Beijing is the capital city of China and it is known of historical sites such as Forbidden City, Tiananmen Square and Summer palace. I visited Beijing for 2 days in the month of January. January is the coldest month in Beijing and it is a low tourist season in Beijing. Beijing is a dry place so you won’t find snow even if the temperature is well below 0 degree. During my visit to Beijing the temperature was in the range of -15 degree to 0 degree. It was very cold and if you don’t like cold weather then i would strongly recommend to avoid visiting Beijing during winter. It is not bad to visit Beijing during winter season because most of the tourist spots are not crowded and you get cheaper accommodation. You should definitely avoid travelling Beijing during Chinese New Year holidays and October 1st week because it gets really crowded during these periods.
Temple of Heaven – The flight duration from Hong Kong to Beijing was 3.5 Hours. There was a long queue at Immigration and I managed to get out of the Airport at around 11 am. The sunset time was 5 pm and I had only 6 hours to explore Temple of Heaven, Tiananmen Square and Forbidden City. I took a taxi from airport and reached Temple of Heaven within 30 minutes. The traffic was not that bad. Temple of Heaven is a Taoist temple. The temple was built in the 15th century by Yongle Emperor. The temple was used during Qing and Ming dynasty for prayer to heaven for good harvest. Temple of Heaven is listed in UNESCO world heritage site. The temple compound consists of parks and museum. The architecture of the main temple is unique and it is completely different from other Taoist temple. The park near the temple was huge and it took me about 10-15 minutes to cross the park and reach the west gate of the temple.
Tiananmen Square – Tiananmen Square is situated near Temple of Heaven. It takes about 30 minutes to walk from the west gate of Temple of Heaven to Tiananmen Square. Just before Tiananmen Square i had to queue up for the security check. It is compulsory for the foreigners to show their passport at the security check. Tourist spots like Monument to the People’s heroes, The Great hall of the people, National Museum of China & Mausoleum of Mao Zedong are located near Tiananmen Square. The square is one of the largest city squares of the world and it is the most visited tourist attraction in China. Tiananmen square is situated opposite to Forbidden city. The huge portrait of Mao Zedong on the Tiananmen Square gate is a major landmark of China and it is featured numerous times in various TV news and Magazines. The square is heavily guarded and the founding ceremony of People’s Republic of China was organized at the square on October 1, 1949.
Forbidden City- Forbidden city is located next to Tiananmen Square. After crossing the under-bridge from Tiananmen Square i collected entrance ticket at the Meridian gate. The queue was not that bad and after security check i entered inside the main complex of Forbidden City. Forbidden city was the home of Chinese emperors and households for more than 500 years. It was the political center of China during the major part of modern history. Forbidden City has the largest collection of wooden structure in the world and it is included as UNESCO world heritage site. The structure of the Forbidden city is similar to a huge castle. Forbidden city is surrounded by 8 m high walls an each sides and moats. Hall of Supreme Harmony is situated at the center of Forbidden city and it is the biggest structure within the Forbidden city. Hall of Supreme Harmony was the center for different ceremonies during the Imperial power. The entire compound features temples, halls, museums and it takes at least a day to explore all the parts of Forbidden City in detail. I spent around 3 hours at Forbidden city and tried to cover as much as possible during my trip. Northern gate is situated just opposite to Tiananmen square gate and most people end their visit to Forbidden city at this gate. The complex was huge and i was really impressed by the architecture. It was very well maintained for tourism purposes and it was very spacious inside the compound. Just outside the North gate the compound moat was completely frozen because of subzero temperature.
Jingshan park is situated near the North gate of Tiananmen square. The bird’s eye view of Forbidden city can be seen from the pavilion situated on Jingshan hill. The path to the pavilion is well laid out and it takes about 20 minutes to reach the pavilion from the entrance gate. The view from the three-storey pavilion was incredible and I was completely amazed by the size of Forbidden city. It was winter season and the weather was little foggy but the visibility from the pavilion was incredible.
Beijing Hutong – Your visit to Beijing is incomplete if you don’t visit Hutongs. Hutongs are small narrow alleys and they represent the real tradition & culture of Beijing. I took tricycle from north gate of Forbidden city and it took me about 20 minutes to reach Nanluoguxiang Hutong. Nanluoguxiang Hutong is the most famous Hutong in Beijing. Nanluoguxiang Hutong is little bit touristy and it is crowded during night. The Hutong is famous for local snacks, handicrafts & Chinese tea stalls. I tried some nice Peking Duck roll from the Hutong and it was delicious. The Hutong is located near Nanluoguxiang metro station and the station is well connected to other parts of Beijing.
Bird’s Nest- Bird’s Nest is the National stadium of China. The stadium was used extensively during the Beijing Summer Olympics in 2008 and it will be again used during the Beijing Winter Olympics in 2022. The stadium is popular for its unique design which resembles a Bird’s Nest. Bird’s Nest stadium is located near Olympic Sports Center metro station and it takes about an hour to reach Bird’s Nest from Tiananmen Square.
CCTV Tower- CCTV tower is a must visit place for anyone who is interested in modern engineering and architecture. The tower is the headquarter of Chinese broadcasting giant CCTV. The architecture of the tower is very unique and it was challenging to build the tower. The tower was built in three separate sections and the sections were eventually joined together. It takes about 30 minutes to reach CCTV tower from Tiananmen Square. Guomao metro station is the nearest station to CCTV tower.
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