Legs Sore, Heart Full: My Springtime Journey Through Beijing
- concertowang
- Jun 8, 2025
- 5 min read
It had been over ten years since my last visit to Beijing, and so much had changed. This time, the trip took more effort to plan—not only because we traveled on our own without friends, but also because today’s booking systems are more complicated than they were a decade ago. But in the end, the adventure was worth it.
Our 9-Day Itinerary:
• Day 1: Arrived in Beijing
• Day 2: Morning: walk from Peking University to Tsinghua University; Afternoon at the Summer Palace (頤和園)
• Day 3: Gubei Water Town (古北水鎮)
• Day 4: Mutianyu Great Wall (慕田峪長城)
• Day 5: Tiananmen Square → The Palace Museum
• Day 6: Stayed in due to gusty winds
• Day 7: Olympic Park (photo stop at the Bird’s Nest) → Qianmen Street (前門大街) → Crosstalk show at Deyun Society (德雲社相聲)
• Day 8: Nanluoguxiang (南鑼鼓巷) → Jingshan Park (景山公園) → Beihai Park (北海公園) → Shichahai (什剎海)
• Day 9: Departure
Our Stays:
We stayed at three hotels, each with its own charm:
• Mino Hotel (米諾酒店), Haidian District – 2 nights. Modern and tech-friendly (voice-controlled room settings!), and convenient for visiting Peking and Tsinghua Universities and the Summer Palace.
• Yinghua Inn (英華客棧), Gubei Water Town – 1 night. Inside the water town, with a traditional exterior and great location for exploring.
• DoubleTree by Hilton Beijing (北京希爾頓逸林酒店) – 5 nights. A five-star hotel with an indoor pool and adjacent to MRT stations and a mall filled with restaurants.
All three were clean and had friendly staff, but unfortunately, all had noticeable smoke smells in non-smoking rooms—even at DoubleTree. But thankfully the DoubleTree hotel manager kindly upgraded us to a two-bedroom family suite (with a small surcharge) that was finally smoke-free. I hope in the future, more travelers will respect non-smoking policies to create healthier, more comfortable stays for everyone.
Food Highlights:
One of my fondest memories from my last Beijing trip was the Chinese savory crepe (煎餅果子) from street vendors. Sadly, I couldn’t find one that matched the flavor in my memory this time. Still, we discovered several delicious spots worth returning to:
• 紫光園奶皮子酸奶 – A Beijing-style milk curd dessert that’s smooth, slightly sweet, and chilled—similar to a soft milk pudding. We especially loved the tea-flavored one, which we could only find at their 大柵欄 location.
• 方磚廠69號 – Excellent food and free extra noodles! It’s very popular, so expect to wait during peak hours.
• 正宗南門涮肉 – Lamb hotpot with no gamey taste. We got a great deal using a coupon for two people.
• 四季民福烤鴨 – Their roast duck was flavorful and more affordable than other famous spots like 全聚德. It’s popular, so be ready for a wait if you go near tourist sites. We had no wait at their West Station location.
Getting Around:
We used a mix of transportation:
• Airport taxi: Booked through Trip.com—reliable and reasonably priced.
• Out-of-town travel: We hired a 5-passenger car via 華夏包車 to go from downtown to Gubei Water Town and Mutianyu Great Wall. The driver was on time, polite, and even gave us great restaurant tips.
• City travel: We used the MRT for most sightseeing in town. Trains were convenient but packed, especially during rush hours or at popular destinations.
Sightseeing Tips:
Booking popular attractions was an adventure in itself. Each spot has its own reservation platform and time window. A local phone number is helpful, as some bookings require phone verification. Even in April—considered off-peak—we couldn’t secure all the spots we hoped for, like Peking University, Tsinghua University, and the Tiananmen Gate Tower (天安門城樓).
Some places, like the Summer Palace and Beihai Park, still sell in-person tickets. For the Palace Museum, we booked a half-day guided tour via Trip.com, which helped us secure entrance right when booking opened. Electronic guides are available at some sites. I bought one at Summer Palace, but found it hard to use without headphones. My husband found helpful travel tips from posts on RedNote (小紅書), which was a budget-friendly alternative.
Reflections:
As soon as I stepped out of the airport, I noticed white fluff floating through the air. One taxi driver told us they were catkins, which are common in April and can get so thick they damage car engines!
Even during this so-called “off-season,” major attractions were still crowded. I can’t imagine what it must be like in the summer. The trip reminded me how big Beijing is—exploring it definitely requires some stamina!
Some of the highlights for me included our visit to the Mutianyu Great Wall—a less crowded and more senior-friendly spot with convenient cable car service—and my first overnight stay in a water town. Though Gubei Water Town felt a bit commercialized, it still offered a unique experience. The evening drone show was a perfect blend of tradition and technology, illuminating the night sky with the silhouette of the Simatai Great Wall (司馬台長城) in the background. We were too tired to do the night hike on the Great Wall or enjoy the hot spring, but for someone like me—who hasn’t explored much of the classic Jiangnan (江南)-style water towns—it was still a worthwhile stop for a short stay.
Another surprise favorite was the Deyun Society crosstalk performance, which we went to thanks to my husband’s love for crosstalk comedy. The performers were sharp and hilarious, with plenty of spontaneous audience interaction that made the show even more entertaining. At just around 60 RMB per ticket for side seats in a 2+ hour show, it was a fantastic deal. We also treated ourselves to a tea-and-snack combo set (about 300 RMB)—a bit pricey, but it added to the full theater experience.
Final Thoughts:
This trip to Beijing took a lot of planning, but I’m so glad we made it happen. Thanks to the many online resources available, everything went fairly smoothly. Most people we met were kind and helpful.
While Beijing has many clean public restrooms every few blocks, some restaurants don’t have their own. Also, I noticed that priority seating on public transport was often taken by younger people when MRTs are fully packed—not ideal for seniors or those in need.
I’ll always remember this trip—the amazing food, the stories and history behind each place, the sore legs from walking everywhere, and even the crazy gusty winds that shut down major sights. Luckily, our schedule was flexible, so it didn’t mess things up too much. I did feel bad for people who had worked so hard to secure reservations but couldn’t change their plans. Beijing has changed a lot since I last visited—and honestly, so have I. I’m really glad I got the chance to see it again from a different point in life.
Here are a series of videos for this trip:
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