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Beijing
From ancient walled capital to showpiece megacity in barely a century, Beijing (Běijīng, 北京), spins a breathless yarn of triumph, tragedy, endurance and innovation.
Attractions
Must-see attractions
Forbidden City & Dongcheng Central
Enclosed by 3.5km of citadel walls at the very heart of Beijing, the Unesco-listed Forbidden City is China’s largest and best-preserved collection of…
Temple of Heaven Park & Dongcheng South
An oasis of methodical Confucian design, the 267-hectare Temple of Heaven Park is unique. It originally served as a vast stage for solemn rites performed…
Beijing
A marvel of Chinese garden design and one of Beijing's must-see attractions, the Summer Palace was the royal retreat for emperors fleeing the suffocating…
Forbidden City & Dongcheng Central
Flanked by triumphalist Soviet-style buildings, Tian'anmen Sq is an immense void of paved stone (440,000 sq metres, to be precise) at the symbolic centre…
Beijing
Beihai Park, inside the old Imperial City, looks much as it would have done in the 18th century when it served as Emperor Qianlong's private gardens. The…
Temple of Heaven Park & Dongcheng South
This immense fortress, part of the Ming City Wall Ruins Park, guarded the southeast corner of Beijing's city walls. Originally built in 1439 but repaired…
Forbidden City & Dongcheng Central
Instantly recognisable by its giant framed portrait of Mao, and guarded by two pairs of Ming dynasty stone lions, the double-eaved Gate of Heavenly Peace …
Beijing
Contemporary art meets communist history at this thrilling enclave of international galleries installed within China's model factory complex of the 1950s…
Attractions
Top picks from our travel experts
Forbidden City & Dongcheng Central
A relative newcomer to the Peking duck scene, this local chain boasts some of the best birds in town, and this branch in particular is a beauty, with a…
Beijing
Originally built in 1271 under the reign of Kublai Khan, the serene Miaoying Temple slumbers beneath its astonishing high dagoba, the tallest in China. A…
Palace of Prolonging Happiness
Forbidden City & Dongcheng Central
The most unique of the Forbidden City's six eastern palaces, the Palace of Prolonging Happiness features an unfinished 20th-century Western-style building…
Forbidden City & Dongcheng Central
Enclosed by 3.5km of citadel walls at the very heart of Beijing, the Unesco-listed Forbidden City is China’s largest and best-preserved collection of…
Forbidden City & Dongcheng Central
Flanked by triumphalist Soviet-style buildings, Tian'anmen Sq is an immense void of paved stone (440,000 sq metres, to be precise) at the symbolic centre…
Beijing
The restrained, grey-stone edifice of the Bell Tower (Zhonglou) is arguably even more charming than its resplendent other half, the Drum Tower (Gulou),…
Beijing
A marvel of Chinese garden design and one of Beijing's must-see attractions, the Summer Palace was the royal retreat for emperors fleeing the suffocating…
Temple of Heaven Park & Dongcheng South
An oasis of methodical Confucian design, the 267-hectare Temple of Heaven Park is unique. It originally served as a vast stage for solemn rites performed…
Beijing
Beihai Park, inside the old Imperial City, looks much as it would have done in the 18th century when it served as Emperor Qianlong's private gardens. The…
Beijing
Serving imperial banquet fare such as Peking duck, braised sea cucumber and sweetmeats incuding sugared crabapples, this intriguing restaurant was once a…
Beijing
A curio hunter's heaven or an Everest of fakery? Panjiayuan is both, and marvellous fun to boot. Picking over the wares of some 4000 dealers, you won't…
Beijing
Venerable bastions of time-keeping, the Drum Tower and its counterpart the Bell Tower were for centuries the tallest buildings in Beijing, lording it over…
Forbidden City & Dongcheng Central
Raised on a three-tier marble terrace with balustrades are the Three Great Halls, the glorious ceremonial heart not just of the Forbidden City but of the…
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…
Beijing
Known locally as Da Kucha (大裤衩, Big Pants), the 234m-tall CCTV Tower is an architectural fantasy that appears to defy gravity. Designed by Rem Koolhaas…
Temple of Heaven Park & Dongcheng South
This wistful stretch of brick and stone is all that remains (besides a couple of other denuded nubs) of Beijing's once formidable city walls, girding the…
Forbidden City & Dongcheng Central
Instantly recognisable by its giant framed portrait of Mao, and guarded by two pairs of Ming dynasty stone lions, the double-eaved Gate of Heavenly Peace …
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…
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
One of Beijing's more surreal spectacles is the sight of Mao Zedong's embalmed corpse on public display within his mausoleum. The Soviet-inspired memorial…
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…
Forbidden City & Dongcheng Central
Monolithic and intimidating, the Stalinist Great Hall of the People (1959) houses the highest organ of state power, the National People’s Congress (NPC)…
Forbidden City & Dongcheng Central
This is the forward-defensive structure of Zhengyang Gate, which sits behind it. The imposing building is a jiànlóu (arrow tower), which would have been…
Forbidden City & Dongcheng Central
Vast and energy-sapping, China's showpiece museum is housed in an immense 1950s Soviet-style building on the eastern side of Tian'anmen Sq, and claims to…
Forbidden City & Dongcheng Central
Opened in 1963 with the personal endorsement of Mao Zedong, this gallery complex was conceived as the PRC's national nerve centre for artistic expression…
Forbidden City & Dongcheng Central
Flanked by triumphalist Soviet-style buildings, Tian'anmen Sq is an immense void of paved stone (440,000 sq metres, to be precise) at the symbolic centre…
Beijing
This cathedral-like Bauhaus space, ceilings emblazoned with red Maoist slogans, makes for the quintessential 798 photograph whether or not an exhibition…
Beijing
Known colloquially as the Bird’s Nest (鸟巢, Niǎocháo), the spectacular showpiece of the 2008 Olympics Games was designed by Swiss firm Herzog & de Meuron…
Overseas Chinese History Museum
Beijing
Charting the history of Chinese emigration from the era of the Silk Road to the present day, this is a terrific museum with full English captions…
Beijing
This modern, two-storey museum presents in great detail the life of Lu Xun (1881–1936), considered the greatest Chinese writer of the 20th century…
Beijing
Next to the Bird's Nest, the bubble-covered National Aquatics Center (aka Water Cube) was another of Beijing's 2008 Olympic icons, hosting the swimming…
Forbidden City & Dongcheng Central
Qianmen, aka 'Front Gate', consists of a pair of gate-like structures: the northernmost is the 40m-high Zhengyang Gate, which dates from the Ming dynasty…
Beijing
A curio hunter's heaven or an Everest of fakery? Panjiayuan is both, and marvellous fun to boot. Picking over the wares of some 4000 dealers, you won't…
Planning Tools
Expert guidance to help you plan your trip
Transportation
Getting around Beijing can be daunting. We demystify how to get around the Chinese capital.
Read articleFree Things to Do
It’s not hard to take in the scope of Beijing without spending a single yuan, thanks to our list of the city’s 10 best free experiences.
Read articleArticles
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