What to do before leaving Beijing?
1. Order a Chinese Banquet with duck
You can’t leave Beijing without having taste the traditional Beijing duck, served with pancakes and a variety of sauces. It is a very especial spectacle to watch the chef prepare the duck. You will see a few restaurants to eat the traditional Beijing duck in almost every side of the city.
2. Camp at the Great Wall
The Great Wall is one of the most amazing monuments in the World and represents an essential part of the real Chinese history. It is allowed to camp around the Chinese Wall in the outskirts of the forest. Buy a tent, a sleeping bag, prepare a picnic and enjoy a weekend with your family. It is a unique event and of course not dangerous.
3. Pick a Chinese name
Even if you like your name or it is very International, most people in China change their names to try to adapt better to the culture. It will be easier for everyone to understand the pronunciation and can be a good way to start a conversation. Do not worry about registration because the new name would be just a nickname. You can try to translate your original name to Chinese letters, chose a name you like or invent an original one by putting two words together.
4. Spend a day in Chaoyang Park
Situated between the modern area of Sanlitun and the Fourth Ring Road, the Park offers a lot of different leisure activities and has a permanent fair, an artificial Beach and water park, a 4D movie theater, an adventure park for kids and a varied amount of stalls with gifts, candies and food. If you love roller coaster, bikes and cars, Chaoyang Park is the best choice because it offers a roller park, several streets and gardens to ride a bike and a bumper cars place.
During the summer it is the best place to have a nice picnic with your friends and family or maybe enjoy the swimming pool, located near Dongsihuan Beilu, called Chaoyang Park Beach.
5. Go shopping! From big Shopping malls to Street markets
The city of Beijing offers a lot of extremely big and luxury shopping malls but also an amount of street markets and cheap Chinese stores. Most of them have western brands inside, restaurants and some specialized stores for suits and dresses. It is also a must go, to buy clothes, handbags, watches, gifts and more in the Silk Market, Yashow Market and the popular area of Xian. We recommend the Zoo market for real Chinese gifts and decoration items.
6. Get a custom-tailored qipao
It is very easy to buy a qipao or ask for a new one with your measures. You can choose the silk, style, color and of course the price will vary depending on the quality.
The more practical the qipao, the looser it should be around the stomach and hips.
You have to decide if you prefer more beauty and less comfort. It is obvious that you are not going to wear a qipao every day but for an especial occasion or party it is the perfect look according to your life in Beijing. The day you will be back in your home country, a qipao would be a nice souvenir for sure.
7. Enjoy the courtyards in the city
Beijing is famous for the courtyard areas inside the Second Ring Road. You can walk truth the small and traditional streets and have a look at the houses called hutongs. It is also a picturesque and must-see place to ride a bike or get by on a rickshaw and take some quick pictures. You can enjoy the local restaurants and the real Chinese spirit during the sunny days.
8. Try to learn Mandarin
If you have some free time we recommend you to learn some Chinese. It is a difficult language but living in Beijing and not be able to communicate it’s a pity. After some months of Mandarin you will notice the progress for sure. Have patience and try to practice the more you can. Rome wasn’t built in a day.
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