Beijing - Shanghai Family trip (07/11/25 - 11/11/25)

07/11/25 ( Friday) - Day 1: Beijing Bound ✨

Today’s the day! Finally executing all my long awaited travel plans  off to Beijing with China Eastern Airlines! Been wanting to try a new Chinese airline for ages .

Check in was smooth and we chilled at the lounge before boarding. My brother can claimed  lounge through his credit card. Flight was on time, and breakfast was chicken noodles & bread a bit dry tough 5/10 😅

Landed in Shanghai for a quick 2-hour transit, but that airport is massive! Sadly, our power bank got seized because of a new rule,  it must have the “CCC” logo 🤦🏻‍♀️ lesson learned!

Next leg: Shanghai → Beijing. They served beef bread so we coundnt eat. but the crew kindly gave extra fruits & biscuits  sweet gesture!

Touched down Beijing, took a Didi to the hotel sunworld wanfujing, and our first stop had to be Siji Minfu for the famous Peking Duck. The chef carved it right in front of us, and the waiter even taught us how to wrap it perfectly.We ordered dumpling soup, Kung Pao chicken, and veggies, every bite was amazing! 100/10, highly recommend! Half duck was 178 yuan, a bit pricey but worth every yuan 

Ended the night with a short stroll around Wangfujing Square but most shops were closed after 10pm, so we called it a night early.

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08/11/25 ( Saturday) - Day 2 in Beijing ✨

We started the day at the Forbidden City , took a Didi and got dropped off at the South Gate (Meridian/Wumen Gate). It’s quite a long walk and honestly not very elderly or wheelchair friendly 😅

I pre-booked our tickets on WeChat a week earlier for 40 yuan since it’s now off-season (normally 60 yuan). For my mom, who has a disability card, the entrance is free, but we still had to queue up to get a physical ticket, which was a bit troublesome.

Once we entered, the Forbidden City was absolutely huge and stunning. But without a guide, it’s pretty hard to appreciate the history, just looking at buildings without know anything. we walked around for about an hour before exiting from the East Gate. 

Highly suggest to take tour guide, for tour guide need to prebook or could get from the entrance. Once enter couldn't find any guides. We exit through East gate. Outside, there were lots of street snacks! 

We tried:

🥟 Pau – 8/10

🍰 Osmanthus cake – 7/10

🍡 Tanghulu (candied fruit) – 7/10 (a bit pricey though 😅 )

Next stop -Fangzhuanchang No.69 (Forbidden City branch) 69 ⽅砖「炸酱⾯ We had the famous Zhajiangmian (soybean paste noodles) - one is traditional and another one pork paste version. The traditional one was definitely the winner- 8.5/10 We also tried a peach jelly dessert (7/10) and their silk yogurt, which was heavenly creamy and smooth-9.5/10, a must-try!

After lunch, we took a Didi to the Temple of Heaven. It was another long walk but very scenic. The entrance was simpler compared to the Forbidden City. We got tickets via WeChat (RM16) which included access to the Hall of Prayer for Good Harvests, Echo Wall, and Circular Mound Altar while my parents entered for free (60+ years old).At the Circular Mound, there’s a belief that if you stand on the center stoneand make a wish, it’ll come true 🌸 I love these little superstitions chase it make places feel special. 

We exited from the South Gate, headed back to the hotel so my parents could rest, and then my brother and I went exploring again.We started at Wangfujing Street for a short stroll, then took a Didi to Qianmen Street. The area was lively  we entered through a gate with a great view of the Bell Tower. Tried a few snacks along the way:

🍢 Lamb skewers – 8/10

🍟 Long fries – 7/10

🍲 Proper Chinese dishes at a restaurant – 7/10

🍦 Mochi & ice cream for dessert 🍧

Found some cute souvenirs fridge magnets for 10 yuan each, and if you buy 5, you get 1 free (good deal!). There were also lots of free food samples along the road .We ended the day with a taxi ride back (45 yuan) and called it a nightearly legs tired but heart happy ❤ ️

We exited from the South Gate, headed back to the hotel so my parents could rest, and then my brother and I went exploring again.We started at Wangfujing Street for a short stroll, then took a Didi to Qianmen Street. The area was lively we entered through a gate with a great view of the Bell Tower. Tried a few snacks along the way:

🍢 Lamb skewers – 8/10

🍟 Long fries – 7/10

🍲 Proper Chinese dishes at a restaurant – 7/10

🍦 Mochi & ice cream for dessert 🍧

Found some cute souvenirs fridge magnets for 10 yuan each, and if you buy 5, you get 1 free (good deal!). There were also lots of free food samples along the road .We ended the day with a taxi ride back (45 yuan) and called it a night early legs tired but heart happy ❤ ️

09/11/25 ( Sunday) - Day 3 The Great Wall Adventure ✨

Today was the main highlight of our Beijing trip finally visiting the Great Wall of China (Mutianyu Section)! We passed by Tiananmen Square, then continued our journey toward the Great Wall.

On the way, he brought us to a local breakfast spot simple, hearty, and pretty good! 7/10 ☕🥟 We booked a 7-seater car for 750 yuan / 10 hour could’ve been cheaper, but I added a few extra stops (my fault ) but could not go also cause of timing. Get their contact from fb. They counting according to hours, parking and fuel money. The driver picked us up right on time.

We passed by Tiananmen Square, grabbed local breakfast, and then headed straight for the Great Wall.

🎟 ️ Tickets:

• Dad (Trip.com) – RM110 (includes entrance + 2-way cable car +

shuttle)

• Mom (bought on-site) – free entrance with disability card, but still paid

~RM90 for shuttle&cable

• Ours – entrance + shuttle + one-way cable car

After walking 300m to the shuttle bus, it dropped us off and we had to climb about 1km uphill to the cable car station. It was quite tough for my mom (she has a chronic knee issue), so I highly recommend taking the chair lift, which is closer to the shuttle stop! The cable car ride took about 10 minutes and once we reached the top, the view was just breathtaking 😍

It’s one of those moments where you just stand in awe thinking, “Did people really build this thousands of years ago?” We reached Gate 16 (cable car stop) and hiked all the way to Gate 6 to take the toboggan down a fun 30–40 minute walk with amazing photo spots along the way .At the counter, we bought toboggan tickets (100 yuan each) and waited about 30 minutes for our turn. Totally worth it! 

The ride was around 5 minutes of pure fun like a mini roller coaster down the

Great Wall. 

Before leaving, we shopped for souvenirs cute panda plushies & T-shirts 🐼 👕. 

Tip: buy souvenirs on the spot because some items are hard to find elsewhere later!

10/11/25 (Monday) - Day 4: From Beijing to Shanghai ✈✨

We started the day with a short walk around the hotel before heading for local breakfast. We bought egg crepes from a street vendor and tried some noodles and pau from a nearby shop .Everything was really good! We also had a pork burger, which was super tasty.

Next, we went to Tiananmen Square. We just wanted to go near the entrance and take some photos from outside, but unfortunately, we weren’t allowed on that side as security was very strict. Apparently, you need to make a reservation one day in advance. I had made a booking earlier, but it was only for the flag-raising ceremony, so we couldn’t use it to visit the square quite disappointing.

On the way back to the hotel, we made a quick stop at Fang No.69, where I bought 12 bottles of their silk yogurt to bring home because it tastes so good!We took a Didi to the airport (55 yuan). Check-in was smooth and the flight was on time. We were served a chicken hamburger, which was decent Our luggage was slightly delayed, and when we tried to book a Didi from the airport, things got a bit confusing the driver mixed up the spot and we ended up wasting about 30 minutes canceling and rebooking.Lesson learned: always double-check your pin when setting your pick-up location! 📍

Once we reached our Shanghai hotel ( Razen murray nanjing) (about a 10- minute walk from Nanjing Pedestrian Street), we checked in and went straight to Xan Xin Bao, famous for its crab roe noodles (99 yuan). Totally worth it 8.5/10 🦀 🔥

Later, we grabbed some snacks from a local shop and took a relaxing stroll along Nanjing Road. I wanted to try the famous kuih-like dessert from Shen Da Cheng, but the signature one was sold out, so we settled for the blackbean version instead - not bad! After that, we went back to the hotel to let my mom rest. 

We planned to walk to The Bund at night, but by the time we got there around 10pm, everything was already closed even the lights were off Such a pity! We headed back to the hotel and called it a night. 🌙

11/11/25 (Tuesday) - Day 5: Exploring Shanghai & Farewell to China✨

We started our day quite early since there was a lot on our itinerary. Our first stop was Nanjing Street, where we bought snacks from Shen Da Cheng - it’s like mochi with various fillings. I tried the green (egg floss) flavor – 7/10  red bean – 7/10 and sesame seed – 8/10.

Next, we headed to Lai Lai Xiaolongbao, famous for its crab roe xiaolongbao. The queue was long but moved steadily and we waited around 15 minutes. Totally worth it! The xiaolongbao was absolutely delicious - 8.5/10, and their chicken skewers were also great - 8/10. Highly

recommended! 🥟 🔥

After that, we booked a Didi (around 180 yuan) to Zhujiajiao Ancient Water Town. I instantly fell in love with the vibe - calm, charming, and beautiful. It’s often called the Venice of Shanghai 🛶 💛 . The area was full of food stalls, souvenirs, and cute shops.

We tried a few local treats like pork sticky rice dumpling, calamansi juice, and some unknown blueberry pastry (we were given so many free samples 😋 ).

One of my favorite things to buy here was the lucky Chinese herbal bags.

You can choose based on what you wish for - health, peace, or good sleep

and they’ll fill the bag with herbs. They come in many colors and designs, and they smell amazing 🌸 .

We also picked up some panda souvenirs, mochis, drawings, and even chili sambal! We spent about 3 hours exploring before heading back by Didi (140 yuan). Back at the hotel, our parents rested while

Back at the hotel, our parents rested while my brother and I went to Nanjing Street again mostly shopping, nothing much new. Later, we checked out and went to Yuyuan Garden. It looked absolutely stunning at night full of traditional Chinese architecture and bright lanterns. Lots of food stalls there too, but we didn’t try anything since prices were quite high.

Next, we went to The Bund, the iconic waterfront overlooking the Shanghai skyline. The view of all the lit up buildings especially the Shanghai Tower was just magical, even though it was freezing cold and windy!

After that, we went back to the hotel area, had dinner at a nearby restaurant (the food was just average), and then took a Didi to the airport.

Since our power bank had been seized earlier, we went to the storage depot about 5 km away from the airport to retrieve it but unfortunately, they couldn’t find it. We went back to the airport and asked around at customer service, and finally discovered that the security officer had misplaced it.

He ended up compensating us 600 yuan so at least it turned into a small profit 😂 Check-in was smooth and the flight was on time 1.50am. This time, we even had a choice between chicken or pork for the inflight meal. We landed home safely around 8:30 AM.