Market, Wild Great Wall sections, and Tiananmen Square are free to enter and are indeed entertaining. Meaning, with only a budget for transport and accommodation, you can have a meaningful stay in Beijing.
Great Wall of China
You can’t travel to Beijing and fail to visit the Great Wall of China. Now a great tourist attraction site, this epic wall was built to protect China from invasions and attacks in the past. The wall stretches for about 6,000 kilometers from the east to the west of the Chinese mainland.
Visiting Beijing will give you the best opportunity to witness the Great Wall of China since the sections passing through Beijing are among the best-preserved sections. There are about 80 sections that can be found in Beijing but the most renowned sections are Juyongguan, Shuguang, Badaling, Jiankou, and Mutianyu.
As long as you are physically fit and know how to, you are free to climb the Great Wall. There are also stairs and cable cars to help you in the climbing but this adventure is not recommended to the elderly or sick people.
Mountaineering
Beijing is home to several notable mountains in the world. The city is actually surrounded by mountains on almost all of its sides. In fact, almost all the sections of the Great Wall passing through Beijing are built on the mountains. Thus, Beijing is an ideal destination for travellers interested in mountaineering. For leisure mountain climbing, consider the Fragrant Hills. If you want something more challenging and you are up to the task, try climbing Lingshan Mountain; the highest mountain in the area over 2000 meters above sea level.
Why tour Beijing
It is clear that this metropolis is worth your visit. You will not only get a rare opportunity to experience both old and new in one place but you’ll also enjoy site seeing of various historical sites as well as other interesting adventures.
Besides, Beijing has something for all types of travellers. If you are into culture and history, there is a lot lined up for you. If you are into modern and luxury, the city offers some of the world-class amenities from the accommodation, transport, entertainment to stunning nightlife. In other words, you will always find something to make your stay in Beijing special no matter the reason for your travel.
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