Last Updated on April 29, 2025 by Home in the World
At one point I thought I may not even make it to Beijing, given the debacle we had flying in there. What was supposed to be a 2-hour flight from Shanghai saw us on the plane for 7 hours – 5 of which were spent sitting on the tarmac at Shanghai airport with no idea as to why we weren’t taking off. We were among the few non-Chinese passengers onboard, and announcements were largely only in Chinese (and what English ones there were did little to enlighten us as to what was going on).
Two meal services came and went, and we were still staring out the window at the rain and all the other planes taking off. Finally deciding to go up and ask the pilot himself what was going on, we were told there was a spot of very bad weather just out of Shanghai on our route to Beijing, so the pilots were waiting for that to pass. I am always happy to give safety priority over convenience, but it would have been nice to have been kept informed!
Anyway, 5 hours later than scheduled, we were jetting our way northwards, arriving into the similarly rain-drenched Chinese capital well after dark. Fortunately, there was still enough time to arrange our daytrip to the Great Wall the following day, and I could then finally ensconce myself and take a moment to think about the place I had just landed in.
I had wanted to visit this ancient metropolis, the mystical place formerly known as Peking, with its many fascinating sights and 3 millennia of history, for a very long time. But I would be lying if I said I didn’t also feel a slight sense of trepidation at the thought of going there.
Between news reports and first-hand accounts from friends who had visited in the past, I was expecting thick, polluted air with little visibility, grey, depressing Communist buildings with little urban greenery, and footpaths dotted with pools of spit (or ‘pavement oysters’, as one friend had so eloquently described it). And while I admit I did take a face mask with me as a precaution for the pollution, I need not have worried at all.
Table of Contents
The Great Wall
My number one priority when visiting Beijing was to head out and see the Great Wall, so before getting any feel for the city itself, our first day there was spent doing a private day tour into its lush surrounds. When a structure is 21,196 km (13,170 miles) long, most people have to settle for just seeing a section of it. The most popular and best preserved section is known as Badaling.
I have indeed seen photos of it where you can’t see the wall for the people. Having done some research online, I decided to visit the Mutianyu section instead. Both are a similar distance from the city (approx. 70-80 km/45-50 miles), but Mutianyu is less crowded and also very well restored. For more information on other sections (all within a day-trip of Beijing), try checking out this site.
The 1.5-hour drive out to Mutianyu passed through various towns and villages, and also included a short stop at an enamel factory, where I bought some really nice handcrafted jewellery. The scenery then turned noticeably greener, and I managed to catch my first glimpse of the wall out of the car window, high atop a lush mountain ridge.
The semi-steep cobblestone walk up to the cable car that then takes you up to the wall itself (the tickets for this were all organised through our guide) is naturally quite touristy, with lots of little stalls and hawkers, but it’s a small price to pay for what you get when you finally reach the top.
Stepping off the cable car, you instantly see the majestic fortification snaking its way across the undulating terrain which, in early June, was stunningly verdant. And on that day, the best part was that there seemed to be hardly anyone there! I have already mentioned here that Mutianyu is known to be less crowded than Badaling, but I was still expecting considerable numbers of people. Instead, I almost had the wall to myself.
What struck me most was how quiet it was. After the heavy rains the night before, we had been blessed with the most perfect, clear day, and I remember spending a few moments simply standing on the wall, taking it all in, and listening to nothing but the buzzing of the insects and the gentle swooshing of the breeze. Above me was endless blue sky, while all around me were rolling green hills and this magnificent World Wonder, which had been built using the blood, sweat, tears and bones of generations of labourers (mostly soldiers and convicts) to keep out marauding invaders. Its history certainly contrasted sharply with the serenity of that moment.
The Mutianyu section is an easy day trip from Beijing – you don’t need to get up super early or worry about getting back too late. I think all up it was about a 6-hour day. A couple of hours at the wall will suffice to appreciate it. While there were a few steep parts with big, high steps, the majority of the section I walked along was actually pretty flat. It obviously slopes up and down a bit according to the terrain, but the actual path is flat.
So unless you have severe mobility problems, I don’t think it should be an issue – especially if you take it slowly. As mentioned, there is a cable car operating up and back, or for those seeking more of a thrill, you can even take a luge on the way down. All in all, I thought the Great Wall definitely lived up to its ‘World Wonder’ reputation, and I would highly recommend the Mutianyu section.
The Forbidden City
The next day was my first day in Beijing itself – and bucket-list ancient sites were once again on the agenda. We did a private city tour with the same guide, Jaime, who had taken us to the Great Wall the day before. Our first stop was the Forbidden City, whose golden rooftops I could actually see from my hotel window. Situated to the north of Tiananmen Square (which I will be talking about in more detail later on), this extensive moated palace complex was built in the 15th century as the walled ancient centre of Beijing. Being the residence of the emperor, no one could enter or leave without the emperor’s permission, hence the ‘forbidden’ component of its name.
Upon entering through the mighty East Glorious Gate, I passed through a leafy courtyard. While briefly stopping to look up and admire the structures surrounding me, I heard the sound of shuffling feet and suddenly became aware of random youngish Chinese people sidling up alongside me. The Forbidden City is one of the top tourist sites in Beijing and it can get quite busy (with both Chinese and non-Chinese visitors), but petty crime is still quite low in China even in these ‘tourist trap’ areas, so needless to say, I was quite taken aback by these people who appeared to be shadowing me.
Fortunately, my guide soon came to the rescue and explained that these were not pickpockets with bad intentions; they were in fact perfectly honest Chinese people who just wanted to have pictures taken with Westerners and were trying to be subtle about it! I found this hilarious. My mum is actually from India, so I am not even fully ‘Western’ looking myself, but it was obviously enough for these local Chinese people to think it warranted a photo.
Duly enlightened, I then walked back and conveyed I was happy for them to take photos with me. There were a few shy giggles all around, and despite the initial cultural and linguistic barriers, we got there in the end. A cute and unexpected experience within the walls of an ancient World Heritage Site.
We continued onwards through multiple impressive gates, being mindful (as advised by our guide) not to step or stand on the hefty raised thresholds, but to rather step directly over them. The further you go into the complex, the more open and exposed it gets. On this early June day, it was well over 30°C (85°C), and the sun beating down on and reflecting off all the bare stone can make the whole environment quite hot and glaring. I saw many people with umbrellas. If you’re not a fan of the heat and happen to be there on a day like I was, I would recommend taking an umbrella/hat, sun cream and water.
The many gates and squares within the Forbidden City are much like onion skins or Russian matrioshka dolls. You peel away layer after layer before finally reaching the inner sanctums: the Hall of Supreme Harmony in the Outer Court, where emperors of the Ming and Qing dynasty were enthroned and married, followed by the Palace of Heavenly Purity in the Inner Court, which often served as the emperor’s audience hall.
The Imperial Garden beyond these halls brought some welcome shade, and a place to quietly reflect on the incredible site I had just visited. Stepping through the mighty red gates onto the mundane streets of Beijing beyond required a real mental switch; after spending a few fascinating hours in an ancient imperial world, I was suddenly back amidst the traffic and modern-day, bustling surrounds of the pulsating Chinese capital.
The Temple of Heaven
Our next stop continued the imperial theme with a visit to the Temple of Heaven complex, which was completed in 1420, and whose largest and most iconic building is the Hall of Prayer for Good Harvests. Standing proudly on its own atop a flight of marble steps, it cuts a striking figure with its rich blues, reds and golds, especially against the clear blue sky we had that day. While you cannot actually go inside it, you can have a peek in from the outside.
My photo of the interior was unfortunately not of a good enough quality to post here, but the intense colour and symbolism were a sight to behold. Every surface is painted red, green or blue to represent heaven and earth, overlaid with intricate gold patterns that include floral motifs and dragons. The wooden structure is supported by four inner, twelve middle and twelve outer pillars, representing the four seasons, twelve months and twelve traditional Chinese hours respectively.
The complex also includes lush parklands and the aptly named Long Corridor, which extends for 350 m (1150 ft) and is often filled with (older) locals fiercely engaged in card games, chess or even knitting. As you walk down the colonnade, be sure to look up and admire the striking wooden ceiling, with its intensely patterned blue and green beams. The red pillars complete the aforementioned heaven-and-earth colour scheme.
The Summer Palace
Rounding off our tour of ancient imperial Beijing was a visit to the Summer Palace. Situated in the north-western outskirts of the city on the lush, tranquil shores of Kunming Lake, it opened in 1750 and is the largest and best preserved royal park in China. And it’s not hard to see why it attracted emperors seeking to escape the oppressive heat and humidity of Beijing itself.
I was struck by the many weeping willows (a prevalent sight across the entire city), zen waterways and pavilions, all overlooked by the Tower of Buddhist Incense which sits prominently atop Longevity Hill. We didn’t have a lot of time to spend here, but we did take a dragon-shaped boat across the lake to the foot of the hill and walk down another Long Corridor similar to the one we had seen at the Temple of Heaven. It is indeed a restful way to spend an afternoon, in a setting that achieves a harmonious balance between nature, architecture, and Eastern philosophy.
It had been a full day of sightseeing but I am very glad we had organised a private tour for it. Trying to get between the sights ourselves would probably have been quite complicated and wasted a lot of time. All 3 attractions can easily be seen in one day, and I would recommend booking some sort of tour (either private or group) to ensure you see everything you want to see in as streamlined a way as possible.
The Lama Temple
Having had our fill of imperial palaces, however, I was keen to see the religious side of Beijing and visit one of its temples (since the Temple of Heaven, despite its name, is not really an actual temple). So the following day, we took a short taxi ride to the Lama Temple, also known as the Yonghe Temple. Opened in 1694 as an imperial palace, it was converted into a lamasery in 1744 and is the largest Tibetan Buddhist temple outside Tibet (Tibet itself of course being a bone of contention in China and a topic often best avoided).
When taking taxis in Beijing, it is a good idea to get a staff member from your hotel to instruct the driver where you want to go, and write the name of the hotel in Chinese on a card or piece of paper so you can show it to the driver at the other end when you want to head back. This worked fine and we had no problems getting where we needed to go. We were dropped just outside the temple, which lies on a reasonably busy street lined with trees and small shops. Running off it are several of Beijing’s famed hutongs (narrow, often residential, laneways), which I also explored briefly.
Stepping off the street and through the mighty gates, you are transported into a sanctuary of contemplation and incense smoke. Large leafy courtyards are enclosed by several stunning gate halls and pavilions with majestically upturned roofs and gold-rimmed archways, gleaming resplendent in the typical red, blue and green colour palette.
While many of the temple’s visitors are tourists, it is not uncommon to spot robed monks spinning one of the Tibetan prayer wheels or simply sitting reflectively and reading. I ended up talking briefly to one while admiring the carvings on a prayer wheel. When I told him (using one of the set phrases I had memorised in Chinese) that I was from Australia, he was keen to know about the country, and equally pleased when I told him how much I was enjoying China.
Inside the Pavilion of Ten Thousand Happinesses stands an 26-m-tall (85 ft) sandalwood statue of the Maitreya Buddha (Buddha of the Future) that had been gifted to Chinese Emperor Qianlong by the Dalai Lama in 1750. Unfortunately (but understandably), no photography is permitted in the hall, though a plaque certifies that the statue has been entered into the Guinness Book of World Records for having been carved out of a single white sandalwood tree.
If you only get to see one actual temple in Beijing, make it the Lama Temple. At one stage I wasn’t sure if we were going to have to time to get there, but I am so glad we did.
Tiananmen Square
On the trip so far I had seen some dazzling examples of Beijing’s grand imperial history. One of the sadder events for which the city is unfortunately also renowned is the Tiananmen Square Massacre of 1989, innocuously referred to in China (if it is in fact even mentioned – many people profess not to know about it as a result of tight government censorship) as the ‘June Fourth Incident’.
My stay in Beijing in early June 2014 coincided with the 25th anniversary of the massacre, and I witnessed the city’s (indeed the country’s) notorious censorship first-hand while watching the TV news one night. Having already been cut off from all social media and even some other websites such as YouTube and Google, I was initially taken aback when the BBC story on Tiananmen was abruptly cut off. The television screen went completely black, and for a short moment I thought the TV had died. I flicked to the next channel, which happened to be CNN, and that seemed to work fine until they also decided to run a story on the massacre. The TV went black again..
Ironically, the name Tiananmen actually means ‘gate of heavenly peace’, and is located in the heart of Beijing in front of the entrance to the Forbidden City. Measuring 440,500 sq m (44 ha) in size, it is one of the world’s largest public squares. And on the day I visited, which happened to be the actual anniversary of the massacre (4th of June), there was tight security all around it (at least I assume that’s what it was for; perhaps it is always like that). Despite the many guards around, no one questioned us or gave us any grief (perhaps they target local Chinese more, I don’t know), and the square itself was pretty empty.
It certainly is big, and there’s generally a lot of concrete all around. Apart from the overwhelming greyness of the omnipresent stone, not to mention the sky itself on that overcast day, the only other colour which stood out was the bright red (of course) of the flags and flower beds. I felt it was a pretty grand, even intimidating, display of communism and government authority in general.
Lining part of its eastern side is the National Museum of China, which looks out across the vast stone expanse to the Great Hall of the People (a state building used for legislative and ceremonial purposes) that forms part of the square’s western border. About three quarters of the way down the square, facing the Tiananmen Gate is the Mausoleum of Mao Zedong, with its striking and emotive 1850 sculpture of revolutionary workers.
Standing tall at the centre of the square is the ten-storey Monument to the People’s Heroes – the heroes being the martyrs of the revolutions of the 19th and 20th centuries.
It was pretty surreal to wander around the expansive, historic square and reflect on the tumultuous events that had occurred there over the years, not least the massacre that had taken place 25 years ago to the day that I was standing there. You definitely do feel dwarfed by its size and the imposing buildings and monuments all around it. And while I had expected this and the communist drabness, the beautifully manicured gardens and colourful flower beds did at least add some unanticipated vibrancy to it.
Wangfujing Street and night market
A visit to Beijing wouldn’t be complete without experiencing it by night – and particularly its night markets. Just near our hotel was Wangfujing Street, the city’s busiest commercial street, much of which is pedestrianised. From global brands to small souvenir shops, it is the epitome of modern Chinese consumerism. One section also features a night food market – with all the weird and wonderful creatures the country famously includes in its cuisine. I personally saw starfish and other creepy crawlies ALIVE AND MOVING on sticks waiting to be eaten at snack stalls. And no, I did not try them.
So while walking through the narrow food-market laneway was certainly a feast for the senses with its pungent smells, swinging red lanterns and the cacophony of pots, pans and excited voices, I was also glad to emerge back out into the relative fresh air of the main strip – which, incidentally, was absolutely packed even at 10pm on a weeknight.
One lasting memory will be the large groups of locals of all ages congregating in the various open spaces to do tai chi and other kinds of dance demonstrations. And anyone could join in. It was such a lovely inclusive, community feel in the heart of this pulsating, sometimes even intimidating, metropolis. I regret not taking photos or videos of it at the time, but I guess I was just enjoying being in the moment.
Wangfujing by night was a wonderful way to end our 4 full-on days in Beijing, which had seen us visit a wonder of the world, explore China’s ancient imperial history, reflect on its more contemporary communist side (and experience the censorship that comes with it), witness the spirituality of Tibetan Buddhism, bridge cultural and linguistic barriers with lovely locals, and soak up the sights, sounds and smells of bustling night markets.
Final thoughts on Beijing
Beijing, and indeed China in general, tends to polarise opinions – and there are indeed numerous questionable aspects of government policy in terms of political & cultural freedoms, human & animals rights, and the environment. I myself take issue with many of these, which was partly why I did have some reservations about coming to visit in the first place. On the flip side, however, its history and sights are unparalleled – a fascinating culture with stunning architecture – really are worth seeing once in your life.
The pollution tends to make news a lot too – and rightly so. While the air is rarely totally clear (I checked the particle count regularly), if you time your visit well, it may not end up being that much of an issue. Peak winter seems to be one of the worst seasons due to the amount of (coal-fired) power being used for heating etc.
Spring/Autumn have a higher probability of being clear, and I can certainly say that the entire 4 days we were there, it was pretty much clear. Only on the day we left, and therefore didn’t have to step out, did I really notice thick pollution when looking out the window. Perhaps the storm that had rolled through when we flew in had dispersed a lot of it, I don’t know.
But I definitely did not need that face mask I had brought with me as a precaution! And if there is one other thing that struck me about the city, it was how clean and lush it was. Footpaths were spotless, and I couldn’t get over how many little green squares, tree-lined streets and weeping willows there were. I had expected more of a grey, vegetation-less city; it wasn’t. It has many grand avenues, and even the non-tourist areas we passed through seemed to take pride in being clean and well tended.
The best way I can think of to describe Beijing as a whole would be ‘a revelation’. I found it to be a magnificent, well-geared-up city with lots to offer, particularly culturally and historically, and am so glad I finally made the effort to visit. A worthwhile destination for any traveller.
Trip facts
When I visited: June 2014
Weather: Early June was a great time to be in Beijing. A little on the warm side (approx. 33°C/90°F), but overall very pleasant, with clear skies and minimal pollution. Another recommended time to visit is apparently October, though be aware that the first week is usually the Golden Week national holiday, when places like the Great Wall can be very crowded.
Where I stayed: Grand Hyatt Beijing
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