100 Fun Things to See and Do in Beijing

As part of an orientation program for some English teachers earlier this month, I prepared this list of 100 fun things to see and do in Beijing. How many have you done?

1. Attend a Chinese Acrobat performance
2. Attend a concert in the National Opera House
3. Attend a folk or jazz concert at the Sanwei Bookstore
4. Attend a Peking Opera performance
5. Attend a show at the Lao She Teahouse
6. Attend services at one of the Catholic Churches
7. Attend services at one of the Protestant Churches
8. Attend the flag lowering ceremony at Tiananmen Square (sunset)
9. Attend the flag raising ceremony at Tiananmen Square (sunrise)
10. Climb the Great Wall at Jinshanling and hike to Simatai
11. Climb to the top of Coal Hill in Jingshan Park (just north of the Forbidden City)
12. Climb up the mountain, then ride down the alpine slide at Badachu Park
13. Dance with locals in the park in the morning or evening
14. Drink Shaken Iced Tea at Starbucks
15. Eat a bowl of Jia Zhang Mian (special noodles)
16. Eat a green pea pie at MacDonalds
17. Eat a Whopper at Beijing’s only Burger King inside Terminal 3 at the airport
18. Eat at an outdoor café in the lakes area (Hou hai)
19. Eat at Element Fresh
20. Eat at Hutong Pizza.
21. Eat at Pete’s TexMex
22. Eat at the Old Beijing Noodle Shop across from the Pearl Market
23. Eat baozi on the street for breakfast.
24. Eat Beijing Roast Duck
25. Eat candied fruit on a stick (bingtang hulu)
26. Eat fish and chips at Fish Nation (Sanlitun)
27. Eat jianbing on the street for breakfast.
28. Eat scorpions on a stick at the Wangfuing night market
29. Eat snacks on the street in the evening
30. Eat youtiao (oil sticks) on the street for breakfast
31. Enjoy a tea ceremony at a teahouse
32. Get a ‘dry hair wash’
33. Get a facial.
34. Get a foot massage
35. Get a medicure/pedicure
36. Go boating at Houhai
37. Go boating at the Summer Palace
38. Go to the top of the Gate of Heavenly Peace to look out over Tiananmen Square
39. Eat at the Bridge Café at Wudaokou
40. Go up into the tower at Deshengmen
41. Drink ‘bubble tea’ at a “Be For Time” teahouse. 
42. Hang out at The Village at Sanlitun (tons of Western restaurants; Apple Store)
43. Hang out in an exercise park
44. Have a suit or dress made
45. Rent a bike
46. Ride Subway Line 2 to either end.  Get off and explore.
47. Ride the alpine slide at Mutianyu Great Wall
48. Ride the tourist express train from Xizhimen to the Badaling Great Wall
49. See the pandas at the Beijing Zoo
50. Shop at Beijing Glasses City (low priced frames and lenses)
51. Shop at Jenny Lou’s imported foods market
52. Shop at Jingwuxing Wholesale Market
53. Shop at Ladies’ Street
54. Shop at Panjiayuan Antique Market
55. Shop at the clothing wholesale market across from the Beijing Zoo
56. Shop at the Harley Davidson store
57. Shop at the Liang Ma Flower Market (across the canal from the Lufthansa Center)
58. Shop at the Pearl Market (Hong Qiao)
59. Shop at the Silk Market (Xiu Shui Jie)
60. Shop at the wholesale fabric market at Muxiyuan
61. Shop at the world’s second largest IKEA store
62. Shop at the Yashow Market (Ya Xiu)
63. Shop at Tianyi Wholesale Market (Christmas Central in November and December)
64. Shop for antique furniture and reproductions at Gaobeidian
65. Shop for computers/electronics in Zhongguancun
66. Shop in the Xidan area
67. Take a boat ride along the canal
68. Take a bus to the end of the line.  Get off and explore. 
69. Visit “The Bookworm” (restaurant and bookstore—lots of current western titles)
70. Visit an art gallery
71. Visit Beihai Park
72. Visit Chuan Di Xia Ming Village (2.5 hours west of town in the mountains)
73. Visit Nan Lou Gu Xiang (cafés and nightclubs)
74. Visit the 798 Art District (galleries and restaurants)
75. Visit the ancient observatory at Jianguomen
76. Visit the Art Muesum
77. Visit the Bell Tower and Drum Towers
78. Visit the Bird’s Nest (pay to go inside)
79. Visit the Botanical Gardens
80. Visit the Capital History Museum
81. Visit the CCTV Tower.  This is best done on a very clear day.
82. Visit the China Minorities Park
83. Visit the Confucian Temple
84. Visit the Forbidden City
85. Visit the Fragrant Hills
86. Visit the Mausoleum of Chairman Mao at Tiananmen Square
87. Visit the Military Museum
88. Visit a morning market
89. Visit the Museum of Ancient Chinese Architecture
90. Visit the Old City Wall at Chongwenmen—Go into the Dongbianmen Tower at the east end to visit the Red Gate Art Gallery and view photos of Old Beijing
91. Visit the Old Summer Palace
92. Visit the pagoda park along the canal near the Mac.
93. Visit the Planetarium
94. Visit the Temple of Heaven
95. Visit the tomb of Matteo Ricci.
96. Visit the Water Cube (pay to go inside)
97. Visit the wholesale market across the canal from the hotel (Ling Long Lu and the canal road)
98. Visit the Yonghegong Lama Temple
99. Walk around Kunming Lake at the Summer Palace
100. Wander the old streets of the Da Zha Lan (Da Sha Lanr) district