The Best Beijing Travel Tips From Our Readers

Headed to Beijing, trade war be damned? Get yourself a VPN so you can access the internet outside the Great Firewall. Hack Your City readers took their second trip to China this week, giving travel hacks for the capital city. They pointed out which famous attractions are overrated, which neighbourhoods are up and coming, and which food to eat (all of it). Here are their greatest tips.

One note of caution: DFAT’s Smartraveller recommends Australians exercise normal safety precautions for most of China except for the Tibet and Xinjiang regions.

See and do

• “I really miss Miniso and am thrilled they’re finally coming to the West. It’s a Japanese-style (but not actually Japanese!) store with lots of cute accessories and housewares. Great place to buy stuff you don’t need for cheap.””DearMaria27

• “A really underrated location is the Gu Lou hutongs (鼓楼胡同), a group of pedestrian streets near the Shi Cha Hai metro station (什刹海地铁站). There are so many cute tourist shops, snack stands, and other oddities (3 churro restaurants???).””Lauren

• Read the original thread for an extensive guide by twattycake, including this: “The National Museum is free to enter with a passport, and you could easily spend a couple days trying to see everything. The museum is HUGE, with the main exhibit covering the entire span of Chinese history. Other cool exhibits include the exhibit on Chinese currency, a room of African sculpture, and an exhibit on the Second Sino-Japanese War. Be advised that there is one exhibit called the Road to Rejuvenation, which presents a very biased version of China’s modern history approved by the Communist party, and some people will want to steer clear of that part of the museum.” Now I really want to see that exhibit!

• “Avoid Olympic Park, overrated.””Cobo

• “Old Summer Palace, aka Yuan Ming Yuan (not to confused with the Summer Palace, called Yi He Yuan) is a beautiful place, and visiting it in winter really brings out the sad desolation (the place was looted and burnt by British and French troops and took them over 3 days to destroy).””SamsungSux

Eat and drink

• “Beijing is your chance to discover how diverse Chinese food really is, so trying Yunnan (In & Out or Middle 8), Xinjiang, Northeastern cuisine etc is definitely worth it. Try hotpot when the weather is cold (or even when it’s not). While you’re in China to most likely eat a lot of Chinese food, if you go to one western restaurant make it Temple (preferably the hutong branch).””modernleifeng

• “If you can, definitely try cheese tea. It can be badly translated as tea with cream, not realising the cream tastes cheesy. Coco is the brand I tried and liked very much. I got berry tea with cream and quickly learned it’s actually cheese tea and I loved it.””thecreativeblock

• “Quanjude has branches all over Beijing and is regarded as one of the best places to get Peking duck. The other reputable establishment is Bian Yi Fang.””twattycake

• “Many places (at least in 2010) had two menus, one in English and one in Mandarin. I found that the most expensive items on the Chinese menu were cheaper then the cheapest item on the English menu. Learn the characters for beef, pork, and chicken, and order confidently from the Chinese menu.””Angus Wakefield

Know and plan

• “Toilet paper, when available (not always), is sometimes kept OUTSIDE of the bathroom stall. So just… keep your eyes open. Collect it before you get in or carry your own tissues.””Threestooges3

• “I used a translator app called iTranslate to help me communicate. Remember, Google, Google Maps, Google Translate don’t work in China.””Roy3K

• “Ignore everyone telling you to not settle for anything less than [whatever]% when haggling. Ultimately, if you reach a price you are good with paying, then you are successful. EVERYONE (repeat: EVERYONE) gets ripped off their very first time haggling. EVERYONE. But NEVER, EVER take it out on the sellers. The vendors are just trying to make a living, too.””yfunk

• “Don’t worry about the masks. If you’re there for a few days you will be fine. Permanent residents can have problems from the years of breathing the thick air, but you will be ok.””Flug Dutie

Get around

• “When to go: Do not go the first week of October or May because the whole country is on vacation and tourist sites are mobbed. Chinese New Year is not as bad, since people mostly stay home, though booking tickets at the beginning and end of the holiday is challenging. Beijing is very hot in summer and also full of tourists. Winter is very cold, but there are less tourists. (I personally like Beijing in winter.) Generally fall is the best time (except that first week of October). Spring is ok, too, though April sometimes has sandstorms.””Eric

• At the airport, “plan on the security lines taking longer than you are used to,” says Slacklinejoe.

• “Uber is out, Didi is the Chinese equivalent. It has an English language version of the App which is endlessly useful because you can type in the English name of any location and it will bring it up. Also works with international credit cards, which is key for tourists.””ohyoumustteach

• Local driving patterns are very different from those in the West, says Optimus_Mike. “I think it’s because they just don’t drive that fast (I rarely saw a taxi go over 40-45kph; back in the States you’re unlikely to catch me going slower than that). People honk to let the other drivers know that they’re going to cut in then go for it, and at those speeds the other drivers allow the cut to happen, knowing full well that they’ll cut in front of someone else later.”

• “The English level in Beijing is low. Don’t expect taxi drivers or service personnel to speak any English. If you get lost and need directions look for a college-aged person, as they’ll probably speak some English. It’s always best to have your destination in Chinese characters.””Glenderful

Get out of town

• “If you make a trip out to the Great Wall, wear workout gear. It is nothing but inclines and stairs. Also try and get there very early, because it swarms with other tourists in the afternoon.””Mr. Feeney’s Blazer

• “If you are in Beijing for an extended period of time, I cannot recommend enough an overnight/weekend trip out to Datong and the Yungang Grottoes. It’s about an hour flight from Beijing (or a 6-hour train ride if you are up to it) and 1000% worth it.””Don’tBlameMe

Most of these readers had way more tips, so read their full comments under the original post. Leave your own tips below, and come back next week when we’re hacking a city in Kansas. And Missouri. You’ll never guess.