{"id":2398,"date":"2026-06-14T07:00:40","date_gmt":"2026-06-14T07:00:40","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/99chinatravel.com\/?p=2398"},"modified":"2026-06-14T07:00:40","modified_gmt":"2026-06-14T07:00:40","slug":"we-were-wrong-about-china-%f0%9f%87%a8%f0%9f%87%b3-first-impressions-of-beijing","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/99chinatravel.com\/?p=2398","title":{"rendered":"We Were WRONG About China \ud83c\udde8\ud83c\uddf3 (First Impressions of Beijing)"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" width=\"480\" height=\"270\" src=\"\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/NcO3iQaAR2s\" frameborder=\"0\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p>Beijing changed everything we thought we knew about China \ud83c\udde8\ud83c\uddf3 After spending time in Shanghai, we thought we had China figured out. We were completely wrong. In just 48 hours in Beijing we visited the Forbidden City, the Temple of Heaven, the Lama Temple and discovered why this city feels like nothing else we&#8217;ve ever experienced.<br \/>\nFrom eating Jianbing street wraps for under \u00a31 at breakfast, to Peking Duck pancakes for under \u00a310, navigating the metro with ease, uncovering hidden Easter eggs inside the Imperial Palace, stumbling across the 798 Art District, and ending our nights in the electric chaos of the Sanlitun bar street \u2014 Beijing genuinely blew our minds.<br \/>\nThis is our honest first impressions of Beijing \u2014 the good, the surprising, and everything in between. If you&#8217;ve ever been on the fence about visiting China, watch this first.<br \/>\n\ud83d\ude82 Arrived by high speed train from Shanghai (4.5 hours)<\/p>\n<p>\ud83e\udd5f Jianbing breakfast wrap under \u00a31<br \/>\n\ud83c\udfef Forbidden City jaw dropping scale<br \/>\n\ud83d\uded5 Temple of Heaven most peaceful place we&#8217;ve visited<br \/>\n\u2615 Lama Temple the hidden gem of Beijing<br \/>\n\ud83e\udd86 Peking Duck in Beijing worth every penny<br \/>\n\ud83c\udfa8 798 Art District we had no idea this existed<br \/>\n\ud83c\udf19 Sanlitun bar street pure chaos (in the best way)<br \/>\n\ud83d\udccd Beijing, China<\/p>\n<p>\ud83c\udfac Watch our Shanghai video here: https:\/\/youtu.be\/jpu-tOdd6q4<\/p>\n<p>&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;<\/p>\n<p>FOLLOW OUR TRAVELS ON OUR SOCIALS<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"tiktok-embed\" cite=\"https:\/\/www.tiktok.com\/@fi.and.nick\" data-unique-id=\"fi.and.nick\" data-embed-from=\"oembed\" data-embed-type=\"creator\" style=\"max-width:780px; min-width:288px;\">\n<section> <a target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.tiktok.com\/@fi.and.nick?refer=creator_embed\">@fi.and.nick<\/a> <\/section>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p> <script async src=\"https:\/\/www.tiktok.com\/embed.js\"><\/script><br \/>\nhttps:\/\/www.instagram.com\/fi.and.nick<\/p>\n<p>\ud83d\udce7 ENQUIRIES<br \/>\nfiandnicktravel@outlook.com<br \/>\n&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;<br \/>\n\ud83d\udcf8 Insta360 X4 \u2013 Our go-to travel camera for POV &amp; cinematic shots<br \/>\n\ud83d\udc49 https:\/\/www.insta360.com\/sal\/x5?utm_term=INRCQK5<\/p>\n<p>\ud83d\udcf1 Plan &amp; Book Activities with GetYourGuide<br \/>\n\ud83d\udc49 https:\/\/gyg.me\/fiandnicktravel-app<br \/>\n\ud83d\udcb8 5% off with code: FIANDNICKTRAVEL5<\/p>\n<p>\ud83c\udf92 Travel Clothing &amp; Bags<br \/>\n\ud83d\udc49 https:\/\/www.conceptglobal.co\/discount\/FIANDNICKTRAVEL15<br \/>\n\ud83d\udcb8 15% off with code: FIANDNICKTRAVEL15<\/p>\n<p>\ud83d\udcf8 Gear We Use to Film Our Travels<br \/>\nSony Alpha 6600: https:\/\/amzn.to\/4tqKlvN<br \/>\nGoPro Hero 13: https:\/\/amzn.to\/49ZUztW<br \/>\nR\u00d8DE Microphone: https:\/\/amzn.to\/3LLnRVf<br \/>\nMSI Prestige 14 Laptop: https:\/\/amzn.to\/4q3Hc1N<\/p>\n<p>\ud83c\udf92 Travel Bags We Use<br \/>\nRAB 80L Duffel Bag: https:\/\/amzn.to\/49ULjXS<\/p>\n<p>The links above are affiliate links and may give us a small amount of money if you decide to purchase anything after clicking these links at no extra cost to you.<\/p>\n<p>&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;<\/p>\n<p>0:00 &#8211; We thought we knew China after Shanghai\u2026 we didn&#8217;t<br \/>\n0:42 &#8211; Jianbing breakfast under \u00a31<br \/>\n2:57 &#8211; Forbidden City nothing could have prepared us<br \/>\n5:55 &#8211; Hidden Easter eggs<br \/>\n7:39 &#8211; Qianmen Street surprise<br \/>\n8:43 &#8211; Beijing Pie<br \/>\n11:25 &#8211; Temple of Heaven silence in a capital city<br \/>\n14:49 &#8211; Day 2: Lama Temple Beijing&#8217;s hidden gem<br \/>\n16:30 &#8211; Peking Duck. Finally.<br \/>\n20:18 &#8211; Luckin Coffee &amp; the Hello Kitty mug \u2615<br \/>\n22:08 &#8211; 798 Art District we had no idea this existed<br \/>\n23:50 &#8211; Final night VIBES<br \/>\n26:37 &#8211; Last noodles &amp; goodbye Beijing \ud83d\udc4b<br \/>\n27:23 &#8211; Bloops!!!<\/p>\n<p>#beijing  #china  #beijingchina  #chinatravel  #beijingvlog #pekingduck  #firstimpressions  #beijingfood  #visitchina  #chinavlog  #travelvlog #asiatravel<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Beijing changed everything we thought we knew about China \ud83c\udde8\ud83c\uddf3 After spending time in Shanghai, we thought we had China [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":0,"featured_media":2399,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2398","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v17.6 - 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