For my 10-year Olympic anniversary, I traveled back to the place where all the magic happened: Beijing. We only had 48 hours to spare, but we made the absolute most of our time. The last time I was in Beijing, I was training and competing. There was no time for sightseeing because of our demanding schedules. Since then, I had always longed to go back to take in every bit of culture and history that this special city has to offer.
Armed with two days and a camera, we set out to hit all of the big sights, including the Olympic Village, which, admittedly, brought tears to my eyes. Read on to discover my guide to Beijing!
Where to Stay:
We stayed at the beautiful Bulgari Hotel Beijing, and I can’t recommend it enough! Read my full review of the hotel here for more information and photos.
Where to Eat:
Head to NOBU for the comforts of home with a local Beijing twist. Try TOMACADO for beautifully plated (read: Instagram-friendly) dishes from owner Karen Kong whose favorite inrgredients are, you guessed it, avocados and tomatoes! For healthier (and more Western) fare, stop by Tribe Organic. If you’re in the market for dumplings, head to Baoyuan Dumpling House. For rooftop drinks, try The Orchid.
What to Do:
- The Great Wall of China – We chose to hike the Mutianyu section and had almost the whole section of the Wall to ourselves. If you’re visiting in the summer, make sure to go super early to avoid crowds and, most importantly, the heat. We toured the Wall with a tour guide from Black Tomato, who was able to provide so much insight into the history of the section we were on and the Wall in general.
- Tiananmen Square – This is the world’s largest public square. Go at sunrise to view the army procession and raising of the flag.
- The Forbidden City – Also known as the Palace Museum, this is the best preserved imperial palace of China, and home to 24 emperors of the Ming and Qing dynasties. Stop by The Forbidden City right after Tiananmen Square, as it sits on the northern edge of the square. Make sure to purchase tickets in advance.
- The Summer Palace – Located outside of the city, The Summer Palace is said to be the best-preserved imperial garden in the world.
- The Temple of Heaven – Head here to view a breathtaking Taoist temple and escape the bustle of Beijing city.
- Hutongs and Courtyards – These are ancient residential alleyways and water wells around which locals built their daily lives.
Scroll through for more photos from my trip!
xoxo,
I every time used to read piece of writing in news papers but now as I am a user of web therefore from
now I am using net for articles, thanks to web.
bjfzcd,Thanks for sharing such an amazing blog. I am so happy found this informative blog.
hey there and thank you for your information – I have
certainly picked up something new from right here. I
did however expertise several technical issues using this web site,
since I experienced to reload the website many times previous
to I could get it to load properly. I had been wondering if your web
hosting is OK? Not that I am complaining, but sluggish loading instances times will often affect your placement in google and
could damage your high-quality score if advertising and marketing with Adwords.
Anyway I am adding this RSS to my e-mail and can look out for much more of your
respective intriguing content. Ensure that you update this
again very soon.
It’s appropriate time to make some plans for the future and it is time to be happy.
I’ve read this put up and if I may just I want to counsel you some interesting things
or advice. Maybe you could write next articles regarding this
article. I wish to learn even more issues approximately it!
I’ve read some good stuff here. Certainly worth bookmarking for revisiting. I wonder how much effort you put to create such a excellent informative site.
Today, while I was at work, my cousin stole my iphone and tested to see if it can survive a 30 foot drop,
just so she can be a youtube sensation. My apple ipad is now broken and she has 83 views.
I know this is entirely off topic but I had to share it with someone!
Consider investments that provide instant annuities.
A financial advisor is your planning associate.
I precisely needed to thank you so much yet again. I am not sure the things I would have worked on without those recommendations discussed by you about such field. It had become a very distressing difficulty in my position, nevertheless being able to see the skilled strategy you dealt with that forced me to cry for delight. I’m grateful for your information and thus pray you comprehend what a powerful job you were carrying out training some other people all through your site. Most likely you haven’t encountered any of us.
Thanks – Enjoyed this update, is there any way I can receive an alert email when you publish a new post?
Undeniably imagine that that you stated. Your favorite reason appeared to be at the web
the simplest factor to be mindful of. I say to you, I certainly
get irked whilst people consider issues that they plainly don’t know about.
You managed to hit the nail upon the top as neatly as outlined out the
entire thing without having side effect , other people can take a
signal. Will likely be again to get more. Thanks
Very good written post. It will be supportive to everyone who utilizes it, including myself. Keep up the good work – looking forward to more posts.
I think what you published made a bunch of sense.
However, think on this, suppose you added a little information? I ain’t saying your information is not solid., but suppose
you added a title to maybe get a person’s attention? I mean Travel Guide: 48 Hours in Beijing – Nastia Liukin is a
little vanilla. You ought to glance at Yahoo’s front page and
watch how they create article titles to grab viewers interested.
You might add a related video or a related picture or two to grab readers interested
about what you’ve got to say. Just my opinion, it would make your posts
a little bit more interesting.
Having read this I thought it was extremely enlightening.
I appreciate you finding the time and effort to put this information together.
I once again find myself personally spending a significant amount of time both reading and posting
comments. But so what, it was still worth it!
I have to express appreciation to you for bailing me out of this type of situation. Right after looking out through the world-wide-web and obtaining tricks that were not beneficial, I was thinking my entire life was well over. Living without the solutions to the difficulties you have solved by way of this blog post is a crucial case, and those which could have adversely affected my entire career if I had not come across the blog. Your good knowledge and kindness in maneuvering everything was useful. I am not sure what I would have done if I hadn’t come across such a step like this. I’m able to at this point look forward to my future. Thanks a lot so much for this expert and result oriented help. I will not be reluctant to propose the website to anybody who desires guide on this subject matter.