Fancy a Getaway? Beijing is Offering Suburban Vacation Discounts

Fancy a summer getaway and escaping the city without actually leaving Beijing? From Jul 10, the city’s government is seeking to boost travel to the suburbs with vouchers for summer getaways and beyond – to the tune of discounts of up to 50 percent off at select venues, according to a report from Beijing Tourism.

The city’s Culture and Tourism Bureau is encouraging suburban travel this summer, offering vouchers for stays at hotels and B&Bs in districts like Mengoutou, Fangshan, Tongzhou, Shunyi, Changping, Daxing, Huairou, Pinggu, Miyun and Yanqing.

These special vouchers will be available throughout the summer and a little bit into the fall, with the report from Beijing Tourism explaining the vouchers will be made available in batches from now until Jul 31; Aug 1 to Aug 30; and Sep 1 to Sep 31.

To book, all one has to do is head over to the 去哪儿 Qunar app and on the top page you’ll find a banner that reads 惠玩京郊嗨一下 huì wán jīng jiāo hāi yīxià. Click on the banner and you’ll be taken to the official Beijing Suburbs Accommodation special page.

From here, scroll down to find available accommodations listed by district. You can also type 京郊住宿券 Jīngjiāo Zhùsù Quàn (Beijing Suburbs Accommodation Voucher) into the search bar and find the getaway of your choice that way by searching for accommodation listings with the Jingjiao Zhushu Quan tag.

It should be noted that on some booking pages it’ll say 入住须持本人中国大陆有效身份证 rùzhù xū chí běnrén zhōngguó dàlù yǒuxiào shēnfèn zhèng next to their 入住人 rùzhù rén (occupant) function – which means, in other words, only folks with Chinese ID can stay.

Places that don’t have this phrase under the ruzhu ren section accept foreign passport holders, but it might take a bit of searching.*

Once you’ve found the perfect spot, just input your name and phone number, pay for the stay, and you're all set to go on your summer suburban adventure.

Keep in mind that the vouchers are available from Sunday to Thursday every week from now until Jul 31, Aug 1 to Aug 30, and Sep 1 to Sep 31.

*It’s always good to call in advance to double check if places accept foreign passport holders.

READ: Suburb Searching: A Day Trip to Yaji Mountain

Images: Jean Beller (via Unsplash), the Beijingers