How to Spend Long Layovers in Beijing

Layover Tour 1:  GREAT WALL OF CHINA



When booking my fight to Malaysia, I found myself with some long layovers to kill in Beijng, China.  For some this can be a long and tiresome journey, however, if planned right, it can be the greatest gift for the true traveller at heart.

My first layover in Beijing was 11 hours.  I arrived at 4am and got through customs and immigration quickly.  The great thing about Beijing layovers is that they offer up to 144 hr visit free entry for anyone who wants to leave the airport and experience the city.  I was able to find the counter to apply for the visa with ease and was allowed admittance to the city within minutes.  Once I got past the immigration officers with my visa free entry card, I headed down the escalators to catch the train which runs to the main arrival terminal.

My driver was waiting for me in the arrival hall by the Starbucks holding my name card at 7am, just as they said they would.  He then took my baggage and led me down to the parking lot where his car was parked.  It was an hour and a half drive from the airport to the wall.  Traffic is mind boggling in China.  I do not advise renting a car and trying your hand at it.

I had booked a tour with Layover Tour Beijing online in my home country before I had left.  They were easy to book with.  I had booked the Great Wall of China excursion to the Mutianyu part of the wall.  This portion of the wall has less visitors which is great if you don't like crowds like myself.  You can take your time and explore the watch towers as you walk along the wall.  The views are the best from up there. The best part is walking over to the 6th tower where you can toboggan down the hillside to the parking lot.

There are also some souvenir shops set up along the wall if you are so inclined to buy yourself a mini great wall replica! They also love US money up there so be very careful and keep your money close to you.  I got this souvenir for 120 RMB.

I had taken the enclosed cable car up to Tower 14 and the toboggan down at Tower 6.  You can buy your tickets at the base of wall, however, remember that if you want to do what I did, you will have to buy tickets from separate companies.

One company has the ski chair lift and return toboggan offer which you can pay for at the same office.  I chose to take the enclosed cable car to go up, which is a different company and paid at a separate location for that.  It was 60 RMB and totally worth it!

After the excursion, I was driven back to the airport with two and a half hours before my transit flight took off.  I was well taken care of on the tour.  I was given a sealed bottle of water, WiFi and it was all  so easy to do.  I paid the guide the amount we had discussed and I was off.

 Layover Tour 2:  MUSLIM TOUR

On my way back from Malaysia, I had a 17 hour layover.  This time I had decided to do a longer tour.  I thought I would do a Muslim Tour, given the large Muslim population in Beijing.  I decided to use Tour Travel China.  At first I thought the package was great.  It consisted of Tiananmen Square, Forbidden City, Niujie Mosque, halal lunch,  shopping at Pearl Free Market and the Temple of Heaven.  However, dealing with the tour agent over email was maddening.  He kept trying to change my itinerary.

The tour however, was wonderful.  Again, I got my visa free entry card and arrived at the hall with the driver waiting for me, holding my name card.  He quickly ushered me to the parking lot where we headed into the city through the maddening traffic.  We picked up my tour guide on the way to Tiananmen Square.

TIANANMEN SQUARE

We walked Tiananmen Square after going through checkpoints where your passport got you entrance.  My private tour guide, Michael, took the time to explain what each place was all about and what the importance of it was.  It was nice to have that context as we walked through the different places.  The memorial behind me is dedicated to the 3 billion soldiers whose lives were lost.  This is also the site for past mass protests.

FORBIDDEN CITY

Forbidden City was amazing.  There were so many layers to this city that I never knew about.  If you ever get to visit, do it! It should be on everyone's bucket list!  We walked through buildings where only the Emperor and his Officials were allowed and the buildings become more forbidden to those the further down we walked.  The Emperor's lodgings as well as the separate Empress's lodging were impressive and not to forget his concubines!  No one but the Emperor and those taking care of the concubines were allowed in their courtyard and lodgings.  The colours, architecture and history of Forbidden City will amaze you!  Walk further back and you'll come across a moat.   I was surprised to find a moat at the back of the city.  The entire structure of Forbidden City is made from wood and therefore, was easily burned during attacks.  The city was equipped with large water bowls filled with water for that purpose.  Now, they have fire extinguishers everywhere.  It was all fascinating to learn.

NIUJIE MOSQUE: NIU (OXEN) - JIE (STREET) 

After Forbidden City, our driver took us to the Muslim area, Xicheng District, where the Niujie Mosque was located.  There are 10,000 Chinese Muslims living in that area.  It was the first and oldest Muslim mosque built in Beijing.  It was built in 996 during the Lao Dynasty and was reconstructed and enlarged under the Kangxi Emperor in the Quing Dynasty. It reflects both Islamic and Han Chinese influences and share very similar architectural points as some of the buildings we had seen in Forbidden City.  On the inside, you can see the Islamic influences with the Arabic scriptures written on the arches.

Walking around the compound, you will come across a Moon Watch Tower.  The moon is important in the Islamic religion as our religious events occur according to the moon.   The Imam would stand at the top of the tower and watch for the first sighting of the moon for Ramadan. Niujie Mosque is open to all visitors and is visited by Muslims around the world who are curious to learn about this mosque.  It is 10,000 sq meters and the prayer hall is 600 sq meters and able to hold up to 1000 worshipers.   If you ever get the chance to go to Beijing, make sure you make this a stop on your journey!

HALAL LUNCH

My tour guide, Michael knew of a halal spot across the street from the mosque.  I don't know the name of it as it was written in Chinese characters.  However, he did tell me that they served the most amazing Hot Pot in Beijing and he was true to his word.  Now, I've never had hot pot before so this was an amazing experience for me.  We ordered lamb with assorted veggies for our hot pot.  I had a sesame with ginger and cilantro dip for my hot pot and Michael got a peanut sauce dip for his.  We also had a side order of black agaric mushrooms with cucumbers marinated in some soy sauce.  It was surprisingly delicious. The server came over with the pot, set it alight in the middle and then stirred the paste into the hot water to make the base of the soup.  I had asked for medium spicy but it turned out to be a little bit spicier then we both had anticipated.  However, it was still amazing.  The lamb cooked within a minute and was soft and tender.  Dipped in the sauce, it was like heaven in my stomach!

PEARL FREE MARKET

The Pearl Free Market was not what I thought it was.  It was a pearl jewellery store with finished product.  I thought it was a pearl market with all sorts of different pearls to choose from.  They had some amazing fresh pearls on display and some great deals but it really wasn't what I was looking for.  When I first walked in, the Sales Associate took me over to a tank filled with water and Oysters.  She took an Oyster out and continued to shuck it open.  There were 20 little fresh water pearls that fell out.  She picked one out and wiped it off, then handed it to me in a plastic ziploc bag to present as my free gift.  I didn't buy anything from here but it was great to see what they had.

TEMPLE OF HEAVEN

I was surprised to find out that the Temple of Heaven was actually bigger than Forbidden City.  We walked around the grounds where he told me that the locals use the place as a park and come there to play cards and Mahjong everyday. I personally saw this as we were walking through the halls.  We also came across a group of women, who I thought were doing Tai Chi at first but thought there movements were a bit to fast.  We walked closer to find out that they were actually dancing as a form of exercise.

Michael explained to me that the Temple of Heaven was built by the emperor so he could pray to the Gods for agricultural reasons.  Sacrifice and ritual are all a part of each building on the grounds that helped with the prayer to Heaven.  The temple itself, is a Taoist temple.  It was built by the Yongle Emperor.  The same man who built Forbidden City.  The architecture is also the same used in Forbidden City.

Take the time to go through the buildings and find the amazing discoveries dug up from the earth.  There is so much history, it's hard to skip this beautiful temple, even if it was built from one man's ego.

I did manage to stop by the gift shop before leaving and bought myself a mini replica of the Temple of Heaven for 110 RMB.

I was taken back to the airport after the Temple of Heaven tour was completed.  This was also where my guide and I went our separate ways.  I paid the driver the money that was left owing and we headed back to the airport with plenty of time to make my transit flight back home.

Note:  Turns out that the Michael's mother is Muslim and my driver admitted he was Muslim too!  Small world.