©Matt Munro/Lonely Planet
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.
Start planning your trip
Top Sights
Unmissable sights for your itinerary
Planning Toolkit
Expert guidance to help you plan your trip
Articles
Latest stories from Beijing
Public Transport
The 5 best day trips from Beijing
Oct 20, 2022 • 5 Min read
Beijing offers a dizzying amount of things to see and do, but its appeal extends well beyond the confines of the city. Here are our top five getaways.
Activities
The 10 best free things to do in Beijing
Oct 18, 2022 • 6 Min read
There are plenty of world-class sights to see in Beijing, and lots of them are free.
Shopping
15 things you can do only in Beijing
Feb 9, 2022 • 8 Min read
Eat street food, explore old neighborhoods, find the less-visited parts of familiar sites and shop for (non)antiques: our guide to the best of Beijing.
Books
Travel through a tunnel of books at this Beijing bookstore
Jul 13, 2020 • 2 Min read
An eye-catching bookstore has been unveiled in Beijing that has customers traveling through arches made of literature.
History
How visiting the world’s busiest museums has changed
Jul 7, 2020 • 5 Min read
As some of the most popular museums in the world reopen, here are the new COVID rules and restrictions that visitors can expect.
History
Forbidden City and other popular Chinese sites re-open to the public
May 4, 2020 • 2 Min read
Beijing’s parks and museums, including the ancient Forbidden City, reopened after being closed for three months.
Air Travel
China’s sprawling, futuristic mega-airport has opened
Sep 24, 2019 • 1 Min read
Beijing Daxing International Airport, China’s sprawling, futuristic mega-airport has opened at the end of September 2019 following years of construction and…
Story
Trailblazers: crossing into China as a Lonely Planet writer in the 1980s
Jul 7, 2019 • 8 Min read
Our Trailblazers series sees Lonely Planet's guidebook writers reflect on past adventures, reminisce a little, and compare their experiences past and…
Music
Beijing’s Forbidden City hosted an epic classical music gala for the first time in 20 years
Oct 18, 2018 • 1 Min read
Beijing’s imperial palace, the Forbidden City, was transformed into a gala venue to celebrate classical music label Deutsche Grammophone’s 120th…
Guidebooks
Purchase our award-winning guidebooks
Get to the heart of Beijing with one of our in-depth, award-winning guidebooks, covering maps, itineraries, and expert guidance.
