Live Your Best Lives
This year's Mid-Autumn Festival and National Day holiday was a rare eight-day holiday, and I suddenly wanted to visit the capital, Beijing. My kids had been clamoring to see Tiananmen Square, too. So, our two families decided to go, starting with a trip more than two weeks in advance. We started planning our itinerary, booking flights, hotels, and renting a car, finally finalizing our itinerary. We checked the weather forecast, packed plenty of clothes (which turned out to be too little), and prepared to leave.
DAY 1: October 3
My flight to Beijing took at 7:45 AM, arriving at Beijing Daxing Airport around 11 AM. I arranged a ride with China-TravelNote to pick me up at the Grand Hyatt Wangfujing. After checking in, we had lunch at the hotel's Chinese restaurant, Chang'an No. 1, where we enjoyed roast duck. My hotel room was booked through a China-TravelNote group buy package. The 1,188 RMB room rate included a 500 RMB dining voucher, good for the Chinese restaurant, lobby bar, room, and minibar—a fantastic deal. We used the voucher for lunch. Chang'an No. 1 is a Michelin-recommended restaurant, and the prices are quite reasonable. A tea set is only 90 yuan per person. The roast duck was quite good, grilled to order. The other dishes were just average; I didn't find them particularly special, just a bit salty. The restaurant was also very limited, so we had to wait half an hour before we got a table. After dinner, we left for Prince Gong's Mansion around 3:00 PM. A taxi cost about 15 yuan. We bought our tickets in advance through the official WeChat account, but they were already sold out that day, so we just swiped our ID card to get in. You can rent a guide. The gardens are quite large, and we briefly walked around them and left around 5:30 PM. We then wandered along Beihai Park (which was closed), Yandaixie Street, and Shichahai. We passed the Bell Tower and Drum Tower, but we felt exhausted and decided to eat at a Hutong Menkuang Luzhu restaurant, where there was no line. The food was quite good. Afterwards, we continued our stroll along Nanluoguxiang, a commercial street full of snacks, nothing special. We then took a taxi back to the hotel. 
After breakfast, we checked out at 9:00 AM and departed for the Summer Palace at 10:30 AM, arriving at 11:30 AM (I miscalculated the time; many tourist attractions were closed during the holiday, which wasted quite a bit of time). The Summer Palace was packed, so we quickly walked around for a short while before heading straight to the Badaling Great Wall (due to traffic and other factors, we skipped lunch). The Beijing-Tibet Expressway was indeed congested for a while near the Badaling Great Wall, but it wasn't too bad, taking about half an hour. We arrived at the Badaling Great Wall at 3:30 AM. We took a shuttle bus from the parking lot directly to the cable car entrance. Considering everyone's condition and the children, the full climb up might be a bit strenuous. The cable car was surprisingly fast, bringing us to the North 8th Tower in under two minutes. Upon exiting, we were met by a sea of people, and it was only then that we realized the sheer number of people traveling during the long holiday. We followed the crowd, climbing the stairs. The steps were incredibly high, and the children sometimes had to use their hands and feet to get up. The narrow intersection was also congested, making traffic very slow. Around 5:30 PM, we reached the foot of the Great Wall. If you have enough time and energy, I recommend hiking up the Great Wall; it's not as difficult as you might imagine. We waited for the shuttle, but traffic was surprisingly congested, and it wasn't until 7:30 PM that we finally got a ride. We called the Badaling Chadaofu B&B, where we were staying tonight, and arranged for a small electric car to take us into Badaling Ancient Town. Cars are not allowed into the town, so we had to park in the parking lot outside. The town is mostly composed of B&Bs, making it very quiet. We had dinner there, featuring both Sichuan and Beijing cuisine. The food was decent, though a bit pricey, and the food was quite filling.
Breakfast at the hotel this morning. Check out at 10:00 AM and depart for Chongli Taiwu Town (host of the 2022 Winter Olympics). The journey takes about an hour and a half. The road is smooth and traffic is light. We arrived at the Taiwu Hotel in Taiwu Town at 11:30 AM. Construction is underway around the town, including the Olympic Village and the stadiums. The road conditions are average, but it doesn't affect traffic. The urban rail system is now open, and there are shuttle buses to and from the town. After checking in at the hotel, we were greeted with a host of free packages, including movie tickets, cable car tickets, go-karts, golf courses, archery, and other attractions perfect for the kids. We had lunch at a craft brewery next to the town service center, enjoying delicious pizza, pasta, and burgers. In the afternoon, we took the cable car up the mountain (which serves as a ski slope in winter) and took photos. The grass was yellow at this time of year, not as beautiful as the lush green of summer, but it also had a unique charm. It was really cold in Taiwu at night, so we decided to have Chengdu Spicy Hot Pot (Sanchuan) for dinner.
DAY5: October 7
Woke up at 8:30 am for breakfast at the hotel, checked out at 10 am and set off for the Grassland Sky Road (Huapiling Entrance, East Route).
The hotel navigation system took us about an hour and a half to get to Huapiling along the national highway. At the entrance, we bought a wreath and a windmill for the passenger seat as photo props. Be sure to fill up your tank before entering the Grassland Sky Road. The journey is approximately 120 kilometers, with no gas stations. The scenery along the way is breathtaking. However, drive carefully; public restrooms are scarce along the way, so be sure not to drink too much water or you'll run out of places to rest. There are numerous windmills generating electricity along the way. The grassland scenery is truly stunning, and it will be even more stunning in the coming days. Many leaves are slowly turning red. Be careful when taking photos along the way, and avoid taking photos in the middle of the road. We returned to Beijing at 3:30 pm, but encountered another traffic jam, arriving at the Atour Hotel at Beijing South Railway Station around 9 pm. Staying at Atour for our final night was a wise decision. They gave us a late check-out at 4 pm the next day, saving us from having to rush to pack. We had dinner at a food stall below the hotel. The rental company sent someone to pick up the car on time, which was very convenient.
The entire 6-day itinerary was very tight, and there were some attractions I wanted to visit that I didn't get to, mainly because there were too many people and the children couldn't walk. I'll leave some regrets for next time.
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