After I arrived Beijing from Bangkok by Cathay Pacific (via Hong Kong) and recharged my battery for a night, the next day, it was my first day to explore Beijing. This day, I planned to visited 2 world heritages sites and one iconic place in which are including Mutianyu Great Wall, Summer Palace, Olympic park (Bird Nest Stadium) and finish the day with walking at Qianmen Walking Street. All of them are quite far away from each other, as I’m a solo-traveller, the most effective way is to buy the day trip package. I decided to buy the package from Klook.com, one of the most reliable and famous travel booking platform and app.
In Klook.com is has Day trip package to visit Mutianyu Great Wall and Summer Palace in the one day. It is including bus from Beijing to Mutianyu Great Wall and Summer Palace, admission ticket for both places, cable car (round trip) or chair-lift & toboggan and English guide. The cost was just only 40 USD/person.
NOTE-1: From Beijing to The Great Wall, it has 2 main places with well infrastructure, Badaling and Mutianyu which are about 1.50 hours from city center. But Mutainyu has less crowded than Badaling as it is a little bit farther. So, I decided to select Mutianyu ☺️
Today, I woke up at 6.30AM to take shower (during snowy weather 🌨️), get dressed, have easy breakfast what I just prepares last night and take metro to Dongzhimen station, Exit C to meet the tour guide (her name is Donna, very nice & friendly guide) as we had the appointment to leave Beijing by coach at 8AM. She contacted me by WhatsApp since yesterday to explain how to meet her and find the coach. 😇
NOTE-2 : I recommend you to download AMAP App to your phone to use instead of Google map as it is more accurate and convenient. You may know that China blocks all services from Google.
NOTE-3 : You get Beijing Subway Map from this link.
https://www.travelchinaguide.com/images/map/beijing/beijing-subway.gif
At 8AM, the coach was left from Beijing on-time. It had about 20 passengers. Donna did short brief about Mutianyu Great Wall and check each passenger about the method to go up & down at the wall. It has 2 choices, passenger can select only one.
- West side : Cable car to go up and down. It is higher elevation than East side and the wall is original, no renovation. But it is more difficult to walk.
- East side : Go up by Chairlift and go down by Chairlift or Toboggan (sliding car). This side is lower elevation and to wall is renovated. But it is easier to walk.
Earlier, I preferred the second choice as I want to play toboggan to go down. But Donna said that “today is snowy day the toboggan may not operate“. So, it is safer to use cable car. Furthermore, do not forget the passport as it is necessary to use to get in and pass the gate. In China, passport is everything for the tourist !
About 9.30AM, our coach was arrived at Mutianyu Great Wall lower station. From here, we had to change from coach to shuttle bus to cable car and chairlift stations (it was just about 5-10 minutes ride). Donna gave us free time at the Great Wall until 12.30AM. Because I had to leave to Summer Palace at that time. So, it meant I had about 2 hours at the Great Wall and lunch for an hour.
Mutianyu Great Wall is one of the best-preserved sections of the Great Wall of China, located about 70 km northeast of Beijing. Originally built during the Northern Qi Dynasty and later rebuilt in the Ming Dynasty, this section features solid stone walls, watchtowers, and stunning mountain scenery. Mutianyu is known for its relatively fewer crowds compared with other sections, making it a popular choice for visitors seeking a more relaxed experience. The wall stretches across forested hills with 23 watchtowers along its restored section.
Our coach from Beijing
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In front of Mutianyu Great Wall lower station
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When I left from Donna, I walked to cable car station and used my passport to pass the gate. the cable car took about 10 minutes to reach Upper Station. At Upper Station, it is located at Watchtower No.14. Visitors can walk to the west to tower no.15, 16, 17, 18, 19 and 20 which has distance about 1 km. The highest point is about 1,600 meter above sea level. On that date, as it was snowy day and the wall is slope and steep as it is built on the hillside, I had to be super careful of slippery and falling from the stairs. However, I can say that it is worth because the views from the wall were stunning and breathtaking !
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I spent almost 2 hours at the wall to walk from watchtower 14 to 20 and walk back to cable car station to go down. About 11.45AM, I had lunch at local restaurant near by shuttle bus parking area where I and Donna made an appointment before going up to the wall.
My Quick Lunch at Mutainyu Great Wall
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At 12.30PM, we said Goodbye to Donna and left Mutianyu Great Wall to Summer Palace by car which is organized by the tour company. Donna said that Wendy will be waiting us at Summer Palace. We arrived there at 2PM.
Summer Palace in Beijing is one of the most famous imperial gardens in China. It was first built in 1750 during the Qing Dynasty by Emperor Qianlong as a royal retreat where emperors could escape the summer heat of the Forbidden City. In 1860, the palace was badly damaged during war, but it was later rebuilt by Empress Dowager Cixi. The palace is famous for Kunming Lake and Longevity Hill, which together form a beautiful landscape garden. One of the most interesting places inside is the Long Corridor, a covered walkway decorated with thousands of colorful paintings. Another famous attraction is the Marble Boat, a unique stone structure near the lake that became a symbol of the palace and its history. Summer Palace is one of UNESCO world heritage sites in Beijing.
Once we got off from the car in front of the north gate of Summer Palace, Wendy was waiting us there. She immediately led us to get in the palace premises and explained the history and story as well as spotted the interesting building and great photography point too. 😆
From north gate, we walked surround the Tibetan Temple to Longevity Hill which is man made hill. It was so amazing as the hill is so huge and looked like natural hill. Then, we walked to Kunming Lake and admire the Marble Boat. And, of course, this lake is made by human. 😀 Next, we wandered through the Long Corridor and see the Tower of Buddhist. During walking tour, Wendy had given us the time for each spot to take photo and explain in-depth details of history what I have never known. The last places before finishing the tour were the Hall of Benevolence and Longevity and Zhichun Pavilion. Overall walking tour was about 3 hours. Honestly, I think Summer Palace is one of the world biggest palace and imperial garden I have ever seen. 🤩
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After I bid farewell to Wendy at the east gate, I exit from the Summer Palace and walked to the subway station to my next landmark of Beijing, The Olympic Park (Bird’s nest stadium). It is able to reach by subway line 8 by getting off at Aoti Zhongxin Station. I arrived there about 6.30PM.
Olympic Park is a famous landmark built for the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing, China. The most iconic building in the park is the Bird’s Nest Stadium, officially called the National Stadium. It was designed by Swiss architects Herzog & de Meuron and became the main stadium for the Olympic opening and closing ceremonies. The stadium is called the “Bird’s Nest” because its steel structure looks like a giant nest. It can hold more than 80,000 spectators. Today, the Olympic Park is a popular tourist place where visitors can walk around the large plaza, see the stadium up close, and enjoy the beautiful lights at night.
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I just spent 20 minutes at Olympic park to walk around the stadium, take the photo and admire the one of the grandest architecture in the world. It made me believe that if China wants to build something, it is always shock the world ! 🌎
About 7PM, I continued my trip back to center of Beijing to spend night time at Qianmen Pedestrian Street which is one of the most famous night market in Beijing and it is also located near to my hotel. This street can be reached by subway line 2 and line 8 at Qianmen station.
Qianmen Pedestrian Street is a famous historic shopping street located south of Tiananmen Square in Beijing. The street has a history of more than 600 years and became an important commercial area during the Ming and Qing dynasties. In the past, many traditional Chinese shops and restaurants were opened here to serve visitors and merchants coming to the capital city. Today, Qianmen Street has been carefully restored and turned into a pedestrian street with old Beijing style buildings. Visitors can walk along the street, try local snacks, shop for souvenirs, and see famous time-honored brands. A special attraction is the old Beijing tram that runs along the street, giving visitors a nostalgic experience.
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I strolled at Qianmen street about 40 minutes and also found some local snack and drink to have for dinner. Honestly, everything at this street is looked interesting, especially foods. 😋 Furthermore, it was the Friday night, the people was going out made the street look lively and vibrant as well as colorful lighting made it packed with energy !
I got back to the hotel about 9.30PM. It was one of my tired day, but it was tiring with happiness as I could explore one more city in my life. Beijing was in my bucket list for years. And, finally, I could reach it. As soon as I arrived at the hotel, I took a shower and rest immediately. Because, the next day, I still had more excitement things to do in Beijing city center. It would be difference atmosphere and feeling than today. I could not wait for the next day. It was the time to recharge energy for tomorrow. Good Night ! 😴
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Written by : Shipy Siwarit Tiasuwattiseth
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