Our first day was just used to orient ourselves and buy train tickets but we managed to visit some local markets and mall. We did a LOT of walking on this day-perhaps more than any other day in this trip, not to mention the (really)hot weather. It was not lost on the kids, but they persevered and made it through the day.
Chaowai Farmer's Market (朝外地区便民早市)
A great way to emerge yourself in a new culture is to walk into their farmer's market and mingle with the locals. Here, the farmer's market opens everyday and is where locals do their shopping of fresh produces. Beijing itself does not produce a lot of vegetables or fruits. So, a lot of these produces actually come from different parts of the country, like Xinjiang.
We bought some fresh tomatoes and vegetables from the market and enjoyed them during our dinner time.
Advanced payment method in the Farmer's Market
You can see QR code for WeChat Pay and Alipay everywhere inside the Farmer's Market. If you have a smartphone, you can simply scan these QR codes to pay the merchant and avoid handling cash. Fortunately, these merchants will also take cash if you don't use these apps. Sorry, credit card is not accepted here.
The Village
The Village, located in Sanlitun is a courtyard shopping complex similar to the ones you would find in North America. As a tourist from Canada, I wouldn't go out of my way to get here. However, if you pass by (like us), it's nice to take a stroll. You can trust the Apple Store here to buy genuine Apple products. In addition, the gigantic mist maker in front was pretty cool.
Burger King
One thing we noticed in China was that Burger King was more popular than McDonald's. Besides burger, Burger King also offered many local food, like Chicken Rice. It even sold beer to go along with your food (and beer is cheap in China). In the picture above, you can also see how you can pay your order by WeChat Pay or Alipay.