2016 Year in Review: Discover Somewhere New With Our Favorite Beijing Day Trips

Now that you've scaled the Wall, dodged the Forbidden City crowds, and been pummeled in Tiananmen Square it may be time to look further afield for some new Beijing adventures. Although Beijing sites are often marked by their sheer size and unending variations on the world's largest scrum, there are other options to get you out and about to discover the city's long and fascinating history.

RELATED: Discover the World With Our Top Travel Blogs of the Year

Tower Heist! Answers on the Roof of an Abandoned Building in Dongzhimen
A slightly different take on your average day trip, ever the intrepid explorer, Morgan Short called upon the skills and knowledge of Beijing's primo urban explorer at Burbex to scale the abandoned bus station-adjacent mall in Dongzhimen. If you're thinking of going, be safe, and let's hope that Morgan never got around to using that toilet paper.

Beijing Bucket List: Lama Temple
Before former beijingkids managing editor Sijia Chen left Beijing, she made it her mission to visit the places she hadn't gotten around to during her five years here. In this post, Chen heads to Yonghegoing, which was originally founded in 1694 to house imperial eunuchs, and eventually served as the court of Prince Yinzhen, the fourth son of the Kangxi emperor as well as the future Yongzheng Emperor. It remains one of Beijing's most popular smaller attractions, and rightly so. You can read the rest of Chen's Bucket List entries here.

All Aboard Beijing's 'Flying Saucer' – If You Dare
In May there came news of a giant glass-and-steel UFO appearing on the ledge of a mountain 80 kilometers outside of the city. Unsurprisingly, the droves swarmed there to experience what it is like to dangle 1,300 feet above the ground on a glorified piece of glass.

Beijing Hot Springs: A Soak a Day Keeps the Doctor Away
As if you needed an excuse to go get naked and soak in coma-inducing waters. If you've never been to a Chinese hot spring then read on to know what to expect.

Cuandixia Village: A Peek at Ming and Qing Dynasty Village Life
Located only 90km outside of Beijing, the 400-year-old village made up of more than 70 preserved courtyards and surrounded by lush scenery, Cuandixia is one of the best options for a quick weekend escape. 

Discovering the Disturbing Sculptures of Dongyue Temple
For a day out a little closer to the center of Beijing, and much less trodden than the city's other temples, Dongyue offers a weird and twisted look at a Yuan Dynasty-era Taoist temple located in the heart of Chaoyangmen. By far the highlight of Dongyue Temple are the "hundreds of plaster statues depicting the 76 departments of the Taoist supernatural world – some macabre, many hilarious, and all fascinating in their variety and inadvertent campiness."

Uncovering Beijing’s Literary and Ideological Past
If you're looking for a more in-depth tour through some of Beijing's most historical and significant areas, then you might want to give Beijing by Heart a call (read this example of a walk through the former residence of writer Lao She, the Red Building of the old Peking University, and Zhongshan Park). You can also try Newman Tours, who pride themselves on submersive and humorous tours throughout the city.

From Beijing Around the World in 3 Hours
Save yourself a boatload of money and take a surreal trip to Beijing's World Park, where you can cross off almost every single one of the world's notable landmarks, ignoring the fact that they're 1/50th of the size and all conveniently housed in a sad, greying park.

Scaled Models and Sights of Qianmen at the Beijing Planning Exhibition Center
Perhaps not your typical idea of a day out, the Beijing Planning Exhibition Center offers a unique look at how Beijing has taken shape over the past 50 years, and although somewhat lacking for a city so vast, the highlight is by far the scale model, which is so detailed as to allow you to pinpoint your house, place of work, or nearest green space.

Take a Hike and Minimize Expenditure at Beijing’s Natural Attractions
In this blog, we rounded up the best of Beijing's options for taking a hike, including the Fragrant Hills, Jingshan, and the sultry "Mystical Peaks," among others.

Beijing’s Best Urban Green Spaces
If none of that tickles your fancy then of course there always one of Beijing's parks to mill around and practice your Chinese with the sword-toting, whip-cracking, and line-dancing oldies.

More stories by this author here.

Email: tomarnstein@thebeijinger.com
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Photos: Margaux Schreurs, Morgan Short, Sijia Chen, Sally Wilson, jstv.com, nileguide.com, china.org.cn