The Ultimate Guide to Road Tripping in China

The Ultimate Guide to Road Tripping in China

Forget blasting through the ever-expanding street level of Big Mac statues, in China you can even see what Big Brother’s dreaming. The Chinese government limits the number of vehicles in urban areas, so it’s rare to find vehicles on the road that are any bigger than a compact. Perhaps, if you’re lucky, you’ll see a 40-foot-tall blue dragon.

For most American road trippers, seeing this is the highlight of the trip, and if you’re lucky you may even see a giant panda (if you don’t count a monkey hanging out in the middle of a busy Beijing intersection). But what if you don’t see any of these adorable creatures? Should you keep driving on your quest to see the Great Wall, or reroute to another spot? We’ve got you covered on your China road trip.

Chinese Street View

What is it? In 2000 the government opened up road and aerial views of the cities and countryside to the general public in order to encourage a shift in Chinese tourism, to head outside of the major cities. It’s a way to introduce to the public some of the more rural areas that have historically been less accessible to tourists.

How to Find It: Usually, these road trip photos come in two formats: large panoramic photos and less detailed but less expensive individual photos. Most of the photos are available for free, while some have to be purchased as well. One company, GuidiGo, has a set of 52 high-resolution photos for the cost of roughly $20. You can also search for them through your favorite photo sharing site.

How to Access It: In Beijing, both the GuidiGo and TeleUbud websites are popular. GuidiGo is easier, as it has a map and directions. If you’re in Shanghai, TeleUbud is still a better option. You’ll have to pay an extra dollar for the super-high-resolution version (1MB), but you can check out the lower-resolution versions for free. You can find similar options in other major Chinese cities.

The ‘Great Wall’

What is it? The Great Wall is most commonly thought of as the famous structure at the Beijing-Tianjin border, but it also can be found outside the capital. To get there, you need to make a beeline for the Forbidden City. On your way, take the Beijing-Tianjin Grand Bridge or the Jiuquan Bridge (also known as the Changbaihe Great Wall).

The Great Wall of China was built between 206 BC and AD 222, and it covers more than 3000 miles. Many sites were built in concentric circles, like a deck of a giant game of Jenga, so it’s worth spending the time finding the most iconic sections. For example, the Mutianyu section is at the foot of the mountains, and if you want to see the most famous section of the wall, the Badaling section is a short drive away.

How to Find It: The wall can be seen from a car. If you take a little jaunt south from the wall, it will appear as a red mountain spur. Or you can take a train to the Tianjin Grand Bridge, walk across, and then find a side road that will take you to the wall. The second option is a bit more expensive, but the views are better. If you want to see Badaling, either take a train from the city to the border and then continue driving along the wall until you hit the entrances, or take a short cab ride to the wall and follow the roads along it. For any of the other sections, you can either make a small detour and then find your way to the wall, or drive straight to it.

Beijing’s International Airport

What is it? Without doubt, the most trafficked airport in the world is Beijing’s Capital International Airport (the even less glamorous name of this airport is Chaoyang International). It’s an enormous beast, with a number of concourses and terminals. Many people fly into Beijing, and from there they take the same flights back out to places like Shanghai and Chengdu. However, a lot of people are taking the drive down to the airport to wait for their flights. You can do this in a few different ways.

The first option is to take a bus. These buses do not have individual seats, instead they have rows of reclining seats that can swivel around to face one of four directions (inwards, towards the center of the bus, outwards, and sideways). The bus is crowded but efficient, and fares are cheap (about $6). They also have the benefit of going directly from the capital to the airport, saving you the expense of being dropped off and picked up at the train station.

If you prefer a more leisurely ride, you can get a taxi to the bus station. You will pay a little more than the bus fare (about $9), but the ride is significantly less stressful. A taxi driver will not be forced to navigate the busy traffic of Beijing’s streets, and as a bonus you’ll get to see more of the city.

How to Find It: Most travelers will end up in the south side of the airport. The taxi counter is on the south side of the airport, near where the taxi pickup and drop off is (the highway exits onto Gansu Road, and the large Terminal 3 entrance is next to Gansu Road). You can also take the Airport Express and get off at Exit 3, which is closest to the International Terminal.

The Forbidden City

What is it? The Forbidden City is a huge complex of walled gardens and buildings built by the Ming dynasty emperor, when he was trying to build a monument worthy of the Chinese Empire. The Forbidden City is on a lot of people’s bucket lists, and it’s good reason. It’s the largest garden city in the world, and it’s both a palace and a museum, which is one of the reasons why it’s so huge.

The former palace, now the museum, is the imperial family’s living quarters. There are really just three parts to the museum; the Hall of Supreme Harmony, the Hall of Supreme Harmony Gallery, and the Hall of Supreme Harmony Royal Exhibitions. This is the area of the Forbidden City that draws the most attention, and the places in the Forbidden City that have been closed to visitors. However, there are many more parts to the complex.

These are the outdoor parts of the Forbidden City. The lush gardens can be quite difficult to see, especially because it gets so crowded (many hotels and restaurants overlook the gardens) but they are beautiful. There are temples, pavilions, and other things to see, but they are not as significant as the green scenery.

These are the buildings and structures that are open to the public. They include: The Drum Tower, the Hall of Three Kingdoms, the Purple Window, and the Summer Palace. Again, as with the gardens, there are a few that are open to the public and many more that are not. However, you can see most of the buildings as a part of a guided tour of the Forbidden City. You can find a host of different guides, including ones that cover the themes of Chinese history or the gardens (if you want to be completely ignorant).

How to Find It: The site that we like the most for visiting the Forbidden City is Shanghai Jiao Tong University. It’s a short metro ride from central Beijing, and it’s right in the heart of the city. If you’re only there to see the Forbidden City, the bus will be best. The bus goes directly from the airport to the entrance of the Forbidden City, and takes approximately 25 minutes.

The Peak

What is it? Peak Hour? Peak traffic hour? What, are you having a bad day? Seriously, though, the best way to really see a city is to find out when the traffic is worst. In Beijing, the worst times to visit the Forbidden City are when the Forbidden City and the Summer Palace are open to the public.

The Forbidden City is probably one of the biggest attractions in Beijing. So, naturally, the place to see it is also the place with the highest concentration of tourists. The majority of tourists flock to see the Palace of Supreme Harmony, the Hall of Supreme Harmony, and the Hall of Supreme Harmony Royal Exhibitions. However, there are multiple places to see more of the Forbidden City than just these three areas.

The other parts of the complex include the Summer Palace, one of the seven wonders of the ancient world. The Summer Palace is very busy in the late afternoon and early evening. But there are also parts of the Summer Palace that are less heavily visited, and you can get the most out of it if you go after the peak hours. For example, there’s the small garden and lake in the back of the Summer Palace, and if you’re on a motorcycle, you can ride around it to the entrance of the Forbidden City.

When to Go: The best time to go is before the peak hours of traffic. For example, most people know that the Summer Palace is a popular place to visit in the summer, so the late afternoon, early evening, and early morning are the best times to go. You’ll want to go in the early morning, because the traffic on Forbidden City is terrible when the Forbidden City is busy.

How to Find It: The best way to go to the Summer Palace is to take the metro to the Summer Palace station and then take the bus to the Summer Palace. The same applies to the Forbidden City, except you can get there from the Summer Palace. We prefer taking the metro, since the bus to the Summer Palace is a bit longer than the metro, but it’s still an acceptable travel option.

Yuyuan Garden

What is it? The Yuyuan Garden is named after a Chinese landscape painter, Xu Beihong, who is credited with designating the garden’s shape. In 1930, a war memorial was built around the Garden, and was completed in 1940, when Empress Dowager Cixi visited the Garden. She was the first Empress Dowager to ever visit the Garden.

How to Find It: The Yuyuan Garden is accessible from the Summer Palace and the Drum Tower by walking to the First Ring Road of Beijing. Just follow the crowds, and look for the gates to the Garden. This will usually take you right to the Garden.

How to See It: The Yuyuan Garden is the highlight of the Forbidden City, so it’s a good thing that you have so many other places to see. The garden has around 4.3 miles of walking trails, and most of them will be closed during the winter. The gardens of the Yuyuan Garden are described as “a veritable riot of color” (最羽花桃園), because there are thousands of different kinds of flowers all over the park. The Garden is also famous for its plum trees and 300 types of fruit trees.

The Maze of the Great Wall

What is it? This is perhaps the second most visited site in Beijing, after the Forbidden City. It’s a man-made attraction, and the second largest “Wall” in the world (after the Great Wall of China). If you’re coming to the area, be prepared for a serious traffic jam. The earliest you can go is between noon and 2 p.m., because this is the hottest part of the day, but you’re better off arriving early than late. At the time of this writing, the most popular time to get to the site is around 3:30 or 4 p.m.

How to Find It: The Maze of the Great Wall is located in Jinshanling County, on the northeast side of Beijing. The quickest way to get there is to take the subway to the Forbidden City station, which is closest to the site. From there, the Maze of the Great Wall is about 10 minutes away. Be careful to watch out for smog from the city. Once you arrive at the parking lot, a large red red gate marks the entrance.

How to See It: You can either walk through the maze itself or you can take a 2-hour tour. The Maze of the Great Wall has about 350 different scenes, and they were inspired by the famous Tang dynasty garden called the Garden of Rites (元宮, Jingshan). You can find over 20 different scenes in the maze. The tour costs RMB100, and you get to try a large variety of mazes yourself.

Da Nang Chinese Garden

What is it? The Da Nang Chinese Garden is located in Huashan, about an hour from downtown Beijing. You can get there by taking a train to either Beijing Railway Station or Shenduqing Station, from where you can take a bus to the entrance of Huashan (Wushan) Mountain.

How to Find It: The entrance of Huashan is well hidden, so you’ll need to take the subway to the adjacent station, Huizhou Station. From there, you can either take a bus to Huashan or walk. Huashan is a popular mountain for hiking, so don’t expect to be able to see everything on one trip.

How to See It: The Da Nang Chinese Garden was completed in 2002, and is close to Huashan mountain, so it’s a good thing that you didn’t start walking at 3 p.m.

The Dragon Market

What is it? The Dragon Market is a huge open air flea market that’s a cultural and tourist attraction. It was established in 1921, and originally had 60 stalls. This may be the biggest indoor flea market in China.

How to Find It: The Dragon Market is located in Shunyi District, not far from Tiananmen Square. The closest subway station is Sanyuanli Station, but you may also want to take the bus to Shunyi Center Station (翠华城路鄉站), from which you can take a bus or taxi to the market.

How to See It: The market is open daily from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m., so you can easily get there early in the morning or late at night, depending on when you want to go. There are more than 10,000 stalls in the market. You can only take photos in certain sections of the market (e.g., the tourist section), so use your phone’s camera to snap a photo or look at the photos you take on a built-in app.

The Drum Tower

What is it? The Drum Tower is also located near Tiananmen Square and is the third tallest structure in Beijing. When it was built in 1644, the tower was the tallest building in the world for 40 years.

How to Find It: The Drum Tower is in Changping District, about 40 minutes from Tiananmen Square. It’s also about 10 minutes from Beijing South Railway Station. The best way to get there is to take the subway to the Beijing South Railway Station, from where you can take a bus or taxi. The Drum Tower is on the second floor of the Beijing South Railway Station (百万区, Daxingbei) building.

How to See It: You can view the Tower at any time from the second floor of the Railway Station. There are no guided tours, so you can just walk in and get a glimpse of it. There’s also an upper level balcony on the eastern side of the building from which you can get a better view of the building, but it’s not as high and you won’t be able to see the actual tower itself.

We can’t give you any direct access to the Drum Tower, but there are quite a few places in Beijing where you can get a glimpse of the structure. Take a look at our “Where to Go in Beijing” section for other good ones.

Xiamen Fish Market

What is it? Xiamen is a city on the southern coast of China. It was a thriving port in the 18th and 19th centuries, so there’s still a lot of history here. It’s a popular tourist destination for Westerners, but its location in Fujian province is what gives the city its unique flavors.

How to Find It: Xiamen is best known for its fish market, called the Fish Street Market. It’s near the famous Golden Bridge (门青大樓, Fuxi Da Xia Ma, 沮近樓) on Fuxingmen and Nandu Bao Bao (葛豐塘, ‘Broken Tangs’ Street). The market has many stalls selling a wide variety of seafood.

How to See It: You can get to the Fish Street Market from the ferry port (沙南港, Xiamen Yangtze River Port), which is on Fuxingmen and Nandu Bao Bao Street. Once you get off the ferry, the Fish Street Market is just a few minutes away.

You can take a taxi (右万沉家, Qinshui Zhongsi) to the market, or you can take a bus (碼興比, Xinyu He Di, 南京街). You can get a bus from Xiamen Railway Station, or you can take the bus to Jiaozhou.