Beijing — Sights
Gold imperial roofs, and supper smoke in the hutongs.
- Prince Gong's Mansion — A Qing princely residence at the end of hutongs near Houhai.
- Wudaoying Hutong — A short hutong lined with cafés and small shops.
- Confucius Temple and Imperial College — An old state academy and Confucian temple in one stop.
- Bell and Drum Towers — The paired towers that once kept time for old Beijing.
- Ritan Park (Temple of the Sun) — An old ritual-altar park for a quiet central-city break.
- Miaoying Temple White Pagoda — A Xicheng hutong walk framed by a white pagoda beyond red walls.
- Guangji Temple — A quiet Buddhist temple to add to the White Pagoda hutong route.
- Yangmeizhu Xiejie — A small culture-focused hutong behind Qianmen.
- Forbidden City (Palace Museum) — A south-to-north walk through courtyard after courtyard
- Tiananmen Square — Free, but you need a WeChat real-name booking to get in
- Jingshan Park — ¥2 and a 10-minute climb for the whole palace roofscape
- Temple of Heaven — The blue triple-roofed hall, and a park full of morning exercisers
- Summer Palace — Empress Cixi's summer retreat: a lake and a hill turned into one garden
- Great Wall at Mutianyu — Cable car up, walk the ridge, toboggan down
- Lama Temple (Yonghegong) — Incense-thick Tibetan Buddhist temple with an 18 m sandalwood Buddha
- Shichahai, Houhai & the hutongs — Sunset lakes, live-music bars and grey-brick alleys in one neighbourhood
- Nanluoguxiang — Insadong-style old lane of shops; step sideways for quiet hutongs
- Wangfujing Street — The shopping street most visitors stay near; best walked at night
- 798 Art Zone — Galleries and cafés under the chimneys of an old arms factory
- Olympic Park & the Bird's Nest — The Bird's Nest and Water Cube glowing after dark
- Beihai Park — Imperial lake garden with a white dagoba on its island
- Qianmen Street & Dashilan — Qing-style shopfronts, old brands, a vintage tram and pretty night lights
- Universal Beijing Resort — The Universal park with a Kung Fu Panda land you won't find elsewhere
- Old Summer Palace (Yuanmingyuan) — Burnt-out 1860 ruins along a lakeside walk
- National Museum of China — Free museum on the square, bronzes galore
- Capital Museum — Free museum of Beijing's city history
- Dongyue Temple — A Taoist temple with halls for underworld offices
- Fayuan Temple — A Tang-era temple from 645, lilacs in spring
- Niujie Mosque — A mosque from 996 in Chinese-style halls
- Xiangshan Park (Fragrant Hills) — The western hill that turns red in autumn
- Beijing Ancient Observatory — Bronze star instruments on an old city wall
- Great Wall at Jinshanling — A quieter wall section with close-set watchtowers
- Zhihua Temple — Ming wooden halls and live Jing music