Bustling Beijing

Chairman Mao’s Mausoleum is at the south end of Tiananmen Square. It’s open Mondays-Saturdays 8 - 11:30 a.m.; sometimes also 2 p.m. - 4 p.m. (usually Tuesdays and Thursdays). Admission is free. Since no bags are allowed in the building, you'll have to store whatever you have with you in a building across the street, directly west: ¥10 ($1) per piece.

There’s no admission charge to enter Tiananmen Square. If you’re jetlagged anyway, you may want to head over at dawn for the daily flag raising ceremony.

The Forbidden City has an entrance on the north side of Tianannmen Square across Chang'an Dajie, phone 010/6513-2255; www.dpm.org.cn. The palace is open daily from 8:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. during summer, until 4:30 in winter. Admission is ¥60 ($8) in summer, dropping to ¥40 ($5) in winter but you’ll pay extra to visit many of the halls and gardens inside. Audio tours cost ¥40 ($5) or you can hire an English speaking guide for between ¥200-¥350/$25-$44 per person, depending on tour length.

There are many places to see the Great Wall. If you choose Ba Da Ling, you can take bus no. 919 (which runs daily from 6 a.m. - 6 p.m., about every 30 min.; it’s a 1-hour trip; cost ¥10/$1), which leaves from the east side of Desheng Men. A slightly more comfortable option is to take one of the air-conditioned city-sponsored tourist (you) buses (phone 010/6779-7546): You no. 1 leaves from the northeast side of Qian Men (daily 6 a.m. - noon, every 20 min.; ¥50/$6), and you no. 2 leaves from Dong Zhi Men and the Beijing Railway Station (daily 6:30-10 a.m., every 30 min.; ¥50/$6); the price includes Juyong Guan and one of the Ming Tombs (usually Ding Ling). A round-trip taxi will cost about ¥300 ($38).  The ticket office at Ba Da Ling is open from 6:30 a.m. to 7 p.m. Admission is ¥45 ($6) in summer, ¥40 ($5) in winter. A round-trip ride on the cable car costs ¥50 ($6) per person.

Cycle China, phone 010/6424-5913; www.cyclechina.com.

Beijing Dadong Kaoya Dian, Tuanjie Hu Beikou 3 on the east side of East Third Ring Road, north of Tuanjie Hu Park, Chaoyang East, phone 010/6582-2892.

The Den, is at the intersection of Gongti Dong Lu 4A, next to the City Hotel (Chengshi Binguan), phone 010/6592-6290. Cover is ¥30 ($4)

Cash Box, Qian Gui; tel. 010/6588-3333. Open 24 hours.

Pauline Frommer is the creator of the new Pauline Frommer guides in bookstores now. Her book, Pauline Frommer's New York, was named Best Guidebook of the Year by the North American Travel Journalists Association.

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