5D5N in Beijing

Context

🌤⛅We travelled at the end of September, 2024, between Mid-Autumn Festival and China's National Day. Weather on the first day was rainy and windy (about 15 Celsius across the day), weather the rest of the days were sunny (about 22-24 Celsius in the day, and down to 15 Celsius at night).

📱We did not get a China sim-card, only subscribed to roaming passes from our own telco.

🏨We stayed in Wang Fu Jing 王府井 area and was about 10~15min walk from the Wangfujing shopping street.

Must have apps

These are the few apps that was helpful for us across our trip in Beijing.

Links below are for Android users.

1. Baidu maps 百度地图 : It accepts English term searches and works similarly to Google maps. You can also try google translating the names of locations to input the chinese characters into the search bar. It can be also used to read interactive reviews about places, useful in a search for good food.
2. Wechat 微信: Not just used for communication purposes, it can also be used for payment, transport and travel, and even discovering 'mini programs'. Do not worry about not understanding Mandarin, as the chat has a translate function. Just long press the message to access the menu and select translate. Long press on the translated message will give you another option to change language, if you need.
3. Alipay 支付宝: This is a generally accepted payment method, on top of WeiXin Pay. If you are Malaysian, you can also use Touch n Go app, which already has Alipay integrated. On roaming, it seems easier for the seller to scan our QR for payment instead of us scanning their code. 🤷‍♀️

Moving around 🚇

Their public transport are rather efficient, specifically the subway 地铁. Although, do note that you will need to go through a security check at every entrance in the subway. Using Baidu maps, you can easily figure out the subway line and timings. You can tap your credit card to enter and exit the subway. We were told we could use Alipay or Wechat pay, but we couldn't seem to work it, so we opted for contactless card instead.

If you are staying at a hotel, you can get the concierge to order you a taxi. Baidu has e-hailing function too, but it may require you to have a China sim. Same goes for Didi. Take note that scanning of the payment QR may not work too well in a taxi and you may want to still prepare cash. Or, you can also try scanning and opening the car door or window to allow faster loading of the apps. Don't know why the internet doesn't seem to work in a closed taxi. 😅

Other than that, you'd wanna walk around the places of attractions anyway. The pedestrian walkways are intuitive. Plus, you can always just follow what the locals do. 😉

I also just learned that 拼车 means carpool. So selecting those option on Didi may get you in the car with another passenger. LOL

Unfortunately, we didn't try taking any public busses, so no comment on how to go places with this mode.

Foodie list 🥢🍵

Here are some suggested places to eat based on areas/tourist attractions we've been and some recommended by locals (mainly our tour guide and my friends from Beijing).

1. Nan Luo Gu Xiang 南锣鼓巷, Clock and Drum Tower (钟楼， 鼓楼)
   1. Fang Zhuan Chang 69 方砖厂69 for Ja Jiang Mien 炸酱面 🍜
2. Yonghe Temple 雍和宫 / Confucius Temple 孔庙
   1. Xin He Xiao Guan 新和小馆 （北新桥店）: Signature dish is the prawn pork dumplings. Qian Long cabbage is worth a try as well.
   2. Hu Xiao Pang Xiao Long Xia 沪小胖小龙虾 (簋街店）: Awesome crayfish 🦞（was suggested to try the 飞天油焖龙虾). Also suggested to try the drunken crab 熟醉蟹
   3. Bao Shi Fu 鲍师傅: Bakery with a signature meatfloss bun that is sweet and savoury. 🍞
3. Temple of Heaven 天坛公园
   1. Bei Ping Shi Fu . Peking Roast Duck 北平食府。北京烤鸭（陶然亭店）: Fancy restaurant with glorious Peking Roast Duck and other mouth-watering menu. Also said that the waiter will explain some history of the food to you. Better visited with a local friend.
4. Summer Palace 颐和园
   1. Xiao Diao Li Tang 小吊梨汤（融科店）: Famous for their fried pear and prawn 梨球果仁虾, Pear drink 小吊梨汤, Yellow Pea dessert 豌豆黄
5. Forbidden City 故宫， Wang Fu Jing 王府井
   1. Dong Lai Shun 东来顺(王府井店): Classic hotpot, where the locals go.
   2. Lao Bian Jiao Zi Guan 老边饺子馆 (东单店）: Serves dumplings 🥟 and other food options. The Pear Drink 小吊梨汤 🧉(supposedly good for sore throat) was heavenly.

Recommended places but did not get to try：

1. Xian Lao Man 馅老满: Apparently serving delicious dumplings.
2. Yue Rong. Jing Lu Cai 悦融。京鲁菜（安定门）: Good Peking Duck
3. Chuan Ban Chan Ting 川办餐厅: Recommended as best Sichuan food in Beijing
4. Ju Bao Yuan 聚宝源（牛街总店）: Best Beijing Hotpot

Of course, you can (and should) always try random street stalls or food court. Food like Jian Bing 杂粮煎饼, Doornail Meat Pie 门钉肉饼, Tanghulu 糖葫芦, Lui Da Goon 驴打滚, stinky tofu 臭豆腐 are all must-try in Beijing. Being the capital city since ancient dynasties, this is the best city to get a taste of different specialty dishes from different provinces in China.

Souvenirs 🎁🍬

A recommended souvenir shop by locals is 稻香春 Dao Xiang Cun, a well-known bakery and snacks outlet. You may find them in different parts of town and they generally sell similar pastries and titbits. However, the one in Nan Luo Gu Xiang seems to be meant for tourists and have prettier packaging (at a slightly higher price, of course). You can also get Peking Duck-to-go in this shop. If you see a Dao Xiang Cun nearby you, I'd suggest to go in a pick a few pastries from the bakery to try on-the-go.

Worth buying back: Dragon beard snacks, yogurt nougat, flower fruit tea.

Here is one location: Dao Xiang Cun, Deng Shi Kou branch (this is more of a local bakery)

When in doubt, how about a book published in Beijing from their local bookstore!📖

How much did we spend

Overall, across our whole trip in Beijing, we spent about RM200 (Malaysian Ringgit, MYR) per person per day on transport, food and drinks, tickets and audio aids to places of attractions, and even souvenirs! This was our day to day spending and does not include flights or accommodation.