Beijing 3 Days 3 Nights Architectural Itinerary

This is pretty much an architectural cum eating itinerary and it doesn't cover TianAnMen or GuGong or Great Wall of China as we have done these in our previous visit to Beijing.

Day 01
9am: Breakfast at Hun Tun Hou 餛飩候, Guloudongdajie 鼓楼东大街
930am: Walk along Nanluoguxiang 南鑼鼓巷 for some early street shopping, try 文宇奶酪 and churros 吉事果 for snacks.
11am: 798 Art district, sightseeing and some artsy shopping here
1pm: Visit Sanlitun 三里屯 Village> Opposite house> Sanlitun SOHO.
optional: If you don't like shopping malls, you can visit Yaxiu Shopping Mall which sells the imitation goods which is within the vicinity.
2pm: Coffee break at cafe called Colibri.
3pm : Visit CCTV > Shangdu 尚都 SOHO > Chaowai 朝外 SOHO
5pm: Early Dinner at Ding Ding Xiang Hotpot (at Shangdu SOHO east tower)
6pm: Back at hotel to unload shopping and rest
8pm: Walk down Wangfujing > Wangfujing snack street > Donghuamen Night Market 東華門

Day 02
9am: Breakfast at 包子鋪 Gulongdajie 鼓龍大街.
10am: Visit National Theatre, fondly known as The Egg.
optional: Quickly dropby Silk Market if you want to buy imitation goods but we skipped this part since we are not interested. It's very near to The Egg.
11am: Walk down to Oriental Plaza 東方新天地. This is quite a walk.
12nn: Lunch at QuanJuDe 全聚德 for their famous Peking Duck。
2pm: Visit National Stadium (Bird Nest) 鸟巢 and Watercube 水立方 > Digital Beijing/ Matrix
4pm: Wudaokou Clothing Market where the local students shop.
8pm: Dinner at Wangfujing 狗不理包子
9pm: Donghuamen night Market to pack some supper back

Day 03
9am: Xidan 西单 Shopping Street for breakfast. Eat the local street snacks and more shopping.
optional: If you have time and want something different, visit Pan Jia Yuan market for antiques. Best to do this on a weekend.
12nn: YanDaiXiejie 烟袋斜街for souvenir shopping and a picturesque view of Houhai Lake. If you want can hitch a trishaw ride.
1pm: Lunch at XiaoBeiJing 小北鯨 for some piping hot dumplings. Beside this stall sells the very famous Beijing snack which always has a snaking queue...next to bus stop.Further down is another stall which sells cream puffs which is also a local hit. Always a long queue.
2pm: Walk around the 鼓楼 Drum Tower and 钟楼 Bell Tower.
3pm: Break time at Mr Shi's dumplings! 老石水餃 (because i have a dumpling craving!) if not you can opt for Yao Ji Chao Gan 姚記炒肝. Just beside Hun Tun Hou.
330pm: More street shopping and dropby i-tea for some cold drinks.
6pm: Dinner at DaDong Peking Duck.

Beijing Day 03 - Milk tea and more local snacks

after some shopping, we decided to rest our feet at this bubble tea shop call 88, Fresh drinks!



me and my bowl of stinky tofu!
and it was more shopping!!!! - we continued to buy some local kitsch stuff like mugs, tees, metal robots and metal toys to bring home.

Beijing Day 03 - Mr Shi's Dumplings 老石水餃

Read from a travel forum that Mr Shi's dumpling was worth the trip so we decided to find it too!
Mr Shi's Dumplings 老石水餃
Address: 74, Guloudongdajie (BaoChao Hutong)
Dongcheng District

so sorry, we were so busy eating that we forgotten to take a photo of the dumplings!
But it was very tasty and filling was generous!
Also they have a wide variety of dumpling fillings for you to choose from.
If you are not hungry for dumplings, they also serve local cuisines.

Beijing Day 03 - 鼓楼 Drum Tower & 钟楼 Bell Tower

Gǔlóu (鼓楼), the drum tower of Beijing, is situated at the northern end of the central axis of the Inner City to the north of Di’ anmen Street. Originally built for musical reasons, it was later used to announce the time and is now a tourist attraction.

near the vicinity, elderly folks are watching intently at a mahjong game while the younger ones are playing badminton behind.

Zhōnglóu (钟楼), the bell tower of Beijing stands closely behind the drum tower. Together with the drum tower, they provide an overview of central Beijing and before the modern era, they both dominated Beijing's ancient skyline.

ahren in front of Bell Tower....

after making our rounds around the bell and drum tower, we went back to the shopping street, i have gotten myself a pair of turtle shell specs!

Beijing Day 03 - XiaoBeiJing 小北鯨

Beside XiaoBeiJing 小北鯨 restaurant/eatery has a snaking queue for a local snack.
You can't miss this sight, it's just opposite 烟袋斜街 and next to a bus stop.

we saw that the eatery was offering some local snacks at half the price so we decided to go in and try.
We tried their century egg porridge, wasn't very thick but it was very cheap $5 Yuan for a bowl
Their pork with cabbage dumplings were $10 yuan which again i find it value for money and it didn't taste bad, the filling was generous.

Beijing Day 03 - Yandaixie 烟袋斜街 Street

Yandaixie 烟袋斜街 Street
Yan Dai Xie Jie literally means "Slanted Tobacco Pipe Street ". The street itself resembles a huge pipe totally 232 meters long. It is "slanted "because it runs from the northeast to southwest.

In the early Qing Dynasty it was called "Slanted Drum Tower Street" since it was just located about 100 meters to the south of Drum Tower. In later Qing Dynasty its name changed into "Slanted Tobacco Pipe Street". At that time there were a great number of shops selling pipes. The tobacoo pipes were quite popular then.

Today, when you wander along the street, you still can find some shops selling all kinds of pipes. Besides, you will find elegantly furnished traditional stores, trendy bars and featuring inns and many more.

Yan Dai Xie Jie is at it best when it sparkles! It is quite easy to find the unique street, just about 100 meters to the south of Drum Tower. Following the signboard and the decorated archway, you enter the narrow street and melt into the ancient time of the early Qing Dynasty. At the end of the street, you will find yourself in the middle of the Yinding Bridge connecting Houhai Lake and Qianhai Lake, one of the most important bar areas in Beijing.

here's us at the mouth of Yandaixie Street 烟袋斜街






if you want, you can opt for a trishaw ride along the Houhai lake.

Beijing Day 03 - Xidan 西单 Shopping Street

We started the day by grabbing a cab down to Xidan Shopping street which is in Xicheng District. For breakfast, we decided to follow some locals who were getting their food from the street vendors. So we did the same and ordered the same stuff too!

monkey see, monkey do!

here's our morning breakfast: crepe with pork floss - not bad and cheap.


here's a photo of the outdoor market...but since it's winter, i highly recommend to shop indoors...brr....

Here's how the Xidan Bright Pearl Market looks like.


zoom in on our crepe....

and since we shared a crepe, i ordered a chinese pizza too! Call 掉渣餅
Fresh from the oven, lightly swiped with a sweet, savoury sauce and sprinkled with spring onions and sesame seeds, these simple Chinese pizzas were light, crispy and utterly delicious.

Plus i saw many locals carrying this paperbag so i was so intrigued that i went to spied on the chinese words and finally found the stall!!!

Address:

西城区横二条59号(西单明珠商城)

(Xidan Bright Pearl Market)
Hengertiao 59
Xicheng district

When you realise that Silk Market and Yaxiu Market and HongQiao Market all have the same supplies, it's time to try out the locals' own shopping districts. This is where the inhabitants of Beijing gather to pick up their gear.

In the northern parts of the "Xidan Beidajie" street there are lots of small shops. The area also has several markets and malls. We know from experience that it's very possible to spend whole days here and still have ground left to cover.

Start by visiting the Xidan Outdoor Market, which actually is largely indoors. The prices here can be very low and the supply of clothes and accessories is not too bad either. Then visit one of the larger markets east or north of this area and remember to always bargain on Outdoor Market too.

If you are looking for more exclusive shopping, a good choice is Grand Pacific, located west of Xidan Beidajie.