Touring Beijing in Winter Part 2: Pros and Cons
Before I continue with our trip, I would like to point out the pros and cons when visiting Beijing during winter which falls on November 15 up to March 15.
Let’s start with the disadvantages first.
CONS
1. Hazy or foggy in the city. We all know the China is a smoggy place but coupled with the cold weather, it tends to get hazy most of the times. Even on a sunny winter day, you can’t quite capture the blue skies.
This shot of Tiananmen Square would have been great if you can actually see the blue sky through the haze.
2. It’s really cold! Well this is relative for each person but for somebody living in a tropical country, it’s no fun walking outside during winter especially when it’s windy. And in Beijing, there are lots of walking involved.
During our 9-day stay, I think 5 degrees Celsius was the hottest and –8 degrees Celsius the coldest. We can’t spend a lot of time in one place when it’s really cold.
3. Same clothes in photos. Unless you are packing lots of winter clothes for your trip, you tend to wear the same jacket or coat for your outside photos.
4. Frozen lakes and rivers. Sometimes it’s nice to take photos of frozen bodies of water but if not completely frozen, they can ruin a shot.
This could be a nice shot of Suzhou Market Street at the New Summer Palace if the river is actually there.
5. Some sites are not really worthy to visit. Fragrant Hills is a nice place when the trees are green (spring) or orange (fall). We weren’t able to visit Happy Valley as well due to the weather.
PROS
1. Chance of snow. This being an advantage depends on each person but for us it was a fun experience to walk on snow.
We didn’t experience snowfall but we were able to walk on a huge patch of week-old snow.
2. Cheaper rates. Yep, winter is considered off-peak and thus entrance to some sites are much cheaper.
3. Less people. Being off-peak, you will have more chance to take photos without any people around. Waiting for throngs of tourist to disperse just to take a nice photo can be time-consuming during peak season.
Got a nice shot along the Great Wall because of the off-peak season.
4. Nice colors. There is a nice color blend that is only brought by winter and it’s a rare opportunity to get such photos for people who can’t experience winter.
I got some nice late afternoon shots in the Old Summer Palace that shows the beauty of winter.
There you have it. I’ll post the start of our trip next. This is just a teaser of the photos we took. Oh yeah, I love my point and shoot camera!
Part 2: Pros and Cons
Part 3: The Olympic Green
Part 4: Going to Datong
Part 5: Datong – Hanging Monastery
Part 6: Datong – Yungang Grottoes
Part 7: Temple of Heaven
Part 8: Jingshan Park and Forbidden City
Part 9: The Egg, Tian’anmen Square and Qianmen Street
Part 10: New Summer Palace
Part 11: Great Wall of China
Part 12: Old Summer Palace
Part 13: Shopping!
You might also be interested in:
- Touring Beijing in Winter Part 1: The Plan
- Touring Beijing in Winter Part 12: Old Summer Palace
- Touring Beijing in Winter Part 11: Great Wall of China
- Touring Beijing in Winter Part 5: Datong – Hanging Monastery
Filed under: Travel
Same clothes in photos.. Naku.. main concern ko yan. LOL.
Nice pics! We’re planning to visit China by next year.. excited already. 
cool! kailan kayo punta? chinese new year? if you’re not going with a tour package you can ask my sister for some help. she’d be happy to help out.
natawa naman ako sa same clothes in photos… ikaw ba talaga nagsabi nun or si tia? hehe
hehe ako pare pareho panlabas ko. si tia at least nakahiram sa ate ko ng jacket para maiba naman. hehehe.
Naku, magkakaroon yata ako ng problema sa “same clothes in photos”. ‘Yan pa naman ang iniiwasan ko. LOL!
Beautiful shots of the place. My bestfriend and I are planning to visit China rin. Hopefully, matuloy sa 2010.
Looking forward to more China stories from you
Gogogo na! if you need help sa pagplan, pwede ko kayo pakilala sa sister ko who’s working there.
hi, you’re posts about your trip is very helpful to people who will go there for the first time… like me. Ako, spur of the moment ang punta namin sa Jan 7, 2010. I’ve always wanted to go there… so yesterday I just went to the travel agency and bought 2 one way train tickets from hong kong to beijing. Para lang ba matuloy, so now dahil sobra mahal nung train tickets, i am now trying to plan my trip… hence i stumbled upon your posts. I must commend you for it, i’ll be printing everything and bring it with me as a guide.
do you suggest we hire a private tour or is it easy to go around ourselves? kahit we don’t know a thing about beijing transpo? we plan to book a 3 star hotel, medyo costly pero kc we are not familiar with the hostels there. ok lang ba yung mga backpackers hostel? safe ba?
please help, i will really appreciate it. thanks in advance.
hmmm ang mahirap lang siguro is the great wall tour. kasi mahal sya pag 2 people (we paid 500rmb for the driver for hire) lang so mas-ok pag sumali sa group tour para split yung cost. pero yung ibang sights sa beijing walang problema for backpackers. just get a good map complete with the subway station. as for the hotel, i have no idea eh. ok lang naman siguro.
thanks for the advise, anyway, pag naligaw kami dyan, magpapampon kami sa embassy.
thanks again
heheh good luck. malamig pala ngayon sobra. i think it’s -7 right now but nung pumunta kami yung ganung temperature sa gabi or early morning lang namin nafe-feel.
are you in contact with my sister na? mas matulungan ka niya siguro. visit her site at beijing.clompy.com.