Forbidden City & Dongcheng Central
The hall where emperors worshipped their ancestors (under restoration at time of research). Once held the spirit tablets of deceased Qing emperors.
Must-see attractions in Beijing
Beijing
Shattered ruins are all that remain of the 'Garden of Perfection and Light', once known as the 'Versailles of the East' for its profound beauty, even…
Beijing
Formerly known as Beitang, this gothic church (c 1897) is Beijing's most exemplary, with a pair of 31m-high bell towers looking resplendent (read: gaudy)…
Beijing
The sprawling residence of Prince Gong (1833–1898), half-brother of the Xianfeng emperor, is most notable for its marvellous gardens, which feature…
Beijing
White Cloud Temple is an active, vast and fascinating maze of halls, shrines and brightly painted immortals, tended by Taoist monks with their hair…
Beijing
Dedicated to the Eastern Peak (Tài Shān) of China’s five Taoist mountains, this morbid Taoist shrine is an unsettling, albeit entertaining, place of…
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
Following the Second Opium War in 1860, one of Britain's treaty demands was for permanent diplomatic digs in Beijing, hence the Legation Quarter, a three…
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…
Beijing
Despite being stranded along the North 3rd Ring Rd, this Qing-era temple is well worth a diversion to marvel at its centrepiece, the humongous Yongle Bell…
Beijing
Infused with an air of sleepy reverence, this working Buddhist temple is one of Beijing's most evocative. Perhaps it's the ancient Song dynasty pines,…
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…
Beijing
This tranquil, little-visited temple was originally consecrated for the storage of Buddhist texts. Its name echoes the Summer Palace’s Longevity Hill …
Song Qingling's Former Residence
Beijing
Set in well-tended gardens on the north shore of Houhai Lake, this is the mansion of Madam Song, venerated by the Chinese as the wife of Sun Yatsen, first…
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),…
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
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
Of all the Ming tombs, this is the only one to have been excavated, and visitors can descend into the enormous burial chambers of the Wanli Emperor (1563…
Beijing
This cathedral-like Bauhaus space, ceilings emblazoned with red Maoist slogans, makes for the quintessential 798 photograph whether or not an exhibition…
Beijing
Dating back to the Mongol Yuan dynasty but partially rebuilt in the 1980s, this nine-tiered brick pagoda sits in a lovely walled garden of pomegranate…
Beijing Ancient Architecture Museum
Beijing
On the site of the old Temple of Agriculture (先农坛, Xiānnóng Tán), you'll find this museum exploring traditional Chinese building techniques. Brush up on…
Forbidden City & Dongcheng Central
Named after China's first president Sun Yatsen (alo called Sun Zhongshan), whose body was placed here briefly after his death, this lovely park, filled…
Beijing
A monumental landmark along the 2nd Ring Rd is this surviving hulk of Beijing's dearly departed ramparts. A jiànlóu (arrow tower), it would have stood in…
Beijing
Descend into the final abode of Tian Yi (1534–1605), a Ming dynasty court eunuch given the unprecedented honour of an imperial mausoleum, thanks to the…
Forbidden City & Dongcheng Central
Qianmen (前门), or the Front Gate, consists of a pair of gate-like towers, the northernmost being the 40m-high Zhengyang Gate, which was also the largest of…
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…
Beijing
An incongruous outpost of the Hermit Kingdom, this gallery exhibits socialist-realist paintings and sculptures depicting soot-faced miners, chiselled…
Beijing
Keep going past the galleries and cafes to D-Park west of 798 and you’ll intersect with a raised walkway offering remarkable views of industrial chimneys,…
Forbidden City & Dongcheng Central
This mighty edifice is the Forbidden City's front door, where all visitors to the Palace Museum pass through. During imperial times, the central channel,…
Beijing
Built in 1757, 'Studio of the Quiet Heart' was a favourite retreat of Emperor Qianlong, who would sip tea, listen to the melodic plucking of the guqin …
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…
Beijing
Landscaped like an ornamental Chinese garden, Ritan Park provides peaceful respite for the embassy district's diplomats and worker bees. The historical…
Forbidden City & Dongcheng Central
A counter-narrative to Beijing's poor record of heritage preservation is that once off-limits parts of the old capital are opening to the public all the…
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…
Beijing
Also known as the 'Great Red Gate' (大红门, Dàhóngmén) for obvious reasons, this mighty portal sets a suitably awe-inspiring tone as the front door to the…
Beijing
Just beyond the western end of the Long Corridor, the Marble Boat has come to symbolise the extravagance and detachment of the imperial family in the…
Forbidden City & Dongcheng Central
The Nine Dragon Screen, a 5m-tall, 27m-wide spirit wall, is one of three such screens in China. It's a spectacular composition of coiling dragons picked…
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…
Hall of Benevolence and Longevity
Beijing
Part of the administration area near to the East Palace Gate where Cixi still pulled the court strings after her retirement. Inside the hall is a grand…
Beijing
In a sleepy industrial suburb, this impressive art gallery occasionally hosts must-see exhibitions, like the first solo Beijing show of superstar Danish…
