Beijing has always been a city that I’ve been fond of. Why? I guess I love to root for the underdogs! In my 4 years as a recruiter specialising in China, the destination of choice for most always seems to be Shanghai. Yes I get it, Shanghai is an amazing city! But why does Beijing seem to never get a look in, mainly from those who have never even been there?!
From my experience there are always two main reasons, but I’ll let you take a guess as to what they are! I like to focus on the positives and with that in mind I caught up with a good friend of mine who has called Beijing home for the last 5 years. Why move to Beijing? Here are 5 very good reasons!
1: Culture & History
Think Forbidden city, summer palace and temple of heaven, Beijing has a richness of history on your doorstep that a lot of the other big cities in China simply don’t have.
2: Spring & Autumn
The pollution has improved greatly over the years and one thing that stands out is that Beijing has 4 very distinct season. The seasons of Spring and Autumn are long and the weather is amazing. Beijing has a very dry climate and so spring and autumn have an almost Mediterranean feel to them, expect lots of blue sky and sunshine!
3: Awesome food!
I can speak from experience that the food in Beijing is by far the best in China. It is famous for duck, dumplings and everything else and local food is cheap and easily accessible. (Don’t even get me started on some of the best craft beer bars and microbreweries I’ve ever been to!)
4: Distance to nature and mountains
Especially for hiking and cycling! My friend was keen to stress that this is one of the best kept secrets about Beijing. The city itself is so close to mountains and trails that it is very easy to just jump on a bus or into a Didi (Uber) and get lost in the countryside for a day.
5: Music & Art scene:
Beijing has a very popular live music scene with so many venues across the city putting on fantastic performances on a weekly basis. As well as this it boasts a fantastic art and culture district such as the 798 Art district.
Interested in learning more? Drop us an email at info@intachina.com and we can catch up for an informal chat we are still hiring for some fantastic schools in Beijing!