Beijing Things to Do Tips by bokononist

The summer palace is really nice; a lot of Chinese tour it as well as foreigners. There are still a lot of gaudy souvenier places but they're easy enough to escape and there are some nice quiet corners among the palace and bridges. Definitely worth a visit. Go in the fall and it won't be as packed.

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Tiananmen square is a must and easy to get to via subway. I recommend buying kites and flying them there, it gives you a good excuse to hang out there without arousing too mcuh suspicion and to look at the locals and kids playing around. If you're particularly western looking and/or blonde, you will be asked to pose in a LOT of pictures - it's really funny. I'd skip the visit to Chairman Mao's mausoleum - it's really expensive and you're whisked by anyway, from what I hear.
This is THE place to be when any interesting news or national activities are going on. For example, when the announcement came that Beijing got the 2008 Olympics, students flooded the place, celebrating. On National Day, Oct. 1, it's decked out with flowers and revelers from all over the country, get there in the middle of the night before if you want to stand on the square.

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The markets near there are pretty cool, as long as you know that most of the antiques aren't really that great. For antiques go to the 'Sunday Stuff Market' or 'Dirt Market' in the Southeast on Sundays and bargain well. Qianmen area next to Tiananmen has good markets and authentic tea and Peking Duck shops, and the Xiu Shui Street (Silk Market) by the embassy has every kind of knockoff product in the world and all kinds of good Chinese souveniers for your friends (oh and stock up on bootlegged DVDs and DCs!). You're better off getting silk elsewhere though. Hongqiao (aka the Pearl Market) by Tiantan is a neat indoor market, and you can really get some inexpensive nice pearls and silk there. Look out for the giant picture of Bill Clinton with a pearl vendor - worth the trip right there.
This is a tag from some 'Abercrombie' pants I bought at a market there. Look carefully - I love all the knockoffs, they're so funny!

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Tiantan is neat, but pretty touristy. Whatever you do in Beijing don't buy anything the first time you see it - you'll find it again and your bargaining skills will be better then. Go to Tiantan in the morning and you'll see lots of people doing Tai Chi and writing characters with water on the stones, it's quite a sight. Sometimes there are so many people flying kites in the yard there that you can't even see the sky.

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The Old Summer Palace (yuanmingyuan) was the destroyed by 8 allied forces in an effort during the Opium war to force China under the Dowager Empress Cixi to open to trade. It's very humbling and will make you feel very guilty for your country's legacy of imperialism. Plus it's kind of amusing how the authorities have propped up pieces of destroyed buildings to make them look even more haphazzard and destroyed - look closely and you'll see what I mean.
It's also just really beautiful and usually pretty quiet - it doesn't seem to be high on the tourists' agenda just yet.
There's a maze there which was not destroyed - the emperor used to sit in the middle with a jewel and put a concubine at each of the 4 entrances; they would race through and the first to get to the middle got the jewel and the emperor for the time being. Imagine yourself with bound feet when doing it - ouch!

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Yonghegong, the Lama temple is a good stop if you're not going to be able to make it to other buddhist temples in other areas of China. If you've been to Tibet or other temples, it's a bit anticlimatic. It is really beautiful though, there's a shrine where people light incense and even a few monks milling around. It's a nice little escape from busy Beijing, especially if you go early in the morning before the tour buses get there.

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The Great Wall - avoid the touristy, renovated parts that most hotels offer. I went to Simatai - it's really quite a workout but definitely worth the visit. Don't worry though - the T-Shirt vendors have already discovered it so you'll have your proof.
Beware though - Simatai is REALLY steep and you will get one hell of a workout climbing it. Well worth it though!

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The ming tombs - a bit outside of Beijing but a good day trip.

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The Jesuit observatory - won't take long to see but the little museum is interesting and there's a decent view from the top. The ancient instruments are pretty interesting. Also interesting how little mention of the Jesuits is made in the signs - a bit of propaganda, no?

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The bell tower/drum tower on the outposts of the old city. Neat view over the city, especially at sunset, you get a great view of the old city and the hutongs. Afterwards, take a walk around the hutongs, watching the old men play Chinese chess surrounded by spectators.

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