Beijing Attractions
Beijing Articles
The Chinese zodiac
The Chinese zodiac also used in Vietnam, Korea and Japan explains the characteristics of each sign related on the year of born according to a 12 year mathematic cycle....
The Chinese zodiac also used in Vietnam, Korea and Japan explains the characteristics of each sign related on the year of born according to a 12 year mathematic cycle. I we compare this zodiac with the western ones we can appreciate some similarities: both have cycles divided into 12 parts, animals as signs and a personal and cultural association with the person’s relationships. In China each animal represents a different personality and behavior. Depending on the year of born, each person has their own signs and a methodology they can follow in life in order to be successful with several aspects such as fortune, love and health.
Traditionally the zodiac begins with the sign of Rat and ends with the Pig, embracing the other ten animals:
Buffalo, Tiger, Rabbit, Dragon, Snake, Horse, Ram, Monkey, Rooster and Dog.
By the way, every animal has his own natural feature depending exactly on the year of born: Metal, Fire, Wood, Water and Earth. These features help to analyze deeper some aspects of the horoscope so as the association of the zodiac animals with the Yin-Yang.
qianmen street
Qianmen Market Street is a great place to go to snap a few pictures of what Qianmen Market Street apparently used to look like. Recreated prior to the 2008 Beijing Olympics, this used to be a pleasant but simple shopping lane....
Qianmen Market Street is a great place to go to snap a few pictures of what Qianmen Market Street apparently used to look like. Recreated prior to the 2008 Beijing Olympics, this used to be a pleasant but simple shopping lane. Today, it is a bit overdone and gaudy, but if you cut into the side streets and walk around behind the main buildings you'll find great bargain shopping, amazing tea shops and affordable trinkets and souvenirs. The side roads used to be dirt, not five years ago. Today everything is cleaned up and a bit more refined, but sometimes the quaintness of the old way is missed.
Free Parks in Beijing
Where to go when you have some leisure time in Beijing? Why not visit some free parks? Here are some free parks that are not well-known and free.
Yangshan Park
...Where to go when you have some leisure time in Beijing? Why not visit some free parks? Here are some free parks that are not well-known and free.
Yangshan Park
Near to the Olympic Forest Park, Yangshan Park is a small park. There are 12 stone pillars standing on the South Gate Square and one stone globe at the center of these pillars.
Honglingjin Park
Located at Balizhuang, Chaoyangmen Wai, Honglingjin Park cover an area of 230 thousand square meters. With the forest coverage rate at 57%, there are more than 10 thousand trees and flowers.
Olympic Forest Park
Covering an area of 680 hectares, the Olympic Forest Park divided into two parts: the South Park (380 hectares) and the North Park (300 hectares). The forest coverage of the park is 95.6% which make it one of the national AAAAA spots along with the Bird Nest and the Water Cube.
Dongba Country Park
Located outside the 5th ring road in Chaoyang District, Dongba Country Park is mainly combined by three garden: Tianqu Garden, Yiqu Garden and Qingqu Garden. There are cultural squares, pavilions, bungalows, rinks, tennis courts and basketball courts.
Top Beijing Tours
$200 Per Day
Private Beijing Antique Shopping Tour with Lunch
Start your private tour with pickup from your central Beijing hotel, and meet your private guide.
Hop inside your private, climate-controlled vehicle and travel to your first stop: Liulichang Antique Street. Situated in old Beijing, this history-steeped street is lined with stone shop-houses selling antique books, handicrafts, paintings, rubbings, glazed pottery, and other treasures.
Hear about Liulichang’s history, and get advice from your guide as to the best shopping opportunities....Read more
Start your private tour with pickup from your central Beijing hotel, and meet your private guide.
Hop inside your private, climate-controlled vehicle and travel to your first stop: Liulichang Antique Street. Situated in old Beijing, this history-steeped street is lined with stone shop-houses selling antique books, handicrafts, paintings, rubbings, glazed pottery, and other treasures.
Hear about Liulichang’s history, and get advice from your guide as to the best shopping opportunities. Sift through the traditional shops and stands, and explore the side lanes (hutongs), where the shops still bear original Ming and Qing architectural features like ornately carved doors and upswept roofs.
Next, drive to Panjiayuan Market, a so-called ‘weekend market’ that’s open daily. Weave through the throng of stands, perusing the huge array of antiques, curios, ceramics, Tibetan rugs, calligraphy, and other finds.
After shopping here, refuel with lunch at a Chinese restaurant, and continue to Baoguosi Cultural Market, set around an old temple. Scour the courtyards of vendors hawking stamps, books, coins and jade, and get tips on scouting out and clinching the best deals from your guide.
If time allows, squeeze in a visit to Hongqiao Market, a mall known for its pearl traders, and electronics, art, clothes, and accessories shops. Trawl for bargains, and haggle over pearls and other precious gems as perfect keepsakes of your time in Beijing.
After seven hours, your tour concludes with a hotel drop-off.
$50 Per Day
One day tirp to Bajiao Zhai, a noticeable Danxia Landform.
This is a tailor-made trip for nature-lovers and fans of photography. Danxia rock formation in the inland basin is a red rock debris, and later uplift due to the movement of the earth-crust, erosion of rocks by the water and weathering, which was dominant in the hillside to collapse back, kept down the rocks to form the red mountain block. This area was listed in the Natural Heritage of the world in 2009 by UNESCO. Bajiao Zhai Village is a combination of strategic place, steepy mountian, elegant scenery and secluded remote....Read more
This is a tailor-made trip for nature-lovers and fans of photography. Danxia rock formation in the inland basin is a red rock debris, and later uplift due to the movement of the earth-crust, erosion of rocks by the water and weathering, which was dominant in the hillside to collapse back, kept down the rocks to form the red mountain block. This area was listed in the Natural Heritage of the world in 2009 by UNESCO. Bajiao Zhai Village is a combination of strategic place, steepy mountian, elegant scenery and secluded remote. It is reputed as the "Soul of Danxia Landform". Here you can enjoy the sunrise or sunset and the sea-cloud. 1. I'll pick you up at 8:00 am in your hotel, and transfer to Bajiao Zhai Village by our private van. On the way, you can enjoy some terraced fields, bamboo groves and the wooden residences of the natives.(3.5 hours by ride) 2. First, we'll visit the village and have lunch in the village, and then we'll hike the mountains, the scenery including the group of snails looking up the sky, the ancient trail, Eye-stone, Joss stick of dragon's head and the Treasured sword Peak.(4 hours by hike) 3. After appreciating the sunset, after dinner in Ziyuan county, we'll take the bus back to your hotel around 10:00 pm.