I’m really excited to interview Austin Bellino of Culture to Grow about Beijing, China. Austin’s tips for the best things to do in Beijing are awesome because he moved to China to teach English to students and met his wife while living there. He loves how the city is full of historical events that blend with modern architectural marvels.
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The Great Wall of China. Photo by Hanson Lu on Unsplash.
Beijing, China
We share a lot of resources and local suggestions in today’s podcast, but you should also check out Beijing Visitor, the local visitor’s bureau. They are a wealth of information and can help you plan an itinerary based on your time, budget, and interests.
If you’d like to learn how to travel for free using airline miles and hotel points, check out my free 7-day email course.
Austin enjoying a Tea Ceremony in Beijing.
Getting around Beijing
The local airport is Beijing Capital International Airport (PEK), which is about a 30-minute drive into the city.
Austin says you shouldn’t rent a car when visiting Beijing because the roads are packed with pedestrians, scooters, and other vehicles. Plus, there are numerous rules about license plate numbers that most tourists won’t understand or know about. If you must rent a car, click here for the best offers from Avis, Budget, or Hertz.
The Beijing subway is an excellent way to get around. Twenty main lines provide access to most of the major attractions you’ll want to see. The only major exception is the Great Wall, which travelers can easily book a tour to visit.
DiDi is a rideshare company that is similar to Uber and Lyft. However, you should avoid using it during commuter hours. During those times, the wait time and fees can be very high.
One of Austin’s wedding photos in China.
Places we talked about on the podcast
Here is a map of all of the places we talked about on the podcast episode with Austin Bellino about Beijing, China. You can zoom into the map and click on each dot to explore the city.
- Red dots = best places to eat in Beijing, China
- Green dots = best things to do in Beijing, China
- Yellow dots = best places to stay in Beijing, China
Who is Austin Bellino?
Austin Bellino is from Chicago and also the creator of the Culture to Grow podcast. Its focuses on making this enormous world closer one day at a time.
He has had the opportunity to live in China for 5 years. While there, Austin traveled to 12 different countries and explored many cities within China. He loves to experience the non-touristy attractions, cultures, and cuisine of the cities he visits since that is where the magic is!
Here are a few episodes from his podcast:
- International Students’ Perspective of U.S. High Schools
- End of Year Exams – Around the World
- Let’s Travel to Nepal!
You can connect with Austin on his podcast home page or through his LinkedIn profile.
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Peking Duck is one of the many traditional Chinese dishes you should try during your visit.
Stay tuned for our next episode
Listen to the next episode when author Joseph Pete shares the best things to do in Gary, Indiana. In this episode, we talk about exploring the Indiana Dunes National Park, visiting the Mascot Hall of Fame, and attending the Valparaiso Popcorn Festival. We hope you’ll join us when We Travel There.
What’s your favorite part of Beijing? Send us a Tweet, let us know in the comment section below, or continue the discussion in our Facebook group!
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To see which cities we’ve interviewed and scheduled, please visit WeTravelThere.com/map. If you’d like to be a guest on the show, please apply WeTravelThere.com/guest.
Related episodes
To learn more about China and other Asian destinations in this region, please listen to our other episodes:
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