Beijing

Beijing was our first stop in China, and the perfect introduction: the Great Wall, the Forbidden City, imperial gardens, temples and the old hutong alleys, all in one city. We had four days, from 1 to 4 August 2025.

Getting from the airport

We landed at 4.50am, so the city was still waking up. The Airport Express train is the quickest and cheapest way into the centre: it leaves from Terminals 2 and 3, takes about 20 minutes and cost ¥25 in 2025. It stops at Sanyuanqiao and Dongzhimen, where you can change to the metro. It runs from 6.36am to 11.10pm.

There are also airport shuttle buses, from ¥20 to ¥55 depending on the destination. At Terminal 3 the ticket booths are outside Gate 7 on the first floor.

Tip: The metro is the best way to get around Beijing. You can pay by scanning the Alipay QR code at the gates.

Where to Sleep?

We stayed at the Jingli Hotel Beijing Heshenghui, next to Dajiaoting subway station, and paid €142 for our stay.

Day 1 - The Great Wall at Mutianyu

We went straight to the Great Wall. We chose the Mutianyu section, which is less crowded than Badaling and has one of the best restored stretches of wall, snaking over green mountains.

We bought tickets for the daytime session (7.30am to 6.30pm) on Trip.com and took a Didi to the Mutianyu tourist centre. From there, a shuttle bus or a 20 minute walk takes you to the entrance.

Our plan was to take the cable car up to watchtower 14, walk along the wall to watchtower 20, the highest point at Mutianyu, and then walk back to watchtower 6 to go down on the toboggan. From watchtower 20 the wall stretches out in front of you over the mountains, and on a clear day you can see for miles. The open section goes from watchtower 1 to watchtower 20.

The toboggan, a metal slide that winds all the way down the hill, is the most fun way down. It runs from 8am to 6pm in summer. A one-way ticket was ¥100, and a return ticket with the chairlift up and the toboggan down was ¥140.

Tip: The cable car and the toboggan are run by different companies. If you go up by cable car and come down by toboggan, you need two one-way tickets, about ¥200 in total.

Tip: There are no restaurants on the wall, so pack water and snacks. Count on about four hours, or five if you walk up and down. The toboggan closes on rainy days.

If you prefer public transport, there are six express bus lines to Mutianyu, about ¥80 return per person. Lines 1 to 4 drop you right at the entrance.

Day 2 - The Forbidden City and the heart of Beijing

1. Wangfujing Snack Street

The best place to dive straight into Chinese food culture: skewers, buns and snacks you have never seen before, most of them for ¥20 to ¥50. To get there, take metro line 5 and then line 1 to Wangfujing.

2. The Forbidden City

The imperial palace of the Ming and Qing dynasties, right in the heart of Beijing. It got its name because ordinary people were forbidden to enter. Today it is the most visited site in China, so you need to book: our slot was on 2 August from noon to 5pm, booked through WeChat.

From April to October it opens from 8.30am to 5pm. Tickets were ¥60, plus ¥10 each for the Treasure Gallery and the Clock Hall.

3. Jingshan Park

Right across the road, on the north side of the Forbidden City. The paths up the hill are steep, but the view from the Wanchun Pavilion at the top is the best view of the Forbidden City, with all its golden roofs, and it shows just how far Beijing stretches. The pavilion houses a large golden Buddha.

Entrance was ¥10. From April to October it opens from 6am to 9pm.

4. Beihai Park

After climbing Jingshan, Beihai Park is the perfect place to rest, with a big lake and the White Pagoda on its island. Entrance was ¥10 (¥5 for students), and the temples are not included. Open from 6.30am to 9pm.

5. National Centre for the Performing Arts

Known as the Giant Egg, this huge glass and titanium dome next to Tiananmen Square houses an opera house, a concert hall, a theatre and exhibition spaces. Tickets to visit were ¥30.

6. Tiananmen Square

One of the largest city squares in the world, between the Forbidden City and the National Museum. It is also home to the Mausoleum of Mao Zedong, which is free to enter with your passport after a security check. The square is open from 5am to 10pm.

Day 3 - The Summer Palace and the Temple of Heaven

1. The Summer Palace

The best way to escape into nature without leaving Beijing. It is one of the largest and best preserved imperial gardens in the world, built around Kunming Lake. Some highlights:

• The Tower of Buddhist Incense: a steep climb, but the view from the top is worth every step.
• The Garden of Virtue and Harmony: a three-storey theatre where the court opera performed for Empress Cixi.
• Suzhou Street: a recreation of a canal-side shopping street, built by order of Emperor Qianlong.
• The Garden of Harmonious Interest: a small garden with buildings reflected in the water.
• The Long Corridor: a covered walkway of 728 metres decorated with more than 14,000 paintings of Chinese history and mythology.

From April to October it opens from 6am to 8pm. Tickets were ¥30 (¥15 for students).

2. The National Museum of China

The largest collection of Chinese history and archaeology in the country, on the east side of Tiananmen Square. Entrance is free. It opens from 9am to 5.30pm and is closed on Mondays.

3. The Temple of Heaven

A huge park with altars, gardens and temples where the emperors prayed for good harvests. The main buildings are:

• The Hall of Prayer for Good Harvests: the round blue temple that comes to mind when you think of the Temple of Heaven.
• The Circular Mound Altar: nine concentric circles of marble where the emperor made his sacrifices.
• The Imperial Vault of Heaven, surrounded by the Echo Wall, famous for the way it carries sound.
• The Hall of Abstinence, where the emperor spent the night before the rituals.

The park opens from 6am to 9pm, and the buildings from 8am to 5.30pm (April to October). Tickets were ¥34 (¥17 reduced).

4. Qianmen at night

We finished the day with a walk around Qianmen, south of Tiananmen, with its old shopfronts, markets and hutongs all lit up.

Day 4 - Hutongs, temples and towers

1. The Bird's Nest

The Beijing National Stadium, built for the 2008 Olympic Games. Its steel structure really does look like a giant nest.

2. The Lama Temple

Also known as Yonghe Temple, it is the most important Tibetan Buddhist temple outside Tibet, a complex of halls with golden roofs. The Wanfu Pavilion holds its most precious treasure, an 18 metre statue of the future Buddha, Maitreya, carved from a single piece of sandalwood.

Open from 9am to 5pm. Tickets were ¥25.

3. Nanluoguxiang

Hutongs are the narrow alleys of old Beijing, lined with traditional courtyard houses called siheyuan. Nanluoguxiang is the most popular, and one of the oldest, with more than 740 years of history. Today it is full of snacks, little shops and cafés.

4. The Drum and Bell Towers

Two towers that once told the time in Beijing. The colourful Drum Tower, almost 47 metres tall, still has the drums that used to mark the hours of the day. A hundred metres away, the stone Bell Tower holds a bronze bell of 63 tonnes that could be heard more than 20 kilometres away. Both have a great view over the hutongs.

Open from 9am to 5pm. Tickets were ¥30 (¥15 for students).

5. Houhai

A calm lake surrounded by willows and bars, far from the traffic of downtown Beijing. Lovely in the late afternoon.

6. Silk Street

A huge market with hundreds of stalls, good for souvenirs if you are ready to bargain.

In the evening we took the train to Xi'an, our next stop.

More hutongs

If you have more time, these are some of the most interesting hutong areas:

• Jinsitao hutongs: one of the most traditional corners of Beijing, with the Jinghai Temple.
• The hutongs between the Drum Tower and Shichahai lake, quiet streets that take you back in time.
• The Qianmen hutongs: Jiuwan Hutong is the most winding, Qianshi Hutong the narrowest and Sanmiao Hutong the oldest.