Beijing
Feed your inner florist with a jaunt to the Botanical Gardens, established in 1956 on land that was once part of a swath of royal real estate set against…
Must-see attractions in Beijing
Beijing
This largely renovated residence was the home of Mao Dun, the pen name of Shen Yanbing (1896–1981), a well-known author. He lived at the back courtyard…
Mei Lanfang's Former Residence
Beijing
A place of pilgrimage for Peking opera aficionados, this sleepy sìhéyuàn (courtyard mansion) belonged to Mei Lanfang (1894–1961), acclaimed as the 'queen…
Beijing
It's a case of 'so near and yet so far' for Beijing's flagship museum, which, on architecture alone, promises so much. A neat timeline exhibit charts the…
Forbidden City & Dongcheng Central
This renovated courtyard was the home of Lao She (1899–1966), one of Beijing’s best-loved 20th-century writers. Author of Rickshaw Boy and Tea House, and…
Beijing Planning Exhibition Hall
Temple of Heaven Park & Dongcheng South
Presenting a top-down perspective on the world's most micromanaged megacity, dry exhibits detail the government's grand schemes for Beijing, with scant…
Beijing
Cradled by Beijing's Western Hills, this expansive Buddhist temple and former monastery climbs the hillside under a canopy of towering cypresses and pines…
Forbidden City & Dongcheng Central
In two roadside excavations north and south of the crossroads here are the remains of the once magnificent Dong'an Men – the east gate of the Imperial…
Forbidden City & Dongcheng Central
Sandwiched between the Gate of Heavenly Peace and Meridian Gate, Duan Gate (Gate of Uprightness) was stripped of its treasures by foreign forces quelling…
Beijing
China's most prestigious institute of learning, Peking University (PKU) is the ultimate dream for millions of Chinese high-school students and their ever…
Beijing
An astonishing sight, given that you're still within the confines of Beijing’s 5th Ring Rd, this double-gated, Ming dynasty walled town was built during…
Beijing
This forgotten architectural landmark is all the more intriguing considering it was only built in 1982. The work of Chinese-American architect IM Pei (of…
Beijing
Beijing is surrounded by four heavenly altars, or tán, and Ditan (Altar of the Earth), situated in the north within grounds that are today a public park,…
Forbidden City & Dongcheng Central
Monolithic shopping malls face each other across this prestigious avenue thronged with mostly out-of-town tourists. The late-20th-century Chinese…
Yuan Dynasty Walls Relics Park
Beijing
Back when Beijing was 'Dadu', capital of Kublai Khan's Yuan dynasty, the city was sheltered by an earthwork wall, the northern battlements of which are…
Beijing
Described by the great traveller himself in the 13th century, this 266m-long bridge spanning the (mostly dry) Yonding River dates to 1189 and the Jin…
Beijing
Beijing's most touristy hutong, Nanluogu Xiang is a north–south strip of snack stalls, small food courts, souvenir shops and more people than you can…
Temple of Heaven Park & Dongcheng South
Music, song and dance were integral components of the arcane rituals performed by the Emperor at the Temple of Heaven, and here is where the ranks of…
Temple of Heaven Park & Dongcheng South
Fans of Communist ephemera or esoteric booze brands might get a kick out this place set up by Red Star, a popular brand of Beijing báijiǔ, China's famous…
Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception
Beijing
Central Beijing's earliest church dates back to a chapel beside the house of Jesuit missionary Matteo Ricci, who brought Catholicism to China in the early…
Forbidden City & Dongcheng Central
After the CCTV Tower and the Bird's Nest Stadium, Beijing's Galaxy Soho trumpeted itself as the capital's next modern architectural landmark when it…
Duan Qirui Former Government Building
Beijing
This imposing slab of Republic-era architecture, complete with brick clock tower, is the former headquarters and residence of Duan Qirui, a warlord who…
Forbidden City & Dongcheng Central
Shijia Hutong has seen plenty of action over the decades, as this spiffy museum in a rebuilt sìhéyuàn (courtyard residence) explains. English is ample…
China Railway Museum – Zhengyang Gate
Temple of Heaven Park & Dongcheng South
In the old Qianmen Railway Station, which served Beijing from 1906 to 1959 (although only the clock tower is original), this museum offers a fairly…
Forbidden City & Dongcheng Central
There's a reason this park is 2.4km long yet only 30m wide; it traces part of the old Imperial City walls dismantled in the 1950s. The walls enclosed the…
Beijing Natural History Museum
Temple of Heaven Park & Dongcheng South
New York and London needn't fret: Beijing's Natural History Museum isn't going to rival their august institutions any time soon. Not with exhibits that…
Monument to the People’s Heroes
Forbidden City & Dongcheng Central
In the centre of Tian'anmen Sq rises the 40m-high Monument to the People’s Heroes, an obelisk of Qingdao granite completed in 1958 (though it was…
Beijing
Containing the funerary stupas of Buddhist monks serving at the neighbouring Tanzhe Temple, this garden complex was closed and undergoing renovation at…
Forbidden City & Dongcheng Central
Squeezed between shopping malls on Wangfujing Dajie is the delightfully incongruous St Joseph's, dating, in its current incarnation, from 1901. In fact,…
Beijing
As the HQ of the Buddhist Association of China, this is one of the few temples in Beijing where robed monks and worshippers tend to outnumber tourists. A…
Forbidden City & Dongcheng Central
In the northern boundary of the Treasure Garden is the site where Zhen (the Pearl Concubine), favourite consort of Emperor Guangxu, was said to have been…
Military Museum of the People's Revolution
Beijing
Bristling with Cold War–era planes, guns and bombs, this cavernous museum shows China at its most hawkish. Expanded in 2018, many of the side exhibits…
Beijing
Established in the Tang dynasty but rebuilt many times in successive eras, this temple within the Beijing Botanical Gardens is home to a 54-tonne bronze…
Beijing
Just outside Beihai Park's southern entrance is this raised, circular platform crowned with the Hall of Divine Light (Chéngguāng Diàn). You can peek…
Museum of the War of Chinese People's Resistance Against Japanese Aggression
Beijing
This modern museum, on the north side of the main road in Wanping Town, is dedicated to the July 7th Incident (also known as the Marco Polo Bridge…
Forbidden City & Dongcheng Central
This hall was the principal residence of the emperor in the Ming and early Qing dynasties, where the son of heaven slept and worked. Later in the Qing…
Forbidden City & Dongcheng Central
The imposing red gateway here, bearing a passing resemblance to the Arc de Triomphe, belonged to the French Legation. The two Chinese lions flanking the…
Forbidden City & Dongcheng Central
The middle of the three outer halls, the Hall of Union was the place for the empress to receive greetings from her high-ranking subjects during major…
Beijing
Housed in several buildings at Dìng Líng, some of which were closed for renovation at time of research, this museum displays a selection of items…
Forbidden City & Dongcheng Central
Within the former Legation Quarter is this wonderfully gothic church, established in 1901 to serve the neighbouring Former French Legation and meet the…
