Trip Recommendations - Beijing, Mongolia

perzpective

perzpective

Zack Cluley
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So in the planning of stage for summer trip from July 25-Aug 4.

Beijing -> 3 days -- Mongolia -> 7 days

Obviously it's not enough time for either city, but whats a young slaved teacher to do. Gotta make the most of what I have.

I want to crowdsource things to do for both places. Where would you go? What would you do? Keep in mind, it's going to be a photographic trip with heavy focus on people and stories, but always scenic views and great experiences!

Best comments get a virtual high five and a promised future hug (or drink) ^_^

Also, any RFFers in either place during those times I'd love to meet up. Nothing like meeting likeminded people across the world!
 
Can't help you but it sounds like a fine trip. Have you done much travel in South Korea yet? There are some beautiful temples and mountain areas there.
 
Beijing can be a tough place to photograph without being rather "generic" about the images. I won't miss the usual locations, great wall, forbidden palace.etc, but there is a definitely a lot of fun to be had on the street, as well as interesting modern architecture. And the FOOD - I'd plan carefully every meal, Quanjude roast duck and traditional Beijing snacks (I recommend Jingwei Building) are nice options.

Mongolia is a bit like Tibet - the longer your lens, the better you can compose in terms of scenery. I was quite a bit younger when I visited Mongolia, but Gurvan Saikhan brings up a few memories. The capital suburbs are beautiful prairies - maybe tenting?

I'd usually be in Beijing during August, but this years travel plans shifted. Best of luck anyways 🙂
 
perzpective said:
So in the planning of stage for summer trip from July 25-Aug 4.

Beijing -> 3 days -- Mongolia -> 7 days

Also, any RFFers in either place during those times I'd love to meet up. Nothing like meeting likeminded people across the world!
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I have been in Beijing for three years now. Let me know when you get here, I am always up for showing people where the best chuan'r and beer can be had.

For three days, I would hit up gaobeidian great wall, forbidden city, temple of heaven park and spend a good day just wandering around the hutongs. If time permitted, I would also stop at some of the smaller temples, skip Yong He Gong (Lama temple) as it is full of tourists and the monks are very adamant about no photos. Also Hou Hai Lake can be nice during the week when it is a little quieter.
 
Mongolia is incredible. Be sure to get away from Ulaan Baatar - it's fine, but there are plenty more interesting things to see in the countryside. I would recommend some horse back riding on one of those crazy Mongolian horses, trying some arak (sp?), and trying to meet up with some locals. I was lucky enough to meet a guy who lived with his wife, young child, and parents in one of the Soviet style blocks. He introduced me to his home and family, then we headed out to his uncle's farm in the countryside and got a glimpse of what rural (but not nomadic) life was like. We also were lucky enough to ride into the steppe in a jeep and visit a family of nomadic herders and have a meal in their yurt. I found Mongolians to be very friendly and open, and everyone I encountered was keen to show me around and share their newly open tourist destination. Many people were trying to be a part of the tourist industry, so they were helpful and welcoming. I think the best advice is to just be friendly and see what happens. There are certainly many photographic opportunities - factories, religious life, business dealings in the developing world, steppes, nomadic herders, newly developed suburbs, and all the trappings that come with a nation undergoing major changes. Enjoy the trip!
 
blue4130 said:
I have been in Beijing for three years now. Let me know when you get here, I am always up for showing people where the best chuan'r and beer can be had.

For three days, I would hit up gaobeidian great wall, forbidden city, temple of heaven park and spend a good day just wandering around the hutongs. If time permitted, I would also stop at some of the smaller temples, skip Yong He Gong (Lama temple) as it is full of tourists and the monks are very adamant about no photos. Also Hou Hai Lake can be nice during the week when it is a little quieter.
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Awesome Vance! I'd love to take you up on that deal man, ill be flying in the 25th of July and will be there until the 28th. If you will be free them we should definitely meet up! I'm keen on finding these "hutongs" and want to explore the lesser traveled part of the Great Wall. Outside of that, some beer and Peking duck in a hole in the wall joint in china would be icing on the cake!
 
perzpective said:
Awesome Vance! I'd love to take you up on that deal man, ill be flying in the 25th of July and will be there until the 28th. If you will be free them we should definitely meet up! I'm keen on finding these "hutongs" and want to explore the lesser traveled part of the Great Wall. Outside of that, some beer and Peking duck in a hole in the wall joint in china would be icing on the cake!
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Just give me a shout when you get here (or a day or two before) and I'll keep my time free. Always up for some shooting (and duck)
 
According to my Beijing friend who has lived in Canada on and off many times, the Peking duck in Toronto is better than those in Beijing. His comment about Quanjude was that---if you can get into a VIP room, you can get good Peking duck, otherwise, Toronto would be a better city for that. And in order to get a VIP room, you need to make a reservation several months ahead, unless you are some foreign dignities like President Obama. Anyway, I'd suggest a place called Jiumen Xiaochi. For lack of a better description, I'd call it a traditional Chinese style food court. It is very crowded, and not easy to find in the Hou Hai area. You buy a smart card at the cashier and just use it to try the different kinds of food from the many independent store fronts. (You can start with a smart card with about 50 Yuans per person---you can get back any unused portion in cash. Last time I went there with four people, we bought a smart card worth 200 Yuans and got a little left over.) But getting a table is not going to be easy.

http://www.tripadvisor.in/Restaurant_Review-g294212-d969335-Reviews-Jiumen_Xiaochi-Beijing.html

(Obviously, the comment in the above link written in English was by a tourist who wasn't adventurous enough to appreciate the local food. The subsequent comments in Chinese are a lot more positive. So try it if you are adventurous. The food is a bit greasy though, but that is typical for Beijing snacks.)

Hou Hai is a nice area. The tourists would go there for the Hutongs. But if you stayed in a hotel in that area (we did that last year), an early morning walk along the lake is very nice, and you will be right there in the Hutong district. There will be people walking, jogging, practicing tai chi, fishing, etc., in the small parks along the round-the-lake walking path.

All the tourists locations in Beijing are accessible by public transit----use the subway as much as possible, as you will not be affected by traffic jam. You likely will get to your destination faster than using a taxi, and much cheaper of course. You need to use a tourist bus only for the Great Wall, unless you want to hire your own vehicle.

Have a nice trip.
 
As someone who has spent way too much of the last 9 years in and around China I can confirm Tin's comment about the food being better outside of China. Chinese food here has become pretty fake. Google gutter oil and beware of what you eat here, seriously, my old man went to a hot pot place last night in Chengdu and today he spent the day with dysentery. There is a joke that the good chefs left China and all they have left here are chemists. Just use extra caution with street food and just about everything else you eat.


Beijing does have a few ok to look at back streets, but beware old ladies with red arm bands, if they tell you to get lost you best be getting lost quick. While they are supposed to be keeping an eye on things around their neighborhood, they wont hesitate to overstep their authority. There are some doorways and such that are interesting to see there and some chances for street photos. From my experience there are a lot of people there who are a little tired of being photographed so you might get a lot of wave offs.

And yes, subway. That is the best way to get around. Download a jpg map of the subway system and stick it on your phone and you are set.
 
I agree that the Peking duck in Beijing is not nearly as good as what we can get here in Toronto (or as good as in Hong Kong). Still, it's nice to experience.

If you've never been, Mutianyu Great Wall is excellent. We had a private driver and got there early in the morning. By the time we left, the crowds were moderate, but certainly not overwhelming. Never been to Badaling Great Wall, but from what I hear the crowds are insane. Mutianyu has a super-fun toboggan (!!!) ride, too. A bit cheezy, but still fun. On the way back from Mutianyu, we stopped at a road-side fish restaurant and had the best lunch I have ever had. Caught our own fish from the (man made) pond and had fried fish and Ma Po Tofu. Amazing!

Beware the street food in Wangfujing. It's very tasty going down, but the huge piles of garbage in the street should have been a tip off that something wasn't right. Both my wife and I woke up the next day with TERRIBLE stomach pains, and had to eat super bland food for the rest of the day (which, oddly, meant eating western food at the hotel - Grand Hyatt, FWIW). To make things worse, I had to attend a work dinner event that night, and I had to force feed myself even more Chinese food.

The typical tourist spots are nice to see, but I, too, enjoyed the back streets more than anything. Beijing is a nice place, though I'm in no hurry to go back. I found Hong Kong to be far more vibrant and interesting.

Also note: learn some key Mandarin phrases. Virtually no one speaks English. We were fortunate to have a local tour guide (friends) the entire time, but would certainly have felt lost otherwise. Street signs are in English, which is good, but be prepared to do a lot of pointing.
 
Ah yes Wangfujing, best to just totally avoid that place. I advise going to a pharmacy here and picking up a box of Smecta (Si Mi Da) just in case you eat something bad.
 
Avotius said:
Ah yes Wangfujing, best to just totally avoid that place.
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We were being guided by a very good friend of mine (a Beijing native). She took us for lai mein (which we all ate) and then to Wangfujing. When we asked her if she was having any of the dumplings, etc that we ate there, she said "No thanks."

Suffice it to say, she was just fine the next day....

Should have known.
 
edge100 said:
We were being guided by a very good friend of mine (a Beijing native). She took us for lai mein (which we all ate) and then to Wangfujing. When we asked her if she was having any of the dumplings, etc that we ate there, she said "No thanks."

Suffice it to say, she was just fine the next day....

Should have known.
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If I were her I'd have stopped you beforehand...

Still, don't be so discouraged. I was born there and spent most of my childhood in Beijing. Don't eat at open-air places, don't eat too much raw food, sushis, salads and you'll be just fine.

About the Quanjude duck thing, I've eaten both in the lobby and a special guest room, there was no noticeable difference in duck quality. I would reserve early and avoid their buffet, though.
 
Always watch out for what food you eat. Especially anything raw. However, if you have survived two years in Korea, and eaten much on the local economy, you probably have immunities to things you don't even know about. 😀

In the times I lived and traveled in the far east, I found local things to be very tasty, palatable, and safe. When and where I was, there really wasn't any refridgeration. In 13 1/2 years in the far east I only got sick twice, both in Vietnam. Once from our mess hall, and the other from a PX. Go figure.

Of course, YMMV.
 
Another place for local food is on Xianyukou Street:

http://www.cits.net/china-guide/places/xianyukou-street.html

The name is shown on the sign in the second photo in the above link. Don’t ask me how to get there, as I was taken there by my local Beijing friend last year. All I can tell you is that it is within walking distance from Tiananmen Square.

It is different from Jiumen Xiaochi that I mentioned earlier in that the different types of food are not found under one roof, but in individual small restaurants. So if you want variety, Jiumen Xiachi will be more convenient. But in order to eat there, you’d better be able to order from menu like that shown on the attached photo #38. There probably are other restaurants that cater more to tourists and may have bilingual menu. But I didn’t visit any of those.

On that street, there are also historic buildings like the one shown in the attached photo #41---with the sign that says “Birth Place of Chinese Cinema”. It was the first movie house in China.

Also on one side of Tiananmen Square is the Beijing Planning Exhibition Hall. On the second floor is a scale model of the City of Beijing. If you had a map in your hand, you can learn a bit about the geography of the city. It is more vivid to watch the model than looking at Google Map. See attached photo #9. Near the centre of the photo is the string of lakes that begins with Hou Hai. Hou Hai is the second lake closest to where I stood. As you can see, I was shooting towards the SE---see the cardinal points shown on the balcony. The golden yellow block at the far end is of course the Forbidden City.

And finally, don’t be too concerned that you wouldn’t be able to get around. Behind Hong Kong and Shanghai, Beijing is probably the third most bilingual city in China. Ask directions from younger people---many university aged people should be able to speak some English. Besides, there are also many foreigners who work in Beijing. Just look for those foreigners who dress in business suits and you can use English. (Just make sure you got a bilingual map of Beijing with you.) Further, all signs, station notifications on the LED panels, and station announcements in buses and subway cars are bilingual.
 

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oftheherd said:
Always watch out for what food you eat. Especially anything raw. However, if you have survived two years in Korea, and eaten much on the local economy, you probably have immunities to things you don't even know about. 😀
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Haha, let's hope so! But rumors have it that the street food is quite different. I reckon I'll at least have to give it a shot once. I've always believed I've had an above-average immune system, nothing like having some evidence to back that up!
 
SteveM(PA) said:
Nothing to eclipse what's been said, but much love for Beijing, stayed in hutong east in October, this place ... fantastic, made great friends from all over the world.

http://www.hostelworld.com/hosteldetails.php/Fly-by-Knight-Courtyard-Hostel/Beijing/50210

We loved all the cheap hutong food, luckily never got sick once. Prefer it over the expense, posing and preening of HK, but I'd love to go back to both places.
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This place looks awesome. Think I will be giving it a shot for sure. Think it's worth it even for such a short stay?! (3 days..ish)
 
Tin said:
Another place for local food is on Xianyukou Street:

http://www.cits.net/china-guide/places/xianyukou-street.html

The name is shown on the sign in the second photo in the above link. Don’t ask me how to get there, as I was taken there by my local Beijing friend last year. All I can tell you is that it is within walking distance from Tiananmen Square.

It is different from Jiumen Xiaochi that I mentioned earlier in that the different types of food are not found under one roof, but in individual small restaurants. So if you want variety, Jiumen Xiachi will be more convenient. But in order to eat there, you’d better be able to order from menu like that shown on the attached photo #38. There probably are other restaurants that cater more to tourists and may have bilingual menu. But I didn’t visit any of those.

On that street, there are also historic buildings like the one shown in the attached photo #41---with the sign that says “Birth Place of Chinese Cinema”. It was the first movie house in China.

Also on one side of Tiananmen Square is the Beijing Planning Exhibition Hall. On the second floor is a scale model of the City of Beijing. If you had a map in your hand, you can learn a bit about the geography of the city. It is more vivid to watch the model than looking at Google Map. See attached photo #9. Near the centre of the photo is the string of lakes that begins with Hou Hai. Hou Hai is the second lake closest to where I stood. As you can see, I was shooting towards the SE---see the cardinal points shown on the balcony. The golden yellow block at the far end is of course the Forbidden City.

And finally, don’t be too concerned that you wouldn’t be able to get around. Behind Hong Kong and Shanghai, Beijing is probably the third most bilingual city in China. Ask directions from younger people---many university aged people should be able to speak some English. Besides, there are also many foreigners who work in Beijing. Just look for those foreigners who dress in business suits and you can use English. (Just make sure you got a bilingual map of Beijing with you.) Further, all signs, station notifications on the LED panels, and station announcements in buses and subway cars are bilingual.
Click to expand...

Much appreciated for all the great advice. Hou Hai and the surrounding area seems to be a cool place to explore. Ideally will be meeting up with a local or two to help transverse this huge place.
 
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