It doesn’t matter where you are from or where you’re going, a travel guide of some sort, is always a good choice to make. And if your traveling to Beijing its no different – you want to know where to sleep (hotels), where to eat (restaurants) and where to go (activities and entertainment).
I know there are a whole bunch of websites out there that can help you with questions such as these but very few are actually informative to the point of actually being able to map out your trip.
Last year I was checking a few websites out and I found a small handful of sites that I even liked, let alone ones that were actually helpful. Then, I dug a little bit more and found a few sites that I really liked a lot.
Not only were they nice to look at, but they were informational and they helped me plan my trip! I liked one in particular because they had actual photos of places around Beijing which gave me a good idea of what to expect beforehand.
You never really know about a place until you see it in person and experience it or unless you see photos. And Im not talking about commercialized photos either! Real, raw, photos is what I like. And these websites do just that. Here are a few other things you can experience on these websites:
Beijing Gallery which included photos from food and drinks found in this great city along with architecture, The Great Wall Of China and even a Beijing subway! The galleries really are stunning, this was my favorite part of these websites.
Recommended Beijing Travel Books which had a few suggested reads such as the City Guide, and the Insiders Guide. Also included was Top 10 Beijing (Eyewitness Top 10 Travel Guides).
A how to guide on applying for a Visa. Obviously this is incredibly important since you need a Visa in order to travel anymore overseas! China Visas fall under different categories. There are 8 categories of ordinary Chinese visas:- C, D, F, G, J-1, J-2, L, X and Z. You can find out about the different categories in more detail at China’s Embassy website.
The Top Ten Tourist Attractions in Beijing which is obviously the best places to visit in this city. Some of the places listed are – The Great Wall of China, The Summer Palace, The Beijing Zoo, and Lama Temple.
The "attractions" category gives you a nice little list with blogs you can read about regarding the different attractions to visit while in Beijing such as 798 Art Zone, Wangfujing Street and The Great Wall.
Lastly you are presented with all the different cultural districts within Beijing. These will include Chaoyang District, Chongwen District, Dongcheng District, Haidan District, Xicheng District, and Xuanwu District. Then within each District you will find information about that particular area. For example, lets take a look at a excerpt from Haidian District;
"A gorgeous public park, Fragrant Hills Park, rests at the foot of the Western Mountains. A pine/cypress forest, dotted with maple, persimmon, and smoke trees, Chinese cultural structures, and landscaped regions make up the park. It has a long history and was built in 1186 during the Jin Dynasty.
Another lovely place to visit in Haidian district is Beijing Botanical Garden, located in the Western Hills, not too far from Fragrant Hills. The garden houses more than 6,000 types of plant; there are: trees and shrubs, many varieties of tropical plants, fruit trees, and flowers. In addition, there is the Peony Garden, which is the home of rare and endangered plants."
So you see these websites can be incredibly helpful and useful when it comes to visiting this city. And as aforementioned you can also find places to eat and places to stay, you merely have to read the blogs accordingly. I think one of the first things I would do to find different places to eat and stay would be to find out which district you plan on visiting first.
Once you figure that out you can go ahead and read a few blogs provided about that particular place which will give you information such as restaurants, attractions and hotels. Then you can further your "trip" by taking a look at some of the photos and a few of the other blogs. You could even buy yourself a city guide so you can get a really good idea of what types of things are available in Beijing!
This Author is a huge fan of Beijing Travel
Article Source: Are You Traveling To Beijing? Interested In Finding Some Of The Highlights?