If you’re visiting Beijing and find you have some free time to go out and take a few photos, the city offers several wonderful locations to choose from.
No first time visitor to Beijing should miss the Forbidden City. The scale of the historic buildings and detail of the architecture are incredible, giving photographers a lot to focus on. (Tip: after exiting the north gate of the Forbidden City, turn right to get a great shot of the moat with the northeast turret tower in the background). You’ll want to make sure you have a wide angle lens with you!
The Drum & Bell Towers is another great place to take snapshots. Aside from the two towers, the area is great for street photography of locals playing Mahjong, eating & drinking, or just relaxing.
For something more modern, a visit to 798 Art Space with your camera can be a lot of fun. This district is full of coffee shops, art galleries and indoor and outdoor exhibitions. The outdoor display areas in particular will allow you myriad opportunities to get some interesting shots.
The Summer Palace, China’s largest royal park, is the place to go is you want to shoot beautiful Chinese landscaping and architecture. Make sure you don’t miss the 17-arch bridge on Kunming Lake. (Tip: This is a great location to take some interesting black & white landscape photos).
The Great Wall of China is a fantastic location to capture an iconic photo of your visit to Beijing. There are more than 20 different sections of the Great Wall around Beijing. The most visited section is the Badaling. However, for photos, most photographers agree the Jiankou section is actually the most scenic stretch of Great Wall near Beijing.
Many first-time travellers to Asia, particularly those on business, have asked about easily accessible photo opportunities in the cities they visit. This post is part of an ongoing series, each on a different Asian city, introducing a few photo locations for visitors with limited time.
Kana Kukui 