Beijing Tours

Beijing is where most first trips to China start, and it rewards four days rather than two. The imperial core is compact — the Forbidden City, Tiananmen, Jingshan and the Temple of Heaven sit within a few metro stops of each other — but the Great Wall is 70 km out of town and the city itself covers 16,000 square kilometres. Grouping sights by district is the difference between a calm four days and a blur of taxis.

What four days actually cover

Day one is the imperial axis: Tiananmen, the Forbidden City from south to north, Jingshan Park for the view back over the golden roofs, and the Drum and Bell towers at dusk. Day two is the Wall at Mutianyu, which takes a full day once the drive is counted. Day three is the Temple of Heaven early, when the park is full of residents doing tai chi and ballroom dancing, then the Summer Palace in the afternoon. Day four is hutongs and the 798 art district, or the Ming Tombs on the way to the airport.

The Forbidden City without the crush

Twenty-four emperors of the Ming and Qing ruled from here between 1420 and 1911, inside 72 hectares of walls and around 980 surviving buildings. Entry is timed and sold online seven days ahead; in July, August and the October holiday the allocation is gone within minutes. Arrive for the 08:30 opening, walk the central axis to the north gate, then double back through the eastern palaces where the groups thin out. It closes on Mondays except during public holidays, and your passport is the ticket.

Which section of the Wall

For a first visit, Mutianyu. It has the walk, the views and the two hours on the wall that people remember, without the coach traffic of Badaling. Jinshanling is the better answer for anyone who has been before.

When to go

Getting in and around

Beijing has two airports: Capital (PEK) to the northeast and Daxing (PKX) far to the south, an hour apart by road. Check which one your ticket uses before booking a hotel. High-speed trains arrive at Beijing South from Shanghai in 4.5 hours and from Xian in 4.5 hours. The metro runs 27 lines, costs 3 to 10 yuan a ride and accepts Alipay or WeChat Pay with a foreign card linked. For anything the metro does not reach, DiDi is cheaper than a taxi rank and works in English.

Where to stay

Stay inside the Second Ring Road. Wangfujing and Dongcheng put the Forbidden City within walking distance; Gulou and the hutongs around Nanluoguxiang are quieter and better in the evening; Sanlitun suits travellers who want restaurants more than temples. Anything beyond the Third Ring turns every sight into a commute.

What trips people up

• Forbidden City tickets are tied to your passport and cannot be bought at the gate.
• Tiananmen Square needs a free reservation made a day ahead. Without it you cannot approach the Forbidden City from the south.
• Beijing distances are deceptive. A hotel that looks close on the map can be 40 minutes away in traffic.
• Chinese star ratings are not the same as European ones. Read the recent reviews, not the plaque in the lobby.
• The Great Wall toboggan closes in rain and snow, with no refund on the combination ticket.

We run private Beijing journeys of three to eight days, usually paired with Xian by high-speed train. Tell us your dates and how much walking you want, and we will send a route with costs.