# Is this your first time to travel to Beijing? Beijing is a difficult city to navigate and an organ

( Note: Prime s Beijing is a series of several posts about my recent trip to the Chinese capital. in the next few weeks, I ll be publishing inspiring travelogues, Vlogs and practical tips for women traveling alone in Beijing.)
las vegas hotel reservations In my previous post on Beijing travel , I focused on featuring all the temples/monuments/gardens/palaces. These are all good backdrops las vegas hotel reservations for the inevitable travel photography las vegas hotel reservations the products of which can be posted las vegas hotel reservations in your Facebook las vegas hotel reservations account.
Get to know more about the real Beijing by taking a tour of the hutongs narrow alleyways lined with siheyuan or traditional courtyard residences las vegas hotel reservations that proliferate in ancient Beijing . While many Beijing residents now live in condominiums, several of the hutongs have been preserved and designated as protected areas. las vegas hotel reservations Families still live here, inheriting these homes from their ancestors.
With so many tourist spots around the city and the requisite souvenir shops shopping for travel mementos and gifts is a no brainer. I won t leave Beijing without buying a Mao shirt kitsch but it works for me. Other things that you can buy are teapots and boxes of Chinese tea, Mao caps, posters and other Cultural Revolution paraphernalia, books, jade bracelets and paintings.
And since we re in the subject of shopping, I might as well recommend las vegas hotel reservations that you visit one of Beijing s most famous hutong las vegas hotel reservations which has been converted las vegas hotel reservations into a shopping/dining/bar area the Nanluogu Xiang. One of the oldest hutongs in Beijing (over 800 years old], the Nanluogu Xiang is at the Dongcheng district, near the Drum Tower and this alleyway is lined with chifc boutiques, bars, cafes, galleries and even hotels the perfect spot for the artsy fartsy traveler.
In Beijing or anywhere else in China for that matter, food tripping is mandatory as you are after all in a country obsessed with eating. Of course, if you re keen on carbo loading, there are noodles and dumpling galore. But Beijing s specialty is the Peking duck roasted duck served with steamed pancake, plum sauce, julienned cucumbers and spring onions.
You eat Peking duck by filling in the pancake with diced meat, cucumber wrapping and spring onions, and then dip in the sauce. las vegas hotel reservations The thin and crispy duck skin is eaten separately and dipped in sugar and garlic sauce.
The Peking duck has been prepared since the imperial era, its recipe developed in the Ming Dynasty, was one of the main dishes on imperial court menus and has been served to tourists and diplomats. It is considered as China s national dish.
I m not much of a tea drinker, as coffee is my poison of choice, but going to Beijing made me appreciate the fine art of buying, preparing and drinking tea. Thee are several tea houses here and they usually offer a short lecture on tea, free tasting and a selection of teas and teapots that you can purchase for yourself or as gifts.
It has several halls where you can watch not only the Chinese opera but also ballet recitals, dances, concerts and plays mounted by both local and foreign artists. If you re lucky, las vegas hotel reservations you can even catch a free performance I managed to watch a Chinese singer las vegas hotel reservations performing a solo rendition of an Italian opera but translated in Mandarin. It was a nice ending for a day spent sightseeing around Beijing.
# Traveling las vegas hotel reservations in Beijing can be quite pricey, as it s more ex pensive that other Asian cities. If you want a bigger bang for your buck, use a travel coupon and enjoy discounted rates on hotels and flights!
# Is this your first time to travel to Beijing? Beijing is a difficult city to navigate and an organized city tour can help you in save time and still enjoy your travels in China. I highly recommend booking a trip with my favorite travel tour group Urban Adventures las vegas hotel reservations - as a more organized city tour is a way for me to save time and money. Less stressful too.
Hi, there! We are Prime Sarmiento and Nina Sarmiento - Filipina sisters who love to travel solo, enjoying the absolute freedom that only independent travel can bring. For the past ten years, we have made our own journeys around Asia, Europe and North America.