5 Days in Beijing: Day 4

5 Days in Beijing: Day 4

The fourth day of your stay in Beijing is sort of the day of southern Beijing.  I sort of but for the most part, you will be sticking pretty close to line 1 on the subway.  If you are a shopper then today will be great for you, if you are not a shopper then you can at least walk around a looking at some cultural stuff.

Breakfast: Asian dough stick and soy milk.

This is basically how it is advertised at McDonald's and it’s what I am recommending.  I have seen this on the college campuses that I have worked at and around the cities, I have lived in while being China.  All together Seven years at this point, but I will talk about that more in another post.

The dough stick is just deep-fried dough and kind of reminds me of elephant ears from carnivals but without the cinnamon and sugar.  And soy milk is milk made from soybeans.  Don’t worry one glass will not upset your estrogen levels.   You can get both together as a combo for around one dollar at McDonald's or you could shop around, I guess though I don’t think you would anything that different.

Morning: Temple of Heaven.

This is the largest temple site in Beijing and completes the four used by the Ming and Qing emperors, the other three you have already seen.  The temple is, in fact, larger than the Forbidden City, so you will need to all morning to see everything.  Getting the temple is easy enough, it has its subway station, or at least one named after it, Tiantan dongmen on line 5.  It means the temple of heaven east gate.  So after exiting from the station, you will enter the temple site from the east gate.

That being said if you walk north than west you can enter from the north gate which has a lot more to see near it than you would find near the east gate.  The main areas of attraction near the north gate are the Hall of Prayer for Good Harvests,  As well as accompanying buildings used for the services.  Heading in a western direction you will find the Rose Garden and Flower Garden across from the Palace of Abstinence where the emperor would prepare for the rituals.  Head south and east to find the Imperial Vault of Heaven and the Circular Mound Altar which is the famous photo taken of the Temple.  Heading out go up the Imperial Walkway Bridge then hang to the right and exit out of the east gate. 

Lunch: KFC

There is one at your next destination.  Now what you are thinking is why on earth would I want to go KFC in China.  Because KFC is the largest fast-food chain in China, it is immensely popular.  One of the things about trying fast-food restaurants from America in other countries is that they will change to adapt the food to suit the local tastes.  Keep this in mind when ordering.  Try and order things from the menu that you would not find in America.  Such as the Chicken Twisters which is a wrap with a fried chicken tender in the middle, it’s spicy, and lettuce.  The sauce is somewhere between soy sauce and teriyaki.  There are also egg tarts from Macau and occasionally they will try out new things so be on the lookout for what they are advertising.

Early Afternoon: Beijing Silk Market.

 The first half of the afternoon can be spent at the Beijing Silk Market which can be found at Yonganli on line 1.  The Silk Market is a large shopping mall.  The first floor sells a variety of goods from leather to technology.  The second and third floors are based around clothes, while the fourth floor has things that could be considered art or handcrafts such as jewelry and porcelain.  The fifth floor is based around finances and has a grocery store.  

Late Afternoon:  Wang Fu JingYou are headed to Wangfujing which is also on line 1 at Wangfujing station.  It’s the largest shopping area in Beijing and something that the city is known for.  Wangfujing is full is of stores.  You can buy pretty much anything there.  Do give special attention to the silk stores as you can see some examples of traditional Chinese clothing in them.  You can also buy them.  If you are not a huge fan of shopping there are also tea houses or go and explore some more of the hutongs.

Dinner: Wangfujing Snack Street

Dinner is going to be connected to your next stop which is the Wangfujing Street.  Go to Wangfujing station on line 1 and go out exit C2.  Once there, head towards Haoyou (Pronounced How Yo) in the southern part is the street.  You will be able to experience a variety of street food and snacks from around China here.

On the first floor, you will find snacks from all over China such as fermented mung bean juice, coconut from Hainan, mutton skewers from Xinjiang, and stinky tofu from Hunan.  Also cause I know how much you want to try it you can get roasted centipedes, grasshoppers, and spiders, delicious.

On the second floor, you find foods that come from Chinese Muslim culture.  Remember Muslims have very strict food laws that they have to follow from their faith so everything you eat on this level is for the most part safe.  The beef and mutton are excellent, the only thing that might give you paused is the cooked tripe.

On the third floor, you will find the snacks of old Beijing, think Qing times.  There is a place for tea, as well as a place that serves wine, Chinese white wine is similar to lighter fluid.  You can feast upon eighteen different snacks from the Qing dynasty and also enjoy Beijing style opera performances, and you are allowed to join in.

Evening: Either stick around Wangfujing or head back to your hotel and get some sleep because the last day is a doozy.  Keep reading in the next post to find out.  As always please support this blog and if you have anything to add or questions to ask please comment below.

5 Days in Beijing: Day 1 5 Days in Beijing: Day 2 5 Days in Beijing: Day 3 Rainy Days in Guangzhou 5 Days in Beijing: Day 5