Beijing in late nov

[nostrovia]

Hi

I just came back from china yesterday and in my 16 days in china i have spent 5 days in beijing, the rest shuttling between chengdu, chongqing, then another 3 days in jiuzhaigou. nov should be a good time to visit because at least its after oct 1. i was there from 16 to 20 oct, and they actually sealed up the MRT lines and the forbidden city on 18 and 19 whole day IIRC. so i was v v v pissed as i was stuck in my hostel in wangfujing. for very very budget prices just stay in those hostels lo. i stayed along wangfujing which is the orchard rd of beijing.

in my opinion, 5 or 6 days max is enough for beijing even if u go slow. and what i like about beijing is the MRT lines. u can go to any of the local attractions like tian tan, gu gong, shui li fang, yi her yuan and niao chao via mrt. cabs are cheap but there are plenty of jams so MRT will be the best in my opinion!!! (im very kiam and budget)

and for great wall tours, please, for God's sake dont take those cheap 100 or 150 yuan tours as they will bring u for shopping. i went to 慕田峪 along with a good tour group and i really enjoyed myself.

all in all, beijing is fun, except the traffic, hordes of people, hordes of rude people, and bad haze.

 

[art2d2]

I'm currently based in Beijing for work for a long while, anyone coming wanna meet up during weekends feel free to pm me.

 

[Ted888]

Just went to this Wukesong photography center. Not that great IMO.

 

[kenni]

Hi can i know where else is a good place to get photography stuff other than Wukesong? I'm heading to beijing over the christmas period. thanks!

 

[watsup]

Thanks to all who have given invaluable inputs... i have a better idea of where and what i should do over there now. btw, is the zoo there worth going also?

 

[watsup]

Hi

I just came back from china yesterday and in my 16 days in china i have spent 5 days in beijing, the rest shuttling between chengdu, chongqing, then another 3 days in jiuzhaigou. nov should be a good time to visit because at least its after oct 1. i was there from 16 to 20 oct, and they actually sealed up the MRT lines and the forbidden city on 18 and 19 whole day IIRC. so i was v v v pissed as i was stuck in my hostel in wangfujing. for very very budget prices just stay in those hostels lo. i stayed along wangfujing which is the orchard rd of beijing.

in my opinion, 5 or 6 days max is enough for beijing even if u go slow. and what i like about beijing is the MRT lines. u can go to any of the local attractions like tian tan, gu gong, shui li fang, yi her yuan and niao chao via mrt. cabs are cheap but there are plenty of jams so MRT will be the best in my opinion!!! (im very kiam and budget)

and for great wall tours, please, for God's sake dont take those cheap 100 or 150 yuan tours as they will bring u for shopping. i went to 慕田峪 along with a good tour group and i really enjoyed myself.

all in all, beijing is fun, except the traffic, hordes of people, hordes of rude people, and bad haze.

May i have the contact of the company you engaged for the great wall tour? Also, want to check, is it possible to travel from Si Ma Tai to Cheng De?

 

[raychan]

Hey Watsup,

I'm going there on the first week of Dec. So, the weather should not be too different.
I'll be there for a photo session and I'm using this site for photo inspiration. It has some very useful tips for first timers to Beijing.

http://www.kinabaloo.com/

I'm going to the zoo as well. Never seen a Panda before.

 

[LiuLangMao]

I find it Ok only....the panda is yellow black....not white black as i thot...

 

[nemesis32]

You can go to Muitianyu or Simatai and back within a day. Just get a cabbie to bring you there and back.

 

[art2d2]

Thanks to all who have given invaluable inputs... i have a better idea of where and what i should do over there now. btw, is the zoo there worth going also?

The zoo is not bad, very big area. Some photos taken there during summer. http://art2d2.clubsnap.org/gallery/bjzoo0609

I will make another trip there before winter as I wasn't able to cover the whole place in my first trip.

 

[ed9119]

You can go to Muitianyu or Simatai and back within a day. Just get a cabbie to bring you there and back.

from downtown Beijing to Mutianyu, Simatai, Jiankou or Gubeikou sections of the Great wall.... an entire day taxi booking is around 400rmb in warmer weather and about 500rmb during winter time

cab driver will drive you there.... wait for you all day ..... and drive you back to Beijing end of day back to your hotel

of course PAY ONLY WHEN YOU ARRIVE BACK IN BEIJING

 

[lefty200]

Just back from Beijing last week.
Weather was coolling, nice except when it got windy, and dust got to the face.
Visited Great wall + Ming tomb by cab, very convenient and really free and easy. RMB500 a day. Left in the morning 9+AM, back to city about 7PM. Worth it.
Other than that, visited foridden city, tiantan, houhai (pub area), birdnest stadium, the cube.
Shopping: go Wangfujing or Xi dan (more budget oriented). Get around via their MRT, very good coverage, you can go to most places of interest by MRT.

My other interest for this trip was food. Tried their famous Roast Duck (QianJiDe), Mutton hotpot (DongLaiSoon), LiJiaChai,LaoBeiJing Noddle house, night market at WangFuJing and many other. Thoroughly enjoy the food.

Total 4 days in Beijing. Enjoyed the trip. Hope you enjoy yours too.

 

[ggodetucsamoht]

anyone has any opinions and advice if bringing 2 mths old baby for winter tour in beijing? anything to take care regarding the baby, like extra winter outfits, etc ....

 

[Ted888]

I find it Ok only....the panda is yellow black....not white black as i thot...

Basically a dirty panda. If you have no time, don't need to go.

 

[tigertay]

I am going on a 10 days free and easy trip to Beijing at the end of nov. Never been there before so would like ask those who are familiar with that place for advices.

1) Any recommendation for a budget accommodation for 2? Minimum clean beds with private washroom facilities. And maybe also a well insulated room considering the time of the year i am going over. I have not book any hotel yet. Intend to search around for lodging. Possible to get one for less than 300RMB per day?

I'm a Singaporean photographer now working in Beijing. My studio and office is in JianWai SOHO, the CBD area of the city.

Feel free to drop by and say hi, i'll love to meet another singaporean here anytime... i may not have time to bring you around but i can give you good directions on where to go.

btw, it's easy to find accomodation for less than 300RMB aday... in fact, you can get clean and comfortable ones (slightly better than Singapore's hotel 81) for 250RMB...

email me at beijing##photoscholar.com if you like. ( replace ## with @ )

 

[raychan]

Hi

all in all, beijing is fun, except the traffic, hordes of people, hordes of rude people, and bad haze.

The haze is still there ?

Thought they would have cleaned it up during the Olympics. So, it's back to business as usual huh?

Heard about the hazy skies in Beijing. Is it really that bad ?

 

[watsup]

Anyone who is just back from Beijing? I will be travelling there in a few days time, would appreciate some actual on the ground updates on the situation over there. Is the weather very bad? Is it still possible to travel around? Say to visit the great wall at mutianyu and simatai? Besides the road condition is the railway affected by the heavy snowing this time round? Thks.

 

[nemesis32]

Well, all i can say if it snows, then mutianyu and Simatai great wall will be very scenic but a bit inaccessible. You can always go to the more touristy Badaling which will be less crowded in winter.

 

[Picturephobic]

Hi everyone! I'll be going to beijing for around 2 mths.. any suggestions on whether I should bring along my dslr (just body+kit lens)? Will be travelling in small groups but mostly it would be safety concerns..

P.S. Sec 3 Student here

Thanks!

 

[Picturephobic]

tigertay

Any idea how we can book the hotels in advance? (e.g. now, in singapore)
Do you have the websites, email adds, etc for the "better hotels"?
Thanks!