Most Instagrammable places in Beijing
By Nicole M., Loyola Marymount University, TBC Summer 2019 Intern Abroad Student
1) 798 Art Zone
The 798 Art Zone is home to a variety of galleries and artist studios. While walking the streets you can find murals, statues, and graffiti caked walls.
2) CCTV Building
Located in Beijing’s Central Business District, the CCTV headquarters sits at a height of 768 feet and has been named the Best Tall Building Worldwide.
3) Page One Bookstore
Located in various locations, the Page One Bookstore provides a modern experience with light up bookshelves and steel beams throughout.
4) Qianmen Street
Placed just south of Tiananmen Square, stop by Qianmen Street to capture traditional Chinese architecture while trying Beijing’s famous Peking duck and buying gifts for those back home.
5) Galaxy SOHO
Place yourself into a sci-fi movie while exploring the shops and restaurants at Galaxy SOHO.
6) The National Centre for Performing Arts
Also known as the Giant Egg, Beijing’s performing arts center is a spectacle at night when the ellipsoid dome lights up the lake which surrounds it.
7) Olympic Park
See the bird’s nest for yourself and watch the water cube come to life at night as you walk along the Olympic green or dine along the river front.
8) The Hutongs
Explore the narrow streets and the ancient architecture of the hutongs.
9) The Great Wall of China
One of the seven wonders of the world, the Great Wall of China stretches far beyond what you can see.
10) Beijing’s temples
Whether it’s the Temple of Heaven, the Lama Temple, or the Temple of Confucian, Beijing’ temples are shrines to China’s ancient history of Buddhism.
Over this past weekend, some of our students enrolled at Minzu University of China took their annual Spring Outing – this year, to Gubei Water Town. Situated about a 2-hour drive northeast of Beijing, the April weather made it absolutely perfect to explore for a spring outing. It surrounds various canals and offshoots of Yuanyang lake.
If you ever want to get a taste of Old Beijing, by far one of the best ways is to visit the hutongs. They’ve conceptually been around all the way since the 1200s, and in their most modern forms exist as protected alleyways and streets surrounded by old traditional houses and neighborhoods in the heart of Beijing and are recognized in China to be an important part of cultural heritage in the city.