Beijing-Shanghai Day 3: Mutianyu Great Wall & Qianmen

We had breakfast at Horizon Lounge at 8am, before embarking on a trip to see the Great Wall of China.

The scrambled egg croissant was so-so

Pancake and instant noodles

We boarded a private charter car we had booked the day before and it cost us CN¥1000 for the return trip. Although it wasn't cheap, we felt it was more worth it since there were so many of us.

Our driver was a Beijing-native, who has travelled widely in China. He was very entertaining and shared many interesting things about his hometown and other cities in China.

Scenery along the way

Driving along the mountainside

We arrived at Mutianyu Great Wall 慕田峪长城, after travelling for about an hour. The tickets for the chairlift and cable car were CN¥1660 in total for 3 adults and 2 students (FREE for children below 120cm). Our passports were needed to purchase the tickets as they would be used for entry into the attraction. 

Buying our tickets from the Tourist Service Center

Once we had obtained our tickets, we walked through a village of shops towards the Shuttle Bus Stop where we took a complimentary shuttle bus to the base of Mutianyu Great Wall. We had to scan our passports to enter the bus stop. 

Complimentary shuttle buses

A map of Mutianyu Great Wall for easy reference

We headed first to the Chairlifts and Tobaggan Lower Station to board the chairlifts up to the East Route of the Mutianyu Great Wall.

The chairlifts were really fun!

Chairlifts typically accommodated 2 persons per chair

Lovely view of the mountains

View of the Great Wall from the chairlift!

On arrival at the Upper Station, we took photos at the lookout before trekking down to explore part of the East Route (the Mum-in-law waited for us at the lookout).

Photo with the Eastern part of the Mutianyu Great Wall

Climbing up one of the towers along the Eastern Route

Beautiful mountains in the background

The stairs here were narrow and 

We headed back to the Upper Station to ride the toboggan down the mountain. It was a relatively long queue and by the time we reached the front, we found out that seniors above 65 years old were not allowed to ride! The Mum-in-law had no choice but to return to the chairlifts alone while the rest of the family rode the toboggans! 

Toboggan entrance

Bought a souvenir photo

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We walked over to the Cable Car Lower Station to ride the cable car.

Photos with sample cable cars

We didn't have to queue before boarding the cable cars at the Lower Station

On the way to the peak!

Photos with the Great Wall along the way

View of the Middle Route

On arrival at the Cable Car Upper Station, we climbed up to the viewing platform to take in the views of the surrounding mountains.

The Great Wall is an UNESCO World Heritage Site

The temperature at the peak was probably about 2-5°C

The two older kids and I ventured further to explore the Great Wall while the rest of the family waited for us at the main viewing area. We really loved it and would have gone further if not for cutting short our exploration because the family was waiting for us in the cold.

Exploring the highest part of the Middle Route

Admiring the view and marveling at how the ancient Chinese built this massive structure without modern tools!

Super narrow stairs

Walking on the West Route

Many photo opportunities

Love this photo my Boy took of me!

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This viewing platform was built to be accessible to wheelchair users!
Another great photo spot to admire the view! 

It soon got too cold for the Mum-in-law so we boarded the cable car back down the mountain.

Cable car journey down

March was absolutely the right time to visit as it wasn't crowded and the weather was amazing (according to my family's ideal of 5-15°C of course 😆)! The Great Wall was extraordinary and a must to visit if you travel to China! 

We love Mutianyu Great Wall! 💗

After buying souvenirs, we met up with our driver and headed back to the hotel. We made it just in time for evening canapés at 6pm.

Lovely snacks from both East and West

Chef made-to-order noodles and other delicious food

We devoured the food as we were famished after a long journey! 😋

It was our last night in Beijing and we really wanted to visit Qianmen Street as it came highly recommended by the Hubby's colleague. The Hubby, two older kids and I decided to make a last minute visit at around 8pm via DiDi.

Zheng Yang Men Jian Lou

Qianmen Street and its surrounding areas were heavily guarded by security officers, who required all visitors to produce our passports to enter. As a result, we felt very safe even though it was late!

Entrance to Qianmen Walking Street

Got the feels, if ya know what I mean!

Very old school!

Somehow we wandered onto a very happening street (should be Dashilan Street based on my estimation).

Love the bright lights and energy!

Bought dried sliced pork (China's version of bak kwa);
The Littlest loves it!

During our exploration, we found a shop selling all kinds of meat on a stick, including interesting insects! 

We decided to try the cricket instead of the scorpion 😅

Many insects for sale!

My Boy was very game to try the cricket and we both had one each. It tasted better than expected, though later it left a bit of an after taste. I have always wanted to try and glad that I got the chance to!

Ordering thin noodles from one of the stalls

Qianmen Street closes at 10pm, which was the time we left! I was so glad we managed to squeeze this into our trip! 

We knew 3 days would not be enough to experience Beijing and had always planned to return! Based on the recommendations of various drivers and hotel staff, we intend to visit the following attractions in our next trip:

• Universal Studios Beijing
• National Museum of China
• China Science and Technology Museum
• Henan
• Xi An

It has been a wonderful 3 days! Till we meet again Beijing!

Continue to >> Beijing-Shanghai Day 4: High Speed Train to Pudong Shangri-La
<< Back to Beijing-Shanghai Day 2: Forbidden City & Wangfujing

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Beijing-Shanghai Day 2: Forbidden City & Wangfujing

We headed to the Horizon Lounge for breakfast and were given a menu where we could select made-to-order items.

Breakfast menu

After selecting our preferred items from the menu, we proceeded to select the rest of our food from the buffet line.

Bread, muffins and drinks

Good variety of breakfast food

The Boy loves his avocado sandwich 🥪 

After breakfast at 11.30am, we took a premium 6-seater car via DiDi (CN¥53) to the meeting point at Bank of China Donganmen branch for our day tour.

Waiting in the lobby for our car to pick us up

As we were early, we explored the nearby Wangfujing Street.

Beijing APM mall 

Wangfujing Street

Pop Mart and Fila

The Boy complained that his shoes were too tight for him, even though he had only worn them once in Hokkaido! 😓 We were very lucky that Fila was having a sale so both the Boy and Mum-in-law managed to buy sneakers at a good deal! 😁

Our meeting time for the day tour I had booked via Klook was at 12.20pm. The walking tour costs $48.65 per person, including the Littlest.

After meeting our tour guide, it was a pretty long walk to the East Gate of the Forbidden City 紫禁城.

The East Gate is only for exit not entry

We had to walk around the outer wall of the palace grounds all the way to the main entrance at Meridian Gate.

Walking towards Donghuamen

Meridian Gate

Queue for entry and security checks
(Mum-in-law was wearing her new Fila shoes!)

It is very unlikely that you'd be able to finish exploring Forbidden City in one day. It is humongous and that's not even an exaggeration! 😅 After walking for more than 10k steps, I felt we had only just scratched the surface in the 4 hours that we were there (a colleague visited more than once and also did not manage to finish)! 

Gate of Supreme Harmony

Bridges in front of the Gate of Supreme Harmony

Super scenic

Family photo

Our guide explained to us that only the Emperor can have buildings with gold roofs. This is in contrast with the blue or green roofs at the Temple of Heaven.

Hall of Supreme Harmony

Close up of the Hall of Supreme Harmony

Our tour guide explaining the layout of the Forbidden City (left)
and the oldest sun clock that the ancient Chinese people used to tell time (right)

Bronze and iron vats filled with water were used to protect the palace from fire

One of the palace gift shops

Our tour package included tickets to Royal Treasure Gallery, where we could view the royal collection of historical artifacts. 

Entrance to The Treasure Gallery

Introduction to The Treasure Gallery

Decorative bonsais

Items used by royalty

Stone museum

Gold and silver items used by the Qing imperial family

Gold filigree 5-phoenix head ornament (left);
Phoenix Crown worn by Chinese empresses (right).

There were too many people in the gallery and we could barely take decent photos of the artifacts, not to mention a longer look! 

Next, we visited the palaces of the Emperor and Empress. Both living quarters were in the center of the Forbidden City and the largest.

Palace of Earthly Tranquility

Our tour ended at the Imperial Garden, which is found at the rear of the Forbidden City. Our tour guide explained that trees were only found in the living quarters of the imperial family and not the central areas as the Emperor was afraid of an attack from his enemies (trees provided a good cover).

Interesting garden with many trees that are more than hundreds of years old and an artificial wall that was built to give the Emperor the feeling of being in the mountains

We ended our tour at 4.30pm somewhere near The Palace Museum 故宫博物院, which we didn't manage to visit.

The Palace Museum

When we exited, it was difficult to call for a car as the roads were blocked. We had to walk to Beihai Park South Gate to hail a DiDi back to our hotel (cost CN¥88).

Our DiDi passed Tian An Men 天安门 along the way so that we can snap a quick photo without needing to visit!

The famous Tian An Men

Tian An Men Square 天安门广场

Back at the hotel, we headed to the Horizon Lounge for evening canapés.

Slightly different snacks!

The family wanted to eat Peking duck so the Mum-in-law, Eldest and I took a DiDi back to Wangfujing to buy dinner and do some shopping. 

Ye Duo Duo restaurant

Eldest eating her tanghulu (sugared food on a stick) while we waited for the chefs to prepare the Peking duck

Late night shopping just before the malls closed

Trying to find a supermarket

We were directed to Beijing Department Store

Found a supermarket at the basement

After buying groceries at the supermarket, we headed back to our hotel to enjoy the Peking duck! It was really good! If we ever return to Beijing in future, we'd dine at the restaurant for sure!

Enjoying our Peking duck

I finally collapsed on my bed after a long day of walking and clocking over 20,000 steps! 😅

Continue to >> Beijing-Shanghai Day 3: Mutianyu Great Wall & Qianmen
<< Back to Beijing-Shanghai Day 1: Temple of Heaven & China World Hotel Horizon Club

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Visit MADPSYCHMUM TRAVELS for the rest of my posts on Beijing & Shanghai, China 

as well as other travel itineraries!

Please also follow my travel adventures on Instagram via the hashtag #madpsychmumtravels!