Běijīng Suburbs and Beyond

Part of A Better Guide to Běijīng

Note that much of what’s listed below is within the Fourth and Fifth Ring Roads, and sometimes barely beyond the Third, and reachable in half an hour or so for ¥20 to ¥30 by taxi, or for much less still by metro or public bus. Other sites require longer days by bus, taxi, or tour bus, but none requires an overnight stay, although some do improve on more extended acquaintance.

Little more than a decade ago almost the only viable day trip from Běijīng was a circular route taken by nearly everyone, including visiting heads of state, to the Great Wall at Bā Dá Lǐng and on to the Míng Tombs. It was slow and uncomfortable. A day’s travel by bus in any other direction would have got you almost nowhere, and there seemed to be nowhere else to go anyway. The Chinese themselves had neither the interest, the resources, nor the permission to go on trips out of their own towns, and the expression ‘spring travel’ referred to a single day trip out of the immediate neighbourhood arranged especially for high school and university students.

Then, most sight-seeing was done within the Second Ring Road, and even the hotels on the Third Ring seemed pretty far-flung. But now the city, and what there is to see in it, has expanded to fill the space inside the Fourth and Fifth Ring Roads, where many new and worthwhile attractions, from high-tech museums to artist colonies, have opened in recent years. The construction of decent highways to other urban areas has also caused a rapid opening of tourist facilities in the region around Běijīng, and the metro system has in recent years rapidly expanded deep into suburbia, too, making access to rural sights easier. New sections of the Great Wall open to visitors all the time, although sometimes with dubious legality, and almost-forgotten temples have smartened themselves up for a surge of arrivals on cheap and convenient bus tours.

But the countryside has also been blighted by the construction of garish funfairs and theme parks (乐园, lè yuán) designed to draw Beijingers and some of their new-found discretionary spending power. For more than a decade as you sped up the expressway to Bā Dá Lǐng you could see to the right a partly built Chinese version of a Disneyland castle confection destined never to be completed. This was not only because of unrealistic expectations of demand being met by vast public indifference, but because it was one of the grands projets of former Běijīng mayor Chén Xītóng (陈希同), who was given a 16-year jail sentence for corruption in 1998. It was demolished only in 2013.

The rise in the numbers of privately owned cars and in the numbers of cadres using their work unit’s vehicles over the weekend has produced a Friday afternoon rush on the roads out of Běijīng and similar congestion on the way back on Sundays. As keen to avoid the crowds as everyone else, Běijīng’s drivers head for undisturbed scenic spots not on the bus tour routes and disturb them by discarding mineral water bottles, cigarette packets, and plastic sausage skins. But no area attracting day- or weekend-trippers is left unenclosed for long, and soon a ticket booth appears, followed by mineral water sellers, food and souvenir stalls, and a funfair.

Destinations promoted simply for their scenery are largely ignored in this guide since from the point of view of outsiders these have been despoiled — often now full of firework throwers and bungee jumpers. Those wanting peaceful scenery are advised simply to set off on foot from one of the Great Wall sites or from temples in leafy locations, such as the Tánzhè Sì, Jiètái Sì, or Dà Jué Sì, or villages such as Cuàn Dǐxià. There are plenty of choices.

Long-distance, surburban, and tour buses are increasingly comfortable, and many of the destinations mentioned below are served by no-frills Chinese tours at prices that suit both budget travellers and those who prefer to travel with the Chinese rather than be overcharged to travel with foreigners. Yet-cheaper public bus alternatives are also given.

If chartering a taxi for the day, the final price should be considerably less than the number of kilometres times the kilometre rate. To popular destinations such as the nearest Great Wall sites taxi drivers may try to convince you that the ‘right’ price is ¥800, for instance, a line that many an expat (among the last people you should look to for advice on such matters) has unwisely swallowed, sometimes ensuring they pay more than the meter rate per km.

SUMMER PALACES

Introduction
Summer Palace 颐和园
Gate of Good Luck
Construction and Corruption
‘Old’ Summer Palace 圆明园
Architecture and Xenophobia

THE GREAT WALL

Introduction Choosing which section to visit, Getting to the Wall, Alternative approaches
Wall Stories
Jūyōng Guān 居庸关长城
Shuǐ Guān 水关长城
Bā Dá Lǐng 八达岭长城, Zhān Tiānyòu Museum 詹天佑纪念馆, Great Wall Museum 中国长城博物馆
Mùtiányù 慕田峪长城
Sīmǎtái 司马台长城
Pánlóng Shān 蟠龙山长城, walk to Jīn Shān Lǐng
Jīn Shān Lǐng 金山岭长城, walk to Sīmǎtái
Jiǎnkòu 箭扣长城
Huáng Huā Chéng Shuǐ 黄花城水长城
Huáng Huā Chéng 黄花城长城

TOMBS AND BURIAL SITES

Introduction Choosing which tombs to visit and what to look for.
Míng Tombs 十三陵
Eastern Qīng Tombs 清东陵
The Legend of the Fragrant Concubine
Western Qīng Tombs 清西陵
Sleeping with an Emperor
Museum of the Western Hàn Tombs at Dàbǎotái 大葆台西汉墓博物馆
Peking Man Site Museum at Zhōukǒudiàn 周口店北京人遗址博物馆

ARTIST COLONIES

Běijīng’s Artist Colonies
A Licence to Paint Money
Dà Shānzi 798 Art District 大山子艺术区
Cǎochǎngdì Art District 草场地艺术区
Big Character
Sòng Zhuāng Artists Village 宋庄画家村
Other Art Zones

VILLAGES, RURAL TEMPLES, AND SCENERY

Introduction to Villages, Rural Temples, and Scenery
Tánzhè Sì 潭柘寺
The Flight of the Beekeepers
Jiètái Sì 戒台寺
Shall We Have Dinner on the Terrace?
Tián Yì Mù 田义墓
Fǎ Hǎi Sì 法海寺
Císhàn Sì 慈善寺
Běijīng Botanical Gardens 北京植物园
Fragrant Hills Park 香山公园
Bā Dà Chù 八大处
Dà Jué Sì 大觉寺
Yúnjū Sì 云居寺
Hóngluó Sì 红螺寺
Silver Mountain Pagoda Forest 银山塔林
Cuàn Dǐxià 爨底下
Jī Míng Shān Yì 鸡鸣山驿
Tōngzhōu Pagoda 三教庙燃灯佛舍利塔

MUSEUMS AND OTHER SIGHTS

Introduction to Museums and Other Sights
China Railway Museum 中国铁道博物馆
China Film Museum 中国电影博物馆
Guānfù Classic Art Museum 觀復博物館
Central Academy of Fine Arts Gallery 中央美术学院美术馆
Marco Polo Bridge 卢沟桥
Was Polo Here?
Wǎnpíng Chéng 宛平城, The Museum of the Chinese People’s Anti-Japanese War 中国人民抗日战争纪念馆
Sōng Shān Ancient Cave Dwellings 古崖居
China Aviation Museum 中国航空博物馆
Mílù Yuàn 麋鹿苑
Museum of Imperial Examination Tablets 北京励志堂科举匾额博物馆
China Red Sandalwood Museum 中国紫檀博物馆
Jiāozhuānghù Tunnel Warfare Site 焦庄户地道战遗址纪念馆
Tank Museum 坦克博物馆
Grand Epoch City 天下第一城
Olympic Green 奥林匹克公园, National Stadium 国家体育场, National Aquatics Centre 国家游泳中心
Yuán Dynasty Capital City Wall Site Park 元大都城垣遗址公园
Běijīng Auto Museum 北京汽车博物馆

Next in Běijīng Suburbs and Beyond: Introduction to the Summer Palaces
Previously in Northwest Beyond the Zoo: Great Bell Temple
Main Index of A Better Guide to Beijing.

For discussion of China travel, see The Oriental-List.