Morning

Giant panda bear.

8.30am

Start your day with a roar at the Beijing Zoo, a great day out for families, kids and animal-lovers alike. Be sure to look in on the resident Giant Pandas. 2 hours are needed here.

10.30am Make your way to the Beijing Aquarium, and spend one hour in the world’s largest non-coastal aquarium, its 36-m-long pool allows you to get up close to the animals—you can almost hear the seagulls!

11.30am Leave by the Zoo’s south gate, turn right and head west to Hangshengji for a fabulous, filling, flavorful Hangzhou-style lunch. Set aside an hour.

Afternoon

12.30pm Take a post-lunch stroll east and turn left to the rear of the Beijing Exhibition Center (about 10 minutes depending how full you are!). If the weather allows, hop on a boat to the Purple Bamboo Park and drift up the river for 20 minutes and get a duck’s eye view of the city.

1.30pm Take in the beauty of Purple Bamboo Park for half an hour before heading out of the south gate. Cross the road to the Purple Bamboo Park South Gate (紫竹桥南门) bus stop and take Bus 114 to Muxidi Dong (木樨地东) (about 20 minutes). Once here, walk east for about 10 minutes to Capital Museum for a crash course in Beijing’s history and culture—an hour and a half should do the trick!

4pm Take Subway Line 1 at Muxidi (木樨地), change to line 2 at Fuxingmen and alight at Fuchengmen Station. Exit from D and you’ll see the Wantong New World Commodities Fair on the doorstep as you emerge. Its recent renovation makes it a must-see (and buy) shopping bonanza.

6pm End of tour.

(By courtesy of Streetwise Guide Beijing)