Beijing (Beijing)

Member Name: cezzybunny

Product:	Beijing
Date:	22/09/09 (17 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Great city, cheap, good food, interesting, surprising

Disadvantages: None

I recently returned from a trip to Beijing, which was the destination of our month long trip by train from Latvia. I loved every minute of my time there, it is a truly amazing city. There is so much to see and do, highly recommended are Tiananmen Square, Beihai Park on a Sunday, the Hutongs and the Temple of Heaven. However, my favourite part about Beijing was just wandering around, getting lost in back streets, watching what people were doing, and eating lots and lots of good Chinese food.

The Hutongs were awesome, however my favourite time to go for a wander was at around 7pm, which is when people are going out, eating at home, or even welding. A favourite hobby of mine was going to a restaurant without an english menu or even pictures, and just pointing at a few dishes then seeing what comes to the table! Most main meals were around £1 a dish, meaning that between a couple of people you could have a few dishes and no worry about spending too much or picking not enough dishes. Beer is very cheap at around 30p for a large 600ml bottle.

It was very easy to get around in Beijing, the subway was cheap, fast, clean and modern. It cost 25p for a single ticket to anywhere in the city, a right bargain!

Beijing is the capital of China, and has a population of around 13 million people. It takes abut 10 hours to get there from London and return tickets start from about £400.

My advice for anyone going to Beijing would be - take a good guidebook (the Lonely Planet Encounters guide to Beijing was ideal), comfy shoes and a good camera - Chinese tourists love having their photos taken with westerners, at least this was what we found! And most importantly, don't be afraid to wander off the beaten track, some of my favourite memories involved getting hideously lost...

Summary: See review