Only 12 hours in Beijing - wall or city tour

[shootingstar07]

Hello all you seasoned Asia travelers. I am making my first cruise to China next year. I have never been to China and not sure if I will make it back. We have 12 hours in port in Beijing. Do you recommend the wall excursion or would you do the city tour?

 

Thanks for your help/input.

[worldspan]

The Wall without a doubt. Excepting Tianamen Square, most of the city now looks like New York or Chicago

 

Worldspan

129 cruises strong

[greatam]

The port is approx 3 hour trip into Beijing and 3 hours return. Whatever you do (I, too, would choose the Wall), take a cruise excursion to avoid the problem of missing the ship. Traffic is absolutely horrendous in most of China.

[Keith1010]

I would also visit the Great Wall and I agree with Greatam. Book this through the cruise line.

 

Keith

[soccerref]

I would say the opposite. We enjoyed the Wall but loved the Forbidden City, Temple of Heaven, Summer Palace etc in Beijing. The weather on the wall can be very changeable and we only got glimpses of the scenery and the extent of the wall across the hills.

[montelco]

Agree. The wall is great but what you see depends on the weather. The Forbidden City was incredible as were the Temple of Heaven and Summer Palace. To be honest, it really depends on your own personal interests. We were fortunate to see both because we spent a few days in Beijing before the cruise.:)

 

 

I would say the opposite. We enjoyed the Wall but loved the Forbidden City, Temple of Heaven, Summer Palace etc in Beijing. The weather on the wall can be very changeable and we only got glimpses of the scenery and the extent of the wall across the hills.

[Keith1010]

In the end, each person should figure out what they want to say.

 

Remember, the Great Wall is one of the Wonders Of The World.

 

Keith

[H2Otstr]

If the tour of the city includes walking or visiting the hutongs, I would take that one. We did visit the Great Wall just this past month (Badaling section) and I spent about a half hour walking the Wall. I walked the "hard" section of the wall (easy section was too crowded) and I had a hard time with the steepness of the Wall.

 

Which ever tour you take will be a real experience. Good luck.

[shootingstar07]

To all the posters, a BIG thank you for your information and insight.

 

A small group is looking at taking a private tour to the wall. Right now I am on it, but really have my concerns about getting back. I have read on these boards so much about the congestion in Beijing. Wow, a 3 hr. drive each way. That is worse than going to/from Rome from Civitavecchia.

 

I am leaning toward the wall. But my DH wants the city!!

 

Again, thank you.

[ksps cruise fan]

...I have read on these boards so much about the congestion in Beijing. Wow, a 3 hr. drive each way... I am leaning toward the wall. But my DH wants the city!!

 

 

Assuming your ship is in port in Tian Jin, you're going to have a 90 minute ride to Beijing itself just to do wonderful sites like the Forbidden City, the Summer Palace, the Temple of Heaven, and the Drum Tower (The tower isn't so spectacular but if you time your arrival to hear a drum concert, you'll have a great experience).

 

Badaling, the entry to the Wall closest to Beijing, is another approximately 90 minutes beyond that depending on traffic.

 

All these destinations are deservedly popular so they are all very crowded.

Perhaps the best way to resolve your dilemma is to ask yourself the following: Can the visit to the Wall possibly be moving enough to balance out the additional hours of transportation?" My answer would be "no" but then I didn't hike for miles along the top of the wall on our visit.

 

Incidentally, if you're planning a private trip, considering stopping briefly at the Sacred Way/Spirit Way enroute. You can Google these words to see the fun sculptures that line a beautiful walkway to the Ming Tombs. With your time limits, you won't be able to go into the Ming Tombs, but the Sacred way will help you feel as if you've seen a bit more on that long drive.

 

ETA: I just re-read your original post more carefully. If you're talking about a drive in a bus through the city, I sure wouldn't do that!!!! As others have said, the city looks like any modern city. However, if you make arrangements with one of the many recommended guides on this site to visit a number of destinations for a memorable experience.

 

Finally, do not waste time driving to see the famous buildings where the Olympic Games took place. They're not centrally located and you won'be be able to get close; everything is behind chain link fences and far away.

[babs135]

Hello all you seasoned Asia travelers. I am making my first cruise to China next year. I have never been to China and not sure if I will make it back. We have 12 hours in port in Beijing. Do you recommend the wall excursion or would you do the city tour?

 

Thanks for your help/input.

 

Hubby and I were in Beijing in March and the day (Friday) we did the Wall we had 4 hotel stops first. These took us just under an hour, but on the way back we got caught in an absolutely horrendous traffic jam and that one hour took us over 3 hours! Bearing in mind you have to be back at the ship by a certain time you have to take this into consideration. The choice is yours, of course, and the Wall was absolutely fantastic and we were both so thrilled to actually see and walk on it, but if I knew my time really was tight then I think my enjoyment would be spoilt by the worry of getting back in time.

[maryann ns]

We spent over two weeks in China on our own after our recent cruise, so of course we had time to see more. The Wall (we went to Mutianyu with a hired driver/guide) was great. However without having time to walk much of it, and the risk of fog/smog/pollution which we had, you may see little more than you can from photos.

 

The Forbidden City, on the other hand, has to be seen to be believed. It is huge.

 

The above thoughts are my opinions and others may disagree.

 

It is sad that you have to make such a difficult choice, but that is the problem with one day cruise stops. If it were me choosing I would see Beijing.

 

Another possibility you could consider, is taking the train from the port to Beijing and back. You could hire a guide to meet you at the station in Beijing. This would avoid some of the traffic problems. This option has been discussed here before and on tripadvisor. I just googled 'train tianjin to beijing' and got lots of information.

[tommui987]

Another possibility you could consider, is taking the train from the port to Beijing and back. You could hire a guide to meet you at the station in Beijing.

 

There is one caviat: we were on the Azamara Quest in March and while the ship did dock at Tianjin, the port itself was about 45-60minutes from Tianjin proper (train station). There is a station closer to the port but you would have to either transfer at the main station to catch the fast train or continue with the slow one. The slow one, incidentally, seems to run every couple of hours.

 

If you opt to catch the fast train at Tianjin central, be prepared to pay around 300-400 yuan for cab fare - you would have to negotiate it. If your ship has a shuttle, check out the time involved to get to the station and the time when the shuttle actually leaves. We found that the taxi ride from the port to the station was about 1.7 times longer than catching the train into Beijing!

 

Make sure you have something in writing to get train tickets at the station and there may be lines to do so - and they only take yuan.

 

On the other hand, you may save an hour or so by taking whatever to the Tianjin station and to Beijing than by taking some excursion from the port to the Wall because traffic on the roads is "iffy" at best and even if it is not, would take another hour or so.

 

My own choice would be the Forbidden City which would really take a couple of hours to really see! You don't have to go through 999 rooms but the complex is huge!

 

One warning from our experience: on the way back to the port, when you get to Tianjin (main) station, make sure that the taxi driver knows precisely where the ship is (get directions before you leave the ship) and that he has a port pass to get you there.

[tommui987]

Another possibility you could consider, is taking the train from the port to Beijing and back. You could hire a guide to meet you at the station in Beijing.

 

There is one caviat: we were on the Azamara Quest in March and while the ship did dock at Tianjin, the port itself was about 45-60minutes from Tianjin proper (train station). There is a station closer to the port but you would have to either transfer at the main station to catch the fast train or continue with the slow one. The slow one, incidentally, seems to run every couple of hours.

 

If you opt to catch the fast train at Tianjin central, be prepared to pay around 300-400 yuan for cab fare - you would have to negotiate it. If your ship has a shuttle, check out the time involved to get to the station and the time when the shuttle actually leaves. We found that the taxi ride from the port to the station was about 1.7 times longer than catching the train into Beijing!

 

Make sure you have something in writing to get train tickets at the station and there may be lines to do so - and they only take yuan.

 

On the other hand, you may save an hour or so by taking whatever to the Tianjin station and to Beijing than by taking some excursion from the port to the Wall because traffic on the roads is "iffy" at best and even if it is not, would take another hour or so.

 

My own choice would be the Forbidden City which would really take a couple of hours to really see! You don't have to go through 999 rooms but the complex is huge!

 

One warning from our experience: on the way back to the port, when you get to Tianjin (main) station, make sure that the taxi driver knows precisely where the ship is (get directions before you leave the ship) and that he has a port pass to get you there.

 

Have fun!