MostpeopleknowthehotplacestovisitinBeijing:ForbiddenCity，GreatWall，SummerPalace，etc.Ihopetooffersomesuggestionstovisitlesserknownplacesandtipsonvisitingthepopularspots.
VisitingTiananmenSquareandtheForbiddenCity(“Gugong”)--Here’showIsuggesttomaximizethevisit:1)GotoTiananmen，2)WalkunderneathChanganBoulevardtoMao’spicture，3)KeepwalkingnorthtothebeginningoftheForbiddenCity，4)PayandgovisittheForbiddenCity，5)ExittheForbiddenCity’snorthgateandcrossthestreet，justtotheleftisanundergroundcrossway，6)Payforadmittancetotheparkyouarenowinfrontof(JingshanPark)，7)ClimbtotheverytoppagodaoftheparkandadmirethespectacularviewoftheForbiddenCitybeforeyouandBeihaiParktothewest，and8)Climbdowntothebottomalongthepark’seastridgeandyouwillseethespotwherethelastemperoroftheMingDynastyhangedhimself.
YonghegongLamaTemple--ThisisoneofthefewoperabletemplesinChina.ItissmallerthantheForbiddenCityandTempleofHeaven，butisworthexamining.Thereare60monksoftheTibetanLamaorderresidinginandmaintainingthetemple.AcrossthestreetfromtheTempleareafewBuddhistshops.However，abitfurtherdownthelittlealleyontheleftisanartistshopwithintriguingsculpture.YonghegongisnorthofCiaoCiaoGelatosoIrecommendafewscoopsafterenjoyingthisplace.
GreatWall(“ChangCheng”)--Unfortunately，oneneedstodriveallthewaytoSimataiorJinshanling(3-4hours)togetawayfromthecrowdsattheGreatWall.However，mostpeoplechoosebetweenBadalingorMutianyu.IrecommendMutianyusincetherearestillpartswhereonecantrekoffthebeatenpath.ThereisacablecaratMutianyuforthosethatcannotbravethehalfhourstepclimbtogettothewall(nevermindtheclimbingthatwillbeincurredonceatopthewall).Whenyougetonthewall，goright...thisleadstothefunpartsoffthebeatenpath(thisisbeyondtherestaurantonepassesalongtheway).BadalingisacloserdrivetotheWallthanMutianyu，especiallywiththenewBadalingexpresswayopened.However，Badalingisswarmingwithtouristsandcheeziness.Iguessifyouhavemajortimeconstraints，doBadaling，but，ifpossible，doMutianyuinstead.
SummerPalace(“Yiheyuan”)--Somepeopledon’trealizehowclosetheSummerPalaceistoMotorola，it’sonly4milesaway.Itisreallyanawesomesite.ClimbthetopofthehighesthillandyouwillgetanincredibleviewofKunmingLakewiththemarblebridgeandislands.Walkalongthelongcorridor(1/2milelonganddecoratedwithpaintings).
FragrantHills(“Xiangshan”)--IguessitisobviousIenjoyhiking，well，ifyoudotoo，checkoutthehikeuptheFragrantHills.Ittakesapersonindecentphysicalshapeabout1hourtoclimbthetop.ItisagreatfeelingofaccomplishmentandonacleardaywillprovideincredibleviewsofBeijingasitissituatedtoBeijingNorthwestcorner.
MilitaryMuseum(“Junshibowuguan”)--IfyouwanttoseethecarMaorodearound，anoldU2plane，orotherrelicsfromWWIIandtheSinoJapanesewar，thisistheplace.ThismuseumislocatedneartheFuxingmensubwaystop，abouta20minutedrivefromMotorola.
PurpleBambooPark(“Zizhuyuan”)--ClosetotheShangrilaHotelisthePurpleBambooPark.Itiswithinwalkingdistance(10minutesaway)andisquitepretty.Theparkhasseverallakesandbridges.
