Category: Beijing Attractions

Longqing Gorge combines the charm of the southern landscape with the majesty of the northern landscape in China. The canyons are tortuous, the river is green, the cliffs on both sides are steep, and the caves, stalagmites and stone pillars are densely covered. It is known as the “Little Li River” of Beijing. In spring and summer, people come here to play and go out; in winter, there is a sea of ice lanterns.

There is a reinforced concrete dam at the mouth of the Longqing Gorge. Inside the dam is a giant reservoir. When the water is full, it will flow out from the side hole spillway and flow straight down to form a spectacular waterfall.

You can take a scenic cruise, walk through the canyon, and feel the wonders of nature. For the Longqing Gorge in midsummer, the air is fresh and cool, and the average temperature is about 6 degrees lower than that of downtown Beijing, making it a great place for summer vacation.

Longqing Gorge has a cold winter climate and a long icing period. Taking advantage of this unique natural condition, the Longqing Gorge Scenic Area holds the ice lantern art festival every winter. Since 1987, the Longqing Gorge Ice Lantern Art Exhibition has become a traditional project of Beijing winter tourism. The Ice Lantern Exhibition is located under the Longqing Gorge Dam between the two mountains. The huge ice waterfall naturally hanging down from the dam is the beautiful background of the Ice Lantern Exhibition. During the Ice Lantern Exhibition, the valleys are dazzling with lights, and the various ice sculptures and snow sculptures are shining and spectacular.

Longqing Gorge not only has beautiful natural scenery, but also has matching amusement facilities. You can take the elevator directly to the cruise ship dock near Baihua Cave. There is also a thrilling wing slide in the scenic area, which can slide from the mouth of Baihua Cave to Cuidao in the center of the lake at high speed. In the vicinity of Baihua Cave, you can take the ropeway directly to the Shenxianyuan in the middle of the mountain. In addition, there are rock climbing grounds, ice climbing bases, bungee jumping, and other thrilling projects in the scenic area. Extreme sports enthusiasts can also find your own happiness here.

Beijing Olympic Park is located in Chaoyang District, Beijing, at the northern end of the central axis of Beijing City, north to the south bank of Qinghe River, south to Beitucheng Road, east to Anli Road and Beichen East Road, west to Lincui Road and Beichen West Road. With an area of ​​11.59 square kilometers, it embodies the three major concepts of “Science, Technology, Green and Humanities”. It is a new urban area that combines office, commerce, hotel, culture, sports, conference, and residence.

During the 2008 Olympic Games, there were 10 Olympic competition venues including Bird’s Nest, Water Cube, National Stadium, National Convention Center Fencing Stadium, Olympic Sports Center Stadium, Olympic Sports Center Hall, Yingdong Swimming Hall, Olympic Park Archery Field, Olympic Park Tennis Court, Olympic Park Hockey Field. In addition, there are 7 non-competition venues including the Olympic Main Press Center (MPC), International Broadcasting Center (IBC), Olympic Reception Center, Olympic Village (Paralympic Village), etc. It is a comprehensive public activity center including various functions such as sports events, exhibition centers, science and education culture, leisure shopping.

Beijing Olympic Park has two benefits, attracting many people to come here countless times. The first is that there are plastic tracks in the North Park and South Park. The running feel is very good and the knees will not easily hurt. The second is that the park is very large, even if there are many people, you can find a few quiet places.

The Beijing Olympic Park was built specifically for the Beijing Olympic Games. It is the largest urban park in Beijing. It is currently a natural landscape tourist area for citizens and tourists to relax and explore. Take Metro Line 8 to Forest Park South Gate Station and Lin Cuiqiao Station and get off and walk.

Tiananmen Tower is located at the northern end of Tiananmen Square. It is a symbol of Beijing and China. It is also a must-see for every visitor to Beijing.

On Tiananmen Square, you can see the standing Tiananmen Tower from afar. Ascending the tower, overlooking the entire Tiananmen Square, and the prosperous Changan Street, you will feel that the view is very good. Taking pictures as a souvenir here will make you have a very wonderful sense of crossing time. The interior of the tower is antique, you can visit the meeting room of that year, and there are graphic exhibitions.

Due to the large number of tourists coming here, traffic is often restricted on the Tiananmen Tower. Visitors can complete the visit by going upstairs from one side and downstairs from the other side. After the tour of Tiananmen Tower, Tiananmen Square also has other attractions such as Monument to the People ’s Heroes, the Great Hall of the People, the National Museum of China etc., all of which are well worth seeing and can be visited together. Cross the Tiananmen Tower and continue north along the central axis, you can also purchase tickets to visit the Forbidden City.

It is also worth mentioning that the night view of the Tiananmen Tower is also very beautiful. When the sightseeing lights are lit, the Tiananmen Tower intersects with other buildings on Tiananmen Square, to be very magnificent.

Special Notes:

1. The security check at Tiananmen Tower is very strict. You need to dress appropriately. You need to present your ID card when buying tickets. Taking photos inside the tower is prohibited. Carry-on luggage must be stored. And the charge to store the luggage is around 2-8 yuan according to the size of your luggage. So, just bring less luggage.

2. During the holidays, Tiananmen East and West stations may be under traffic control. You need to get off at one station in advance or later and walk into Tiananmen to visit.

3. To avoid queues, it is best to avoid holidays and choose to go to Tiananmen Tower off-season.

The appearance of the Birds Nest is already unique enough. Generally, tourists do not go inside to visit, as it is also very good to take pictures outside. There are many landscape lights for lighting around the square in the Birds Nest, which are made into the shape of a bird’s nest. The landscape lights of the Little Birds Nest consist of the foreground, and the Big Birds Nest National Stadium is regarded as the background, then you will find it very interesting to take photos.

At night, the Birds Nest lights up with red lights, and the lights next to the water cubes are blue (which will change the color). The night scenes are beautiful, but don’t go to the Birds Nest too late, otherwise the lights will be turned off. There is an artificial river to the east of the Birds Nest. Finding your favorite location by the artificial river, shooting the lighted Birds Nest and the reflection on the water surface, it is the “standard photo” of the Birds Nest.

In addition to holding sports events, the Birds Nest also hosted concerts and other cultural activities. Some famous singers have held concerts in the Birds Nest.

There are Olympic-related and nest-related souvenirs for sale in the Birds Nest. The square between the Birds Nest and the Water Cube sells long strings of kites (many kites are connected in a series). It is very chic and you can fly kites. In addition, the water and food in the scenic area are more expensive.

Special Note

1. After you climb to the top of the Birds Nest, the Towers around the Birds Nest, the Olympic Park landscape avenue can be seen clearly and you can overlook the Beijing city.

2. The red light at night is in harmony with the blue water cube (National Aquatics Center), which is very suitable for taking photos of the night scenes.

The climbing road of the Simatai Great Wall is relatively steep. It takes a certain amount of physical strength to go up the mountain road from the foot of the mountain to the enemy building. At the foot of the Simatai Great Wall, there are ropeways that can directly take you to reach the “East 8th Floor” and “East 5th Floor”. Tourists with limited physical strength can choose to ride the ropeways. The ropeway costs 90 yuan for one way and 160 yuan for round trip. If you go from the trail on foot, it takes about 45 minutes to go up. When the weather is hot, it is not recommended to climb the Great Wall on foot, as your body cannot stand the hot weather and you will feel it very tired. On the Simatai Great Wall, you will find that it pays a lot of attention to the night scene, so there are oil lamps and lighting equipment, making it a very beautiful angle! Looking at the Gubei Water Town under the mountain, you will feel it very beautiful. Although there is no light during the day, the angle is very good. This section of the Great Wall is very dangerous, but you will feel it very good to climb up the mountain. It is highly recommended everyone to feel it. The Simatai Great Wall is preserved well. It’s very great to take pictures! You can feel the ancient war environment here, and the horse road here is still very well preserved, which looks especially cool!

If you want to view the Great Wall, just go to Beijing, and if you want to view the Beijing Great Wall, just go to visit the Simatai Great Wall. It is said to be the best of the Great Wall, and the scenery is very beautiful and you can overlook the water town. If you want to view the panorama scenery, it is recommended to go up the Great Wall during the day. If you like the night scene, you can only stay at 5 to 6 beacons.

The Jinshanling Great Wall is not very far from Beijing. Starting from Beijing, it takes less than two hours along the Jingcheng Expressway to go to the Jinshanling Great Wall Scenic Spot in Chengde. Ticket of the Jinshanling Great is 65 yuan/person, and the ropeway ticket is bought in the main entrance of the scenic spot. The ropeway is located in the middle section of the Jinshanling Great Wall. It can only go through halfway. If there is no problem with your physical strength, don’t take the cableway. The road to the mountain is not long. After going up the mountain, you can enter the Great Wall from the General Building and go east to the East Gate of the East Five-Eye Building. The whole journey takes four hours. After more than twenty floors, you will feel the second half of the road more challenging and the damage more serious. Jinshanling Great Wall is covered with green trees and grass, and the Great Wall is full of windings on the ridge. The view is very good and the scenery is spectacular and beautiful. Perhaps it is because it’s a little far from Beijing, there are very few tourists, and it is very funny to play the Jinshanling Great Wall.

Jinshanling Great Wall is very captivating. In the eyes of photographers, its beauty far exceeds Badaling Great Wall, and there are not many tourists here. The beautiful Jinshanling Great Wall reflects the afterglow of the setting sun, and the scenery is absolutely touching. The most elite part of Jinshanling Great Wall is the section from the West Five-Eyes Building to the East Five-Eyes Building. There will be many enemy buildings along the way with all kinds of forms.  Some are well preserved, elaborately constructed, but some are dilapidated, and the walls are broken. But they are all imprints of history. And you should prepare at least one day in the Jinshanling Great Wall. It is recommended to go there in the fall season.

The Mutianyu Great Wall is located in the Huairou District of Beijing. The Mutianyu Great Wall is connected to the Juyongguan of Beijing Changping in the west and the Gubeikou of Beijing Miyun in the east. It is always a battleground for the military because of the danger of the terrain, enjoying the reputation of “the unique beautiful Great Wall among all the Great Walls”. In general, there are fewer tourists than the Badaling Great Wall, so your mood will be much better when touring here, but the scenery is inferior to the Jinshanling Great Wall. If you want to take a good photo, you still have to go to Jinshanling, but the distance will be far away. If your time is tight, it is not bad to go to Mutianyu to have a visit.

There are 2 suggestions for the Mutianyu Great Wall route: 1) Take the cable car to the No. 6 beacon station, then go all the way to the left. You can go to the No. 21 beacon tower and return to the original road. This route needs enough time and enough strength; 2) Take the cable car to the 14th beacon tower, then go up the No. 21 beacon tower, then return to the original road, to the No. 6 beacon tower, and if you have good health, you can go to the No. 1 beacon tower, and finally go down the mountain from the No. 6 beacon tower. If time is sufficient, you can follow the second route.

Mutianyu Great Wall has been well renovated and is suitable for carrying the old and the young to experience the Great Wall. You can choose the return route according to your physical condition. If you take your tour to Mutianyu during winter, you will feel it bleaker, and there are not many tourists, and most of them are foreign tourists. You can walk on the Mutianyu Great Wall slowly. It is really worthy your visit when you are travelling in Beijing.

The simple alley has not been transformed and is the most authentic face. There are a lot of famous Hutongs in Beijing, such as Maoer Hutong, Bean Hutong, South Downs Hutong, and so on. While shopping, you can also just pass through the alley and go to Shichahai. There is a bright red five-star red flag in the hutong. This is the atmosphere of the festival. This is the feeling of the country and the family. There are many stalls in the hutong that sell candied haws. Come to Beijing, and the candied haws should also be tasted.

If you must feel the Hutong tour, don’t choose an electric car, as before you get on the car, you are told to have one-and-a-half-hour tour time. After a while, the car will take you to a small courtyard and visit at your own expense! And the explanation is also very boring, just is according to the text, the sound is still very small! Be sure to choose the rickshaw driver with qualification certificate!

Sitting on a tricycle, walking down the street, there is really special flavor. As a native of old Beijing, the driver has the pride of the Son of Heaven, and he will tell you the history and culture of Hutong from the past to present. It is true that people living under the imperial city are really good at talking. The hutong tour in the tricycle vision, the old house, the introduction of the Beijing dialect with Beijing accent, all make your trip there enjoyable. In addition to the scenery there, there is more mood.

It seems that every hutong is similar when you are experiencing the Beijing hutong, but in fact it is very different, it is very interesting to stroll. Hutong Tour has a self-funded project, that is sitting in a rickshaw by costing 120 Yuan per person. You can just walk by yourself, go to the depths of the hutong to feel the taste of old Beijing, it is really very special. Going to Beijing, I don’t rent a rickshaw to swim in a hutong, I don’t know how to taste Beijing.

Tiananmen Square will be cleared every night. There will be armed police patrolling around the square. There are a lot of people gathering at Tiananmen Square at two or three o’clock in the morning to wait to see the national flag rising. After the security check, the team waiting outside the west gate of the National Museum or outside the east gate of the Great Hall of the People has been lined up. When you watch the flag rising, don’t wander around at this time, and go to the queue will be your choice.

As time passed by, the sky becomes white, and you will obviously feel that more and more people lining up behind you, and gradually could not see the end.

Until about 5:00 o’clock, the first few dozen minutes of the flag-raising is released into the square. At this time, the police maintain the order of the road and stop the vehicle. It is at this time, if you want to watch the national flag rising, please be sure to remember, once it allows entering, just try your best to run to the square at a speed of 100 meters. Be sure to be fast, and only in this way can you grab the first row of viewing positions.

If you are slow, then you can just see the crowds around you, because the people who go to see the national flag rising every day are really a lot, you can’t see the heroic flag, you may not hear the uniform stepping sound too.

If you firmly seize the viewing position of the first row, and you clearly watch the whole process of raising the flag. The stepping sound from the Jinshui Bridge to the flagpole, is very powerful and vigorous. And after watching the flag rising, you will be full of pride and feel excited.

The Temple of Heaven is a special altar for the Emperor of the Ming and Qing Dynasties to worship the heavens, ask for rain and pray for the harvest. The north of the altar is round and the south is square, meaning ” round heaven and square earth.” It is divided into two parts: the inner altar and the outer altar. The northern part of the inner altar is the “altar praying for grain”. It is the place where the emperor held the grain praying Grand Ceremony in the spring, mainly including the Hall of Prayer for Good Harvests and the Emperor Hall. In the south, it is Circular Mound Altar, and it is the place where the emperor worships the heavens on the winter solstice. It mainly includes the Circular Mound Altar, the Imperial Heavenly Vault and god kitchen and the temple and the animal sacrificial pavilion.

When you have a visit in the Temple of Heaven, in addition to visit the delicate buildings of the various halls, the whispering walls, the three-tone stone and other wonderful design also sighs the wisdom of the ancients. The tour is usually starting from the south gate and get out there from the north gate (or the east gate), and then visit the Circular Mound Altar, Imperial Heavenly Vault, Danbi Bridge, the Hall of Prayer and the Emperor’s Palace.

Official number of the Temple of Heaven: 010-67028866; 010-67013036; 010-67012402

Visiting time reference: More than 3 hours

How to go to the Temple of Heaven:

Bus:

South Gate of the Temple of Heaven: take the No. 36, 120, 122 bus.

West Gate of the Temple of Heaven: take the 2, 20, 120 bus.

North Gate of the Temple of Heaven: take the 6, 34, 35, 36, 106, 111 bus.

East Gate of the Temple of Heaven: take the 6, 25, 34, 35, 36, 39, 41, 43, 60, 610, 684, 685, 723, 814 bus.

Subway: Take subway Line 5 to Tiantan Dongmen Station.

Tickets:

Tickets: Adult ticket 15 RMB / discount ticket 7.5 RMB; (During Monday – Sunday from April 1 – October 31)

Tickets: Adult ticket 10 RMB / discount ticket 5 RMB; (During Monday – Sunday from November 1 – March 31 of the following year)

Opening hours

06:00-22:00; stop ticketing time: 20:00 (During Monday – Sunday from April 1st – October 31st)

06:30-22:00; stop ticketing time: 20:00 (During Monday – Sunday from November 1st – March 31st of the following year)