You may ask “Are there any cities around Beijing that can be reached in three hours by train?”. We round up the following cities worth your considering your side trips from Beijing.
1. Beijing – Tianjin (Click for Info)
Bullet Train: Half Hour
Starting Station: Beijing South Railway Station
Tianjin Quick Guide:
Tianjin is 120 kilometres southeast of Beijing, bordering on the Bohai Sea in the east. There are dozens of daily bullet trains as well as two expressways connecting Beijing and Tianjin.
Tianjin Port is the largest man made seaport and river port in mainland China, 70 kilometers from the city center of Tianjin.
Tianjin has rich tourism resources. Tianjin was once home to foreign concessions in the late Qing Dynasty and early Kuomintang (KMT) era buildings. It has been left with a large number of cultural relics, especially the buildings with European style architecture. Huangyaguan Great Wall is located 137km north of Tianjin.
2. Beijing – Hohhot (Click for Info)
Bullet Train: 2 and half hours
Starting Station: Beijing North Railway Station
Hohhot Quick Guide:
Hohhot is the regional capital of Inner Mongolian Autonomous Region. It is located in the center of Inner Mongolia, with its north being the Yinshan Mountains and Yellow River to its south.
Now Hohhot has attractively tree-lined roads with a few historical sites, temples: Dazhao Lamasery, Xilituzhao Lamasery, Five Pagoda Temple, Jiangjun Yashu, Great Mosque, Saihanglaojie, Inner Mongolia Museum and more.
Hohhot is also a springboard for the in- depth travel to its vicinity (Grasslands and sand ): Xilamuren Grassland, Gegentala Grassland, Huitenxile Grassland, Resonant Sand, Gengkis Khan Mausoleum, etc.
3. Beijing – Datong (Click for Info)
Bullet Train: 2 hours
Starting Station: Beijing North Railway Station
Datong Quick Guide:
As the second largest city in Shanxi Province, Datong is situated in the far north, near the border with Inner Mongolia, a 2-hour train ride or 6-hour drive from Beijing.
In a valley at Yungang, some 16km west of Datong, there are more than 45 recesses dug into the hills and filled with Buddhist statues of various sizes and shapes, 51,000 altogether, later called Yungang Grottoes ( Cloud Ridge Caves ) listed UNESCO World Heritage in 2001.
At the foot of Mt.Hengshan, 65 kilometers from downtown Datong City is located Hanging Monastery with over 1500-year history, first built 491 AD. The temple hangs on the west cliff of a hill with over 50 meters above the ground, hence Hanging Monastery. The biggest attraction of Hanging Temple is the fact that the temple includes Buddhism, Taoism and Confucianism.
Four hundred years later after Northern Wei Dynasty, Datong was designated as the west capital of Liao Dynasty (916 – 1125). Located in the Yingxian County 75 km south of Datong, Yingxian Wooden Pagoda was first built in 1056 during the Liao Dynasty. It is the oldest and largest wooden Buddhist pagoda in existence in the world. It is admired as one of the “Three Wonders of Pagoda in the world” together with Eiffel Tower in France and leaning Tower of Pisa in Italy.
4. Beijing – Zhangjiakou (Click for Info)
Bullet Train: One Hour
Starting Station: Beijing North Railway Station
Zhangjiakou Quick Guide:
Zhangjiakou is a booming prefecture-level city in Hebei Province. It borders Beijing to the northwest, Inner Mongolia to the north, Shanxi Province to the west.
Zhangjiakou has particular tourist resources; the ancient Great Wall, the flowery Bashang grasslands, awesome ski resorts, and plentiful historical relics. Zhangjiakou has very convenient transportation with railways and highways linked to Beijing, Hohhot and Datong.
Zhangjiakou is now in full swing in terms of urban and social development stimulated by the 2022 Olympic Winter Games.
5. Beijing – Qinhuangdao (Click for Info)
Bullet Train: 2 and half hours
Starting Station: Beijing South Railway Station
Qinhuangdao Quick Guide:
Qinhuangdao City is a coastal city in Hebei province. It is situated about 300 km east of Beijing, on the Bohai Gulf.
Beidaihe is one of the three urban districts under the jurisdiction of Qinhuangdao City. The Beidaihe beach resort stretches 10 km. It is is also known as a birding haven, a perfect spot for bird watching. Beidaihe is one of nine famous sun-rise watching spots in China!
Haigang District is where Qinhuangdao Municipality is located. “Haigang”means “Harbor”. In 215 BC, China’s first emperor Qinshihuang arrived here on his fourth eastern inspection and sent Lusheng and Han Zhong out to the sea to look for the immortal for him.
Shanhaiguang District is well known for the “First Pass Under Heaven”, considered the No.1 Pass of the Great Wall and the eastern end of the Great Wall, stretching 23 meters into the sea like a dragon drinking water, hence its name – the “Old Dragon’s Head.” Shanhaiguan’s most exciting activity is a hike up the Great Wall’s first peak – Jiaoshan Great Wall.
6. Beijing – Taiyuan (Click for Info)
Bullet Train: 3 hours
Starting Station: Beijing West Railway Station
Taiyuan Quick Guide:
Taiyuan is the regional capital city of Shanxi Province, a province loaded with profound history, splendid culture and mesmerizing landscapes.
Most travelers pass through Taiyuan on their way to Pingyao, Qikou, Datong, Xian or Beijing. But this historical city does have some interesting places that keep you busy for a day trip such as Shanxi Museum, Twin Pagoda Temple, Chongshan Temple, Jinci Temple Park and Mengshan Mountain Buddha.
7. Beijing – Pingyao (Click for Info)
Bullet Train: G627 ( 08: 05 / 12:03)
Starting Station: Beijing West Railway Station
Pingyao Quick Guide:
If you want to experience a real ancient city in Ming and Qing dynasties (1368–1911) in China – one of the most prosperous periods in Chinese history, Pingyao is your ideal choice, a small ancient city in central Shanxi Province. Pingyao lies about 700 km from Beijing, 500km from Xian and 100 km from Taiyuan.
If you are in Beijing, it is worth making a side trip to Pingyao or continue your trip to Xian from Pingyao. The newly opened high speed trains have shortened Beijing through Pingyao train ride to 4 hours, Pingyao through Xian 3 hours, plus daily overnight trains linking Pingyao to Beijing and Xian, thus greatly facilitating the access to Pingyao from Beijing and Xian.
8. Beijing – Jinan (Click for Info)
Bullet Train: 2 hours
Starting Station: Beijing South Railway Station
Jinan Quick Guide:
As the regional capital city of Shandong Province, Jinan is located about 400 kilometers south of of Beijing.
Jinan is definitely your good springboard to start your exploration into the mysterious Mt.Taishan, the ancient city of Qufu, the beautiful coastal city of Jinan and more places in the province. But Jinan itself is also worth a pop by on your Shandong tour.
9. Beijing – Taishan (Click for Info)
Bullet Train: 2 hours
Starting Station: Beijing South Railway Station
Taishan Quick Guide:
Mount Tai is situated just north of the city of Taishan and to the south of the provincial capital Jinan. It is 1545 metres above sea level with an area of 426 square kilometres at its base.
Mt. Taishan is one of the “Five Sacred Mountains of Taoism” in China. It is often considered as the foremost of the five – the east Sacred Mountains of Taoism.
10. Beijing – Luoyang (Shaolin Temple) (Click for Info)
Bullet Train: 4 hours
Starting Station: Beijing West Railway Station
Luoyang Quick Guide:
As one of the six ancient capitals, Luoyang is located on the central plain of China, the important cradle of the Chinese civilization.
The world famous attractions in Luoyang and nearby are the Longmen Grottoes, the White Horse Temple, Luoyang Museum and the Shaolin Temple.
11. Beijing – Chengde (Click for Info)
Fast Train: K7711 (7:56 / 12:31)
Starting Station: Beijing Railway Station
Chengde Quick Guide：
250 km northeast of Beijing lie two UNESCO world heritage sites – Eight Outer Temples listed 1994 and Mountain Resort listed in 1997 under the jurisdiction of Chengde, a prefecture-level city in Hebei province.
Most of the eight outlying temples ( located on the north and east outside Mountain Resort ) were built in Tibetan style after the palace and temples in Lhasa during the reign of Qing Dynasty ( 1644-1911 ) as a smart policy of reconciliation with the hope of strengthening the unification with the minority nationalities like Tibetan, Mongolian and more who believed in Lamaism.
Any Questions, just drop a line.