( Note: Prime’s Beijing is a series of several posts about my recent trip to the Chinese capital. in the next few weeks, I’ll be publishing inspiring travelogues, Vlogs and practical tips for women traveling alone in Beijing.)
Text by Prime Sarmiento
Photos by Prime Sarmiento and Nina Sarmiento
In my previous post on Beijing travel, I focused on featuring all the temples/monuments/gardens/palaces. These are all good backdrops for the inevitable travel photography – the products of which can be posted in your Facebook account.
But in this post, I listed down other things that you can do in this city apart from sightseeing. So when in Beijing why don't you…
1. Wander around the hutongs:
Get to know more about the “real” Beijing by taking a tour of the hutongs – narrow alleyways lined with siheyuan or traditional courtyard residences that proliferate in ancient Beijing . While many Beijing residents now live in condominiums, several of the hutongs have been preserved and designated as protected areas. Families still live here, inheriting these homes from their ancestors.
2. Shop for Mao t-shirts:
With so many tourist spots around the city – and the requisite souvenir shops – shopping for travel mementos and gifts is a no brainer. I won’t leave Beijing without buying a Mao shirt – kitsch but it works for me. Other things that you can buy are teapots and boxes of Chinese tea, Mao caps, posters and other Cultural Revolution paraphernalia, books, jade bracelets and paintings.
And since we’re in the subject of shopping, I might as well recommend that you visit one of Beijing’s most famous hutong which has been converted into a shopping/dining/bar area – the Nanluogu Xiang. One of the oldest hutongs in Beijing (over 800 years old], the Nanluogu Xiang is at the Dongcheng district, near the Drum Tower and this alleyway is lined with chifc boutiques, bars, cafes, galleries and even hotels – the perfect spot for the artsy fartsy traveler.
3. Consult an Oriental Medicine practitioner
Guaranteed to change your life as you learn to adapt a healthier lifestyle. And having acupuncture is rejuvenating. prevention is better than the cure.
4. Eat Peking Duck :
In Beijing – or anywhere else in China – for that matter, food tripping is mandatory as you are after all in a country obsessed with eating. Of course, if you’re keen on carbo loading, there are noodles and dumpling galore. But Beijing’s specialty is the Peking duck – roasted duck served with steamed pancake, plum sauce, julienned cucumbers and spring onions.
You eat Peking duck by filling in the pancake with diced meat, cucumber wrapping and spring onions, and then dip in the sauce. The thin and crispy duck skin is eaten separately and dipped in sugar and garlic sauce.
The Peking duck has been prepared since the imperial era, its recipe developed in the Ming Dynasty, was one of the main dishes on imperial court menus and has been served to tourists and diplomats. It is considered as China’s national dish.
5. Drink lots of tea:
I’m not much of a tea drinker, as coffee is my poison of choice, but going to Beijing made me appreciate the fine art of buying, preparing and drinking tea. Thee are several tea houses here and they usually offer a short lecture on tea, free tasting and a selection of teas and teapots that you can purchase for yourself or as gifts.
6. Watch a Chinese opera at the National Centre for the Performing Arts:
This huge opera house is more known as “The Giant Egg” due to its egg-shaped dome made of titanium and glass sitting atop an artificial lake.
It has several halls where you can watch not only the Chinese opera but also ballet recitals, dances, concerts and plays mounted by both local and foreign artists. If you’re lucky, you can even catch a free performance – I managed to watch a Chinese singer performing a solo rendition of an Italian opera but translated in Mandarin. It was a nice ending for a day spent sightseeing around Beijing.
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Resources:
# Traveling in Beijing can be quite pricey, as it's more expensive that other Asian cities. If you want a bigger bang for your buck, use a travel coupon and enjoy discounted rates on hotels and flights!
# Is this your first time to travel to Beijing? Beijing is a difficult city to navigate and an organized city tour can help you in save time and still enjoy your travels in China. I highly recommend booking a trip with my favorite travel tour group Urban Adventures – as a more organized city tour is a way for me to save time and money. Less stressful too.
