1800What? Beijing Windows

You have just one day in Beijing and you want to know how to get the most of Beijing in the least amount of time and cost? Hope this is the itinerary you have been searching for a long time. This itinerary includes some of the most famous attractions, shopping streets and you still have a chance to try local delicacies of Beijing. To achieve this goal, you need to have the following equipments, a pair of comfortable walking shoes, a refundable Beijing Bus Pass, and a map of Beijing in English.

8:00 Get up and have a flourishing buffet breakfast at your hotel while getting ready for a great day in Beijing.

8:30 Take a taxi or use your bus pass to take subway line 2 to the newly opened Qianmen Street. Qianmen Street is an about 1,000 meter long pedestrian shopping street that all store fronts are decorated in traditional Chinese style.

9:30 Walk north from Qianmen Street to the Forbidden City. You will walk through the Tiananmen Square on the way to the Forbidden City.

10:00 Visit the Forbidden City. This is a huge palace museum. You can spend days to explore it. But you only have a few hours to have a highlight tour.
Tips: Admit ticket price of the Forbidden City: RMB60

12:30 Exit the Forbidden City from its north gate and have lunch at a small local restaurant. Please do not expect an excellent meal at this area. Most of restaurants here are for travelers who might never come back again. Therefore sadly quite a few restaurant owners might not really care about the quality of food at their place.

13:00 Visit Jinshan Park which is just north of the Forbidden City. This is a quite small park, and there is a small hill inside it. It is well worth the climb on a clear day for spectacular views of the Forbidden City and Beijing. But if it’s cloudy, you can save your energy for later.

14:00 Leave Jingshan Park and walk west along the Jingshanqianjie Street for about 5 minutes to Beihai Park. Beihai park is another MUST SEE attraction in Beijing. It is one of the oldest and most authentically preserved imperial gardens in China. Beihai Park has an area of more than 700,000 square meters and a beautiful lake covers more than half of the park.

15:30 So far, you have almost traveled half Beijing on your feet. The following tour has two versions.

PLAN A (Summer Plan): It’s time to take a taxi going to the Summer Palace located at the northwest part of Beijing. The taxi ride will take about 50 minutes, and the taxi fare should be around 60 RMB. The Summer Palace closes at 18:00 from April to October, and at 17:00 form November to March. You won’t have sufficient time to visit the Summer Palace in winter in this itinerary.

16:10 Arrive at the Summer Palace. It is the best-kept existing royal garden in Beijing. The Summer Palace is mainly dominated by Longevity Hill (60 meters high) and the Kunming Lake. It covers an expanse of 2.9 square kilometers, three quarters of which is water.

PLAN B (Winter Plan): Actually, if you have fed up with this kind of fast pace tour and want another option, you can go to the Temple of Heaven instead. The Temple of Heaven is located at the south part of Beijing, about a 30 minute taxing riding from Beihai Park. It is a great place to visit as well, although not as worthy as the Summer Palace.

18:00 Leave the Summer Palace or Temple of Heaven. Again there are three options for you to retreat yourself at night for the adventure you have gone through.

PLAN A. Visit the Wangfujing Street. Wangfujing is the most famous commercial area in Beijing. You will see large scale malls, specialty stores and many nice restaurants here. Both the famous Quanjude Beijing Roast Duck and Donglaishun Hotpot Restaurant have branches on this street.

PLAN B. Go to the Houhai area. It is a lake in central Beijing, part of the Shichahai lake area. In recent years it has become famous for nightlife because it is home to many popular restaurants, bars, and cafes. Drinks and foods are quite expensive here.

PLAN C. Visit the Nanluoguxiang Hutong. Located several kilometers north of the Forbidden City and just east of Houhai Lake, Nanluoguxiang has become one of the newest attractions in central Beijing. The area received a face lift in early 2006 - the hutong road was paved with grey bricks, storefronts were renovated, and cafes and shops were opened - and the area has since evolved into a favorite spot for local hipsters, musicians, freelancers, and tourists.

What of Beijing have you missed in this itinerary?

• The Yonghegong Lama Temple
• Beijing Zoo
• The Great Wall (don’t even think about it in one day. It is more than 100 kms away from Beijing)

If you have to skip one place from this itinerary and squeeze out more time for other attractions, that one should be Qianmen Street. You can go to Tiananmen Square and the Forbidden City directly in the morning.