The best thing about Beijing was sleeping on the Great Wall. With a bunch of foreign English teachers (like us), from Korea (like us), mostly from Daegu (like us).
What're the chances, right??? haha
The second best thing was the Summer Palace. It is HUGE. We didn't know how huge it was until we got there and realized that we weren't even going to cover half in the few hours we had. We hardly covered a quarter! And they have a map... but they don't have any signs, so you just kinda hafta guess where you are all the time. haha. I thought the most amazing thing was that it was all built for one woman. She had it practically all to herself. THAT was an amazing thought. If I had a "garden palace" that size... wow. Jeeeeeeeeaaaaalous!
The third great thing was the shopping. Beijing's markets are fantastic! You really can find "name brand" stuff there for less than $10. Bargaining was an absolute must, and usually it
worked out pretty well.
The best thing I got was a warm Abercrombie jacket for $15!
The Forbidden City was also pretty amazing. It had a lot of things to see on the side, so it was possible to get lost in it! A lot of areas looked the same too, with maybe one or two defining features. I think I was expecting it to be a little more "forbidding," but I'll take what I can get from one of the most historical sites in the East.
Beijing was not my favorite, but it was definitely different enough to warrant going.