CITY HUB

Beijing

History, government and the classic first trip.

Beijing is the easiest place to see imperial China and the clearest introduction to the country for a first-time visitor. It is also a large, spread-out city: pick two or three clusters rather than trying to cross it every day.

Airport and arrival

Beijing Capital (PEK) and Beijing Daxing (PKX). Daxing is south of the city; Capital is northeast. Both connect by airport express, metro or taxi.

Getting around

The subway is fast and cheap; the Airport Express links Capital Airport to Dongzhimen. DiDi is easier than street taxis if you have no Chinese. Allow 45–60 minutes for cross-city trips.

Famous places

Forbidden City and Tiananmen Square
Temple of Heaven
Summer Palace
Great Wall at Mutianyu or Badaling
Hutongs around Gulou/Shichahai

Where to stay

Stay inside the Third Ring if you want walkable evenings; Gulou/Shichahai is atmospheric, Sanlitun is convenient for restaurants and embassies.

Dongcheng / Wangfujing — walkable to the Forbidden City
Sanlitun / Chaoyang — restaurants, bars, embassies
Gulou / Shichahai — hutongs and lakeside walks

What to eat

Peking duck, zhajiangmian, dumplings, hotpot and hutong breakfasts.

Day trip

Mutianyu Great Wall (book a driver or bus), or a half-day in the Summer Palace.

City basics

Check the official city government and metro websites for opening hours, tickets and temporary closures. Hotel registration and visa rules still apply.

Stories & festivals

How Beijing tells its own story

01

The emperor’s city and the winter solstice

The Forbidden City was built between 1406 and 1420, when the Yongle Emperor moved the capital from Nanjing to Beijing. It was not a single palace but a staged route from the Meridian Gate to the Hall of Supreme Harmony, designed to make imperial power feel inevitable. The Temple of Heaven, completed in the same year, was where Ming and Qing emperors reported good harvests and prayed for the year ahead at the winter solstice. The ceremony was a state ritual, not a public festival — but its rhythm still shapes the city’s year.

Festival link: Winter Solstice (Dongzhi) is still a family festival in northern China; in Beijing, dumplings are the traditional food. Around Spring Festival, temple fairs at Ditan and Changdian fill the parks with opera, snacks and crafts.

02

The Drum and Bell Towers kept the city’s time

The Drum and Bell Towers stand at the northern end of the old central axis. The Drum Tower was first built in the Yuan dynasty and rebuilt in the Ming; its drums and the great bronze bell marked the hours for a city without clocks. At nightfall the bell sounded and the city gates closed; the beats carried over the hutongs. The towers are now a museum, but the idea of marking time together survives in the festival calendar.

Festival link: On the Lantern Festival (the 15th day of the first lunar month), old Beijing once lit lanterns along Dengshikou and Qianmen. Today the Spring Festival temple fairs at Ditan and Changdian are the easiest places to see the same mix of light, food and performance.

03

The Central Axis and the market at Dashilan

Beijing’s Central Axis runs 7.8 km from the Bell and Drum Towers south to Yongdingmen. It began in the Yuan dynasty in the 13th century, took shape in the 16th, and was inscribed on the UNESCO World Heritage List in 2024. The axis was a political and ritual stage: palaces, altars, gates and markets were placed in a deliberate order. Just south of Qianmen, Dashilan grew into a commercial street in the Ming and Qing dynasties, lined with silk shops, pharmacies, tea houses and theatres.

Festival link: The Changdian Temple Fair, held around Spring Festival in nearby Liulichang, is the living version of that old market culture: books, antiques, snacks, opera and crafts. It is one of Beijing’s best-known temple fairs and a national intangible cultural heritage item.