🇳🇱 Amsterdam → 🇨🇳 Beijing · 2 weeks

Jinshanling Great Wall section — skip Badaling entirely. This 90-minute train-then-bus journey northeast gets you to a partially restored, uncrowded stretch where you can walk for hours between crumbling towers. Go on a weekday in autumn for golden hillsides and virtually no other tourists.

Arrive at the Forbidden City at opening (8:30am) and head immediately to the rear gardens (御花园) — the 9,000-room complex empties out here. Most tour groups never make it past the main halls, so the rockeries and pavilions at the north end feel almost private.

Eat breakfast at a streetside jianbing stand in the hutongs near Nanluoguxiang — the egg-and-scallion crêpe costs ¥8 and is the most authentic meal you'll have all trip. Ask for 'la de' (辣的) if you want chilli sauce.

Rent a shared bike (Meituan or Hellobike apps, ¥1.50/30min) and cycle the Second Ring Road canal path at dusk — this is how Beijingers actually get around, and the light on the water by the drum tower at golden hour is genuinely stunning.