Beijing Things to Do Tips by Confucius

This is number 1 of Beijing's 4 must sees (Great Wall, Temple of Heaven, and Summer Palace are the other 3) The enormous size of the palace grounds and main halls makes you understand why the Chinese word for China literally translates as "Middle Kingdom". It is the true center of Beijing and, for Chinese people from the Ming through Qing dynasties, the center of the world.
I always tell tourists to enter from the north gate instead of the south because the route leads you into Tiananmen Square. Starting from the north also gives you the panoramic view from atop Jingshan Park, which is best visited in the morning when the old folks are doing their tai chi and other exercises.
The only advantage of entering the Forbidden City from Tiananmen Square is if you wish to rent the taped tour narrated by Roger Moore (one of the James Bond agent 007 actors) as following it requires you to proceed from south to north.
Aside from the general entrance fee, be prepared to pay for extra tickets allowing you to see special exhibits and enter the Tiananmen rostrum. The Forbidden City now serves as a national museum so there are more interesting things to see inside other than just walking around the fascinating buildings.
Take time to stray off the beaten path toward the eastern side of the palace as this is one of the best places to get those splendid photos with absolutely no people in them.
In this modern era of commercialism displacing communism there is now a Starbuck's located inside the Forbidden City and some foreign tourists take pleasure in trying to discover its hidden whereabouts so I won't reveal its exact location. When you're near it, you will smell the coffee!

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Address: Beijing's city center
Directions: Use the north entrance across the street from Jingshan Park

Admit it! Ever since those days long ago when you tried using chopsticks with one in each hand, you have had this life long ambition to climb the Great Wall of China!
The Chinese have figured this out and now the National Tourism Administration issues (and sells) a certificate to those who have finally crossed this accomplishment off of their "things to do before I die" list.
The certificate is stamped with a traditional red seal that says "Great Wall of China" in ancient Chinese characters.
It reads as follows:
"This is to certify that _________(name) did climb the Great Wall on ___________(date)."

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Address: Badaling Great Wall

1. The Long Corridor: Look up and see the thousands of detailed classical Chinese paintings on the supporting beams.
2. The Marble Boat: Hop aboard the stone ship built just for fun by Empress Cixi using China's Navy funds
3. The 17 Arch Bridge: Find the Bronze Ox and walk across this bridge to get splendid views of Kunming Lake.
4. Deheyuan Theater: Imagine you have been invited to watch Peking Opera with the empress at this impressive structure.
5. Suzhou Street: Take photos amidst the gardens and tea shops designed to replicate China's "Venice of the East"

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How can one list the must see attractions in Beijing and forget the Temple of Heaven? This splendid icon of China with its conical roof and lavish interior epitomizes the genius of Chinese architecture during the Ming dynasty. There's also the circular Echo Wall behind the main hall and further south you'll see the Round Altar where animals were sacrificed during winter solstice ceremonies.
Any knucklehead can pile a stack of bricks and build the Great Wall, (in fact the Ming emperors did that too) but this entire complex was carefully designed by feng shui masters with significant geometrics involving Chinese cosmology. Oh yeah, they also did that building in my photo without using any nails!

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Phone: 6702-8866
Directions: Low season: November - March
High season: April - October
The park opens at 06:00 for early morning exercisers and the buildings officially open at 08:00.

What do fossils, Manute Bol, dinosaur eggs, panda skeletons, human cadavers, and a coelacanthe all have in common?
They can all be seen at Beijing's Natural History Museum where you'll get answers to the following questions: Where do babies come from? Where do Japanese come from? Which is taller, a dinosaur or giraffe? How big is Chinese Bigfoot's foot? Where are the human cadavers? Where is the closest toilet?

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Phone: telephone 6702-4431
Address: 126 Tianqiao Nan Da Jie
Directions: Just north of the Temple of Heaven's west gate. Use public bus #2, 6,15,17,20,35,36,45,54,59,110,120,or 803
Website: http://www.syeps.net/jspd/konglong/web/bnhm/www.bnhm.org.cn/exhibit/boy-girl/boy-girl.htm
Other Contact: Open 08:30 - 16:00, 15 RMB

The hutongs are the neighborhoods of traditional courtyard houses which used to be in many places around the capital's downtown area. The narrow streets and ancient architecture are adored by tourists who still want to seek out what remains of "old Beijing"
In order to facilitate tourism in the best preserved hutongs, organized tours are conducted using bicycle rickshaws for transportation and volunteers who allow tourists to visit their well- preserved homes.
The most popular tour is in the area surrounding the Bell and Drum Towers north of the Forbidden City. Here you will see the multitudes of red bicycle rickshaws with the catchy slogan "To the Hutong!" printed on the back of the canopy. The drivers wear yellow numbered vests so that you can find them again after getting out at stops along the way.

You can walk this area on foot if you don't want to ride in the rickshaws, or you can also rent your own bicycle. Although the architecture takes you back to old Beijing , the current atmosphere is like a modern street market with vendors walking around aggressively trying to sell postcards and other souvenirs.
Inside the courtyard houses you might catch a glimpse of pet crickets in small wooden cages or see other reminders of bygone Beijing traditions, but outside you may quickly be brought back to reality by a crippled beggar asking for "money money money." The good old days when a foreigner could get lost in a Beijing hutong and encounter old traditions are just about gone.

There are other places in Beijing to see hutongs, such as the Qianmen area and parts of Xuanwumen district near Liulichang, but they are fast disappearing to meet the demands of modern development. The hutongs near the Drum Tower will likely remain protected for their architectural value but unfortunately it might be too late to preserve the atmosphere that used to give them their distinct old Beijing flavor.

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Phone: 6615-9097
Directions: Take the subway to Drum Tower for a self-guided tour or go 200 meters west of Beihai Park's north gate for the pedicab tour.
Website: http://www.hutongtour.com.cn

The Bell and Drum Towers are not "must see" destinations in Beijing, but the hutong tours usually end in this area and so they're worth a visit just to go up one and look at the view.
Either will do, or do both if you like. A visit here will also give you a glimpse of Beijing's residential neighborhood life, as seen in the photo I took in front of the Bell Tower featuring a couple of Chinese playing badminton without a net. (See additional photo)

The Drum Tower was formerly used to announce the hours of day while the other tower rang its big bell when the city's gates closed at night. Imagine living in the hutong between these noisemakers, as the two towers aren't very far from each other.

If you wish to explore some hutongs on foot then head southeast of the towers toward Houhai, where you'll end up amidst a row of trendy drinking establishments.

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Directions: Take the subway to "Gulou Dajie"