Travel with Kelly: A 2-Day Special Forces-style Solo Trip to Beijing

Beijing as the capital city of China with glorious history has always been on my bucket list, but I was always busy with my work since I graduated that I cannot able to realize my wish to go to Beijing. One day I heard one of my colleagues saying that he would go to Beijing just on weekend, that was when it occurred to me that I can be doing that too, and the quite cheap air tickets also strengthened my desire to go to Beijing just on weekend, so I made a special forces-style itinerary and went for it eventually. Now I can't wait to share my 2-day short-stay trip in Beijing with you.

2 Days Beijing Best Highlights Tour (Hotel Pickup)

Itinerary: Beijing
Highlights: Mutianyu Great Wall, Tian'anmen Square, Forbidden City, Temple of Heaven, Summer Palace

Day 1: Stay Overnight in the Airport - Badaling Great Wall - Wudaoying Hutong

My first plan was to take a red-eye flight and stay overnight in Beijing Daxing International Airport, which is a newly built airport that runs countless international and domestic flights every day and brings travelers from all over the world to Beijing. I am glad that I was one of these travelers and finally arrived there to start my trip in Beijing. Since the flight I arrived at was already midnight, I decided to take a short break in one of the coffee shops in the airport from about 00:30 am to 5:30 am. So that I can depart from the airport early morning and take the high-speed train to downtown Beijing tomorrow.

The excitement of coming to Beijing made it difficult for me to sleep, and I woke up early and couldn't wait to get on the train to Beijing downtown, then transfer to the Badaling Great Wall. Great Wall as a symbol of China is definitely a must-see in Beijing, and Badaling Great Wall is the masterpiece of Great Wall in China with fabulous design and sublime surrounding landscape, which is conveniently located 50 km from Beijing downtown and was the first stop on my trip in Beijing. At about 9:30 am, I finally arrived at Badaling Great Wall!

>> Check more about How to Get to Badaling Great Wall

Badaling Great Wall is very popular among both domestic and foreign travelers because it is not only can be reached from Beijing easily, but also the best representative section of all Great Wall of China, which also used to play a significant role in ancient Chinese history. Due to the constant wars and natural corrosion of more than 500 years, more than 30% of Great Walls are damaged. After several times of restoration, more than 3,741 meters’ wall are now available for tourists, including 16 towers and one fortress.

Beautiful Scenery on the Badaling Great Wall

I was fascinated by the majestic beauty of the Badaling Great Wall. Since it was still morning, there were not many tourists, and everyone was immersed themselves in the scenery of the Great Wall in early spring. Some people take a leisurely walk on the Great Wall, some take pictures with friends and family, and some other people start exercising in the early morning... All of these scenes reminded me of a poem by Bian Zhilin:

“Standing on the bridge, you enjoy the sight; Sight-seers gaze at you with the same delight. Your wind is adorned with bright moonbeams, But you adorn another sight-seer’s dreams.”

Morning Scene on the Badaling Great Wall

If you want to hike the Badaling Great Wall, you can start to hike from the fortress to the connecting location of southern section and northern section from which you need to first hike one section, and then return the same way to another section. The southern section is short with 4 towers, while the northern section has 8 towers. If you want to save energy and time, you can take cableway directly to the No. 7 Towers on the northern section, then walk to the southern section. It took me about 5 hours to finish my hike, then I took bus from Badaling to Deshengmen and began my next exploration to Wudaoying Hutong.

>> Check more about Great Wall Hiking Tours

Wudaoying Hutong

Beijing Hutong connecting the quadrangle dwellings is more than a tourist attraction, but also the pulse of this city. All the over 6,000 alleys of long, short, wide, narrow, straight and winding link the whole Beijing from the ancient time telling the various stories happened in each period and show the historic development and cultural change of Beijing city. There are local residents and a variety of beautiful shops as well. Just taking a stroll through Hutongs and hearing people chewing the fat with Beijing accent was quite relaxing experience.

Take a Relaxing Stroll in Beijing Hutong

Day 2: Tiananmen Square - Forbidden City - Summer Palace - Return from the Airport

Today is a very important and busy day because I had to get up early to go to Tiananmen Square to watch the flag-raising ceremony, which is something I have been looking forward to for a long time. I only slept for about 2-3 hours last night and woke up at about 2:00 am, then I took the night bus at about 3:00 am and arrived at Tiananmen Square about 4:00 am, then waited in line until we were allowed to go inside. Since security in Tiananmen Square is very strict, you often need to arrive there early especially if you want to have a good viewing spot. At 6:28 am, the ceremony began, I was so excited and achieved my once-in-a-lifetime dream.

Flag-raising Ceremony on the Tiananmen Square

At there, I met a girl who was also traveling alone to Beijing. We helped each other take pictures and went to residential area to find the local food for our breakfast, where we tasted delicious Douzhir (Fermented Bean Drink) and Fried Ring, which are traditional snacks in local Beijing.

>> Check more about Beijing Food and Snack

Then we continue on our way to Forbidden City, which is also another must-see in Beijing. Forbidden City is the largest palace complex in the world, and used to be the imperial palace of Ming and Qing Dynasties for more than 600 years. I was very impressed by the ancient royal architecture here, but it was a great pity that I didn't have enough time to go to the Treasure Gallery. The girl I met at Tiananmen Square told me it was very worthy seeing. Maybe next time I will come back and be sure to visit the Treasure Gallery.

Ancient Royal Architecture in Forbidden City

In the afternoon, I transferred to my last stop - Summer Palace. In Qing Dynasty, the Summer Palace was the private garden for the Emperors and his families to retreat during hot summer months. I had seen private gardens in Suzhou and Hangzhou as a student majored in landscape architecture before, but this probably was my first time to see royal gardens in Beijing. It is a very big and beautiful garden, I walked for a long time and totally enjoyed my time here.

>> Check more about Four Best Gardens in China

Traditional Architecture in Summer Palace

My 2-day short trip in Beijing is coming to the end. I had to head to the airport to get on my flight to go back. The flight arrived in Chongqing later than my expected, and it suddenly began to rain heavily so that I got all wet. Nevertheless, it still was an unforgettable trip for me, because I had done something I never imagined before and I am sure that I will definitely return to Beijing again in the near future.

3 Days Beijing Essential Highlights Tour

Itinerary: Beijing
Highlights: Forbidden City, Jingshan Park, Mutianyu Great Wall, Hutong, Bird's Nest, Water Cube

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