How many days to visit Beijing?

Plan your Beijing tour? If it is your first time to visit Beijing, you may wonder how many days you would need to grasp the major attractions in Beijing.

And also you may need some suggestions relative to the top sights to see while in Beijing, aside from the much hyped Great Wall of China and Forbidden City, the two maybe already on your “to do” list.

Beijing has lots to offer. Personally I suggest that 2 full days are the absolute minimum to give you a really good feel for the city and most of the major attractions if you cannot go for 3, 4 or 5 full days.

One day is dedicated to the city highlights of Beijing including Temple of Heaven, Tiananmen Square, Forbidden City and Summer Palace; the other day is for a full day excursion to the Great Wall of China around Beijing.

Quite a few business travelers cannot afford two days for sightseeing in Beijing. In that case, you can combine Forbidden City with the Great Wall of China in one day tour, the highlight of your Beijing tour.

If you can stay in Beijing for 3 or 4 full days, you have more options. You may add more interesting sights to your third day schedule which can cover Panda House, Hutong tour, Lama Temple and Olympic sites. And the list could be much longer.

Before you come to Beijing, make sure you print a map of the subway map. Though very crowded, the subway still remains the most fastest and economic public transport tools traveling Beijing.

In addition, you don’t have to worry about losing your direction. Find your hotel and map it on the subway map. You will be able to take the subway to the stops of interest. Beijing Subway Line 4 brings you to the north gate of Summer Palace; Subway Line 5 takes you to Lama Temple and the east gate of Temple of Heaven.

Subway Line 1 brings you to Tiananmen Square and Forbiddden City and S trains from Beijing Huangtudian Railway Station goes to Badaling Great Wall.