We were in Beijing in Early Oct. Here are some highlight and some mistakes that we learned from. I will discuss the Wall last but bear in mind that we had 6 days. We scored a huge advantage by booking a little known hotel within walking distance of the Forbidden City. I would not call it a 4 star but it was very clean and the breakfast buffet was enough to start your day. It is the Shatan Hotel about $60/night. you will also get a good idea of the local flavor of the area because it is on a narrow street that not all taxi's are aware of. Be sure to have the Chinese Script of your locations for the cabs. Taxi's are very reasonable and will get you through traffic flow that you will find adventurous. From this hotel you can walk to the Forbiidden City Tienanmen square, Jinshan and Beihai park. Our tip here is utilize a guide at the Forbidden City. It is huge and there is so much history that renting a Guide saves you time. (About $6.00 Canadian, recommend Charlie older, knowledgable and very entertaining, good English). Ask the hotel staff to write the Chinese script for locations you are traveling to, they are more than helpful. Check to see if the Olympic sites are open. This apparently is hit and miss now. (Closed when we went) The Summer Palace is another time consuming trip. It is worth the trip and no guide is necessary. It is a large tract of land and water and takes time to see. You will be doing a lot of walking on your trip. We walked at night and never felt uncomfortable. The other places on your trip we did not cover but the Houhai and Bell and Drum Towers area a short cab ride from this hotel as well. (Frankly we got templed out) WE did not get to Badaling for the following reasons. We researched that it really is not representative of the original Wall. It has been refurbished to accommodate tourists and at any one time you may encounter 15,000 people. We were fortunate to take a day for the Wall and booked with the following Guide: http://www.greatwall-alternative.com Take some tome to visit his site. We were a group of 9 and this was the highlight of everyone's vacation. WE would also recommend a rickshaw ride through the ancient Hutong districts (this again is all around the Hotel and the Forbidden City). Very eye opening but a word of warning NEGOTIATE YOUR FEE prior the trip. Feel free to contact me if you have any questions. We were also in Xi'an and Shanghai.

Our third time visiting was a disappointment. The Forbidden City is definitely worth seeing, but will be better after renovations are completed. Don't bother with the audio tour. It's almost useless. The voice is clear, but it's GPS based. Once you've heard the entry you cannot repeat it, and it often gives the info before you're standing in the designated location. Roger Moore (prior audio tape) was far better - and rewindable. Nevertheless, it's a must see, despite the current limitations (walls around major buildings denying view and access.)

This is a very interesting place to visit. North of Tiananmen Square, has more than 9999 rooms. I didn't visit them all but I know how they look like by seeing one or two. Great tour. It is the number one place in Beijing. Ohh, by the way that guy who wrote a review spelled tiananmen square wrong. LOL!!

With the upcoming Olympics The Forbidden City is getting a long overdue facelift and the real beauty of the place is now shining through. Go there to savour the history and admire the architecture and remember it for what it was- it was fantastic and still is!

the smell smelt like rotton cheese the colors were soo very dull and it was not a pleasent trip for me and my honeymoon!

The Forbidden City is in the heart of Beijing. It's located across the street from Tienamen Square making this a must-see location for tourists. Wander around Tienamen Square before entering and get the feel of the uprising that ocurred in 1989. The Forbidden City gives a good idea of the grandeur of the lifestyle of former emperors. During these times common Chinese were not allowed to enter the city, so they now do so by the millions! Go early in the day to avoid crowds. Walk through the city to the end and then take a rickshaw ride through the hutongs for a day of sampling China's past.

What an impressive piece of history the Forbidden City is. Even though renovations were going on, I loved seeing it. We were there for hours. A sad note, one young woman selling souvenirs and post cards at the gate to the city, told me she has never been inside. Ticket price was too expensive for her.

There is our chinese ancient city called forbidden city . Where chinese emperors lived since centuries ago , Beautiful scenery and chinese culture lol....love love love love love love love love

i loved it it was very very exciting to think what actually went on around there in in ancient times!"" wowey super cool place! it was cool, it was sweet it was hot it was amazing it was kinda radically pimped and i loved the scenery did you know that i loved it there i could stay there forever if i had to but it was so cool the lions are awsome!

This place is cool and i Bet you will like to go this place too.Hey if you go to forbidden city i bet you to go buy stuff in chine like kites and other stuff.i hope to see you are forbidden city.