Beijing, China (short layovers) 2017/18

Several 24 hour layovers in Beijing (Jan 2017 / Aug 18)

• While top attractions in Beijing include the Great Wall of China and the Forbidden City, I enjoyed other areas such as 798 Art Zone or Nan Luo Gu Xiang
• I found doing visiting the Great Wall of China and the Forbidden City in the same day quite tiring thus I would recommend doing them separately and I would choose the Great Wall if I do not have enough time
• Download a VPN in case you need google maps or any kind of popular social media 
• Metro is a very cheap way of transporting around Beijing, and the most convenient considering the huge traffic within the city center
  

Main places visited:

• a) Great Wall of China (Mutianyu)
  
• b) Forbidden City & Tiananmen square
• c) 798 Art Zone
•  d) Nan Luo Gu Xiang
  

 a) Great Wall of China (Mutianyu):

• There are several starting points to visit the Great Wall, the "largest cementery in the world" being Mutianyu one of the more convenient, around 70 km far from Beijing (2h drive with traffic)
• Once you reach the starting point, there is a bus included in the entrance price that takes you to the beginning of the Great Wall path
• Once there, you can go to the top either by foot or in cable car paying a bit more
• Going down you can have a toboggan ride which looks very cool (I could not do this as it was closed for maintenance)
• January after Christmas it is quite cold and as a general rule, early morning is a good moment to avoid plenty of tourists

b) Forbidden city & Tiananmen square:

• Several Chinese emperors lived in the Forbidden city, where access to general public was only allowed late 20th century
• I guess it is one of the "must" tourist attractions but I was not impressed maybe because I was quite sharp in time and a bit tired

• Tiananmen square, the "gate of heavenly peace", where political and cultural important events for Chinese history take place, is located nearby:

c) 798 Art Zone:

• I did not expect much on my visit to the 798 Art district, however I liked it a lot 
• Unfortunately I went a bit late but I would have liked to enjoy a few hours there at least
• I found galleries & graffities, cafes & restaurants, souvenir and other weird shops

 d) Nan Luo Gu Xiang:

• While this area is very touristic, access to cars is not allowed so it is a lovely area to walk by
• In Nan Luo Gu Xiang I visited some of the best considered Hutongs in Beijing, a set of alleys which form part of ancient Chinese cities (Yan Dai Xie Jie street is one of the prettiest and most populars)
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
   
• Walking around these streets I found one of the weirdest and shocking things I have ever seen: a family with the kid on a leash (they looked even proud as that might be seen as normal in Beijing)
  
• Nearby you can visit Qianhai Lake
  
• Also the traditional Bell & Drum towers, which can be entered for a small fee (20 yuan for 1 tower, 30 for both)
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
• I did not feel much visiting one of them but you can have some views of the city from a high point
  
• I had the feeling that Beijing has a lot to offer once I paid less attention to touristic attractions (I guess this can be applied to every single city in the world)
• Hope this post helps :)