Beijing Things to Do Tips by chewy3326

Beihai Park is a very nice city park on the Beihai (North Sea) in Beijing. For 20 Y, you can stroll around the park and up to through a series of Buddhist temples. You can also take a ferry across the lake to the north shore, where there are even more attractions including the Five Dragon Pavilion and Nine Dragon Wall. You can also meet many interesting people in the park. Knowing Mandarin helps.

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Directions: Northwest of the Forbidden City, west of Jingshan Park. Very prominent.

Tiananmen Square is one of the most recognizable landmarks of China. This giant square, surrounded by Tiananmen, Qianmen, and a truckload of government buildings, memorials, and halls, is all dominated by the a photograph of Mao hanging over everything. The square is a sign of China's might, as well as it's intolerance towards certain ideas. After all, this was the site of the 1989 Tiananmen Square Massacre. When visiting, expect the square to be crowded; we came at 6 AM, and the square was already half-filled with people. It's an interesting place where you can observe the people besides just the monuments.

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Directions: Central Beijing. Qianmen, Nanchangan, and many other roads lead to it.
Website: http://www.roundtiananmensquare.com/index.html

Not too sure about the spelling there, but it should come out to something like that. This church, a little bit west of Beihai Park, is one of the most beautiful in Beijing. During certain times, you can only enter in the morning. Apparently, the church is used as a school on some afternoons. Mass is held at the church around 6, 7, and 8 AM Sunday.

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Directions: It's sort of hard to find. The church is obscurely located in the bend of a small road north of Wenjin St. You can't see the church itself, but you can see the sign for it.

North Shore Beihai Park is arguably the more beautiful and interesting of the two sides. Here you'll find the beautiful, decorative Nine-Dragon Wall, Five Dragon Pavilion, and many more temples, lake views, etc. From here you can get a very nice view of Jingshan across the lake. It's a good idea to spend two or more hours exploring this area. You can also see where the Huohai empties into Beihai.

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Directions: From the south shore, take a Y5 ferry, or enter the park through the north entrance.

This is perhaps the most exciting single street in the city. It's filled with shopping areas, tourist traps, restaurants, and some shadier areas. Many food stands line the road, as well as the giant Wangfujing bookstore, and of course, the Xindongan Mall. It's possible to walk the entire street from Dongchangan Street to Wusi St. in 15-20 minutes, but it's a good idea to stop at a lot of different areas along the way. Just a word of warning: the lower level of the Xindongan Market contains a tourist trap type of souvenir center, where everything is horribly overpriced. Try somewhere else.

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Directions: City Center near Tiananmen Square