We went to Beijing to see my closest friend last week.. I was really surprised to see how clean and spacious Beijing is. We were there for a week, went to Forbidden City, Summer Palace, Great Wall of China and Temple of Heaven. Actually we went through many more places than that – I just can’t remember them one by one – so what I’ll do, I’ll show you all the pictures that we took so you can see it for yourself – how wonderful Beijing is.

PS. We didn’t bring our fancy lens during this trip – which was such a shame – because there are so many beautiful landscape around China.

Beijing Airport – arrived at 6 AM in the morning and the place was buzzing with life. Beijing is one of those city that  never sleeps.

I love Beijing.. Look at how green and peaceful Beijing is..

Beijing is so big – I was tempted to hire a bike.. Hahaha.. Lazy me

Went there for Dim Sum in the morning – the food was delicious – unfortunately – I don’t know where the restaurant is located – my friend took us around – so we didn’t really use our map when we travel around Beijing.

Oh.. I don’t know why – the people in Beijing are big on eating their food with chocolate sprinkles. Because I was raised to eat chocolate sprinkles with bread or cakes — I have to say that I don’t really like their chocolate sprinkles dishes. I do however love their Dim Sum range.

Forbidden City.

Door to Forbidden City — according to the tour guide – touching the door will bring good luck to you and your family.

That big bowl is an old version of a fire extinguisher. There are hundreds of them – if not thousands placed inside the Forbidden City. The bowl is always filled with water and during winter, they lit up fire underneath the bowl to stop the water turning into ice.

The ground is built on top of 15 layers of bricks so no intruder can build underground tunnel to harm the emperor.

I totally forgot what this stone means – I’m just hopeless with history – but I remember the tour guide said only the Emperor was allowed to walk on this path.

Pay attention to all the intricate and complicated details of almost all 9999 rooms inside this palace – I’m so amazed and impressed by it.

A beautiful small pagoda on top of  layers of rocks.. Tour guide said this was where the Empress enjoyed her time playing cards and drinking coffee with her friends.

Environmental message — Green chopsticks: We chose convenience over environment with disposable chopsticks making our world fragile like an egg. Let us stop using them now for there is still a glimmer of green hope.

If you want to experience Beijing’s local life – you have to go to Hutong. Hutong is so rich with culture – you need at least half a day to explore the area. Also, there are many restaurants around Hutong that you should try.

In Hutong, the blue star shape look-a-like is a symbol of someone’s social status. Only the Emperor was entitled to have 12 star at the front of their palace.

This is the Bell Tower – our tour guide said that during the Han dynasty the bell was used by people to tell the time.

This is the Drum Tower. There is no lifts or elevators on this tower and there are around 60-70 steep steps. Went there with my mom and she was complaining all the way But trust me when I say this – the view from the top was amazing.

Summer Palace

Great Wall Mutianyu

Yes – we were lazy — hence the cable car – thank God for a cable car

Off the street market everywhere you go..

798 Art Districts

Tags: 798 Art District Beijing, Beijing Airport, Beijing Drum and Bell Tower, Beijing Olympic Stadium, Bird Nest, Forbidden City, Great Wall of China, Hutong, Pearl Market Beijing, Silk Market Beijing, Summer Palace, Temple of Heaven, Wangfujing Rd