Tell Us Your Top Travel Tips for Beijing
Hack Your City is back! One thing I love about this column is how slippery it is to define the term “city”. Political boundaries never exactly line up with popular definitions. For example, Dallas and Fort Worth are two different cities, treated as one metropolis; Staten Island may be New York’s legal borough, but geographically and culturally it is a suburb of New Jersey. Metropolitan areas are particularly prone to form complex boundaries because they involve other cities in sometimes hostile takeovers. The capital of China, Beijing, is one of those metropolitan areas with over 20 million inhabitants (and another four million, depending on what you think) that are spread over an area of over six thousand square miles. More can be done in Beijing than ever before. But what is best?
What is underestimated? Which places in the city deserve more visitors? What are the best alternatives to tourist traps or other overpriced spots? What do you like the most about this area that would scare everyone but the most daring and discerning?
How should a visitor approach the city? How can they get along with the locals? What are the important local traditions, codes of conduct and laws? How would you describe the atmosphere to an outsider? Which clichés are true or false?
How does it feel in the long run? Residents, what do you love and hate in the city? How do you hack everyday life there? How do you deal with local legal and environmental issues? What can you do for the locals?
What is the best way for a Westerner to get used to life in Beijing? What have you learned over the years? Where do you go when you want to get out of town?
How has Beijing changed in recent years? Which old advice no longer applies here, and which one is new?
Leave your tips in the comments below and we’ll highlight the best ones. (Read some of the other comments to make sure yours is unique.) Then come back Thursday for a new post full of highlights.