I travelled to China in the beginning of June but, as it’s often the case, normal life took over upon my return and did not yet manage to record my impressions. The main purpose of the trip was work related. However, I extended my stay to be able to discover Beijing ( and a bit of Xi’an ) at leisure. I ended up spending 5 full days exploring Beijing and 1 and 1/2 days in Xi’an.

Although I was alone on this trip, I would have no hesitation to bring my family on the next occasion. Other than some accessibility issues (e.g. nu escalators/lifts at metro stations) Beijing is very safe and provides plenty opportunities for entertainment for all ages. Xi’an is reasonably walkable and the house of the Must-see Terracotta Army.

This will be the first blog post in a series of 3. The next one will focus on the best ways to combine the many attractions in Beijing to make the most of your time there and the last one, on what to see in two days in Xi’an. I will include a few family friendly restaurants too.

So, let’s start with my impressions and some useful tips if you are heading to Beijing:

1. The distances are huuuuuge – this is more true for Beijing than Xi’an. The latter remains a reasonably accessible city by foot/public transport and bike. Beijing is in a league of its own. Let me explain: imagine a city like Paris or London. You would be able to cover significant ground on foot and even see quite a bit of the main attractions while walking around. Sometimes in Paris/Berlin I would not even bother with the Metro for s couple of stations. In Beijing the distances between Metro stations are at least double. Beijing features six ring roads circling the city in more or less even distances. The first ring road does not officially exist but are the streets leading around the Forbidden City. The City center, where the main sites of interest are found, is the area surrounded by the 2nd Ring road. Crossing this area from North to South will take you at least 2h30 for about 10 km. Between the 2nd and 3rd ring roads you will find the newer areas and much of the business heart of Beijing. Many great hotels are located between the 2nd and 3rd ring Road, East of the Center, where the embassies are. Some attractions are outside the 2nd Ring road and require at least a 45 min metro ride as they are very much removed from everything ( think e.g Summer Palace or Great Wall). Good walking shoes are essential. Or, you can try to download the app giving you access to the bike hire system in Beijing. It seemed to be a popular way to move around for the locals and some tourists. Taxis are inexpensive but you should be prepared with the destination address written in Mandarin. I got around with a combination of public transport and taxi and tried to have each day a different neighbourhood focus, to avoid zig-zagging through the center. If acompanied by young children, think about bringing a light umbrella stroller as they will get tired after all the walking. Keep in mind that most sections of the Great Wall are not stroller accessible.
2. Avoid rush hour : if you plan to use public transport and even if not, avoid rush hour at all cost. The same trip to Sanliturn (the shopping and nightlife district) took me an hour in after work traffic compared to about 20 min normally. I had to walk the last 500 m as nothing was moving. Trafic jams on the 2nd ring road are a normal part of daily life in Beijing. If you need to use the Chang’an Road crossing Beijing from East to West and passing through Tiananmen Square, allow extra time. The sheer number of people using the Metro to get to / back from work means you will have to wait several trains before being able to squeeze into one if travelling between 8 and 9h30 in the mornings.
3. Allow plenty of sightseeing time and bring water and an umbrella: it’s not only the distances that are huge, also the attractions have very expansive grounds. If you want to do more than just skim over the buildings or run through the gardens, half a day is the realistic visiting time for the Tiananmen Square and the Forbidden City or the Summer Palace. If you are with kids, you will have to consider visiting one/two attraction per day, staying within the same neighbourhood to avoid long transit times and taking plenty of breaks, especially in Summer when temperatures can easily reach mid 30s ( Celsius). Luckily, there is plenty to see to keep you happy for at least a week.
4. Download Google translate and the Mandarin dictionary for use offline. Outside the hospitality industry, English is rarely spoken. I used the app to order in restaurants, get a massage, ask the price in shops, get a cab etc. It is essential if you plan to move a bit around on your own or go to the Silk or Pearl markets and try your bargaining skills. Most hotels will provide you with a contact card. Have it with you for an easy return to the hotel.
5. Try to have some cash handy. Not all restaurants/shops will take cards and on many instances, European cards will not work for paying directly. Many (smaller) payments in China are done via the phone ( eg Alipay) with a QR code. Some Boutique or smaller shops would only accept this type or payment or cash.
6. Finally, bring your patience along. You will need it to navigate often very complex underground and above ground systems, to wait at security check at the subway entrance ( yes, every metro entrance in Beijing has security gates and your bag will be checked) and queue for attraction tickets. In a country of 1,4 billion people, some queuing will be unavoidable. Especially when smaller cities, like Xi’an receive a high influx of travellers due to local or regional holidays. For some popular sites it is possible to book tickets online and this should allow you to skip some of the queues. At other popular spots, try to show up as early as possible ( eg History museum in Xi’an is a national favourite and with plenty of school groups visiting too).

• If you plan to hit some of the big cities in China, train or plane travel are you best long distance alternatives. The high speed train from Beijing to Xi’an takes about 5 hours for almost 1000 km. There is an overnight train to Shanghai too. To buy train tickets, you will need your passport. The train is very modern and clean. There is a restaurant in the train but I have’ t visited it. Your best bet is to stock up on snacks at the train stations.
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• You will have to carry your passport everywhere with you as it may be requested by the authorities. Also, China uses generally 220V, (Hong Kong is 200V; Taiwan is 110V) so no adaptor needed for mainland.
• Do you have other tips/ advice for preparing to travel in Beijing? I would be grateful if you could leave a comment below. Thanks for reading!
• Happy travels!