Without a doubt, Beijing City can feel extremely expensive, at least compared to anywhere else in China. If you don’t plan your trip smartly you’ll end up spending your entire budget with half your stay remaining. Here we share my best tips to travel in Beijing in cheap ways to avoid this awkward situation.
1. Travel Beijing by Foot.
Beijing is a big city, Traveling in Beijing only on foot can be hard work. You had better take public transport means first and then start your walking tour. The popular walking routes include:
- Start from Tiananmen Square, pass by Forbidden City, Jingshan Park, ends at Drum and Bell Tower.
- Start with Chengxian Street, visit Lama Temple, Temple of Confucius, then Drum Tower, Houhai Lakes, Shichahai Hutong area.
2. Travel Beijing by bike
Biking is a healthy, environmentally friendly, convenient and funny way to explore the old city area. There’s no better way to discover the Hutong areas and many landmarks of this fascinating city. Popular biking routes include:
- Biking in Hutong Areas. the highlights along the route include: Ancient Residential Area, Old Hutongs, Houhai Lakes, Drum Tower and Bell Tower, Celebrities’s Residences, Local people`s life.
- Biking around the Forbidden City, the highlights include: Tianmen Square, Forbidden City and Dashilan Area, National Opera House, Changpu River Park, Jingshan Park, Beihai Park.
For more information, please visit Biking in Beijing. You can also join our daily departure Beijing Bike Tours.
3. Travel Beijing by subway
In recent years more and more subway lines start operation, now it is much easier to visit many places in Beijing by metro lines. Taking subway is a cheap and fast way to take your to some most famous tourist attractions. Here I sum up some subway lines and the places you can reach.
- Subway Line 1: Tiananmen Square & Forbidden City
- Subway Line 2: Yonghe Lamasery Temple, Drum & Bell Towers
- Subway Line 4: Summer Palace, Yuanmingyuan Park, Beijing Zoo
- Subway Line 5: Temple of Heaven
For more details you can visit the our page The Complete Guide of Visiting Beijing by Subway.
4. Travel Beijing by join-in coach tour
Join-in coach tour is a cheap way to discover Beijing especially for an excursion to Great Wall. On coach you will have chance to meet travelers from different countries and make friends with them. The service include tour coach, lunch, entrance tickets, pick-up and drop-off service, English speaking tour guide. The normal Beijing coach tour prices vary from $20 -$45, depending on the traveling distance, which is much cheaper than a private tour (about $200 per person.). The most popular itineraries include:
Badaling Great Wall and Ming Tombs Bus Tour – $25
Mutianyu Great Wall, Ming Tomb Tour – $30
Jinshanling Great Wall hiking tour – $55