The next stop during our Adventures by Disney China trip was the beautiful city of Beijing! We spent a couple days in Beijing and luckily got to see all the major sights in this incredible city! The first day was filled with lots of walking, history, and lovely monuments.
The Peninsula Beijing
The day before we began exploring and experiencing the city, we flew into Beijing and were immediately warmly welcomed to the stunning Peninsula Hotel!
On the roof of the Peninsula Beijing is this beautiful terrace, where we were welcomed with a delicious drink. The views from up here were absolutely gorgeous! It was the perfect way to start off our time in Beijing!
Dinner
That evening were also welcomed with a dinner at the Huang Ting restaurant in the hotel. This is a traditional Cantonese cuisine restaurant that is known for their famous Beijing Peking Duck dish. The restaurant itself was beautiful (even the bathroom, seen below) and the food was all delicious! It was the perfect way to truly be immersed into the culture of the city!
The next morning we enjoyed breakfast in the lobby before beginning our first full day in the city. They had a buffet with continental style offerings as well as a menu to order from for your main course. I ordered the french toast, which was perfect!
Breakfast
Starting Our Adventure!
The first stop on our tour was the Temple of Heaven! Before we visited, we had a little fun surprise in a park nearby!
We were taught by a Beijing local how to use this Chinese yoyo called a diabolo! It was certainly challenging, but a lot of fun to see him show us plenty of tricks and have an opportunity to try them for ourselves!
Temple of Heaven
Next, we made our way to the Temple of Heaven! The entire walk there was beautiful and of course the temple itself was stunning!
The Temple of Heaven was a beautiful location to get plenty of photos for your trip! Although it was crowded, I still think that photos on the steps leading up to the temple is a great location to take pictures. Even if people are in the background, it honestly captures the essence of your experience at the Temple!
Lunch
After visiting the Temple of Heaven, we stopped for a delicious lunch at the Huajia Yiyuan restaurant!
This was personally one of my very favorite places we ate at during the entire Adventures by Disney trip! There were so many options and all of the dishes were incredible! The restaurant itself was also very fun to walk through and experience!
Tiananmen Square
After lunch we made our way to the famous Tiananmen Square, where we were able to see the major landmarks and learn a little bit about the history and importance of Tiananmen Square.
Forbidden City
Next we made our way to the Forbidden City where we learned all about the history of the palace during our walking tour. The architecture of the Forbidden City is absolutely gorgeous. I loved simply just admiring the beauty of it all as we walked through it!
Everywhere you turn there is another beautiful sight to see! The detail in the architecture is so remarkable!
The gardens near the exit of the Forbidden City was definitely my favorite part! The beauty of nature intertwined with the Chinese architecture was so perfect and picturesque!
Upon finishing our tour of the Forbidden City, we received our Disney pin for the day, which was so adorable!
Evening in the City
After our day full of seeing the major landmarks of Beijing, we had time to enjoy the evening on our own. We decided to stay close to the Peninsula Hotel and found plenty of shopping and fun treats to try!
There was a mall nearby, where we found lots of stores as well as a delicious juice bar! I tried watermelon lemon juice, which was so yummy!
The lego store near the mall was so cool to see because they had several major monuments, such as the Great Wall, built out of legos!
We also stopped by Starbucks, where they had the most amazing drinks I’ve ever gotten from a Starbucks anywhere in the world! They had Affogato, a Cold Brew Float, and a Cold Brew Malt, which was my personal favorite! I would 100% recommend trying them if you love coffee and ice cream as much as I do!
The first day in Beijing was nothing short of spectacular! I loved every moment of learning about this city and taking in all the sights! To see more from my first day in Beijing, watch my YouTube video below!
Stay tuned for Beijing Day Two, where we visit the Great Wall of China, my favorite part from the whole trip! I cannot wait to share it with you all!
As always, thank you so much for reading!
xoxo V