Beijing Travel Guide: Costs, Best Times, and Things to Do

Channel: Creative Travel Guide Published: July 6, 2022 Duration: 5:05 Views: 334.3K

What this video shows

This is a practical travel-planning guide to Beijing from the channel Creative Travel Guide, presented by a host named Katie. Rather than following one person through a single day, it walks through the logistics a visitor would need: when to go, how to arrive, how to move around the city, what accommodation and food cost, and which major sights are worth the trip. The advice covers the Great Wall, the Forbidden City, the Temple of Heaven, the Summer Palace, and the hutong lanes, plus a suggestion to stay in a traditional courtyard hotel and try Peking duck.

At a glance

LocationBeijing, China
SettingLarge capital city
What it coversTravel planning: timing, transport, costs, sightseeing
Costs mentionedDorm bed from RMB 70; budget hotel private room about RMB 200; mid-range private room at least RMB 600; luxury hotels from about RMB 750; street food from RMB 10; local restaurant meal about RMB 100; western restaurant RMB 200 and up; local restaurant meal under RMB 40
Time of dayNot applicable — planning advice rather than a day-in-the-life

What stands out

The recommended windows for visiting are mid-April to June and September to October; winter can drop to -15°C and pollution runs high from November to March, while the first week of October and Chinese New Year are periods to avoid. Getting around is framed as easiest by subway, which is described as modern, safe, and convenient, with an app for navigation; taxis are an option but drivers rarely speak much English, so a destination written in Chinese helps. Bargaining is advised wherever an item has no price tag, and shared bikes can be unlocked by scanning a barcode through WeChat for a small fee. The cost picture is presented as cheap by Western standards, with local food far cheaper than western meals.

Video transcript

as the capital of china there are many reasons to visit beijing this is katie from creative travel guide and today we share the things to know before you go to beijing looking for more travel tips make sure to hit subscribe and ring that notification bell so firstly let's look at the best time to visit so the best time to visit beijing is from the middle of april through to june and september to october the winter in beijing can be bitterly cold with temperatures reaching -15 degrees celsius the pollution also runs high from november to march however

summer months are hot and busy in beijing too whilst planning your trip you also need to avoid the chinese national holidays golden week runs during the first week of october and chinese new year typically lands at the end of january start of february if possible aim to visit beijing just after a national holiday locals all return back to work so attractions and sites are much quieter are much quieter so now let's look at how to get there flights are available for most international airports across the world as well as smaller domestic airports across

china beijing international airport offers 11 different airport shuttle bus routes as well as the airport express train which runs throughout the day beijing is not an expensive city compared to the west so you may choose to catch a taxi to your hotel instead you could also get to beijing via train china has an extensive train network so catching the train to beijing from another city is not uncommon however it is worth noting that there are four different main train stations in the city so check which station is nearest your accommodation so now let's

look at getting around beijing beijing is a large city so you may wish to research the best way to travel around especially around your hotel cycling can be an enjoyable way of getting around the city with most major roads including bike lanes however depending on the time of the year it can get warm in beijing and with so much to do you may wish to save your energy for the sightseeing the easiest way to get around the city is by using the subway system this is modern safe and convenient you can even download the beijing metro app to navigate yourself

around the city around the city buses are another way to get around beijing with swipe cards making it easier for non-chinese speakers however these are often busy and crowded if you don't fancy the metro then a taxi would perhaps be the best option for you when getting a taxi it is useful to have your destination written down in chinese as very few drivers speak much english alternatively you could use diddy this is china's version of uber and you can find it in most cities of china so now let's look at the typical prices dorm beds will start around 70

rmb with private rooms in budget hotels costing around 200 rmb for a private room in a mid-range hotel expect to pay at least 600 and more luxurious hotels start around 750 rmb around 750 rmb street food begins at 10 rmb a local restaurant will cost you around 100 rmb and western restaurants will cost you 200 and up so compared to the west china is a relatively cheap place to visit but of course there are always ways to save some money when you are buying from vendors in both markets and small stores negotiate the price with the seller generally speaking

if there is not a price tag on an item then it is an opportunity for you to bargain another way to save some money is to use the bikes around beijing you will see plenty of bikes literally everywhere you can scan the barcode on these bikes using the wechat app and pay a very small fee to ride around the city you can also choose to eat locally so stick to the local food and restaurants in beijing you can get a delicious meal in a restaurant for under 40 rmb whilst western meals are much more expensive so now let's look at the best things to do in beijing

of course the first thing you have to do in beijing is to visit the nearby great wall of china there are a few different sections that you can visit and we have a full guide over on our website creative travel guides we will leave the link in the description below below you should also visit the popular forbidden city before exploring the temple of heaven and its surrounding grounds grounds appreciate the architecture at the summer palace and get lost down the hutongs stay in a traditional courtyard hotel and make sure to eat plenty of local food

especially the peking duck watch this video to find out the best things to do in beijing then to learn about the best places to visit in china watch this video we hope you have an incredible time in beijing and stay creative

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