During our visit to Beijing, China we decided to rent out an apartment. The apartment was close to the subway, which made things easier to get to where we wanted to go. The reason we decided to visit Beijing was because one of my brother's was living there to learn the language. He was like our own personal tour guide through the city :)
On our first day in the city my brother took us to the Panijayuan Antique Market and The Silk Market. He advised us if we wanted to buy something to be prepared for sellers to grab you by the arm. Despite the aggression that we felt in the situation that was how they negotiated when it come to bartering the price of their goods. If you didn't like the price that they were wanting then all you had to do was walk away to another buyer and the next thing you know they are running after you giving you the price that you wanted in the first place.
The next day, we went to the Lama and Confucius Temple, which are not far from each other. My favorite was the Confucius a small and quaint tribute but a powerful one all the same. Later, we went to the Forbidden City and the Jingshan Park. I recommend doing the City tour from the south to the north because the north exit comes out to the Jingshan Park and the top of the park will give you a great view of the city.
The next morning we went to The Great Wall and the Ming Tombs, which took the whole day to see, but was totally worth it. I recommend when sightseeing The Great Wall to do the Mutianyu part of the wall as it’s less crowded than the other parts of the wall and you can take go carts down if you don’t want to walk.
The following afternoon we went to the Summer Palace and the Temple of Heaven. The Summer Palace has been divided into six areas and has some amazing gardens and lake views. Next, was the Olympic stadium. My family and I got some amazing pictures of us acting like we were athletes in front of the Cube and Eagle’s nest.
One night during our trip we decided to go out for some Peking Duck, which is a dish I highly recommend having while you visit. There are many resturants that serve the dish but anywhere you you have to wait at least an hour. My advice is to book a private room ahead of time for the experience. On our last day visiting Beijing we went to the Beijing Zoo to say hello to Pandas and Siberian Tigers. I had never seen a Panda in real life before visting the zoo so that was a great experience for me despite the fact they were in cages.
Beijing has such a rich history and the people were so nice there. There were times where people would come up to us to get our pictures with them. I suppose being a family of six and then having a sister with red hair and twin brothers brought the attention. Also, don’t hesitate to ask for directions as long as you have the addressee written in Mandarin they are willing to help and want you to have a good experience!
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