Katie Melua’s “Nine Million Bicycles in Beijing” lies 12 years in the past and an entire zodiac cycle has passed by. In terms of progress in China this means almost everything has changed: the Olympics took place in 2008, a new president took office, Beijing’s population increased from 14 million to over 20 million, hutong areas made way for forests of skyscrapers and bikes were exchanged for scooters and cars.

The Future of Bikes and Trikes

But the center of the city remains a paradise for the owner of bike and trike. As cars honk repeatedly and drivers look annoyed at the lack of pace, cyclists, young and old, whiz through the narrow lanes.

Walking the hutongs with one of Stretch-A-Leg’s guides you are exploring a world where the car is but a powerless piece of metal. Trikes carrying people, cardboard, food, rubbish and many other things line the streets.

Perhaps most audible and recognizable are the trikes advertising their tours of the hutongs (老北京胡同游 – Lao Beijing Hutong You). But even if you’re just looking for a ride home, in the narrow lanes they offer a fast alternative to taxis.

If you do want to explore Beijing’s hutongs by bike and your airliner makes a big fuzz about stuffing the overhead luggage compartment with your bike there is always the option to rent a bike. Placed around the city are bike stands where you can have the opportunity to start a small adventure of your own.

Tour de Hutong

So do you feel like having a little ‘Tour de Hutong’? With your hair waving in the wind, the smell of summer snacks being fried, birds chirping and cats resting in the shadow, local Beijing is waiting to be explored. Book a tour with us and indicate you would like to explore by bicycle.

Prefer a walking tour and just watching the myriad of two-wheeled vehicles whizzing by? Just contact us right away and you’ll be out and exploring in a jiffy!

Book your hutong tour now!

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Summer? Summer Palace!

As the common man was trying to escape the heat by finding a place underneath Beijing’s trees, dynasties were looking for something greater. To the northwest of Beijing, Longevity Hill – long used by emperors to varying degrees – was turned into the fantastic summer retreat it is today on commission of the Qianlong emperor of the Qing dynasty in 1749.

One thing that we all have in common, no matter how much blue blood flows through our veins, is that during heat we crave water. And water they craved. The massive lake at the Summer Palace, Kunming Lake, took the diligent digging work of 10,000 men. Shovel by shovel the small moat was turned into a lake resembling China’s most famous lake, the West Lake in Hangzhou. If you don’t feel like traveling all the way down to Hangzhou, just bring the most beautiful part of Hangzhou to Beijing. A thought that must have crossed the Qianlong emperor’s mind when ordering the massive works.

From its distinct resemblance to the West Lake to the positioning of its islands, bridges and buildings, nothing is coincidental. Myriads of stories weave an intriguing story of this beautiful place, merging myth and legend, past and present. But if all you want is to escape the heat, you cannot do much worse than the imperial cure to a boiling Beijing.

Belly of the Beast

There are however times when you don’t have access to the Summer Palace. You’re stuck in the city, perhaps sitting in a taxi slowly being roasted into a local delicacy. What to do? What do local Beijingers do?

Katrina, one of the expert guides at Stretch-a-Leg, has the answers we’ve all been looking for.

“Much like in other countries ice cream is a favorite with children. Of course these days there is so much choice it’s likely you’ll sweat even more just trying to decide what to pick. When our generation was younger ice creams called “Snow doll” (雪娃娃), “Ice Brick”(冰砖), “Torch”(火炬), and “Bitter Coffee”(苦咖啡) were really popular. These days there are ‘improved’ versions in shops but quite frankly we miss the old taste.”

“Old Beijingers still keep their summer tradition to avoid the heat–swimming in the public lakes, such as Qianhai and Shichahai, the most popular Lake District in Beijing. For safety reasons the government doesn’t allow swimming in public waters, but that won’t stop locals. They have been swimming there since their childhood and know the water better than the rules.”

“If you have ever been to Beijing during the summer something you must have noticed is something some people call the Beijing Belly. If you see a man with his shirt pulled up showing his belly (not always good-looking bellies) in public places don’t be surprised. It might seem crazy, but if you’re hot perhaps it’s time to flaunt it.”

“While guys show their bellies, girls have a better tool to avoid the heat besides wearing less. During the summer, girls use a “sun umbrella” (太阳伞) for the shade it offers and UV light it blocks. You may also have heard that Asian girls don’t like to get too tanned because of different standards of beauty. Some ladies won’t even leave the house without their umbrellas.”

“If you forget to bring your umbrella and also refuse to show your belly, then you can always find a couple of people resting in the shade. Someone might even take a nap if he has a long afternoon to kill. Don’t be shy. You are always welcome to join them.”

Shrubbery or snobbery

What helps you best to combat the heat? The imperial strategy of getting the hell out of the city and into the beautiful summer retreat with man-made lake or do you swear by Beijing’s ice cream and a tanned belly?

Explore the Summer Palace and hutongs with one of our top guides! Cool down imperial style with the full history behind everything you want to know at the Summer Palace. Then go down the hutong alleys, finding the shade and bellies around every corner, fully experiencing the local remedy to Beijing’s scorching sun.

The post Beijing Summer – Not Cool! appeared first on Stretch-A-Leg Travel.

 (c) Wang Di 王迪

This style of building was originally started in Russia in 1920 and it was endorsed by Khrushchovka in the 1950′s as the construction type for the dormitories of factory workers. Mostly based on the fact that the Tongzilou was both very cheap and very fast to build.

China started to copy the style to build buildings like this to host students and single factory workers. Tongzilou emerged in China after 1949. The design lasted for half a century. In the era of the planned economy, living in Tongzilou was an inevitable experience for almost all the people working in a unit. Most of the residents in the building are colleagues, hence the Tongzilou building became the extension of their offices. Life in Tongzilou normally ended when one received an apartment building from the work unit.

Originally, each room in the Tongzilou is occupied by 2 people. As you can imagine privacy was something that was lacking for residents of this type of building and some sort of mutual agreement had to be worked out to use the room. If that wasn’t already bad enough, as the population expanded, families started to move in as well. This put further pressure on privacy as several families now crowded the small space for cooking, laundry and storage.

Tongzilou normally have no elevators but staircases on both ends of the building. In the middle of the building there is a long corridor serving as the passage for residents to get around the building. Rooms are designed on each side of the corridor and the size of most rooms is about 20 square meters. There’s normally just one studio-room for each family. Each floor only has access to one shared public toilet (and sometimes public kitchen and shower). As there was no central heating each family had to put a coal-burning stove in their apartment in the winter.

Tongzilou are an unmistakable aspect of the planned economy of the communist era during the 1950′s to 1980′s. Few Tongzilou are now left as they were fast to go during the construction boom. While people in Beijing are debating ways to protect the old hutongs in Beijing, the Tongzilou are destined to fade into oblivion as they make way for modern apartment blocks. Who will save the Tongzilou?

To capture this quickly disappearing piece of China’s history, join Stretch-a-Leg on one of our historical off the beaten path walking tours. Travel back to the era of Mao, of soviet construction and factory units with our guides who will paint a picture so vivid only traveling back in time can beat.

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Can you imagine the convenience of  visa-free travel for a short trip to Beijing? Well this new Year of the Snake it looks like it became a little bit easier to travel to Beijing on a quick trip.

Now Beijing offers 72-hour visa-free transit for foreign visitors with third-country visas transiting through Beijing.

This policy is only applicable for foreign visitors who enter into, stay in and leave from Beijing.

According to the regulations of Ministry of Public Security of the People’s Republic of China, foreign visitors who meet ALL the following requirements could apply for the visa-free transit stay in China at the immigration inspection authority at Beijing Capital International Airport:

• Holding passports issued by the following listed 45 countries (see below)
• Holding valid international travel documents
• Qualified for the entry requirements of their third destination country
• Holding valid airline tickets with 72-hour validation and making transit through Beijing Capital International Airport to the third country
• Reported to Chinese immigration inspection authority by their airline companies

72-hour Visa-free Transit Policy is valid for passport holders from the following countries:

Austria, Belgium, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Iceland, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, Netherlands, Poland, Portugal, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Russia, the United Kingdom, Ireland, Cyprus, Bulgaria, Romania, Ukraine, the United States, Canada, Brazil, Mexico, Argentina, Chile, Australia, New Zealand, South Korea, Japan, Singapore, Brunei, the United Arab Emirates, Qatar

For more information check out the Beijing International Airport’s official website.

With an expert guide you can discover a lot of Beijing in 72-hours!  With 72 hours (three days) you could experience Stretch-a-leg Travel’s most popular signature tours:

• Guided historical walking tour of Beijing’s disappearing traditional hutong neighborhoods
• Hike on the wild Great Wall where you can experience the Great Wall with no other tourists in sight
•  A chance to go deeper with a passionate expert at Beijing’s top imperial sites like the Forbidden City, Temple of Heaven, or the Summer Palace.

As one of our happy customers once raved to us “with you I was able to see in just two days what would have taken me at least three days to do on my own.”

If you only have a 72 hour window, you are going to want to get the most out of your time with the help of Beijing’s best team of expert local guides at Stretch-a-leg Travel.

Contact us now and start planning your perfect 72 hours in Beijing!

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It seemed to me, that elements of the architecture of the Forbidden City built in 1420, must have had an impact on the design and architecture of the modern Caochangdi compound where many galleries and art spaces are housed.

The high walls, winding alleyways, and hidden spaces in Caochangdi were reminiscent of the high walled, winding alleyway structure of the living quarters in the Forbidden City and even Beijing’s traditional hutong neighborhoods.

Similar to the Forbidden City, roaming in the middle of Caochangdi is like walking in a labyrinth. There are large empty squares at the end of the alleyway while some the other passages could lead you to a dead end or perhaps a sculpture or installation by a world-famous designer on display during Beijing Design Week.

High walls functionally offered protection to the Forbidden City and hutong residents against wind, rain, and excessive amount of sun as well offering privacy.  The high walls also reflect Chinese philosophy and cultural values of not openly sharing the most treasured and personal assets, information, or aspects of life unless someone can be trusted to be invited inside.

With this architectural design, it is a very controlled environment where you only access and connection with nature is the sky and the tree tops.  As noted in book Red Capitalism, the architecture of the Forbidden City serve as a metaphor for Chinese political practice:

“The workings of the Forbidden City in Imperial times serve as a metaphor for China’s government and political practice today. At the center lies Beijing, a complex labyrinth of separate power centers, each with just a single reporting line that extends up to the party secretary general…”

Walter, Carl E.; Howie, Fraser J. T. (2011-01-19). Red Capitalism: The Fragile Financial Foundation of China’s Extraordinary Rise. Wiley. Kindle Edition.

At Stretch-a-Leg we are constantly looking for ideas and modern interpretations that illuminate ancient concepts and designs in Beijing and Chinese culture.

Contact us to book a local expert to guide you in Beijing’s Forbidden City, explore Beijing’s traditional hutong neighborhoods, or discover Beijing’s less known contemporary art districts like Caochangdi.

The post Echos of the Forbidden City at Caochangdi Art District appeared first on Stretch-A-Leg Travel.

To answer a common question we receive from clients, we devote this post to the pros’ and cons of either hiking the Great Wall or visiting the restored Great Wall at Mutianyu.  The main differences between the “wild” and restored portions of the Great Wall are the development at the site, the level of physical activity, the number of other visitors you will encounter.

A Quick Comparison of Great Wall Options

Facilities: Restored Great Wall (Mutianyu): Bathrooms, food, souvenirs Wild Great Wall: None
Level of Physical Excursion: Restored Wall (Mutianyu): Low Wild Great Wall: Moderate-High*
Amount of other visitors: Restored Wall (Mutianyu):Moderate, depends on season  Wild Great Wall: Extremely few, if any
Condition of footpath: Restored Wall (Mutianyu): Stable, restored brick Wild Wall: Uneven, rocky
Ability to visit additional sites on the same tour day:  Restored Wall (Mutianyu):Yes Wild Wall: No
*Dependent on seasonal weather

Great Wall at Mutianyu, Great for Children

For visits to a restored portion of the Wall, Stretch-a-leg prefers to take our clients to Mutianyu based on the facilities available there as well as its relative proximity to the city. Mutianyu is also much quieter and less touristy than Badaling.

Mutianyu is well suited to young children and guests with limited physical abilities. It has a cable car for ascent/descent, which minimizes the amount of walking required. There is also a toboggan down—of particular delight for children.

For an Extraordinary Experience, Hike the “wild” Great Wall

Nearly universally, we recommend the Wild Wall to hike the Great Wall. It is an extraordinary, special way to experience the wall. The portion of the Wall to which Stretch-a-leg takes you is untouched by tourism and very well preserved. It does not have a commercial name, and you will not find it featured in any guidebook unlike sections such as Simatai, Jingshanling, or Jiankou.

With Stretch-a-leg Hike the Great Wall at Your Own Pace

As your tour is with an individual guide, s/he can adjust the pace to your comfort. With Stretch-a-leg, since you do not have to adhere to the time schedule of a group tour, you can stop as frequently as needed. Rest assured, we have had clients from ages 6 to 65 complete the Great Wall hike at the Wild Wall with us.

There is no difference in price—for either the guide or transportation—between the restored and wild portions of the Great Wall.

You can always book a hike at the “wild” Great Wall and then change your travel to the restored Great Wall at Mutianyu, even on the day of your tour.

Contact us at info@stretchaleg.com to start planning your trip now!

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