I have long harboured a great interest in China and its culture. A few years ago, I finally answered my inner call to learn the language and delve deeper into the history, culture and aesthetics of China. My trip to Beijing in the winter of January 2025 was like coming home and refreshing memories.

How did I end up travelling to Beijing in winter?

One of the positive aspects of the internet and smartphone technology is the opportunity to connect, network and exchange ideas with people around the world. As part of learning Chinese, I have met people from China who are learning German. We exchange ideas, help each other with the language, laugh and wonder together. In the meantime, I have built up a network of friends that I am very happy about.

One of my Chinese friends visited me in September last year and invited me to Beijing in January. Who could say no to that?

Overcoming fears

Until a few years ago, I would never have made such a long journey to an Asian country alone and without a group.

My life was characterised by illnesses and fears. Plagued by travel sickness, discomfort when flying, intolerances, panic in large crowds, fear of illness and fears of the unknown have taken away much of my quality of life. I am grateful that my spiritual path is leading me more and more towards freedom and that I have been able to shed the fears that have blocked me for years. This allowed me to relax and prepare for my journey and enjoy the anticipation.

QI GONG helped me through the long flight and the packed underground train. My trust in myself, my spiritual helpers and an open and fearless attitude gave me an incomparably wonderful journey.

Where exactly is Beijing and what are the special features of the city?

During the revolutionary years at the beginning of the 20th century, Beijing lost its capital city status and was renamed Beiping (北平), Northern Peace.

The city owes its greatness above all to the last 1000 years, through the Ming and Qing dynasties. The Forbidden City still bears witness to its former splendour. During the revolutionary years, the city lost more and more of its economic power and finally lay in social and economic ruins at the end of the 1940s.

Over the last 50 years, Beijing has developed into an up-and-coming city that combines modernity and history and boasts a number of sights.

The climate and air quality in Beijing

In winter, Siberian winds whistle through the city. In spring, the wind shifts and sends yellow sand from the Gobi Desert through the streets, reducing visibility to less than ten metres in places. Summer is hot and humid with temperatures of up to 40 degrees. Autumn is pleasant with milder temperatures, making it the peak travel season.

I kept hearing from friends that the environment in Beijing is so bad, all the smog and so on. During my 10 days in Beijing, I had bright blue skies (no streaks in the sky, even though Beijing has one of the biggest airports in China!), sunshine and, if the weather app is to be believed, the air quality was ‘very good’ in contrast to Regensburg during this time.

My friend told me that pollution does form from time to time in winter, but it is much less common than it used to be.

Advantages and disadvantages of travelling to Beijing in winter

Advantages

I travelled before the Chinese New Year. One of the advantages of travelling around this time is that you can enjoy the sights in peace and quiet and without large crowds. It is important that the trip takes place before the spring holidays. Another advantage is that the whole city is already decorated for the Spring Festival and the atmosphere is therefore very nice.

Disadvantages

One of the downsides is - it's cold! Although my friend said it was a very mild winter this year, it was cold enough for me. The air is very dry with a humidity of between 20 and 30% (which I quite like) and in certain places there is a very icy wind. According to my friend, there can be pollution in winter, but I haven't experienced it.

The food in Beijing

China is a large country and eating habits therefore vary from region to region.

I was very lucky to be cooked for by my friend's mum and was able to enjoy the rather simple cuisine of the north to the full. There are a lot more vegetables than here and I totally fell in love with the yam. It is used in traditional Chinese medicine for rheumatic complaints, biliary colic and gastrointestinal cramps, is very tasty and is known as 山药 (shan yao), which literally translates as ‘mountain medicine’.

Beijing duck

Of course, you can't visit Beijing without eating the famous Beijing duck. My host family took me to one of the oldest Peking duck restaurants in Beijing, where we had an enjoyable lunch.

Interested in Chinese cuisine? Check out my courses now!

Places of interest in Beijing

Summer Palace 颐和园

The history of the Summer Palace dates back to the reign of the nomadic Jurds in the Jin Dynasty (1115-1234). In the last dynasty of the Qing emperors, the residence was extended and used as a palace.

I didn't read up on the individual sights and their history before the trip, as I wanted to experience the places and their energy without any preconceptions or knowledge.

The grounds are beautiful with a lake and a 728 metre long covered and impressively painted walkway.

During my stay, I sensed a strong dominant female energy with a murderous aura. It was nothing really threatening, but I could sense that something had happened in this place and that it was dominated by this energy. When I asked my friend, it turned out that the last empress dowager Cixi spent most of her time here and was the actual regent alongside her son, who served as a puppet emperor. My friend also confirmed that Cixi killed anyone who stood in the way of her and her power. This included numerous concubines and ministers. She also embezzled money from the navy to finance her life of luxury in the summer palace.

Now it is a place of recreation for the locals and of course a centre of attraction for tourists.
The stone bridge is aligned so that the sun shines through the arches at the winter solstice and illuminates the bridge.

Olympic grounds

The Olympic site was built as an extension of the imperial central axis.
My friend grew up in Beijing and explained to me that before the Olympic site was built, it was all wasteland.

We visited the site on the first day I arrived and I was very impressed. There isn't much going on in winter, but in summer there are lots of events, many influencers make their videos, there is dancing and singing.

What struck me immediately was that the entire site was very, very clean. From the toilet facilities to the places - there wasn't an unnecessary speck of dust to be found.

Da Shan zi Art Park 大山子

Until the early 2000s, rocket parts were manufactured and used for military purposes on this site. After the military left the site, artists took over the area and a trendy art park with galleries, quaint shops, cafés and restaurants was created.

A complete contrast to the historic Summerpalace and with an extraordinary atmosphere.

The Great Wall of China 长城

The Great Wall of China is called 长城 (chang cheng), which translates as ‘long wall’. At 6,260 kilometres long, it is the largest structure ever built by man and is one of the Seven Wonders of the Modern World. It is part of the UNESCO World Heritage Site.

According to the latest measurements, the wall with all its fortifications has a total length of 21,196 kilometres. Although it was never a coherent unit, it was nonetheless very impressive.

Standing on the wall, you have a marvellous view over the mountains. The energy was very powerful and masculine. The roughness of the surrounding mountains was emphasised by the icy wind. The dragon energy was very present and the message was clear: ‘The dragon is awakening’. My Chinese teacher explained to me after my return that the Great Wall is also called 大龙 (da long), the Great Dragon.

Near Beijing, the Badaling section of the wall has been very well restored and can be visited. Many sections of the Great Wall of China are falling into disrepair. In the entrance area, man-sized pictures of various sections and the condition of the wall are on display.

You need to be in good physical condition to climb the wall. It is quite steep in places. Part of the section can be accessed by cable car, but I didn't use it.

Temple of Heaven 天坛

The Temple of Heaven 天坛 (tian tan) literally means altar of heaven and is one of the largest temples in the city, covering an area of 2.7 square kilometres. The buildings make up only a fraction of the area. The complex is now mainly used as a public park.

During the imperial era, only the emperor and his closest entourage had access to the complex. The temple was mainly used to offer harvest sacrifices and to pray. One large area is the fasting palace, where the emperor spent time fasting and praying in seclusion before the sacrificial ceremonies.

I felt very comfortable in the complex. The spirit is still there and showed itself to me as the guardian of Beijing.

The weather was very favourable again and I spent a very peaceful and beautiful day there.

Forbidden City 故宫

I saved the Forbidden City 故宫 (gu gong) until last. I already sensed in advance that I had some kind of connection to this ancient imperial city. When I entered the city, I was gripped by an intense ‘memory’ energy. I let myself drift and always knew exactly which palace I was in and what it was used for. Unfortunately, I couldn't stay there for too long as the energy was too strong for me, so at some point I felt so nauseous that I had to leave the city.

The Forbidden City got its name from the fact that only the emperor, his family, the court and invited guests had access to the complex. Men were forbidden unauthorised access on pain of death. The only men who had access to the Forbidden City, apart from high-ranking officials and military personnel, were the eunuchs. During the Qing dynasty in particular, they exercised great influence over state affairs.

The complex consists of 9999 rooms and covers 720,000 square metres. The palace was built between 1406 and 1420 and was the main residence of the Chinese emperors during the Ming and Qing dynasties.

My overall impression of my trip to China and Beijing in particular is very, very positive. It won't be the last time I've been here and I already have other destinations in China in mind. Before that, however, I still need to improve my Chinese language skills.

Click here for my blog article ‘Shanghai in winter’:

Further links:
Forbidden City
China Handbuch
Temple of Heaven