30

I was not being serious when I said that it was 10X further away; but it IS further away. There is a HUGE amount to see in Beijing. The OP can't possibly expect to see everything in 1 day. I have no problem with Yonghe Gong (Even though I'm templed out for the foreseeable future). I refer back to my initial post, where I advised OP NOT to take an organised tour as s/he wouldn't get to appreciate what s/he saw. I suggested that OP restrict his/her itinerary to a limited number of attractions and outlined a schedule that should fill up a day and follow one on from the other.

The OP has one day to see Beijing (And, at the moment, Beijing only has about 8 hours of daylight). The Summer Palace is out. The Ming Tombs are a non-starter. The outlined itinerary was divised to minimise wasted time.

31

We're agreed on several points, manchurianexile:

1. Summer Palace is genuinely much too far away and it's not advised to attempt seeing it in the same day or at all if the OP only has 2 days.

2. Tour buses would not be advisable either. They spend almost 1/2 the day or more at souvenir shops, jade factories, tea factories, lunch stops, etc with not enough time at the real tourist attractions

3. You've outlined a good suggested itinerary for Temple of Heaven, Tiananmen Square, the Forbidden City & some hutongs.

The OP has 2 days, not 8 hours, so they might be able to squeeze in the Lama Temple either at the end of your itinerary or on the other day.

I think we'll agree to disagree on the distance of the Lama temple from the Forbidden City. On several maps, it looks to be about 5 km each way from the Forbidden City to both the Lama Temple & the Temple of Heaven. But I would not attempt to walk to both. The Forbidden city alone is 900 metres from south to north, & another 900 metres back to the south entrance if you make the effort to get all the way to the north entrance. There's more than enough walking involved already.

IF the OP has an hour or 2 of spare daylight at the end of the itinerary, then by all means get the subway from line 1 Tiananmen East subway station, 2 stops to Dongdan, then 5 stops north on line 5 OR get the direct train from the east entrance of the Temple of Heaven direct to Yonghe Gong (8 stops between them).

32

Thanks, everyone, I'm going to study these responses.

One thing that is clear is that daylight hours will be at a premium.

Does anyone have suggestions for interesting nightlife or nighttime activities? (again, something that would feel uniquely Chinese would be best).

33

You'll see adverts for Kung Fu shows and Beijing Opera performances plastered up all over hostels etc. I assume they have night shows (Never been sufficently interested or, in the case of Beijing Opera, deaf enough to want to find out).Otherwise, tea-shops; maybe (Just don't go with any girl that "invites" you and be sure you clearly establish the cost of things).

34

One more question, if someone doesn't mind helping me out on this.
I understand that Simatai has been closed since 2010 and therefore the classic hike from Jinshanling is not as long as it once was since you are now forced to stop far short of Simatai.

That being the case, am I better off sticking with the shortened hike from Jinshanling, or going to Mutianyu instead OR is there some other good day trip option (with a hiking tour company perhaps) that would give me a nice hike along an unrenovated scenic part of the wall?

Thanks.

35

In winter your options are limited. Buses stop running to Mutianyu in winter, (the public bus to Huairou, the last town before the wall) & most places close at 5 pm or earlier. A taxi from Huairou to the wall should be around 100 yuan. You are pretty much restricted to public buses & train from North Beijing Station to Badaling, unless you want to fork out huge amounts of cash for a private tour or taxi.

This article is good, but they appear to have gone in summer

http://www.lonelyplanet.com/travelblogs/933/71844/Don%E2%80%99t+Panic%3A+How+to+do+the+Great+Wall+of+China+%28Mutianyu%29+by+bus?destId=356120