Insight Guides City Guide Beijing (Travel Guide eBook)

By Insight Guides

Insight Guides City Guide Beijing

Travel made easy. Ask local experts. 
Explore one of the most exciting cities in the world with this inspirational travel guide.

From deciding when to go, to choosing what to see when you arrive, this guide to Beijing is all you need to plan your trip and experience the best this city has to offer, with insider information on must-see, top attractions like the Imperial Palace, the Great Wall and the 798 Art District, and cultural gems like the picturesque Black Lakes area, the unforgettable Tiananmen Square and the beautiful environs of the New Summer Palace.

Features of this travel guide to Beijing:
- Inspirational colour photography: discover the best destinations, sights and excursions, and be inspired by stunning imagery
- Historical and cultural insights: immerse yourself in Beijing's rich history and culture, and learn all about its people, art and traditions
- Practical full-colour maps: with every major sight and listing highlighted, the full-colour maps make on-the-ground navigation easy
- Editor's Choice: uncover the best of Beijing with our pick of the city's top destinations
- Key tips and essential information: packed full of important travel information, from transport and tipping to etiquette and hours of operation
- Covers: Tiananmen Square and Surroundings; The Forbidden City; Southern Beijing; The Lake District and the North; Eastern Beijing; Western Beijing; The Summer Palaces; Western Fringes; The Great Wall; Further Afield

Looking for a comprehensive guide to China? Check out Insight Guides China for a detailed and entertaining look at all the country has to offer.

About Insight Guides: Insight Guides is a pioneer of full-colour guide books, with almost 50 years' experience of publishing high-quality, visual travel guides with user-friendly, modern design. We produce around 400 full-colour print guide books and maps, as well as phrase books, picture-packed eBooks and apps to meet different travellers' needs. Insight Guides' unique combination of beautiful travel photography and focus on history and culture create a unique visual reference and planning tool to inspire your next adventure.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Insight Guides
• Release date: Jan 1, 2020
• ISBN: 9781839052170

Insight Guides

Pictorial travel guide to Arizona & the Grand Canyon with a free eBook provides all you need for every step of your journey. With in-depth features on culture and history, stunning colour photography and handy maps, it’s perfect for inspiration and finding out when to go to Arizona & the Grand Canyon and what to see in Arizona & the Grand Canyon. 

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Atlas

Beijing’s Top 10 Attractions

From the Forbidden City to the Great Wall, Tiananmen Square and the Temple of Heaven, Beijing has no lack of magnificent sights. Here are 10 of the best.

Top Attraction 1

Imperial Palace Museum (Forbidden City). One of the few remaining parts of the ancient capital and centre of the city. For more information, click here.

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Top Attraction 2

The Back Lakes area. For all the neon-lit bar action, the few remaining hutong and locals’ outdoor activity makes the area around Houhai perhaps the most picturesque part of the city, particularly on summer ­evenings. For more information, click here.

Ming Tang-Evans/Apa Publications

Top Attraction 3

Great Wall. Though Badaling is most popular with domestic tourists, the crowds make it less appealing to foreign visitors. Mutianyu is better. For more information, click here.

Lee Hin Mun/Apa Publications

Top Attraction 4

Tiananmen Square. This gigantic open space at the heart of the city is simply like nowhere else on earth. For more information, click here.

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Top Attraction 5

National Stadium (Bird’s Nest Stadium). Built for the 2008 Olympics, the latticework structure is an iconic design, and a superb – albeit costly – legacy of the sporting spectacular. For more information, click here.

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Top Attraction 6

New Summer Palace. Conceived on a grand scale, this is one of the most beautiful gardens in the world. For more information, click here.

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Top Attraction 7

798 Art District. The creative centre of the capital, albeit with creeping commercialism. For more information, click here.

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Top Attraction 8

Beihai Park. Part of 2,000 years of landscape design in Beijing, Beihai is a wonderfully relaxing place to unwind. For more information, click here.

Ming Tang-Evans/Apa Publications

Top Attraction 9

Lama Temple. Spin a prayer wheel at this venerable Tibetan place of worship. For more information, click here.

Ming Tang-Evans/Apa Publications

Top Attraction 10

Temple of Heaven. Dramatic ancient buildings set amid what is arguably the nicest park in the city. For more information, click here.

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Editor’s Choice

Setting priorities, saving money, unique attractions… here, at a glance, are our recommendations, plus some tips and tricks even the locals won’t always know.

Tiananmen Gate, an iconic sight.

Lee Hin Mun/Apa Publications

Ancient Buildings

Tiananmen Gate. The iconic landmark from which Mao proclaimed the founding of the PRC, and which still features his portrait. For more information, click here.

White Dagoba. This large white Buddhist stupa in the midst of verdant Beihai Park has long been a city landmark. For more information, click here.

Hall of Prayer for Good Harvests. The iconic circular building at the centre of the Temple of Heaven complex. For more information, click here.

Hall of Mental Cultivation (Forbidden City). The living quarters of Emperor Qianlong, the Empress Dowager and Pu Yi. For more information, click here.

Marco Polo Bridge (western fringes). This magnificent old bridge survived being the site of the first battle in the build-up to World War II. For more information, click here.

Tomb of Yongle (Ming Tombs). The best Ming tomb. Yongle was largely responsible for building the ancient capital. For more information, click here.

Little Potala Temple, Chengde. An extraordinary copy of Lhasa’s Potala Palace in the Qing emperors’ relaxing summer resort. For more information, click here.

The unique East is Red dining experience.

The East is Red

Only in Beijing

Natural History Museum. Attractions include preserved human cadavers. For more information, click here.

Beijing City Planning Museum. A huge scale model of the city. For more information, click here.

Ancient Observatory. A unique sight: astronomical equipment dating back to the 13th century. For more information, click here.

The East is Red. Beijing does retro-kitsch like nowhere else – and nowhere more vibrantly than at this unusual restaurant. For more information, click here.

798 Art District. Beijing’s unique art district in the northeast of the city features numerous venues in converted factories. For more information, click here.

The essence of the old city at the Bird and Fish Market.

Imaginechina

A Flavour of Old Beijing

Hutong. Wandering around the streets that thread their way through the fast-disappearing old neighbourhoods is the best way to connect with the city’s past. Prime areas are around the back lakes. For more information, click here.

Laoshe Teahouse. The city’s most famous traditional teahouse hosts daily performances of Beijing Opera. For more information, click here.

Huguang Guildhall. Another old-style venue in which to witness Beijing Opera. For more information, click here.

Bird and Fish Market. Caged songbirds, crickets and Koi carp for sale. For more information, click here.

CCTV (China Central Television) headquarters.

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Modern Beijing

National Centre for the Performing Arts. Known locally as the Egg, this was the city’s first avant-garde modern building. For more information, click here.

CCTV headquarters. This spectacular modern structure lies close to the Third Ring Road. For more information, click here.

Sanlitun Village. This bar and restaurant district is probably the best place in the city to get a feel for the new generation of youthful, moneyed, aspirational Beijingers. For more information, click here.

The Great Wall at Jinshanling.

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The Great Outdoors

Mutianyu Great Wall. The best views of the unreconstructed Great Wall. For more information, click here.

New Summer Palace. The most beautiful imperial garden in China. For more information, click here.

Fragrant Hills Park. A riot of red leaves in the autumn. For more information, click here.

Imperial Flower Garden. Relief from the oppressive surroundings of the Forbidden City. For more information, click here.

Ditan Park. The wooded area in its eastern section is ideal for a summer picnic. For more information, click here.

Old Summer Palace. Pleasant lake-studded parkland northwest of the city. For more information, click here.

Jingshan Park. Amazing views of the Forbidden City from this artificial hill to its immediate north. For more information, click here.

Cave of Precious Pearls. Great views of Beijing from the Western Hills – if you’re lucky and it’s a clear day. For more information, click here.

Crowds in Tiananmen Square after the flag-lowering ceremony.

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In the Forbidden City.

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Visiting the Temple of Heaven.

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Introduction: China’s Ancient Capital

Laid out according to ancient geomantic principles, modern Beijing is a dynamic and increasingly sophisticated city.

Tucking in at Qianmen Quanjude Roast Duck Restaurant, one of the oldest roast duck eateries in the city.

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Beijing is a city of opposites and extremes – it captivates and confuses, excites and exasperates, all in equal measure. As the capital of the People’s Republic, it is both the seat of the world’s largest communist bureaucracy and the source of the policy changes that have turned China into an economic powerhouse. Its walled compounds and towering ministries are full of bureaucrats who technically legislate in the name of Marx and Mao, while the streets outside are a riot of speeding cars, flashing neon and cellphone-wielding citizens whose aspirations and lifestyles are increasingly akin to those of London or New York. Beijing may lack the futuristic glow of Shanghai – it remains altogether a grittier place than its southern rival – but nonetheless the changes in the past few years are remarkable.

Tiananmen Gate.

Ming Tang-Evans/Apa Publications

Repression and freedom exist side by side in this vast city. Open political dissent is not tolerated. But politics is a favourite subject of Beijingers, who like nothing better than a witty joke at the expense of their leaders or the Communist system. Barely veiled political critiques abound on the capital’s stages and in its growing number of art galleries.

The Olympic Games in 2008 prompted a rapid and exhaustive makeover. Ancient buildings were ruthlessly torn down before plans for their replacements had even been drawn up, new subway lines snaked and bifurcated into the city’s furthest suburbs, and the skyline became a playground for the whim of foreign architects. But for the thousands of migrants from home and abroad who pour into the capital each week, and the emerging urban middle class struggling to carve out a life and identity, this is only the beginning. The dusty old city of bicycles, Mao suits and political slogans seems a distant memory. The new Beijing has well and truly arrived.

Beijing Opera.

Lee Hin Mun/Apa Publications

The Beijingers

Beijingers, with their distinctive burr, love to talk. And the economic and social changes of recent years have certainly given them plenty to talk about.

Stereotyping Chinese from other parts of the country is a favourite pastime in China. As residents of the nation’s capital, Beijingers are a favourite target and, indeed, are not above playing the game themselves. It is perhaps unsurprising that the traits Beijing residents like to ascribe to themselves are somewhat different from those that non-Beijingers tend to ascribe to them.

Indeed, if you ask a Beijing resident to describe his fellow citizens, he is likely to tell you that they are generous, affable, loyal, hard-working and patriotic people, who love to talk, especially about politics. But if you ask someone from outside Beijing, he is more likely to describe a typical Beijinger as someone who is arrogant, eager to get rich but unwilling to do hard or menial work, and full of talk but short on action. If the person you ask happens to be Shanghainese, he is likely simply to sniff and say that Beijingers are tu, which roughly translates as country bumpkins. But then the Shanghainese think everyone is "tu".

Rhythmic exercise in Summer Palace Park.

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Boom town

Stereotypes aside, the reality is that it gets harder to define a typical Beijinger with each passing year, as the economy booms and the city evolves at breakneck speed. Like most big capital cities, Beijing attracts leading entrepreneurs, actors, singers, models, bureaucrats, politicians, generals, scientists and sports stars. It also attracts poor rural residents from around the nation, who come to the capital to take on the menial tasks that many Beijing residents no longer care to do. These days there are so many poor migrants working as construction workers, household servants, nannies, waitresses, janitors and refuse collectors, that public and private life in Beijing would virtually cease to function if they all went home. About 50 percent of the 20-plus million living in Beijing, either those now carrying the coveted hukou residence permit, or temporary residents, were not born in the capital. These one-time waidiren, literally outside place people, often strive to assimilate by dropping their native accents and adopting local manners. And although red propaganda banners can be seen exhorting the populace to build a new capital, most people simply dream of building a decent life for themselves with a home, car and family.

Long gone are the days Beijing was considered a hardship post by expats, and an increasing number of foreigners choose to set up home in the city by purchasing a house and raising children who often attend local schools, thus soaking up the Chinese language and culture, although there are more than half a dozen international schools as well.

Too many people, too few surnames

When Genghis Khan was asked how he would conquer northern China, it is said that he replied, I will kill everybody called Wang, Li, Zhang, and Liu. The rest will be no problem. With well over a billion people, it is natural to assume that China would have a surplus of surnames to go around. Yet of the 12,000 surnames that once existed in China, today there remain just 3,000. Nearly a third of the population shares just five family names, and almost 97 million share the name Wang, by default the world’s most common surname. In the US, by comparison, there are only 2.4 million people with the name Smith, the most common family name in the English-speaking world.

The problem began centuries ago, when non-Han Chinese, seeking to blend into the dominant culture, abandoned their own surnames and adopted common names of the Han. In modern China, with its vast population, literally thousands of people can share the same full name, leading to numerous frustrating cases of mistaken identity.

A recent trend is for parents to choose archaic or uncommon characters for their children’s given names. This can cause major problems when they have to register with police or other institutions, as computer systems cannot always cope with these characters. There have been cases of banks refusing customers with unusual names.

Roasting chestnuts in an old hutong neighbourhood.

Ming Tang-Evans/Apa Publications

Work and leisure

Contrary to stereotype, most people work hard. Because so much of their time is devoted to work, most white-collar workers – and some labourers – hire others to care for their children and do their cleaning and cooking. Some couples even board their toddlers at live-in nursery schools during the working week or pack them off with their grandparents.

The material rewards of all this hard work are everywhere to be seen. There are now over 6 million cars on Beijing’s streets, with a million people waiting for permission to buy one (there is a quota on the number of new cars that can be bought in Beijing per year). About half own their own homes. Luxury goods, such as flat-screen TVs and iPhones are ubiquitous. Consumers are now dazzled by window displays of all the latest mobile phones, laptop computers and digital camera equipment. If the prices of these international brands are too high, Chinese versions – often copyright-infringing – are an ever-present budget option. Holidaying in other parts of China or even overseas is increasingly popular, and some of the city’s wealthiest residents even own second homes.

Souvenirs for sale in the Silk Market.

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Though people may have less free time than they once did, they have more money to spend on it, so leisure-time activities are booming. Watching television and pirated DVDs, eating out and shopping are the main leisure pursuits for most.

Countless bars, cafés and nightclubs form the backbone of Beijing’s nightlife. Though the capital’s bar culture is certainly based on the Western model, many Beijingers feel at something of a loss merely sitting in a bar and drinking, so added entertainment such as dice-games, karaoke and floor shows are not uncommon. Ostentation and one-upmanship come with Chinese characteristics: thus well-heeled partiers sip Chivas Regal mixed with green tea or order bottles of champagne that arrive at their table topped by a lit sparkler.

China’s current generation are often branded materialistic and bereft of values. But many are intensely patriotic, and sensitive to perceived Western media bias against their country.

Exercise is increasingly trendy, with health clubs, yoga centres and a few rock-climbing walls springing up around the city. Education is also a prime leisure-time activity, especially learning English. Crazy English, in which students are told to shout out the words, has caught on after promotion at evangelist-style rallies.

Communal dining.

Ming Tang-Evans/Apa Publications

Because old habits die hard – and because many Beijingers live in cramped, sub-standard accommodation – much leisure activity still takes place on the city’s busy streets and in its narrow hutong. Walk around a major intersection and you will see families flying kites over the road, boys kicking a football around on the grass verges and elderly people chatting on bridges. On summer evenings, along the pavements and under the bridges sit barbers, bicycle repairers, fruit and vegetable vendors, neighbourhood committee wardens and fortune-tellers. Qi gong practitioners and Yang Ge dancers use whatever space remains. And there, keeping order among the motley procession of pedestrians, cyclists, drivers and passengers, are the ever-watchful eyes of authority; the police, flag-waving traffic wardens, and bicycle and car park attendants.

Soldier on a bike.

Ming Tang-Evans/Apa Publications

Market vendor on Dazhalan shopping street.

Ming Tang-Evans/Apa Publications

Alienation and the generation gap

Unsurprisingly, there is also a downside to the fast-changing lifestyle that prosperity has brought to Beijing. High-rise apartments with private baths and kitchens are more comfortable than crumbling low-rises with shared facilities, but they are also isolating. Older people, in particular, find it hard to adjust. While some gather to chat in the front entrances of their shiny new buildings or do t’ai chi together in the early morning, others succumb to loneliness and despair. The young and seemingly successful are not immune to such feelings either – suicide is the leading cause of death among people aged 15–34.

Not-so-little emperors

Since the one-child policy was introduced in 1979, a single child often has a monopoly over two parents and four doting grandparents. Boys, seen as inheritors of the family line, are spoilt more. Memories of hard times, and the desire to get the most out of one offspring, mean many parents believe bigger is better. Obesity has become common among urban children puffed up by Western fast food and countless brands of snacks and sweets.

In return for all the attention, the little emperors face increasing pressure to succeed in their exams. Yet sympathy is in short supply: Many of them are selfish, lazy, arrogant and uncaring, wrote China Daily.

The one-child policy came to an end in 2015; nowadays, each Chinese couple is permitted to have two children.

T’ai chi in Temple of Heaven park.

Richard Nowitz/Apa Publications

Playing a board game.

Richard Nowitz/Apa Publications

If families have more money and freedom, they also seem to feel more pressure. The one-child policy, although officially ended in 2015, causes parents to place excessive hopes on their single children, or little emperors. Many kids are expected not only to excel at school, but also at extra-curricular study courses, languages and music lessons. Children who used to run around in the street are now confined to high-rises where they watch TV, play video games or do homework while their parents work. This increasingly sedentary lifestyle – supplemented with junk food – has led to an obesity rate topping 10 percent among Beijing children (see panel). Those with no siblings sometimes find it hard to play with others, tend to be considered somewhat spoilt, and are often stressed by the time they become teenagers. Indeed, between 16 and 25 percent of college students are believed to be suffering from some sort of mental health illness. The media write of the psychological plague on college campuses, though individual suicides are not always reported for fear of encouraging copycats.

A preference for male offspring combined with the one-child policy has led to widespread sex-specific abortions. Since the two-child policy came into effect, birth rates have still not increased as much as forecast, which has led to speculation that the government may further ease restrictions.

A young Beijinger.

Ming Tang-Evans/Apa Publications

The older generation benefited from job security working for state-run companies. Their job, housing and furniture were assigned by their work unit, and even marriages had to be approved by a supervisor. The advice given by parents – those who grew up in that very different China – to their children can seem absurdly outdated, and young people turn to social groups, often based around online computer games and forums, for guidance and information.

The institution of marriage has also come under considerable pressure. A negative side-effect of China’s increasing freedom is the huge rise in prostitution. Prostitutes generally work in massage parlours, hairdressers’ salons, bars, clubs and hotels, and can be a regular part of a business trip or an evening with work colleagues. Extra-marital affairs are commonplace and are a major contributor to the city’s escalating divorce rate. Extra-marital sex also contributes to the increasing rate of STD infection and even HIV.

A school outing to Jingshan Park.

Lee Hin Mun/Apa Publications

In 2015, the Beijing Health and Family Planning Commission reported that the rate of HIV/Aids infections in Beijing had finally slowed down, yet the number of infected people raised steadily. One of the most at-risk groups is migrant workers who were having unprotected sex with prostitutes with alarming frequency. This spurred a more open approach to public discussion of the problem and educational campaigns. Condom makers such as Durex benefited greatly from this openness and their slick adverts can be seen in primetime television slots.

With Beijing’s rising divorce rates, second and third marriages are common. Couples marry later and have children later – or not at all – and young people often live together before marriage. More people are opting to remain single, and the number of women who choose to become single mothers is slowly starting to grow. Women in particular are more ambitious and demanding in their search for the perfect partner, and a regular wage is no longer seen as a sufficient draw.

There are fewer bicycles (and tricycles) these days, but many are still used for transporting materials.

Ming Tang-Evans/Apa Publications

Migrants and minorities

Beijing’s 7 million-plus migrant workforce plays a crucial role in the city’s economy. Most are men who transport waste on heavy tricycle carts, unblock drains and canals or construct roads, housing and shopping centres. Some sell fruit and vegetables, often sleeping under makeshift stalls in summer. Many women find live-in jobs as waitresses, cleaners, beauty-shop workers, nannies or servants.

But migrant workers do not receive much of a welcome. Much of Beijing’s disorder – from unplanned births to crime and pollution – is blamed on them, and they have few rights or privileges. Until the outbreak of SARS, those employed by construction firms were often crammed into dorms that slept 100 people; now the regulation is that there must be no more than 14 to a room. Although they are paid much less than a Beijing resident would be for the same job, they frequently have trouble collecting any money at all. Few have insurance or access to health care, and most must rely on the good will of their employers if they are injured on the