10 Best Things to Do in Beijing

A mesmerising collection of imperial gardens and tranquil lakes, Beijing’s Summer Palace, formerly known as the Qingyiyuan, is a UNESCO-listed treasure that must be seen to be believed. With origins reaching back as far as the Jin dynasty, this major attraction entices with its atmospheric landscapes that are peppered with ornately decorated buildings including temples, pavilions, towers and palaces.

Spend the morning exploring this cultural wonderland with a knowledgeable guide, marvelling at sights such as Kunming Lake, the Garden of Virtue and Harmony, the Hall of Jade Ripples, the Seventeen-Arch Bridge and the Wenchang Pavilion. In the afternoon, take a boat to Suzhou Market Street, where you can peruse riverside shops filled with traditional 18th-century-modelled wares.

Recognised by UNESCO as the largest collection of preserved ancient wooden structures in the world, Forbidden City is a sprawling complex of palatial architecture and courtyards in Beijing’s Dongcheng District. Spend a day here, exploring the Palace of Heavenly Purity, the Palace of Earthly Tranquillity and the glorious Imperial Garden, which is abundant with flowering wisteria and colossal cypress trees.

Inside the city’s walls, you’ll find the Palace Museum which houses a remarkable collection of ancient artefacts from the Ming and Qing dynasties. Across 720,000 square metres of floor space, you can peruse Zen landscape paintings, sculptural dragons, elaborate jade pendants and hand-painted vases.

Formerly overshadowed by its troubled past, today Tiananmen Square stands proud as one of the largest public squares in the world. Situated in front of Beijing’s Forbidden City, this iconic landmark is noted for its array of unique attractions including the National Museum of China, the Monument to the People's Heroes and the Mausoleum of Mao Zedong.

Undeniably epic in scope, Tiananmen Square extends more than 400,000 square metres and can hold over 1 million people on its vast paved floor. Watch a flag raising ceremony at sunrise and see the changing of the guards throughout the day, before sampling lacquered duck and baozi dumplings in the nearby Dashilar neighbourhood.

An extraordinary collection of imperial religious buildings that are imbued with Far East symbolism, Temple of Heaven was awarded UNESCO World Heritage status in 1998. A venerated place of prayer for Emperors of the Ming and Qing dynasties, the site spans an impressive 267-hectares and can be accessed via 4 main gates.

Stroll the grounds and enter structures like The Hall of Prayer for Good Harvests which is a spectacular circular temple with a triple-gabled roof, The Imperial Vault of Heaven and the Circular Mound Altar, festooned with elaborate dragons. There’s also a public park where you can take part in tai chi or mingle with the locals who flock there to sword fight, dance and practice martial arts.

A former imperial garden located northwest of the Forbidden City, Beihai Park enchants with its monumental mirror-like lake. It's home to Jade Flower Island and the Tibetan-style White Dagoba, a dome-shaped memorial honouring the 5th Dalai Lama. Open to the public since the 1920s, but with roots reaching as far back as the 12th century, this natural wonder is so big it’s wise to spend the day there.

Stroll the meandering paths to sacred sites like the Temple of Everlasting Peace, the Quieting Heart Room Garden, The Hall of Received Light and the Five Dragon Pavilions. Watch out for locals performing traditional acts of dìshū, the art of Chinese water calligraphy, before stopping by Fangshan Restaurant, Beijing's oldest imperial eatery.

Wangfujing Snack Street is one of Beijing’s most famed gastronomic hotspots, long celebrated for its energetic street food vendors who dish up tastebud-tingling delicacies to thousands of daily visitors. If you’re an adventurous foodie, you can sample all kinds of weird and wonderful treats that’ll expand your culinary palate like stinky tofu, silkworm larvae and scorpion on a stick.

The less brave can indulge in classic Chinese cuisine including sizzling prawn skewers, dumplings filled with succulent crab meat, candied fruit and sweet steamed buns. As you stroll the length of the boulevard, you’ll also enjoy riveting performances from colourful street performers including acrobats, musicians and highly skilled jugglers.

Situated in Beijing’s atmospheric Dongcheng District, Nanluoguxiang, or South Luogu Lane in English, is a charming, cobbled alleyway that dates back nearly 800 years to the Yuan Dynasty. One of the oldest ‘Hutongs’ in all the city, it’s lined with snack food hawkers, souvenir shops, buzzing Asian restaurants and trendy bars.

Stroll its entire length under red paper lanterns while sampling traditional foods such as sugar-coated hawthorn berries, or shop for Chinese folding fans, opera masks and authentic chi-pao dresses. If you want to give your feet a rest, you can hire a rickshaw for a guided tour, or enjoy a cool refreshment on a café terrace.

Beijing’s Lama Temple, or Yonghe Lamasery colloquially, is a monastery belonging to the Gelug school of Tibetan Buddhism, which was founded by Je Tsongkhapa between 1357 and 1419. Dating back to the 17th century, it’s the city’s primary and largest Buddhist temple and is considered one of the chief spiritual centres outside of Tibet.

Explore its 5 main halls that are ornamented with lion statues, prayer wheels and the world’s biggest wooden Buddha, including The Hall of the Heavenly Kings, The Hall of Harmony and Peace, The Hall of Everlasting Protection and The Pavilion of Ten Thousand Happinesses. Visitors are encouraged to burn incense at the altar as a sign of sacred worship. Don’t forget to send out a prayer.

A cluster of former military factories, Beijing’s 798 Art Zone is a radically transformed industrial space that houses galleries devoted to creative pursuits such as photography, art, fashion and sculpture. Situated in the city’s Dashanzi neighbourhood, this cultural movement has been flourishing since the early 2000s, when artists and organisations first pooled their resources.

Wander the district and take in its large-scale street art murals, discover up-and-coming Far East artists at BTAP, the Beijing Tokyo Art Projects, or admire the latest avant-garde works at the Ullens Center for Contemporary Art. If you’re hankering after a break, nothing beats the Ace Café for coffee and pastries or Shenji Restaurant for its red-braised pork.

Constructed during the Yuan dynasty, Houhai is a serenely beautiful artificial lake that is now the centrepiece of Beijing’s Xicheng District. Conveniently located just 3.2 km north of the Forbidden City, visitors can spend the day here pedal boating with the family or picnicking under the park’s ethereal weeping willow trees.

During the warmer months of the year, the lake springs to life with an abundance of candy-coloured lotus flowers, while in winter, when the water freezes over, Houhai becomes a natural ice rink for Beijing’s many skaters. Nearby Yandaixie Street, the city’s oldest commercial thoroughfare, entices with its cluster of independent shops including tobacco stores, curio houses and traditional Chinese restaurants.