Posts Tagged ‘Paris and Beijing’

Some similarities and differences between Paris and Beijing

Saturday, April 9th, 2022
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Plan your Beijing tour? If you have visited Paris, the capital city of France, you will expect some similarities and differences between the two great cities. Being capital cities and metropolitans, both Paris and Beijing have a great history.  

While you are obliged to take a boat cruising on the Seine River in Paris, you will pay pilgrimage to the Great Wall around Beijing.

The Seine River cruise puts you into a time corridor experiencing the historical Paris and enjoying the mesmerising views along the river banks. Hiking on Great Wall allows you to touch the 500-year history and appreciate the hilltop views.

Cruising on the Seine River
Hiking on the Great Wall around Beijing

French history has left Louvre Palace to the city of Paris and Beijing is also bestowed with a great palace – Forbidden City.

Both palaces have been turned into museums – Louvre Museum and Forbidden City Museum, art and historical Treasure troves belonging to the while mankind.

Forbidden City Museum

Many travelers would start their Paris city tour with a visit to Concorde Square. Similarly, Tiananmen Square is very often a starting point to begin a city tour in Beijing.

usemConcorde Square leads to Louvre Museum and Tiananmen Square is connected to Forbidden City Museum.

Concorde Square in the center of Paris
Tiananmen Square in the center of Beijing

The sharp difference between Paris and Beijing lies in their city constructions. The old buildings in Paris have been well preserved and protected while Beijing has demolished its city wall in 1960s and a great number of old residential buildings (hutongs and courtyards) demolished too!

Though Beijing government has protectively allocated some old residential areas for protection, Beijing has unquestionably has become a brand new metropolitan – new residential blocks, high-rise office buildings and fancy and van-garden structures.

The well preserved old Paris City
The modern city of Beijing

Paris is an old modern city while Beijing is a modern old city.

Tip: Hassle-free Beijing Guided Tours

If you don’t want to go the do-it-yourself route and prefer the hassle-free escorted tours,  here are some options for Beijing guided tours:

Beijing Day Tour
Beijing Tour Packages
Great Wall Tour
Beijing City Tour
Beijing Winter Tour
Beijing Autumn Tour
Car Rental in Beijing
Beijing Tours
China City Tours
China Tour

Further Readings


Best Time to Visit Beijing
How to plan a trip to Beijing

Top 10 Attractions in Beijing
How to Visit Forbidden City
How to Visit Temple of Heaven
How to Visit Summer Palace
How to Visit Ming Tombs
How to Visit the Great Wall of China
How to Visit Tiananmen Square
How to Visit Hutongs
How to Visit Olympic Sites

Top 10 Markets in Beijing
Top 10 Shopping Malls in Beijing
Beijing Shopping

Wangfujing Walking Street
Qianmen Commercial Street
Gui Jie ( Ghost Street) Food Street

Any questions, just drop a line.