3-Day Guided Beijing Side Trip by Public Transport

After exploring the prosperous downtown area of Beijing, you may be curious how the suburb of the city looks like. Then this 3-day Beijing side trip is right for you, which include remains from World War II, 500-year-old ancient villages, and huge modern amusement parks.  

Kind Reminders: 
1. The first two days are guided tour by eco-friendly public transport. If you need a private car, feel free to contact our travel consultants to arrange it for you. For the 3rd day in the amusement park, it’s totally fine to have fun on your own. 
2. The day before the tour, our English-speaking guide will contact you to double confirm where and when to pick you up and kindly inform you some tips about this 3-day trip.

All the three sites are next to each other in the southwest suburb of Beijing. 

Stop 1: Sculpture Garden of Sino-Japanese War

As the name indicates, this site features many solemn sculptures recreating the scenes during Sino-Japanese War.

► How to Get There from Beijing Downtown
Subway is the best choice. Wanpingcheng Subway Station along line 16 is right nearby. Today after meeting you on time, the experienced guide will escort you there by subway. If your hotel is not close to any of the subway station, the guide will accompany you to take the city bus to the closest subway station at first. After arriving, get out from exit D and walk west for a few meters to reach the South Gate of the Sculpture Garden. 

► Admission fee: free
► Opening time: April - October: 08:00 - 22:00; November - March: 08:00 – 20:00; closed on every Monday

Stop 2: Marco Polo Bridge

After visiting the Sculpture Garden, get out from its West Gate and walk northward for a few minutes, you will see ancient City Wall circling Wanping City. Keep walking ahead, you will see Marco Polo Bridge opposite the East Gate of Wanping. The guide will lead you to tour the bridge at first and then Wanping City. 
 
Marco Polo Bridge, also known as the Lugou Bridge, is the oldest bridge and the only existing segmented stone arch bridge in Beijing. The lifelike stone lions with distinct positions and expressions on either side are the highlights. About 700 years ago, the world's famous Italian traveler Marco Polo once marveled at these vivid stone lions. 

By the starting point of the bridge, there is the Lugou Bridge History Museum. It’s highly advised to pay a visit to the museum first, which helps you know the bridge better during the following visit.  

► Admission fee: CNY 20 
► Open time: April - October: 08:00 - 20:00; November - March: 08:00 - 19:00; closed on every Monday

Stop 3: Wanping City

After strolling on the Marco Polo Bridge, step into Wanping City via its West Gate and tour along its central axis till its East Gate. 

Wanping City is a small fortress of protection in traditional Chinese architectural style. It was built around 360 years ago as a barrack to protect Beijing from insurrectionary army during the Ming Dynasty (1368 - 1644). 

On July 7th, 1937, the Japanese army boomed the city, marking the beginning of the Sino-Japanese War. Upon arrival, you will easily find the bullet holes and other traces from the Sino-Japanese War. The Museum of the War of Chinese People's Resistance against Japanese Aggression has also been built there to display an abundance of relics and pictures about the war. Inside, there are also many historical buildings for you to explore. 

► Admission Matters
Wanping City can be visited for free. The Museum of the War of Chinese People's Resistance against Japanese Aggression inside is also free to enter; but a prior reservation is needed. So, if you plan to visit the museum on your own, remember to reserve a ticket through its official WeChat account in advance.
► Opening time: Wanping City: all day; Museum of the War of Chinese People's Resistance against Japanese Aggression: 9:00 - 16:30 and closed on every Monday

Lunch Arrangement

There are a lot of small restaurants in or around the old Wanping City, providing local dishes or snacks. You can choose one according to your preference and budget. But don’t expect it as qualified and diversified as in the downtown. If having any difficulties, feel free to ask for help from the guide. He or she will be glad to introduce you the food and help you with the order.

Send You Back to Hotel in Beijing Downtown

Exit from the East Gate of the Wanping City, follow the guide to walk southward to reach C1 of Wanping subway station and then the guide will send you back to your hotel or designated place in Beijing downtown. 

If time allows, the guide will show you around the south section of the City Wall, where big and small bullet holes can be found easily. 

Stop 1: Cuandixia Village

Cuandixia Village is reputed as the "Potala Palace in Beijing" because all the houses are located on a gentle slope of a mountain, layer upon layer, just like the soaring Potala Palace in Tibet. As it is far from the downtown, it has not been touched by modern constructions yet. 

Walk on the old pavements and view the traditional hillside courtyards, the old Beijing people's life will come into your mind. Besides, there are also ancient temples where local people pray for prosperity, health, and peace. 

If time permits, the guide will also accompany you to hike for about 1km to the “One Thread of Sky”, a naturally formed crack between two mountains. People can only see a thread of sky at its bottom, hence the name. There is also bus running there, taking CNY10 per passenger. 

► Tip: During the visit, the guide will leave you some time to have lunch. Some farmhouses there offer food to tourists and the dishes are generally made of local ingredients. They may not be delicate or good-looking, but full of the original flavor of the ingredients. 

► How to Get There by Public Transport
It is quite a long travel. In the morning, your private guide will pick you up from your hotel in downtown and escort you there, so you don’t need to worry a lot. Just be patient. The whole trip by public transport will take around 3 hours.

→ At first, the guide will escort you to Pingguoyuan subway station on line 6 and line S1. 
→ Transfer to bus no. M22 to its terminus, Zhaitang Gongjiaochang (Zhaitang Bus Station). This bus ride will take around two hours. Besides, the bus serves with an interval of about 50 minutes. Please note there might be a big crowd waiting for bus M22 there, especially on weekends or vacations.
→ On arrival, the guide will hail a taxi or a private car via car-hailing apps and accompany you to Cuandixia Village, taking 15 minutes or so.

If you want to travel there on your own, hiring a taxi from downtown will be more convenient and easy, which takes about CNY800-1,000 for the day trip. 

► Admission fee: none
► Opening time: all day

Stop 2: Shuangshitou Village

Shuangshitou means two rocks in Chinese, and it is so named because there are two large guardian boulders standing quietly at the entrance of the village. In particular, one of them is so large with an extraordinary residence consisting three rooms built upon it. With hundreds of years' history, this hidden village contains many buildings, walls, streets and roads made up with grotesque stones.

► How to Get There
It is about 2.4 kilometers (1.5 miles) away from Cuandixia. The guide will hire a taxi or book a car via one of these car-hailing apps and accompany you there.

► Admission fee: none
► Opening time: all day

Go Back to Hotel in Beijing Downtown

→ The guide will escort you back to Zhaitang Gongjiaochang from Shuangshitou Village by car hailed on apps. 
→ Then take bus no. M22 back to Pingguoyuan subway station. The bus also runs every 50 minutes or so for the return trip. 
→ At last, send you back to your hotel by subway or city bus.

Universal Studios Beijing is a modern amusement park with thrilling facilities and abundant performances, a place where you can have fun to the fullest. 

Things to Know before Visiting Universal Beijing Resort

1. Buy the admission ticket early enough, especially when you plan to go during China holidays or weekends. The daily ticket fare varies a lot from around CNY500 to CNY650 during public holidays. 

2. As a popular travel destination, the Universal Beijing Resort is always full of visitors. If you try to visit as many sites inside as possible in one day, it is strongly recommended to buy a Universal Express, starting from CNY400. However, if you want to visit the resort at a leisurely pace, save the money for next-time visit. 

3. The opening time is 09:00-21:00. But usually, it opens a dozen minutes earlier, so you may get there at 08:40 to save the waiting time at the entrance. 

4. The resort is quite large, consisting of 7 theme zones, 16 facilities to ride and 11 performances to appreciate, so it’s a wise choice to wear a pair of comfortable shoes.

5. Download the official app in advance, from which you can know the length of the queues and the schedule of the performances. To save time, you’d better wait in the short queues always. 

6. There are many places inside the resort to feed yourselves and the average cost is CNY100 per person. Also, it is allowed to bring your own food, but excluding self-heating food, smelly foot like durian, glass bottled drinks and alcoholic drinks.

How to Get to Universal Studios Beijing

1. Subway: Take subway line 1 or line 7 to Universal Resort, get out from Exit B, C or D and walk for about 7 minutes following the direction signs to the entrance. 
2. City buses 589 and T116 have a stop by the parking lots of the resort.

Recommended Visit Route in Universal Beijing Resort

The themes zones inside are laid out clockwise. Unless there is an especially long queue at a certain zone, the most time-saving visiting route is one by one. And Hollywood is advised to be visited at last, because the Universal on Parade starts here at around 18:00. 

1. Transformers Metrobase
Recommended to: brave and adventurous travelers

Highlights: Decepticoaster- the most thrilling ride in the whole Universal Resort; Battle for the ALLSpark- a 3D indoor roller coaster; Bumblebee Boogie- not so thrilling and suitable for kids; More than Meets the Eye- have a nice talk with the Autobots.

2. Kung Fu Panda Land of Awesomeness
Recommended to: all visitors, especially parents and kids

Highlights: Po’s Kung Fu Training Camp- learn some basic Kungfu moves; Kung Fu Panda Journey of the Dragon Warrior- trace Po’s steps by boat; Discover the Origins of Kung Fu and Lanterns of Legendary Legends- the amazing lights shows

3. Jurassic World Isla Nublar
Recommended to: Jurassic World fans and dinosaur fans

Highlights: Raptor Encounter; Jurassic World Adventure- feel the thrilling of being chased by dinosaurs

4. WaterWorld 
Recommended to: all visitors 

Highlights: WaterWorld Stunt Show- fights on water; Rhythm Drifters- singing performance

Tips: To watch the Stunt Show, you’d better bring a raincoat in case of getting wet. You may also buy one on the spot at the cost of CNY60/ piece. 

5. The Wizarding World of Harry Potter
Recommended to: “wizards”, “witches” and “muggles”

Highlights: Ollivanders Wands Store; Hogwarts? Castle; The Nighttime Lights at the Hogwarts? Castle; Triwizard Spirit Rally; Frog Choir; butter beer

6. Minion Land
Recommended to: little kids; Minions’ fans; those afraid of roller coasters

Highlights: Despicable Me Minion Mayhem- a peaceful ride; Super Swirly- have a full view of the whole Super Silly Fun Land; Loop-Dee Doop-Dee- suitable for all over 3 years old; SING on Tour- music drama suitable to all
  
7. Hollywood
Recommended to: all visitors

Highlights: Hollywood Avenue; Lights Camera Action

Universal on Parade

It usually starts at 18:00, from Hollywood, passing by Transformers Metrobase, Jurassic World Isla Nublar and ends at the Minion Land at about 18:30. It provides great opportunities to get close to Universal animated characters, including Madagascar animals, Shrek, and Kung Fu Panda.

Two Hotels Nearby

After having fun, you can reverse the way back to your hotel in downtown. Or if it’s too late or you want to have more fun the next day, it’s better to stay one night nearby. 

The two hotels nearby are The Universal Studios Grand Hotel and NUO Resort Hotel. Both are next to the entrance of Universal Beijing Resort and both guarantee their guests early admission to the resort via the VIP Experience entrance. For those traveling with kids, it is a nice choice to stay one night in either of them. The hotel rooms can be booked from the official app.

Universal Studios Beijing is often full of visitors. If you feel uncomfortable about it or fail reserving a ticket, you may go to Happy Valley instead. An adult ticket costs CNY299.  

How to Get to Happy Valley

1. The first choice will be subway. Happy Valley Subway Station is on line 7. After arrival, get out from exit B or C and you will see the park easily.
2. Or you can take bus no. 31 or 41 to West Jinchan Road and the park will be on the west.

How to Move inside the Happy Valley

There are two transportation tools available for visitors to travel inside the large park easily.  

1. Electricity Car: Adults are allowed to drive it on their own so they can go anywhere at anytime they want. It costs CNY30 per ride per adult and CNY15 per ride per kid. If you plan to ride it many times, a pass ticket allowing unlimited rides is recommended; it costs CNY 60 per adult and CNY 30 per kid. 
2. Sightseeing Train: It travels among different theme zones. Visitors need to wait for their arrivals and get onboard when there is a seat. It costs CNY30 per adult per ride and CNY15 per kid per ride. The pass ticket requires CNY50 per adult and CNY25 per kid.

Recommended Visit Route

The theme park is divided into 7 theme zones. You may visit it clockwise like this: Happy Time - Dessert Kingdom - Shangri-la - Lost Maya - Island of Atlantis - Aegean Harbor - Wild Fjord or anti-clockwise.

Top Things to Do in Beijing Happy Valley

Happy Time
1. Extreme Rusher: This launch-type roller coaster is one of the most thrilling and popular projects in Beijing Happy Valley, with the highest speed of 133.6km/h (83 mph). However, you may need to wait for some time to get onboard. 
2. Day Parade of Floats: It is a carnival involving 23 floats and over 100 performers, when you can have fun to the full extent. It usually starts at 14:00 and lasts for about half an hour. 
3. Night Parade of Floats: The parade is even fancier with the help of various lights. It is normally scheduled at 19:00 and also lasts for about half an hour. 

Dessert Kingdom 
1. Family Coaster: With the speed of only 13m/s, it is suitable for even kids. Besides, the coaster itself is very lovely and visitors can take some nice photos here.
2. Gingerbread Carousel: This is a double-deck carousel and the higher deck offers a better point of view. 
3. Cake Swing: It can send sitters to a height equally to 4th floor, where you can have a bird’s eye view of the Happy Valley. 

Shangri-la
1. Music Roller Coaster: With a height equally to 16th floor and a length of 800 meters (880 yards), this is the longest and highest roller coaster in the whole theme park. It stirs up water on the way, very interesting. Every seat is equipped with a speaker sending out music, hence the name. 
2. Drifting on the Yarlung Zangbo River: Visitors are sent to the 6th-floor-high point, then drift down along the river molded after Yarlung Zangbo River. 
3. Golden Swing: This is a hanging roller coaster with most rolls in the Happy Valley. 
4. Turbo Drop: You will feel your heart beating even after getting off from it. 
5. Acrobatic Drama “Li San”: Through the drama, you can not only appreciate acrobatics, but also learn the spirit of Chinese swordsman and folk customs of old Beijing. 

Lost Maya
1. Jungle Racing: The roller coaster travels through jungles to offer sitters different experience. 
2. Apollo Wheel: It is one of the biggest pendulum rides in Asia. Are you ready to scream? 

Island of Atlas
1. Crystal Wing: This roller coaster flies through the “rocky castle”. 
2. Energy Collector: This is a rotating sightseeing platform, where one can have a panoramic view of the whole Happy Valley. 

Aegean Harbor
1. Flume Ride: The track is 800 meters long. During the 10-minute ride, it send sitters down to ground twice, respectively from the height of 5th floor and 10th floor.  
2. Fantasea: As an indoor playground with smaller entertaining facilities, it is suitable for kids.  

Wild Fjord
Golden Mask Dynasty: This is a well-designed stage show combining music, dance, light and others.

Travel Tips

1. If possible, try to go there on usual days, because it can also be crowded during holidays and festivals, when you may spend more time waiting rather than having fun. 
2. If the queue is too long, leave the project later and move on for the ones with short waiting queues. 
4. The park offers free raincoats for its visitors before they enjoy water-involving projects, so there is no need to buy one at the entrance. 
5. There are restaurants and shops inside, but the price is a little higher. You may prepare some bottled water and snacks before entering.