Nowadays, people are very busy. Many people spend their vacation in visiting several places or in visiting the famous views within the business trip. In other words, people have to use a short time for their trip. Obviously, China is an old country, and she has a long history and lots of famous ancient scenery. I come from China where I had lived for twenty-seven years. If you have only a week in Beijing, I can offer a very reasonable visit schedule to you. There are five places which you shouldn't miss: The Great Wall, the Purple Forbidden City, the Summer Place, the Tiananmen Square and the Heaven Temple.

On the first day, you'd better go to the Great Wall, because it is the most famous and farthest place. You have to spend a whole day to visit. There is a very famous idiom in Chinese, "If you can not climb to the Great Wall, you are not a great man". In general, every visitor tries to climb to the top. Thus, you might be a little tired in the first day. I think to visit one place is good for you.

On the second day, you can go to the Purple Forbidden City and Tiananmen Square, because they are connected each other. Depending this route, you will be more comfortable. You will have enough time to the Beijing night market because the second day will be more relaxing for you. There are many kinds of Beijing traditional food and crafts; you should enjoy your shopping and tasting there.

The third day, I advise you to visit the Summer Palace in the morning, then go to the Heaven Temple in the afternoon, because Summer Palace is far away from the downtown Beijing, but the Heave Temple is near the downtown.

If you have enough time, you should go shopping in Beijing, because many goods in Beijing are very cheap, especially clothes and shoes. You can feel the traditional and modern culture of Beijing. Listening at the Beijing Opera, you will get more understanding for Chinese traditional culture, because Beijing Opera is the one of the soul about Chinese culture; going to the Pub Street, you may get exciting feelings there, because there are more than fifty pubs in one street, and you can enjoy various styles in one night.

There are so many exciting things that you can do in Beijing. If you use this schedule for your trip, I believe that you should have a wonderful trip. I hope you have a chance to visit Beijing.

November 13, 2000