dan1984 Posted March 27, 2012 Report Share Posted March 27, 2012 There is so much to do in Beijing. Of course all the famous sights speak for themselves, and it is something you can do if you are interested: Tiananmen, Forbidden City, Temple of Heaven, Summer Palace, Fragrant Hills, etc. Beyond that though, I'd suggest starting a day by visiting the Lama Temple (haha, a 5 minute walk from my home). From there you could spend the day walking through the hutongs, stop in a "not famous" temple (I'd suggest GuoZiJian, not far from the Lama Temple), eat a bunch of food along the way, and then end the afternoon in HouHai. It is one of the bar areas in Beijing - right on a small lake. I detest the area at night, but, during the afternoon, it is not that crowded, more families than "partiers," and the drinks are usually buy 1 get 1 free If going to the Great Wall, I would HIGHLY and VEHEMENTLY suggest staying away from BaDaLing. It is where most people will go, but it is also the most crowded, most refurbished, and on many days it may be like walking around the subway station packed in body to body. Last year when I had a couple friends visit, we went to MuTianYu, and that was a pretty good time. If you want to stay the night, there are a number of hotel options, including one really nice place run by an enterprising expat. Last year I also went to the Juyongguan pass, which I would also recommend (it is technically the closest to Beijing). Right near Juyongguan is also the Ming Tombs, and you could make a day out of it by first hitting the Wall and then the Ming Tombs. If you have any other questions, please let me know. I've been living in Beijing for about 3 years now. Dan Hutongs. Thanks Dan. I couldn't think of that word to save myself. I really enjoyed walking through those during our short stay in Beijing. The big name sites were nice to see but I really enjoyed seeing those. Funny story, we had visited the Forbidden City and were on our way back to the hotel....found some fella who offered to take us back on his two seat, with him up front tri-cycle. Okay, we hop on and off he starts pedaling. Turns out he was hell bent on us touring some hutongs, of which I had no clue. He has had a few under his belt and is taking us through back streets, huffing and puffing up the hills (I offered to get out and push him a couple of times)...LOL Anyway, he stops in at some nice areas and we take some photos, while people are looking out their windows at us like who hte hell are you and he makes sure I try and read the Chinese writing on the walls which I guess give a little history of the particular area. We ramble in and out for an hour or so and I enjoyed the whole adventure, as well as our tipsy "tour guide". It was a real hoot UNTIL he pulled back on into the gal'dang Beijing traffic with us in that thing!!!!!! Lord Gawd HELP me BOB....we were utterly defenseless what with all those speeding busses and cars. I thought fast pedalin' Wong knew the back streets to our hotel....BUT NO!!!! It only took a few blocks and stop lights before he engages in a "pushing match" with a dang bus. Well sir, believe it or don't, I'm here to testify....THE BUS WON. Well, our fearless if not two sheets in the wind leader puts a scratch down the side of the huge white bus...we're sitting in gridlock at a stop light with a VERY angery bus driver and it's startin' to look like fistcuffs for these two local yokels....pointin' and ah jabbin' went those fingers, hollarin' one hundred miles an hour at each other....I'm sittin' in my seat trying my best not to roll out onto the street laughin' at the whole situation and then walks up Mr. Poll-eece Man. . He takes me by the hand and says...."You must go". Then he makes Fast Pedalin' Wong put his tri-cycle on steroids up on the sidewalk and with a serious look on his face out comes his book with doughnut crumbs flyin' everywhere.....Do they say "Bookum Danno" in Chinertucky??? Me n' lil' rabbit makes a quick exit, stage left and man, we're outta there laughin' and gigglin' like two teenage boys, one of which who just loudly farted in a crowded elevator just before they stepped off at their floor. Hutongs...Don't miss em when yore in cheerie ol' Beijing. tsap seui Life ain't nuttin' if'n it ain't funny Haha, great story! Those are the type of experiences in ones life that you don't forget! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tsap seui Posted March 27, 2012 Report Share Posted March 27, 2012 There is so much to do in Beijing. Of course all the famous sights speak for themselves, and it is something you can do if you are interested: Tiananmen, Forbidden City, Temple of Heaven, Summer Palace, Fragrant Hills, etc. Beyond that though, I'd suggest starting a day by visiting the Lama Temple (haha, a 5 minute walk from my home). From there you could spend the day walking through the hutongs, stop in a "not famous" temple (I'd suggest GuoZiJian, not far from the Lama Temple), eat a bunch of food along the way, and then end the afternoon in HouHai. It is one of the bar areas in Beijing - right on a small lake. I detest the area at night, but, during the afternoon, it is not that crowded, more families than "partiers," and the drinks are usually buy 1 get 1 free If going to the Great Wall, I would HIGHLY and VEHEMENTLY suggest staying away from BaDaLing. It is where most people will go, but it is also the most crowded, most refurbished, and on many days it may be like walking around the subway station packed in body to body. Last year when I had a couple friends visit, we went to MuTianYu, and that was a pretty good time. If you want to stay the night, there are a number of hotel options, including one really nice place run by an enterprising expat. Last year I also went to the Juyongguan pass, which I would also recommend (it is technically the closest to Beijing). Right near Juyongguan is also the Ming Tombs, and you could make a day out of it by first hitting the Wall and then the Ming Tombs. If you have any other questions, please let me know. I've been living in Beijing for about 3 years now. Dan Hutongs. Thanks Dan. I couldn't think of that word to save myself. I really enjoyed walking through those during our short stay in Beijing. The big name sites were nice to see but I really enjoyed seeing those. Funny story, we had visited the Forbidden City and were on our way back to the hotel....found some fella who offered to take us back on his two seat, with him up front tri-cycle. Okay, we hop on and off he starts pedaling. Turns out he was hell bent on us touring some hutongs, of which I had no clue. He has had a few under his belt and is taking us through back streets, huffing and puffing up the hills (I offered to get out and push him a couple of times)...LOL Anyway, he stops in at some nice areas and we take some photos, while people are looking out their windows at us like who hte hell are you and he makes sure I try and read the Chinese writing on the walls which I guess give a little history of the particular area. We ramble in and out for an hour or so and I enjoyed the whole adventure, as well as our tipsy "tour guide". It was a real hoot UNTIL he pulled back on into the gal'dang Beijing traffic with us in that thing!!!!!! Lord Gawd HELP me BOB....we were utterly defenseless what with all those speeding busses and cars. I thought fast pedalin' Wong knew the back streets to our hotel....BUT NO!!!! It only took a few blocks and stop lights before he engages in a "pushing match" with a dang bus. Well sir, believe it or don't, I'm here to testify....THE BUS WON. Well, our fearless if not two sheets in the wind leader puts a scratch down the side of the huge white bus...we're sitting in gridlock at a stop light with a VERY angery bus driver and it's startin' to look like fistcuffs for these two local yokels....pointin' and ah jabbin' went those fingers, hollarin' one hundred miles an hour at each other....I'm sittin' in my seat trying my best not to roll out onto the street laughin' at the whole situation and then walks up Mr. Poll-eece Man. . He takes me by the hand and says...."You must go". Then he makes Fast Pedalin' Wong put his tri-cycle on steroids up on the sidewalk and with a serious look on his face out comes his book with doughnut crumbs flyin' everywhere.....Do they say "Bookum Danno" in Chinertucky??? Me n' lil' rabbit makes a quick exit, stage left and man, we're outta there laughin' and gigglin' like two teenage boys, one of which who just loudly farted in a crowded elevator just before they stepped off at their floor. Hutongs...Don't miss em when yore in cheerie ol' Beijing. tsap seui Life ain't nuttin' if'n it ain't funny Haha, great story! Those are the type of experiences in ones life that you don't forget!How true Dan, how true. We still laugh about that ride. It was my second day in China and I hadn't even gotten used to the NASCAR pace of Beijing traffic....when that ol' boy pulled out into the huge traffic on a major road I thought we were done for...LOL ....squished by a speeding bus full of people. I think the drink gave ol' Fast Pedalin' Wong much more balls than brains. I like to get off the beaten path and those hutongs were pretty cool to see. Sounds like you have a nice life in Beijing. I learned a long time ago with trips to Australia and New Zealand that you see the most interesting sights in a country by living with locals and being shown what they like, through their eyes. Tourist trips are just that, quick in and outs of the highlites. The real essence of a country is always beneath the surface stuff. You would be the perfect person to visit and take a small tour of the city with. Once our son gets into a university here we may start living back in our home in China for a few months and then back in our home in America. Now that I've gotten to meet my wife's ex and we get along so well I hope to get him to take us on some more day trips out of the city up in the north east. He's really funny and is a taxi driver, knows all of the sights to see in Shenyang and Fushun and up in the mountains outside Fushun where some early ruler lived. He took us up to a huge resevoir outside Fushun and we rode on a nice in-board motor boat for quite a distance away from the small marina and dam. I love that kind of stuff, getting out into the small villages and traveling down "forks off the well traveled roads". Enjoy your time in Beijing, you're making some lifetime memories. tsap seui Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dan1984 Posted March 27, 2012 Report Share Posted March 27, 2012 (edited) Thanks Tsaper! Ahhh, I only wish certain family members back home shared the same viewpoint as you, but, what can you do. Life is treating me pretty well over here at the moment, and as you said, you can live exactly like you would be back home in the US or England or Australia or wherever if those are the people you associate yourself with here in China, and the type of establishments and events you go to - which of course, there is nothing wrong with! But for me, I'd say 95% of my friends are Chinese, and like you said, that has not only helped me become fluent in Chinese, but really gave me an experience that I will never be able to get away from, as these people are going to be a part of my life until the day I die. Whether it's eating at random stops in the hutongs, attending family functions/friends weddings/learning how to cook/etc., or knowing where to get the best food at the cheapest price, that's why it is called assimilation. I started a thread about this, but after getting back to Beijing yesterday, and having an absolute mound of work and other things I have to take care of (like the plumber making a mess of my apartment for 3 hours today trying to fix the shower head), I have not had time to write in that thread, but the previous week I was out in western China with a friends band on tour. I'll save everything for the other thread, but, Dunhuang was amazing, Lanzhou was a blast (2 friends were from Lanzhou, and they took the whole group of us in as "their guests" and didn't let us spend a penny, had 4 meals within 6 hours of getting on the ground, and before heading out one of our friends parents treated us to an amazing meal with all the local delicacies and drinks, and the early morning wake-up call after a late late previous night quickly turned into a relaxing 5 hour long mid-day meal with all the food and drinks accompanying the chatting of friends being made honorary children of the parents who had taken us in for the afternoon). A great great experience! And the type of thing I would never trade for anything. It's a shame not everyone can see things this way. Happy Tuesday back there Tsaper! Edited March 27, 2012 by dan1984 (see edit history) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tsap seui Posted March 27, 2012 Report Share Posted March 27, 2012 Thanks for the reply Dan. It's easy to see you are having the time of your life. Not many folks get out of their own countys much less live and work in another country, especially one as exciting as China. You're part of a rare breed when you look at most Americans. Your story about your latest adventures reminds me of how I got to live for 5 years and many trips down under and even some in the states. Getting to live for periods of time with locals in many cities. Tour buses couldn't get down some of the roads that friends took me down to see the sights in New Zealand and or the outback of Oz. Just like you in Beijing, many people go to Beijing for trips, but they never will have the true feel and flavor for the place and people, or even the country that you do living there. My ol' floppy Aussie hat is off to ya, man. Have the time of your life. I look forward to reading about this last trip and touring with a band in China. Having played in a touring nightclub band for some years after I came back from Nam I love to hear stories about how it is in China. Take care tsap seui Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dnoblett Posted March 28, 2012 Report Share Posted March 28, 2012 If going to the Great Wall, I would HIGHLY and VEHEMENTLY suggest staying away from BaDaLing. It is where most people will go, but it is also the most crowded, most refurbished, and on many days it may be like walking around the subway station packed in body to body. Last year when I had a couple friends visit, we went to MuTianYu, and that was a pretty good time. I thought MuTianYu looked even more refurbished, like it had recently been re-done by Home Depot. But it wasn't much of a hike to get to the undeveloped areas from there Cable cars and toboggans http://i1232.photobucket.com/albums/ff367/walserrjw/Great%20Wall/DSC02990a.jpg http://i1232.photobucket.com/albums/ff367/walserrjw/Great%20Wall/DSC01180a.jpg BadaLing vs MutianYu http://i1232.photobucket.com/albums/ff367/walserrjw/Great%20Wall/DSC01197a.jpg http://i1232.photobucket.com/albums/ff367/walserrjw/Great%20Wall/DSC03040a.jpg . . . and lots of hiking, if you're interested http://i1232.photobucket.com/albums/ff367/walserrjw/Great%20Wall/DSC03053a.jpg One interesting place that a lot of people overlook is the Military MuseumWhen I took a tour of China 6 years ago, that is the spot on the wall we visited. Kind of amusing the coaster ride up and then to get back down. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dnoblett Posted March 28, 2012 Report Share Posted March 28, 2012 About Domestic Flights... China Highlights a site I have used a few times has some good deals. http://www.chinahighlights.com/deals/chinaflight.htm Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Beachey Posted March 29, 2012 Report Share Posted March 29, 2012 About Domestic Flights... China Highlights a site I have used a few times has some good deals. http://www.chinahighlights.com/deals/chinaflight.htm In the two years I lived in China, I used CTrip almost exclusively http://english.ctrip.com/ Though you can get cheaper flights on the Chinese (language) Only Websites. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
danb Posted April 22, 2012 Author Report Share Posted April 22, 2012 Hello everyone, Thank you for all the replies. I just got Chinese visa back from Oasis visa service. All in all they did a very good job. I did send them a couple emails but never seem to get a reply from them. Perhaps the replies went to my junk mail box. I was interested in a 2 year visa but my Lao Po dioes not have a current passport and I didn't think just the red book would be enough. I wonder why a current passport is needed for her. After all I am going to China and she isn't leaving China at this time. Oh well!!! Our plans have changed a little. We are going to be staying in Beijing at the start of my trip instead of at the end of it. Most of domestic flights and the hotel in Beijing details have already been taken care off. We might be taking a trip to Taishan Mountain. And they also want to visit the Beijing area and view the peach blossoms. I am hoping that the timing will work out. According to the internet the trees are blossom now. I guess we will see. I would like to take a group of friends out one night and treat them to a bit of Americana in Beijing.. Any suggestions? A few years ago I did take a group of friends to the Outback Steak house to give them a sample of west. I didn't mind it but I don't think my friends were so impress. It was also fairly expensive. We all have been to KFC and Pizza Hut. So where can I take them? Where would they enjoy themselves? I wonder if there any Ihops in Beijing? Big Boy? Red Robins? Sonic? Too bad there isn;'t an Al's Place from the show Happy Day's. Thanks for any ideas that you can come up with. Danb Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
smokiessky Posted April 23, 2012 Report Share Posted April 23, 2012 We went to The Hard Rock Cafe In Beijing. My wife loved it. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
david_dawei Posted April 23, 2012 Report Share Posted April 23, 2012 (edited) FYI: Qunar.com often has better prices if one can use it. For Americana in BJ... go to the Expat area, Sanlitun (三里屯)... my wife still talks about the Italian restaurant and the Gnocchi she ate there. We took the subway there and then asked locals for some walking directions... they all looked at us with crossed-eyes.. although we were just blocks from it. With some advanced routing, you'll find it. Edited April 23, 2012 by david_dawei (see edit history) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
danb Posted May 7, 2012 Author Report Share Posted May 7, 2012 Hello Everyone, Thank everyone for all the advise and tidbits of info. They have helped me my with my trip. I am in Beijing now. My lao po join me so I am a happy man. We are staying at a Day 7 in in the Chao Yang area. It 255 RMB a night , I think. It is similar to a Motel 6. Nothing fancy but it wil do. Yesterday we went to an Ancient market yesterday. It was at PanJiuYuan. I think that is the name. It was very close to our hotel. It was a set in a Chinese style courtyard. On the weekend there a lot of extra vendors who show up. There was jade, nicknacks,clothing, paints, and Scroll like paintings that either had characters or paintings of Chinese scenry themes for sell. There were also some variety of paintings for sell for about 20 or 30 dollars. Some of them would be great for putting up in one's house. There also some supposingly old arifacts for sell. We bought some" Cats on the end of a string attached to a rock". Not sure what the real name is. It was a toy from the olde days. Pulling on string produces ducks and cat like noises. A simple toy. There was a lot of bargaining being done. It was an interesting day. We are planning to visit Shandong for a few days. We will see Mt Taishan and also Conficius home town. Well time to go. Just wanted to Thank everyone for their help. Danb PS we will probably go to the Hard Rock cafe or to the Sanlitun for dinner in the next few days Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dnoblett Posted May 7, 2012 Report Share Posted May 7, 2012 We went to The Hard Rock Cafe In Beijing. My wife loved it.Yep, the time I went to Beijing, my tour guide picked us up a day early, asked where would like to go to lunch, at first he sugested TGI Fridays, I told him I work across the street from one, and told him lets do The Hard Rock, and as anyone knows with the Hard Rock you buy pins or shirts to collect and show others which ones you have visited. My wife wears my black Hard Rock Beijing sweat shirt often. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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