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Can You Actually Avoid the Crowds in Beijing?
Avoiding Beijing Crowds: Hidden Parks & Forbidden City Views
In this Beijing travel vlog, we discover how to avoid the crowds in Beijing while visiting some of the city's most famous attractions. Instead of following the typical tourist itinerary, we explore hidden parks, take a scenic boat ride to the Summer Palace, climb Jingshan Park for the best panoramic...
In this Beijing travel vlog, we discover how to avoid the crowds in Beijing while visiting some of the city's most famous attractions. Instead of following the typical tourist itinerary, we explore hidden parks, take a scenic boat ride to the Summer Palace, climb Jingshan Park for the best panoramic view of the Forbidden City without buying an entrance ticket, and wander through the peaceful park surrounding the Temple of Heaven. If you're looking for the best things to do in Beijing while avoiding the crowds and saving money, this itinerary is for you.
Most visitors head straight for Beijing's busiest attractions, but we wanted to experience a different side of the city. Our day begins at the peaceful Zizhuyuan Park (Black Bamboo Park), one of Beijing's best local parks, before taking a relaxing boat ride directly to the beautiful Summer Palace—a much more scenic way to arrive than simply entering through the front gates.
Instead of paying to enter the Forbidden City, we climb nearby Jingshan Park (Coal Hill), where we're rewarded with one of the most spectacular panoramic views in all of Beijing. It's one of the city's best viewpoints and costs only a fraction of the price.
Of course, no day exploring Beijing would be complete without great food. We stop for a delicious vegetarian lunch before ending our time in Beijing in the beautiful park surrounding the Temple of Heaven, where locals gather to relax, exercise, and enjoy everyday life away from the tourist crowds. So... is it actually possible to experience Beijing without battling huge crowds or spending a fortune? We think so.
Beijing is intense, historic, and often packed—but there is a quieter way to experience it. This guide follows an itinerary designed to dodge the crowds: a peaceful start at Zizhuyuan Park, a scenic boat ride to the Summer Palace, a climb up Jingshan Park for sweeping Forbidden City views without entering the palace, and a slow wander around the Temple of Heaven's grounds. Add a delicious vegetarian lunch and glimpses of local life, and it proves that even China's most visited sights can feel fresh, calm, and affordable.
In this Beijing travel vlog, we discover how to avoid the crowds in Beijing while visiting some of the city's most famous attractions. Instead of following the typical tourist itinerary, we explore hidden parks, take a scenic boat ride to the Summer Palace, climb Jingshan Park for the best panoramic view of the Forbidden City without buying an entrance ticket, and wander through the peaceful park surrounding the Temple of Heaven. If you're looking for the best things to do in Beijing while avoiding the crowds and saving money, this itinerary is for you.
Most visitors head straight for Beijing's busiest attractions, but we wanted to experience a different side of the city. Our day begins at the peaceful Zizhuyuan Park (Black Bamboo Park), one of Beijing's best local parks, before taking a relaxing boat ride directly to the beautiful Summer Palace—a much more scenic way to arrive than simply entering through the front gates.
Instead of paying to enter the Forbidden City, we climb nearby Jingshan Park (Coal Hill), where we're rewarded with one of the most spectacular panoramic views in all of Beijing. It's one of the city's best viewpoints and costs only a fraction of the price.
Of course, no day exploring Beijing would be complete without great food. We stop for a delicious vegetarian lunch before ending our time in Beijing in the beautiful park surrounding the Temple of Heaven, where locals gather to relax, exercise, and enjoy everyday life away from the tourist crowds. So... is it actually possible to experience Beijing without battling huge crowds or spending a fortune? We think so.
Dan and Loz say Beijing can feel overwhelming if you dislike crowds, and they set out to find quieter ways to see the city. They begin at a small park, eat a sweet loaf of bread for breakfast, and explain that they use the Alipay app's transport tab to get a QR code for the metro and bus instead of buying single-use tickets. The ferry from the park to the Summer Palace first looks closed because of construction, but they find it running and buy one-way tickets for 100 yuan. The boat is crowded, and on arrival they enter the Summer Palace park through a quiet gate with no line. They walk for about 45 minutes and feel they have seen only a small part of the huge park, and they cross steep arched bridges. The next afternoon they ride a bus using the separate bus QR code in Alipay and pay 20 cents for six stops. They climb Jingshan Park, paying 2 yuan each, to look at the Forbidden City from above instead of waiting in the long line they show at its entrance. They share local stories about how the hill was built from soil dug for the Forbidden City and a legend of hidden gold, and they describe how the emperor was thought of as a god on earth. For dinner they find a fully vegetarian restaurant and eat mushroom dumplings with red peppercorn, which they enjoy. On their last day they visit only the garden of the Temple of Heaven, where a garden ticket is 15 yuan per person and a ticket including the temple is 34. They conclude that big parks make it easy to find quiet places in Beijing and that they avoided the main queues.
Dan and Loz try to see Beijing while avoiding the biggest crowds. They start at a small park, pay for transport with the Alipay QR code, and take a one-way ferry to the Summer Palace after worrying that construction had closed it. They then climb Jingshan Park for a view of the Forbidden City instead of queueing to enter, share a vegetarian dinner of mushroom dumplings, and spend their last day in the garden of the Temple of Heaven. They say the large parks are easy places to find quiet.
Two travelers skip the Forbidden City queue in Beijing, using a ferry to the Summer Palace, Jingshan Park's view and the Temple of Heaven garden.
Avoiding Beijing Crowds: Summer Palace, Jingshan Park and Temple of Heaven
1:09 Open the Alipay app, go to transport, pick your city, choose the metro or bus and link your bank card. You get a QR code to scan in and out, which the couple find easier than single-use tickets.
6:36 The one-way ferry from the park to the Summer Palace costs 100 yuan. The couple feared construction had closed it, but found the ferry running by going around the construction area.
8:56 At the Summer Palace park gate next to the ferry stop, the couple found no line and paid 31 each. They say the park is very quiet and the left side is the long way around.
11:50 Alipay has separate tabs for bus and metro, so you need the bus QR code as well. The couple paid 20 cents for six stops on a Beijing bus and found it easy.
12:27 To see the Forbidden City without paying or waiting hours in line, climb the hill park nearby. The couple paid 2 yuan each for entry and say the walk up is uphill.
18:13 At the Temple of Heaven, a garden ticket is 15 yuan per person and a ticket with the temple is 34. The couple visit only the garden and say it is 1.3 kilometers to the temple.
19:31 In Beijing's big parks, stray from the main entrance and walk the side paths to find quiet. The couple say the parks were clean and peaceful when they visited.
1:09 Open the Alipay app, go to transport, pick your city, choose the metro or bus and link your bank card. You get a QR code to scan in and out, which the couple find easier than single-use tickets.
6:36 The one-way ferry from the park to the Summer Palace costs 100 yuan. The couple feared construction had closed it, but found the ferry running by going around the construction area.
8:56 At the Summer Palace park gate next to the ferry stop, the couple found no line and paid 31 each. They say the park is very quiet and the left side is the long way around.
11:50 Alipay has separate tabs for bus and metro, so you need the bus QR code as well. The couple paid 20 cents for six stops on a Beijing bus and found it easy.
12:27 To see the Forbidden City without paying or waiting hours in line, climb the hill park nearby. The couple paid 2 yuan each for entry and say the walk up is uphill.
18:13 At the Temple of Heaven, a garden ticket is 15 yuan per person and a ticket with the temple is 34. The couple visit only the garden and say it is 1.3 kilometers to the temple.
19:31 In Beijing's big parks, stray from the main entrance and walk the side paths to find quiet. The couple say the parks were clean and peaceful when they visited.
0:01 Can you avoid Beijing crowds
0:34 Starting the day in a small park
1:09 Paying for transit with Alipay
2:26 Sweet bread breakfast
4:41 Ferry plan and construction
6:36 Ferry ticket to the Summer Palace
8:56 Entering the Summer Palace park
11:21 Bus ride toward Jingshan Park
13:02 Jingshan Hill history and legend
15:38 The Forbidden City queue below
16:41 Vegetarian dumpling dinner
18:13 Temple of Heaven garden
19:31 Finding quiet places in Beijing
0:01 Can you avoid Beijing crowds
0:34 Starting the day in a small park
1:09 Paying for transit with Alipay
2:26 Sweet bread breakfast
4:41 Ferry plan and construction
6:36 Ferry ticket to the Summer Palace
8:56 Entering the Summer Palace park
11:21 Bus ride toward Jingshan Park
13:02 Jingshan Hill history and legend
15:38 The Forbidden City queue below
16:41 Vegetarian dumpling dinner
18:13 Temple of Heaven garden
19:31 Finding quiet places in Beijing
beijingbeijing travelbeijing vlogchina travelchina vlogthings to do in beijingbeijing itinerarysummer palacejingshan parkcoal hillforbidden city viewtemple of heavenzizhuyuan parkblack bamboo parkbudget beijingbeijing hidden gemsbeijing travel guidechina travel guidecouples travel vlogdan and loz travelvegetarian foodhidden gemsavoid crowdsvegetarian in chinatravel vlogchina travel vlogalipaychina travel tipsHow did they see the Forbidden City without going inside?
They climbed the hill park nearby for 2 yuan each and looked down at the Forbidden City, and they show the long entrance line below.
How much was the ferry to the Summer Palace?
A one-way ticket was 100 yuan, according to the couple.
How do they pay for the metro and bus?
They use the transport tab in the Alipay app, link a bank card and scan a QR code. The bus has its own QR code, and they paid 20 cents for six stops.
How much are Temple of Heaven tickets?
They say the garden ticket is 15 yuan per person and the ticket with the temple is 34. They only visited the garden.
Why is the hill called Gold Hill?
The couple say a local legend claims the emperors hid gold under the hill, but they describe it as just soil from the Forbidden City excavation.
What did they eat for dinner?
They found a fully vegetarian restaurant and ate mushroom dumplings, greens and skin tofu, with red peppercorn that gave a numbing effect.
