Hey Steemers! Want some great reasons to visit Beijing?

Then read on 👇

Great Wall

Obviously this one is a given! No trip to China would be complete without a visit to this historical landmark. Especially since 10 of the best parts of the wall to visit, are all between one and half to three and half hours drive from Beijing.

I recommend doing some research before hand, this way you can try and avoid the most overcrowded sections and work out what part you want to visit. Some parts are alot steeper than others, so take that into account whilst planning! The link below has some good info -

https://www.google.com.au/url?sa=t&source=web&rct=j&url=https://www.chinahighlights.com/greatwall/section/&ved=2ahUKEwja0cjhlqrcAhUXA4gKHSmoAPwQFjAPegQIBRAB&usg=AOvVaw3AZp4jxXlOnHj1mRuxW3Jj

Aside from just walking along the wall in your normal get up... why not get dressed up? Makes for some out of the ordinary tourist pics!

Summer Palace

Is a beautiful place to escape from the craziness of Beijing. You can stroll through the peaceful gardens, chill by the lakes or visit the palace and admire the architecture.

Three quarters of the area is covered in water. You can hire your own boat or hop on the many chartered boats available.

Summer Palace is located 15km northwest of Downtown Beijing and is easily accessible by bus, subway or taxi (if you can flag one down!)

Wangfujing

Whether you want high end brands, large department stores, retail chains or market stalls Wangfujing has it all!

This shopping street is one of the largest in Beijing.

Even the side streets have plenty to offer with lots of local food and market vendors.

For the more adventurous, make sure you take a wander down Snack Street and sample some of the unique snacks on offer.

Forbidden City

Is located in central Beijing, with main gate and entrance across the road from Tiananmen Square. There are three other entry points around this moated fortress.

Map taken from the internet

This huge palace complex is the largest in the world and there is alot to explore once you're through the gates.

Lotus grow freely on top of the water ways and there are plenty of Fu dogs protecting the palace and surrounding buildings.

If you exit through the Gate of Divine Prowress walk across to Jingshan park where you can walk up to this lookout. From here you can view all of the Forbidden city (and the rest of Beijing - smog permitting!) from above.

Yunnan food

While most of the food we had in Beijing was amazing, the best was defintely when we ate with our friends from Yunnan - a province in Southwestern China.

They really know how to create some great flavours while cooking! I had never tried this type of food before and I was blown away with the taste.. it's that GOOD. If you ever come across a Yunnan restaurant, do yourself a massive favour and eat there.

Happy Valley

Ok so this is a little biased, I love theme parks and my boyfriend used to work here so I had to put it on the list! Aside from thrill seeking rides, Golden Mask an out of this world theatre show, slam dunk shows - which if you're lucky you might be able to participate in...

... they also have live skate and BMX shows - check out @vcclothing in action!

If you want to see what it was like living and working in a Beijing theme park, check out his video -
https://steemit.com/travel/@vcclothing/upo8fg9n

Pandas

Although Beijing Zoo on the whole was pretty disappointing, seeing these guys in their home country was not.

Hou Hai Bar Street

Lots of restaurants and bars surrounding
Shichahai lake. The area is always bustling but really comes alive at night, which is why it's a popular night spot.

Honourable Mentions

The above places and things were my favourite parts of Beijing, but I do have some other honourable mentions..

Salitun another great Bar Street and place for shopping. Plenty of restuarants, even international cuisines and lots of night clubs.

Hutongs these traditional courtyard residences are lovely to wander through and get lost in. You're bound to find something interesting down these narrow alleyways.

Hope you enjoyed my travel guide to Beijing - it really is a great place to visit. Thanks for stopping by ✌