Beijing, while not boasting the most stunning scenery or the most ancient history in China, holds a special political status as the capital and is home to numerous world-renowned attractions. As a result, it has become the first stop for many tourists venturing out of their provinces.
Today, we’ll introduce you to the must-visit attractions in Beijing for first-time visitors.
- Day 1: Classic City Walk Route: Nanluoguxiang – Drum Tower – Yandai Xiejie – Shichahai – Prince Gong’s Mansion – Beihai Park – Temple of Heaven
- Day 2: Tiananmen Square, Forbidden City, National Museum of China
- Day 3: Badaling Great Wall
- Day 4: Summer Palace, Old Summer Palace (Yuanmingyuan)
- Day 5: Universal Studios Beijing
Let’s start by taking a look at the distribution map of Beijing’s attractions to get a general understanding of the main points of interest.
Day 1 (Classic City Walk)
Temple of Heaven
In the morning, take the subway to the Temple of Heaven (it’s recommended to go early).
The Temple of Heaven is where emperors of the Ming and Qing dynasties held ceremonies to “worship heaven” and “pray for good harvests.” With a total area of 273 hectares, it is twice the size of the Forbidden City and slightly smaller than the Summer Palace. It is the largest existing complex of ancient sacrificial buildings in China.
🕐 approximately 2-3 hours
Recommended touring routes:
Take Subway Line 8 to Tianqiao Station and exit from Exit C, which leads to the West Gate of the Temple of Heaven. Touring route: West Gate → Double-Ring Longevity Pavilion → Imperial Vault of Heaven → Circular Mound Altar → Echo Wall → Imperial Vault of Heaven → Hall of Prayer for Good Harvests → Seven-Star Stones → East Gate
Take Subway Line 5 to Tiantan East Gate Station and exit from Exit A2, which leads to the East Gate of the Temple of Heaven. Touring route: East Gate → Seven-Star Stones → Hall of Prayer for Good Harvests → Imperial Vault of Heaven → Echo Wall → Circular Mound Altar → Imperial Vault of Heaven → Double-Ring Longevity Pavilion → West Gate
After visiting the Temple of Heaven, take the subway to Nanluoguxiang and start your walking tour to experience the hutong culture. If you get tired, you can take a rickshaw (with commentary, but prices are high, and you can bargain).
Route:
Nanluoguxiang – Beihai Park – Prince Gong’s Mansion – Shichahai – Yandai Xiejie – Drum Tower
The total length is about 8 kilometers. While walking and taking photos, it is estimated to take about 3-4 hours.
This is a very classic City Walk route: the bustling Nanluoguxiang, the picturesque Shichahai in all seasons, Prince Gong’s Mansion that witnessed half of the Qing Dynasty’s history, and the tranquil Beihai Park…
This route perfectly combines Beijing’s historical culture and beautiful scenery. Highly recommended!
Nanluoguxiang
Come here to experience the charm of old Beijing. You can visit many former residences of famous people, browse exquisite cultural and creative product stores, take a break in a coffee shop when tired, and try local snacks when hungry. However, some people feel that the commercial atmosphere here is too strong, and there are too many tourists, making the experience less enjoyable. Nanluoguxiang is more suitable for tourists who enjoy lively atmospheres and taking photos.
Beihai Park
This is the oldest, best-preserved, and most culturally rich classical royal garden in China.
Prince Gong’s Mansion
The residence of the corrupt official Heshen, the most luxurious mansion of the late Qing Dynasty, and the best-preserved princely mansion. It is said that inside, there are the “three uniques and one treasure” of the Heshen family, waiting for you to explore!
Shichahai
An ancient lake with a deep historical and cultural heritage. Walking along the lake shore feels like traveling through time, back to the glorious era of the royal gardens.
Yandai Xiejie
This is a street full of charm and has become a popular spot for taking photos. Although this commercial street is only a few hundred meters long, the quaint shops are one after another. Here, you can taste various traditional Beijing snacks, such as zhajiang noodles and jianbing guozi, which will make your mouth water.
Drum Tower
This is Beijing’s most famous building and a very culturally significant one. It is not only beautiful in appearance but also contains rich historical and cultural connotations.
After taking photos at the Drum Tower, we can walk to the Gulou Dajie Station and take the subway to the National Stadium (Bird’s Nest) to enjoy the night view.
Bird’s Nest
Transportation: Subway Line 9, Olympic Sports Center, or Olympic Park Station
The night view of the Bird’s Nest, with its dazzling lights and magnificent scenery, showcases the Olympic spirit and the unique charm of a modern city to the world. Whether viewed from afar or up close, it is captivating and immersive.
Day 2 (Dreaming Back to the Forbidden City)
The second day is the highlight of the trip, where we will visit Beijing’s famous landmarks: Tiananmen Square and the Forbidden City.
Flag-Raising Ceremony
For those who want to watch the flag-raising ceremony at Tiananmen Square, please note that the flag-raising time varies daily according to the sunrise and sunset times, and you need to make a reservation in advance!
Reservation platforms: Tiananmen Square Reservation Service Column, Tiananmen Square Reservation and Visit Mini Program, Beijing Appointment Mini Program, Beijing Tong APP, Beijing Daily APP, and Beijing Time APP.
Reservations are divided into four time slots: flag-raising, morning, afternoon, and flag-lowering.
If you don’t want to wake up early to watch the flag-raising ceremony and just want to take photos at Tiananmen Square, you still need to make a reservation in advance!
Chairman Mao Memorial Hall
Every year, there is an endless stream of people from all over the country and even the world who come here to pay their respects at Chairman Mao’s former residence, statue, memorial hall, and traces of his life. Outside the memorial hall, there are stalls selling flowers for 3 yuan each.
The Chairman Mao Memorial Hall implements real-name reservation for visits. Please log in to the Chairman Mao Memorial Hall WeChat Official Account, Chairman Mao Memorial Hall Reservation WeChat Mini Program, or People’s Daily Online Chairman Mao Memorial Hall Special Webpage 1-6 days in advance to make a reservation.
Opening hours: Tuesday to Sunday, 8:00-12:00 (opening hours during national statutory holidays and relevant memorial days will be announced separately).
Palace Museum (Forbidden City)
The Palace Museum, also known as the Forbidden City, is located in the center of Beijing. It was the imperial palace of the Ming and Qing dynasties and is the largest and most complete ancient palace complex in China, with a history of over 500 years. The Palace Museum covers an area of 720,000 square meters and houses a large number of precious cultural relics and historical and cultural sites, making it one of the representatives of China’s cultural heritage.
Reservation method: Search for the “Palace Museum Visitor Service” mini program in WeChat, register and log in with your real name, select the visit date, time slot, and number of tickets, and complete the payment.
Opening hours: Closed on Mondays. From Tuesday to Sunday, the museum opens at 8:30 am, stops ticket checking at 3:40 pm, and closes at 4:30 pm.
Recommended touring route:
Meridian Gate entrance ➡ Wuhua Hall ➡ Cining Palace ➡ West Six Palaces ➡ Imperial Garden ➡ East Six Palaces ➡ Clock and Watch Gallery ➡ Treasure Gallery ➡ Wenhua Hall ➡ Jinshui Bridge ➡ Hall of Supreme Harmony (Golden Carriage Palace) ➡ Palace of Heavenly Purity ➡ Palace of Earthly Tranquility ➡ Shenwu Gate exit
There are places to eat inside the Forbidden City, so you don’t need to worry about lunch. The popular restaurants, such as the Ice Cellar Restaurant, afternoon tea, and Corner Tower Coffee, are all marked on the map. They are very crowded and require reservations in advance. The taste is okay, and the prices are slightly high, but they are mainly for taking beautiful photos.
National Museum of China
The National Museum of China is one of the largest museums in China, with a rich collection of artifacts, including important cultural relics from ancient to modern times, such as ceramics, calligraphy and paintings, bronzes, and jades, showcasing China’s long history and culture. Here, you can see many cultural relics that have appeared in junior high school history textbooks.
Reservations are required in advance: Visitors can make reservations up to 7 days in advance on the official website (mobile version), WeChat Official Account, Mini Program, and official APP of the National Museum of China. The daily reservation time slots are 9:00-11:00, 11:00-13:30, and 13:30-16:00 (reservation tickets are released at 17:00 daily, and the deadline for ticket cancellation is 15:00 on the day of visit).
Ticket booking tips: Tickets are released at 17:00, so you need to keep refreshing the page around 16:40.
Day 3 (Witnessing World Wonders)
Badaling Great Wall
The Badaling Great Wall is located in Yanqing District, Beijing, 62 kilometers away from the city center. It takes about 1.5 hours to drive there.
Transportation:
There are various transportation options to reach the Badaling Great Wall, including public buses, trains, taxis, and the Bassda Scenic Area Special Line. Public buses are the cheapest but crowded and time-consuming, so they are not recommended. For friends with sufficient budget, taking a taxi is suggested, which costs around 200 yuan. You can also find people to carpool, which is more cost-effective when there are many people.
The most convenient method is to take the direct bus [Bassda Special Line], with a round-trip ticket price of only 75 yuan. You can search for “Bassda” on Taobao to purchase bus tickets for a specific date.
The Badaling Great Wall is nearly 16 kilometers long and is an important part of the Great Wall of China, a great ancient Chinese defense project. It is a strategic pass of the Ming Dynasty Great Wall. This section is the most well-preserved part of the Ming Dynasty Great Wall and is also a World Cultural Heritage site.
The “Good Man Slope” is located on the north slope section of the Badaling Great Wall. Looking towards the north slope section from the starting point of the Badaling section, the fourth beacon tower is the highest point of this section of the Great Wall, which is known as the “Good Man Slope.” There is a stone tablet with the inscription “Not reaching the Great Wall means not being a good man.”
The visitable section of the Badaling Great Wall is 3,741 meters long. It takes about 2-3 hours to climb the entire Badaling Great Wall. If you are traveling with the elderly and children, it may take 3-4 hours. If you don’t want to get too tired, you can also take the cable car. The visiting time by cable car is about 2.5 hours: the cable car directly reaches the North Seventh Floor, it takes 40 minutes to reach the top of the Good Man Slope, 1 hour for sightseeing, and 30 minutes to descend.
Day 4 (Exploring the Royal Gardens)
Summer Palace
Transportation: Take the subway to Line 4 Beigongmen Station (about 1 hour) or take a taxi for around 50 yuan (30-minute drive)
The Summer Palace is the largest and most well-preserved royal palace in China and is also one of the World Cultural Heritage sites. The West Lake in the Summer Palace is the largest artificial lake in China and is also the most beautiful man-made lake in the world. It is known as one of the three famous scenic spots in China, along with the Canglang Pavilion in Suzhou and the Yueyang Tower in Hangzhou.
🕐 approximately 2-3 hours
Touring route:
North Palace Gate—Suzhou Street—Paiyun Hall—Foxiang Pavilion—Viewing Corridor—Leshou Hall—Dehe Garden—Renshou Hall—East Palace Gate
Old Summer Palace (Yuanmingyuan)
Transportation: Take the subway to Line 4 Yuanmingyuan Station
The Old Summer Palace was a large-scale royal garden in the Qing Dynasty of China, consisting of Yuanmingyuan, Qichun Garden, and Changchun Garden, with Yuanmingyuan being the largest, thus collectively known as Yuanmingyuan (also called Yuanming Three Gardens).
Yuanmingyuan is world-renowned for its magnificent architecture, exquisite gardening, precious cultural relics, and profound cultural connotations, and is praised as the “Garden of Gardens.”
🕐 approximately 3 hours
Touring route:
Line 4 Yuanmingyuan Station—Zhengjue Temple (Horse Head Exhibition)—Enter Yuanmingyuan through the back door of the temple—Take a boat at Tianxin Shuimian Pier—Arrive at the west of the ruins—Pier—Western-style building ruins (Huanghua Formation, Dashuifa, Museum, etc.)—Lion Grove—Black Swan Lake—Panoramic simulation of Yuanmingyuan sand table—Exit from the East Gate
Day 5 (Embarking on a Childlike Journey)
Universal Studios
For friends with ample time and budget, it is recommended to take a childlike journey to Universal Studios. The ticket price for Universal Studios is around 400 yuan, and the price may be adjusted according to the off-season and peak season.
Transportation: Take the subway to Line 1 Batong Line Universal Resort Station
Universal Beijing Resort is a comprehensive theme park integrating entertainment, performances, dining, and shopping. The park is divided into seven themed areas: Kung Fu Panda Land of Awesomeness, Transformers Metrobase, Minion Land, The Wizarding World of Harry Potter, Jurassic World Isla Nublar, Hollywood, and WaterWorld.
Universal Studios has numerous unique rides and rich performance programs, making it impossible to fully experience in just one day!
