Beijing

[yummyyorkshiremummy]

I am heading out to Beijing for work and have the option to tag on a holiday. Can take up to a 10 day hol. Wondering whether to fly my husband and son (6) out to join me for holiday and we then all fly home together. Is it a holiday destination worth doing? Great Wall etc etc.

Yeh do it , your son love it , loads to see and do . I took my son when he was nine and we had a fabulous time , went to forbidden palace , summer palace , Great Wall , the zoo , ku fu show , then got flight to see terracotta warriors , took train back stopping at shalom temple , and caves .
Everywhere we went people where friendly , wanting to practice there english . Wonderful experience for your son , you not regret doing this .

We went last year, yes it is a fabulous city. The zoo is dire but has got lots of lovely pandas (go to Singapore for a fab zoo experience), Tiananmen Square is great, as are the Summer Palace, Forbidden City, Great Wall. With 10 days you have plenty of time to fly to see the warriors.

The covered markets are great for bargains and there is some lovely shopping in glitzy malls. We stayed in Raffles, where we were looked after beautifully. It is just a 10 min walk to Tiananmen along wide flower-lined pavements.

It's a great holiday destination and in addition to the amazing attractions in Beijing would recommend:
Terracotta warriors in Xian - you can fly or go by train. Xian city is also very interesting - wall, goose pagoda, drum tower, bell tower and great market.
Chengdu - if you want to see pandas, incuding baby ones - do not go to a Chinese zoo they are appalling. You will need to fly to Chengdu, but may be possible to fly back from there to UK.

Thanks for great tips everyone!

We live in Beijing and think its great so def come. I agree with all other suggestions. Esp the zoo. Please don't - not nice. Just a slight warning though. It's not always an easy place with kids as its often polluted and dirty with terrible public toilets. I don't say this to put you off at all but rather so you can be prepared. We always carry hand sanitizer and loo roll. If you are not too worried about hygiene there is a fab water park at the water cube in the Olympic park. Also in Chaoyang park there is a beach and outdoor pool if you are visiting in hot weather. In fact lots at chaoyang for kids if you need a break from sightseeing - rides etc. finally you can do a rickshaw ride around the hutongs by Hohai lake which is great fun. Oh and try to see a drumming demonstration at the drum tower. Just so much to do!! Enjoy!