Beijing
Adjacent to the restored Wanshou Temple is the evocatively crumbling facade of the Yanqing Temple, its buildings long since appropriated into tatty housing. It was one of dozens once lining the decadent imperial route to Beijing's northeast palaces via the Náncháng canalway (南长河) that passes in front of it.
A hundred metres further east along the canal is the remains of the Dragon King Temple, though there's nothing much to see.
4.84 MILES
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…
7.01 MILES
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…
4.15 MILES
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…
5.39 MILES
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…
4.24 MILES
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…
7.23 MILES
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…
5.2 MILES
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 …
9.8 MILES
Contemporary art meets communist history at this thrilling enclave of international galleries installed within China's model factory complex of the 1950s…
0.06 MILES
This tranquil, little-visited temple was originally consecrated for the storage of Buddhist texts. Its name echoes the Summer Palace’s Longevity Hill …
0.97 MILES
If any Beijing sight can vanquish the dreaded 'temple fatigue', it's Wuta Si. This little-known gem is eminently worthy of a pilgrimage, not just for its…
2.06 MILES
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…
4. Military Museum of the People's Revolution
2.61 MILES
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…
2.84 MILES
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…
3.08 MILES
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…
3.15 MILES
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…
3.17 MILES
China's most prestigious institute of learning, Peking University (PKU) is the ultimate dream for millions of Chinese high-school students and their ever…