Things to do in Beijing
And where to stay, the best time to visit, what a day costs, and the traps to skip.
Best time to visit Beijing
• a note or something on ✦ an occasion worth the trip
Still cold and windy with the seasons worst dust and sand episodes, but a cheap decent window if dust free.
Blossom and pleasant green weather, with Wall hiking at its spring best. Labour Day Golden Week floods every sight.
Hot, humid and wet, with school holiday crowds. Do sights at opening, museums at midday and hutongs at night.
The best season, clear autumn skies and red leaves mid October to early November. National Day Golden Week is the exception.
Freezing, clear and quiet with the fewest crowds, built for hotpot. Chinese New Year brings temple fairs and many closures.
What's on
- Chinese New Year temple fairs January/February, lunar
Historic temple fairs at Ditan and Changdian in an emptied out city, with many small restaurants closed.
- Beijing International Film Festival April
The citys spring film festival, listed among festivals worth timing a trip around.
- Labour Day Golden Week around May 1 to 5
Domestic tourism floods every sight, Forbidden City slots vanish and hotel prices spike.
- Mid-Autumn Festival September or early October, lunar
Mooncakes, lanterns and a public holiday in the best weather window of the year.
- National Day Golden Week October 1 to 7
The single worst week for a visitor, every sight at capacity and prices at their peak.
- Beijing Marathon autumn, usually October/November
Book hotels around it in autumn.
Worth the trip for
Best things to do in Beijing
Forbidden City
The Ming and Qing palace complex on the central axis, paired in the prose with the view from Jingshan Park opposite.
Temple of Heaven Park
The Hall of Prayer for Good Harvests plus early morning tai chi, kites and calligraphy from local retirees.
Summer Palace
The Qing summer retreat with Kunming Lake, the painted Long Corridor and a boat ride back across the water.
Shichahai
Grey brick hutong lanes around the Drum Tower and the Shichahai lakes, best wandered off the main commercial strip.
Lama Temple
Beijings most important Tibetan Buddhist temple, ending in a Buddha carved from a single sandalwood trunk.
798 Art District
A Bauhaus factory complex turned contemporary art district, anchored by UCCA and dozens of galleries.
National Museum of China
A vast free museum whose Ancient China exhibition is the best orientation to everything else in Beijing.
Chaoyang Theatre
A tight hour of plate spinning, contortion and hoop diving with no language barrier for visitors.
Where to stay in Beijing
Wangfujing / Dongcheng Central
first trip, all-round base
Walkable to the Forbidden City east side and the National Museum, on several metro lines with dense dining.
Gulou / Houhai-Shichahai hutongs
character and repeat visitors
Grey brick lanes, lakes and courtyard hotels, trading a big lobby for the Beijing you pictured.
Qianmen / Dashilar
imperial-axis history with local texture
Zhengyangmen gate and old commercial lanes, with a straight walk north through Tiananmen to the Forbidden City.
Sanlitun / Chaoyang
nightlife and international dining
Taikoo Li, the bar and club cluster and many top modern restaurants, but 30 to 45 minutes from the Forbidden City.
CBD / Guomao
business and skyline luxury
Superb hotels and views around the CCTV Tower, with the least neighbourhood character of any base listed.
Summer Palace / Haidian
a splurge night, not a base
Worth one night for the Aman experience and a dawn start at the Summer Palace, an hour from Dongcheng as a base.
Think twice about
- Airport corridors and Shunyi / Daxing
Functional for a layover only, 60 to 90 plus minutes from every sight with nothing to walk to at night.
- Beyond the 4th Ring without a metro station
Cheap rooms far from a station cost two hours a day in travel across a vast city.
- Tiananmen / Wangfujing / Qianmen tourist frontage
Noisy and coach tour busy until late, and where tea house and art scam touts work. One street back solves both.
- Beijing West and Beijing South station districts
Pure transit zones, vast and charmless, and no closer to the sights than they look on a map.
Best restaurants in Beijing
Siji Minfu Roast Duck Restaurant
The duck Beijingers queue for, fruitwood roasted and carved tableside, with a view of the Forbidden City corner tower.
Da Dong Roast Duck Restaurant
The lean modern splurge duck with shattering skin, plated like fine dining in a sleek room with an open roast kitchen.
Jing Yaa Tang
Starred Peking duck plus strong Sichuan and regional dishes, the calm bookable splurge when a table wants variety.
TRB Hutong
Contemporary French tasting menus in a Ming dynasty temple courtyard, the special occasion dinner in Beijing.
King's Joy
Three star Chinese vegetarian tasting menus built from vegetables, mushrooms and tofu in a hushed Zen courtyard.
Donglaishun Restaurant
Beijing mutton hotpot since 1903, hand sliced lamb in a charcoal copper pot dragged through sesame sauce.
Jubaoyuan Hotpot
A no frills Niujie hotpot house famous for fresh hand cut lamb and sesame buns people buy by the bag.
69 Fangzhuanchang Zhajiangmian
A tiny hutong shop serving Beijings most famous bowl of zhajiangmian, cheap fast and extraordinary.
Outdoor things to do in Beijing
Mutianyu Great Wall
The first timer Wall section, restored and watchtowered, with a cable car up and a toboggan down.
Jinshanling Great Wall
A half restored ridge walk with dense watchtowers, thin crowds and the best light for photographers.
Simatai Great Wall
The steep rugged section that opens floodlit at night above Gubei Water Town, best with an overnight stay.
Fragrant Hills Park
Beijingers own hill hike to Incense Burner Peak, famous for red leaves from mid October to early November.
Houhai
Flat hutong and lake cycling on shared bikes around Houhai, Qianhai and the Forbidden City moat at dawn.
Huanghuacheng Lakeside Great Wall
Wall sections dipping to a reservoir with boat rides, the relaxed summery Wall day and the best pick with kids.
Reignwood Pine Valley Golf Club
A private Nicklaus designed 54 hole club south of the Wall, reachable via a member, concierge or golf agent.
Beijing International Golf Club
The more bookable 18 hole fallback near the Ming Tombs reservoir, sold through Beijing golf booking agents.
Best hotels in Beijing
Mandarin Oriental Wangfujing, Beijing
The central splurge with Forbidden City views from a low rise perch above Wangfujing and a serious spa.
The Peninsula Beijing
The old guard all suite option near Wangfujing, with huge suites and polished service.
Park Plaza Beijing Wangfujing
The mid range workhorse in one of the best sightseeing locations in the city, fairly priced and comfortable.
Peking Station Hostel
A courtyard hostel in a quiet south Dongcheng lane with dorms, private rooms and helpful English speaking staff.
The Orchid Hotel
A small design led courtyard hotel near the Drum Tower with a wine bar and rooftop views over the lanes.
Cours et Pavillons
A tiny luxury courtyard hotel format in converted siheyuan around Houhai, with butler style service.
Beijing Downtown Travelotel
Plain well kept rooms right on Nanluogu Alley, with the hutongs on the doorstep and metro a short walk away.
Mandarin Oriental Qianmen, Beijing
The ultra splurge of sleeping in a private restored courtyard house in the Qianmen hutongs with hotel service.
Is Beijing expensive? What a day costs
| Budget | CN¥450 a person |
|---|---|
| Classic | CN¥1,100 a person |
| Splurge | CN¥2,500 a person |
A day of food, drink, sights and getting around, before the room
What to book ahead
- Forbidden City: a few days ahead
- National Museum of China: a few days ahead
- Chaoyang Theatre: a few days ahead
- Lost Plate Food Tours: a few days ahead
- Bespoke Travel Company: weeks ahead
- Universal Beijing Resort: a few days ahead
- Mutianyu Great Wall: a few days ahead
- Reignwood Pine Valley Golf Club: weeks ahead
- Forbidden City tickets release 7 days ahead at 20:00 Beijing time, real name with passport, and sell out in minutes in peak season.
- Tiananmen Square and the National Museum each need their own separate real name reservation.
- Pre order the duck when booking Da Dong, Jing Yaa Tang, TRB Hutong or Kings Joy, as roasting takes over 40 minutes.
Is Beijing safe?
- Beijing is very safe for violent crime, the realistic risks are financial scams, traffic and air quality.
- Check the AQI daily and postpone the Wall on high pollution days, wearing a proper mask outdoors.
- Carry your original passport for museum entry, trains and hotel check in. Emergency numbers are 110, 119 and 120.
- Check your government's current travel advice before you go.
Beijing travel tips: tourist traps to skip
- Never follow a stranger to a tea ceremony, calligraphy show or student art exhibition they choose.
- Avoid ultra cheap Great Wall bus tours that spend the day at jade, silk and tea commission stops.
- Wangfujing Snack Street and the Nanluoguxiang main strip are tourist priced, eat in the side lanes instead.
Getting around Beijing: public transport and more
- Set up Alipay and WeChat Pay and a data eSIM before you land, as China is functionally cashless.
- The metro reaches almost everything for a few yuan and is signed in English, use Alipays transport QR.
- DiDi beats street taxis with upfront pricing and text addresses, but walking or shared bikes win in the centre at peak.
Who Beijing suits
| Solo travellers | Good |
|---|---|
| Groups of friends | Great |
| Couples | Great |
| Bachelor parties | Good |
| Families | Good |
| Bachelorette parties | Good |
Make Beijing your trip
Swearby drafts the days from places people swear by. Swap any stop, then invite the crew by text, even friends without the app. Vote on dates, track costs as you go, and everyone gets one number at the end.
Get Swearby on the App Store