Get Out Of Town

Beijing's suburbs offer exceptional excursions to discover destinations less central than the icons - yet they are capital sites in every sense. Erik Nilsson explores a three-day itinerary through the metropolis' hinterlands.

The Great Wall is great. It lives up to its namesake. The Forbidden City is foreboding - in a good way. And the Summer Palace draws crowds in all seasons - for many reasons.

Beijing is a metropolis, where most iconic sites gravitate toward its nucleus.