Beijing Travel Guides
Expert guides covering classic attractions, local cuisine, history, culture and modern entertainment for your perfect Beijing trip
Forbidden City One-Day Guide: Routes, Tickets and Practical Tips
A full day inside Beijing's Forbidden City rewards planning more than speed. This guide explains how the Palace Museum is laid out along the central axis, how advance reservation works and what tickets cost in each season, which metro exits put you closest to the Meridian Gate, and how to choose between a three-hour axis walk and a five-hour deep route. It also covers the halls that deserve extra time, where to eat and rest inside the walls, what a realistic day budget looks like, and the small mistakes that turn a smooth visit into a tiring one.
Beijing Hutong Culture Guide: Lanes, Courtyards and Crafts
The alley quarters north of the palace are the part of Beijing where daily life is still visible, and they reward more than a quick photograph. This guide explains where the word hutong comes from, how the courtyard house is arranged, and which lanes are worth the walk, from the busy grid off Nanluoguxiang to the quiet shops of Wudaoying and the stone arches of Guozijian Street. It covers courtyard visits, rickshaw rides, craft workshops, snacks and teahouse music, with practical notes on privacy, pricing and legal operators, plus a half-day route that fits the lanes into a normal sightseeing day.
Badaling Great Wall Full Guide 2026: Transport, Tickets and Routes
Badaling is the most visited stretch of the Great Wall, and the day goes far more smoothly with a little planning. This guide covers the four main ways to reach the ridge, what admission and cable car tickets cost, how the north and south lines differ, and when the wall is quietest through the year. It also walks through gear, safety, travelling with children or older relatives, food and facilities, a realistic hour-by-hour outline, budget ranges for independent travellers, and the small oversights that turn a good day into a rushed one. Every figure here is a planning estimate, so confirm opening times and prices on official channels before you travel, especially around public holidays.
Temple of Heaven Cultural Guide: Cosmology in Architecture
The Temple of Heaven is more than a park with a famous round hall. It is a diagram of an old cosmology, built in stone and timber: a round heaven above, a square earth below, and numbers that repeat in steps, balustrades and paving stones. This guide explains how the complex was used for imperial sacrifices, why the Hall of Prayer for Good Harvests stands on three terraces with twenty-eight columns, how the Circular Mound Altar and the Echo Wall produce their effects, and how to walk the grounds so the symbolism makes sense. It also covers ticket options, metro access, and the morning exercise culture that fills the park before the gates of the halls open.
Summer Palace Guide: Long Corridor, Kunming Lake and Routes
The Summer Palace is the most complete surviving imperial garden in China, built around a hill and a lake that occupy almost three hundred hectares in western Beijing. This guide explains how the site developed from the Qianlong garden of 1750 through its Guangxu reconstruction, then walks through the Long Corridor, the Tower of Buddhist Incense, the Seventeen-Arch Bridge and the back-hill market street. It also sets out four walking routes, seasonal highlights, ticket and boat prices, and the metro entrances that avoid the worst queues.
Temple of Heaven Morning: Rituals and Routes
A guide to the Temple of Heaven at dawn, covering gate choices, the areas where locals exercise, the order of the halls, and ticket tips for a quieter, well-paced visit.
Beijing Bookstores and Coffee: Three Half-Day Routes
Three relaxed half-day routes through Beijing's independent bookstores and coffee streets, with subway stops, opening hours, typical spending, quiet windows and tips for elders, children and rainy days.
Beijing Park Mornings: Times, Entrances and Etiquette
Beijing's parks belong to tai chi groups, calligraphy writers and choirs before the tour buses arrive. This guide covers gate times and ticket prices, the right entrances and metro exits, how to join each activity politely, and what to do when weather cancels the morning.
Beijing's Small Specialty Museums: Booking and Timed Sessions
How to book Beijing's small specialty museums: the three reservation categories, the session times at Zhihua and Fahai temples, metro routes, prices and a two-museum daily route.
Old Bookshops and Art Districts in One Beijing Day
Combine Liulichang and Panjiayuan book stalls with 798 and Red Brick in a single day. This guide gives three routes with start points, metro changes, opening hours and ticket ranges, plus closing days, bargaining habits and luggage storage.
The Forbidden City in Depth: Six Centuries of Imperial Palaces
A detailed guide to the Forbidden City with 2026 ticket prices, reservation rules, the axis and six-palace routes, the Treasure and Clock galleries, and practical visiting advice.
Beijing Museum Guide: National, Capital, Natural History and Science
Booking windows, free entry rules, opening hours and the galleries worth your time at Beijing's four most visited museums.
A Quiet Hutong Walk in Beijing Beyond Nanluoguxiang
Five calmer hutong lanes to walk instead of Nanluoguxiang, with lane lengths, metro exits, ticket prices and a 5 km cycling route through the old city.
Two Beijing Museums in One Day: Pairing Rules and Timing
Five tested museum pairings in Beijing, with door-to-door transfer times, booking windows, lunch stops and replacements for Monday closures, so both collections get real time.
Beijing Hutong and Courtyard Food Walk: A One-Day Route
A full-day Beijing walk from Ping'anli to Dongsi that pairs courtyard visits with street snacks: eight kilometres, five small meals, resident boundaries and real costs.
Beijing Siheyuan Visits: Which Courtyards You Can Enter
Which Beijing courtyards welcome visitors, how to walk through one politely, and where the camera should stop. A guide to open and private yards, with half-day walking routes.
Museum Guides in Beijing: Official, Audio and Private Compared
Official tours, audio rentals, app-based tours and private guides compared on booking, session length, price ranges, peak-season markups and refund rules in Beijing.
Beijing Small Museums: Six Quiet Collections and How to Book Them
A practical guide to six smaller Beijing museums, including Fahai Temple and Zhihua Temple: booking channels, closing days, ticket ranges, metro walking times and half-day routes.
Beijing Hutong Guild Halls: A Five Kilometre Walking Route
Guild halls, opera stages and former homes in Beijing's southern lanes open irregularly. This five to six kilometre walk links Huguang, Zhengyici, Yancai and Caochang.
Beijing Souvenirs and Gifts: What to Buy and Where to Shop
A shopper's guide to Beijing gifts: pastries, cured meats, jasmine tea, museum shops and folk crafts, with price ranges, shopping streets and packing advice.
Beijing Museums: How to Book, Plan and Pace Your Visit
Beijing has hundreds of museums with different booking rules and scales. Here is how to choose one, secure a slot, route the galleries and keep the day manageable.
Beijing Hutong Walks: Four Routes and What to Notice
A hutong walk is about gateways, door stones and courtyard life, not alley count. Four routes, honest distances, guide and pedicab costs, and how to behave in a lived-in district.
Beijing Winter Indoor Culture Guide
Spend cold winter days in Beijing's museums, galleries, libraries and theaters. This guide covers booking, ticket ranges, closing days and tips for families and older visitors.
Winter Museums and the Palace Museum in Beijing: A Quiet Visit
Winter is a calm season for Beijing's museums and the Palace Museum. This guide covers low-season tickets, routes, exhibitions, booking, transport, warmth and budgets.
Beijing Autumn Museum and Exhibition Guide 2026: Booking, Routes, Timing
Plan a Beijing autumn museum visit with venue types, booking tips, free versus ticketed shows, route and time advice, family and access notes and off peak ideas.
Beijing Autumn Temple Fairs and Markets Guide 2026
Temple fairs in Beijing are not only a Spring Festival affair; autumn brings folk activities and markets closer to daily life. This guide covers temple blessing customs, antique and flea markets, Liulichang, creative park markets and flower markets.
Mid-Autumn Festival in Beijing: Moon and Customs
Mid-Autumn is a festival of reunion and a flavorful stretch of Beijing autumn. This guide covers old customs, mooncake styles, viewing spots and the best moon watching hours.