Any ideas of some things to go and do? I'm staying kind of mid town about 5KM East of the Palace Museum. I should have some free time Thursday and Friday night and then before my flight leaves Saturday night.
Last time I was in China was 2 decades ago so would love to get some ideas on anything I should check out while there.
You wont recognize the place from when you were last there.
Book a trip to see the Great Wall, buy knock off electronics at the Pearl Market, Temple of Heaven, and steamed bao buns
NOHOME said:You wont recognize the place from when you were last there.
The scale of change is difficult to describe. I went for two week stretches over the course of about two years. Whole cities were built in that time. Literally, first trip farms, last trip more high rise appartments and industrial buildings than I could see.
So take any advice on what to see with and understanding that what someone saw 18mo the ago as a new spot, might just be a run down ghost town while the new spot is 50km over.
My biggest point for you is don't underestimate the smog. My coworkers and I were sidelined for a day due to all of us suffering headaches, chest pain, and pain in our eyes. Company driver refused to pick us up. Hotel had signs advising we stay indoors in certain areas. It is real.
Yes, good luck with the smog. When I was there a few years ago, we got super lucky, it was actually very nice.
The wall is pretty close to there, so certainly a good idea to consider. You may think of knockoffs when you think of China, but they (well some of them) have a lot of money now so there are a lot of high end name brand stores in downtown. Tianamen square is an easy trip also, also an interesting spectical.
One of the fun things to find is one of their 'dollar stores'. Of course there, it's more like a 50 cent store, and that's in downtown. I suspect there are '25 cent' stores somewhere!
One thing to remember at the markets: If you look at it, you want to buy it. If you touch it, you HAVE TO HAVE IT! (the sellers can get a wee bit aggressive)
I remember the aggressive market guys. They were bad 20 years ago. I can only imagine now.
I'm not looking forward to the smog. Looks like it should be down at least the first day I'm there. We will see.
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