While there has been a slot of slack about China, especially with the trade wars with the US, one thing about China is that it is an absolutely wonderful place for tourism. Folks in Asia has known about China tours for ages, but China as a place for vacation is not so well-known in Western countries versus Paris, Rome or London...at least, from talking to my colleagues from the US or Europe.
I guess that if there is one city in China that one must visit at least once in your lifetime, it has to be Beijing, the capital city of China - for the political significance but also for its history and culture.
Sample itinerary for those interested in visiting Beijing:
Feel free to swap the itinerary around as you wish, depending on the energy level. Or if you wish to add 1-2 days for shopping. Most sites close by 5pm so you can spend the rest of the evening looking for places to eat.
Day 1: flight to Beijing
Depending on where you are in the world, this may take up to an entire day. If you are still fresh after the flight, do take a walk around the Daxing International airport (PKX)...supposedly one of the biggest and best in the world.
Day 2: Tiananmen Square and Forbidden City
First stop will be Tiananmen Square said to be the largest in the world. If you can wake up in the morning, there is the flag raising ceremony and if you are interested, you can still see the embalmed body of Chairman Mao...(they should have done this for Elvis in Graceland). You will return here tomorrow, assuming you managed to get tickets for the National Museum of China.
The highlight is of course the Forbidden City, aka the Palace Museum which you can spend the entire going through various buildings. I would recommend getting a guide so that you will be able to understand the history and significant of the palace of the Chinese Emperors of various dynasties, other than the location of "The Last Emperor". The only problem is that closing time is quite early at 4:30pm or 5pm (depending on the dates), which is why you probably want to come here again another day. And that does not include souvenir-hunting. If you are interested in souvenirs, there is stuff here in the shops within the Forbidden City that you will not find anywhere else in the world.
If you still have the energy at 5pm, just head toward the Jingshan Park where you can climb the hill (very nice walk) and get a bird's eye view of the Forbidden City.
Day 3: National Museum of China + 2nd trip to the Forbidden City
If you are history buff and museum aficionado, the National Museum is the place to be. This is China's #1 historical, cultural and artistic institution and said to be the cultural living room of the entire nation. Since you are here, you might as well pay a visit. Oh yes, admission is free but you need to use Wechat to book a place - likely you will spend the entire day here but if you manage to complete this before the end of day (closest at 5pm), you can just walk back to the Palace Museum for day 2.
If you already have enough of the Forbidden City, one nearby must-see sight is the Temple of Heaven. If this place looks familiar, that is because there is a replica of this exact same building at Epcot's China Pavilion. Well, this here is the real thing and you can spend pretty much the entire afternoon here.
Day 4: Summer Palace
The Summer Palace, as the name suggests, is the summer retreat of the emperors and royal family during the days of summer. Needless to say, it is filled with greenery and a huge lake. The place is located quite a distance away, so you will need close to an hour on the road or via the subway. This is a whole day activity (including the time to get here).
If you complete the park earlier, you can just hop over to the ruins of the Old Summer Palace (Yuanmingyuan). As the name suggests, this was the summer site of the Emperors but was destroyed by the British and French troops during the Opium War in 1860. Allocate about 2-3 hours after the Summer Palace.
Day 5: Great Wall of China
If you are in Beijing, you have to visit at least one portion of the Great Wall - there are several locations and which ones to go really depends on what you wish to do. Most folks would visit Badaling - the pictures that you see on IG or Tiktok with more people than wall? That is Badaling...probably the most restored portion of the wall but also the most crowded...can be combined with the Ming tombs (see Day 6).
One step down will be Mutianyu, also well-restored but with smaller crowds. Both Badaling and Mutianyu can be completed in 1-2 hours.
If you wish for a more authentic and with nicer view and hiking opportunities, then go fo the Wild Great Wall - unrestored but really wonderful. My family and I chose Huanghuacheng which has a portion near the lakes and almost zero people (we saw just 1 other group of 3 people). Of course, it is further away and if often a full day or even 2D1N to hike. Other Great Wall locations include Juyong Pass, Jiankou, and Simatai (often combined with the Gubei Water Town)
Day 6: Ming tombs
Though not a must-see versus the previous places, the Ming tombs is a good place to spend a day. It consist of 13 tombs of the Emperors of the Ming Dynasty (1400s) of which 3 are open to the public. Do hire a guide so that you can better understand the history and appreciate the work that has gone inot building the tombs.
If you wish, it is possible to combine this with the visit to the Badaling Great Wall which is a good contrast if you have chosen Huanghuacheng or other unrestored walls.
Day 7: flight back home
Time to say goodbye to China...depending on where you come form, this may take a few hours to over 15 hours. Need a good rest before heading back to work.
Other noteworthy places, if you have time:
Zhoukoudian Site Museum
For those into archeology, Beijing is the place where they found the Peking man, one of the first instances of the homo erectus at this location. It is Unesco world heritage site and worth a visit if you have time.
National Stadium aka Bird's Nest
The site of the Beijing Olympics, this is worth a few hours of walk.
Of course, if going on your own is a problem (and if you are uncomfortable about not speaking the language), you can always engage a local travel agency for one part or even for the entire trip. There are two that I have used in Beijing: China Highlights and Wild Great Wall. China Highlights is a big travel agency that caters mostly for travelers outside of China, specifically for those who needs a guide - thy offer guides in several languages. As for Wild Great Wall, they organize full-day hikes around the Great Wall, especially the less visited one (usually more beautiful than the popular Badaling or Mutianyu).
As per my standard best practice, here is usual procedure to plan your self-organized trip:
- Duration - 1 week is typical so choose your dates wisely. Weather wise, the absolute best time to visit China is between Mar-May (Spring) and Sep-Oct (Fall) but please avoid the golden weeks of 1st week of May and 1st week of Oct - this is the period where you see more people than anything else. My recommendation is to time your travels 1-2 weeks before or after the May/Oct golden weeks. That way, the crowd is thinner and you get the best weather.
- Passport and Visa: do check before going if visa is required. Recently, China has opened up such that citizens from many countries can visit visa-free for 30 days or less. Do check before you fly.
- Flight: Most tourists enter via Beijing or Shanghai from major cities. If you are coming into Beijing, this should be pretty straightforward. Other major cities that that plenty of international flights include Xi'an, Chongqing and Chengdu.
- Insurance: travel insurance is a MUST. If you are not getting one during the time you book your flight, please ensure that you have bought one before the trip...it's not that expensive for 1 week and it is money well-spent if things go wrong.
- Internet: China restricts certain apps such as Google, Whatsapp, Facebook, etc. To continue using your normal app, you can get a China VPN router or if you are using an eSim, download a VPN (Express VPN is a good one) before reaching the country. Or you use Wechat like everyone else in China. Wechat is required for booking free tickets to the museums or to contact the hotel.
- Transportation: most cities are reachable via the high-speed rail network. It is as simple as going to Trip.com (or downloading the Trip.com app) and buying the tickets - available 2 weeks in advance. Oh yes, if you miss the train or wish to change the timing, this can be done at the station - no questions asked. Just show them the ticket and ask for a refund/exchange. Most major cities have a subway system so it's easy to hope from one site to the other. You can download DiDi, an app similar to Uber or Grab. Just connect this to your credit card and it is ready for use pretty much anywhere in China.
- Hotel: my go-to site is Booking.com but you can pretty much use any hotel booking platform. China hotels are numerous and you can easily find one that suit your budget from $30-50 per night (yes, really) to international hotel chains such as Crowne Plaza, Holiday Inn, Hilton, Hyatt or resorts such as Banyan Tree.
- Payment: cash and credit card is acceptable but if you are here, you will find that most folks will pay either via Wechat or Alipay on the phone. You can either download the app and connect it to your bank app. Another way is to use a 3rd party app (if unsuccessful with the card link). For Singaporeans, we can use Alipay via Changi Rewards app (1% surcharge). Another app is Touch n Go...not sure about the charges though.
Happy travels!!