Beijing
China's imperial capital — the Forbidden City and the Temple of Heaven, hutong lanes and lakeside bars, Peking duck three ways, and the Great Wall ninety minutes away.
A sample 4-day Beijing route
The classic first visit, one area cluster per day: hutongs and the Lama Temple, the Forbidden City and Jingshan, a full day on the Great Wall, then the Temple of Heaven, the National Museum and Tiananmen at sunset — central and departure-friendly. The Summer Palace is the optional extra (see the 5-day route).
- Day 1Lama Temple, hutong lanes and the Houhai lakesLama Temple & Guozijian · Shichahai & Gulou
- Day 2Forbidden City, Jingshan's view and Beihai, then Peking duckForbidden City & Jingshan · Beihai · Wangfujing
- Day 3Great Wall at MutianyuDay trip
- Day 4Temple of Heaven, Qianmen, the National Museum and Tiananmen at sunsetTemple of Heaven · Qianmen & Dashilar · Tiananmen
This is one of several routes in the guide — change the length, budget and dates yourself in the workspace.
Where to eat in Beijing
MICHELIN & Bib picks show the year awarded — selections are revised yearly, so confirm current status before you go. Every name links to a Google Maps search.
- Sheng Yong Xing (Chaoyang) ★ MICHELIN ’26
Wood-roasted Peking duck
- Gastro Esthetics DaDong (Nanxincang) ★ MICHELIN ’26
Crisp roast duck from 22-day-old birds, with pancakes and condiments
- King's Joy ★ MICHELIN ’26
Seasonal vegetarian tasting menu
- No. 69 Fangzhuanchang Zhajiangmian Bib Gourmand ’26
Zhajiangmian — the only dish on the menu: chewy noodles with deep soybean-paste pork sauce and fresh vegetable toppings (菜码)
- Pang Mei Noodles (Xiang'er Hutong) Bib Gourmand ’26
Spicy beef noodle soup — the signature (two sizes, four spice levels)
- Bao Du Jin Sheng Long (Dongcheng) Bib Gourmand ’26
Quick-boiled lamb and beef tripe with sesame sauce
When to go to Beijing
Weather, daylight, air quality and seasonal events vary year to year. Treat this as general guidance and check a forecast and the daily AQI close to your dates.
Winter Dec, Jan, Feb
Cold and very dry: daytime highs around 0–5°C and nights around −5 to −10°C; colder and windier on the Great Wall.
Do outdoor sights between 10:00 and 15:00 when it is warmest, and keep museums (National Museum, Capital Museum) for late afternoons. Haze is more frequent in the heating season — check the AQI and plan the Wall and Jingshan's view for clear, windy days.
Look out for: Frozen-lake skating at Shichahai and the Summer Palace, Lunar New Year temple fairs, Snow on the Forbidden City's roofs
Spring Mar, Apr, May
Warming fast: about 5–15°C in March to 20–28°C by late May; dry and often windy.
On dusty or windy days, swap the Great Wall or Jingshan for the National Museum or Capital Museum; carry a mask and sunglasses.
Look out for: Plum, magnolia, peach and cherry blossoms in the parks (late March–April), Tulips at Zhongshan Park
Summer Jun, Jul, Aug
Hot and often humid: highs about 30–35°C, sometimes hotter.
Shift sightseeing to 07:00–11:00 and after 16:00; use the air-conditioned museums and malls at midday; have a museum ready for thunderstorm afternoons.
Look out for: Lotus in bloom at Beihai, Shichahai and the Old Summer Palace, Long evenings at Houhai
Autumn Sep, Oct, Nov
Beijing's best season: clear, dry days — about 18–27°C in September, 9–20°C in October and −1 to 10°C in November.
Avoid the Golden Week dates if you can. From mid-November the heating season starts and haze days become more common — keep a museum day flexible.
Look out for: Autumn colours at Mutianyu (best mid-October to early November), Red leaves at Fragrant Hills, Golden ginkgo avenues in November
What Beijing costs
Per person, per day, excluding flights. A rough guide only — your costs depend on season, area and pace.
Budget
- Accommodation: Hostel or budget chain hotel near a metro line that accepts foreign passports (¥200–400 a night).
- Meals: Jianbing and baozi breakfasts, Bib Gourmand noodles and dumplings, hutong snacks (¥15–50 a meal).
- Transport: Metro with a tapped Visa/Mastercard or the Alipay ride code (¥3–7 a ride); the Qianmen tourist bus or bus 916 to Mutianyu.
- Attractions: Forbidden City ¥40–60, Temple of Heaven combo ¥28–34, Lama Temple ¥25, Summer Palace ¥20–30, Mutianyu ¥55 with the shuttle; the National Museum is free (book).
- Evening: Houhai lakeside, Qianmen and Wangfujing at night and the lit Olympic Green — all free.
Mid-range
- Accommodation: 3–4 star hotel or hutong courtyard boutique hotel in Dongcheng (¥500–1,000 a night).
- Meals: One Peking duck dinner (about ¥150–300 a person), Bib Gourmand hotpot and noodles (¥40–150).
- Transport: Metro plus DiDi between areas; DiDi to Mutianyu roughly ¥200–300 each way (agree the return pick-up), or the cable car up (¥140 return).
- Attractions: Combo tickets at the Temple of Heaven and Summer Palace, the Forbidden City's Treasure Gallery, the Mutianyu cable car or toboggan.
- Evening: A Peking opera at the Liyuan Theatre (¥280–580) or the Chaoyang Theatre acrobatics (from ¥280), then Houhai or Sanlitun.
Comfortable
- Accommodation: 5-star hotel or luxury courtyard hotel near the Forbidden City (¥1,500–4,000+ a night).
- Meals: MICHELIN-starred duck at Sheng Yong Xing or DaDong and the two-star vegetarian tasting at King's Joy (¥400–1,000+ a person).
- Transport: A private car with driver for the Great Wall and Summer Palace days (roughly ¥600–900 a day); DiDi in town.
- Attractions: A private English-speaking guide for the Forbidden City (tip about ¥100–200 a day), the Mutianyu cable car, boats on Kunming Lake.
- Evening: Front-row seats at the opera or acrobatics, then a rooftop bar in Sanlitun or a hotel bar with a CBD view.
Where to stay in Beijing
Stay inside the Second Ring Road (or in Sanlitun just outside it) within a few minutes' walk of a metro station — Beijing is too big to commute from the edges. Courtyard (四合院) hotels in the hutongs are the most atmospheric option, but rooms are small and cars often can't reach the door. Every hotel registers foreign guests with the police at check-in, so have your passport ready; a few small budget hotels still aren't licensed to take foreigners — book listings that say they accept foreign passports. Prices are estimates and jump during Golden Week (1–7 Oct), Labour Day (1–5 May) and around Lunar New Year.
Wangfujing / Dongdan
First-timers, convenience
Dongsi / Nanluoguxiang
Hutong atmosphere, couples
Qianmen
Value, train connections
Sanlitun / Chaoyang
Nightlife, design hotels, Capital Airport access
Beixinqiao / Dongzhimen
Airport Express, late-night food
By budget
- Budget — S$38–76 · Hostels and courtyard hostels, Budget chain hotels (check they accept foreign passports)
- Mid-range — S$95–190 · 3–4 star and international mid-range chains, Hutong courtyard boutique hotels
- Comfortable — S$285–760+ · 5-star hotels, Luxury courtyard hotels near the Forbidden City
- Check that the listing accepts foreign (non-mainland) guests and that the name on the booking matches your passport.
- Ask the hotel to write its name and address in Chinese, and save it on your phone for DiDi and taxis.
- In hutong hotels, confirm where a car can drop you and how far you'll wheel your luggage.
Prices and availability change constantly. Confirm current rates, and that the hotel accepts foreign passports, on the hotel or a booking site before paying.
Common Beijing mistakes to avoid
- Trying to buy Forbidden City tickets on the day. There are no gate sales: tickets release 7 days ahead at 20:00 and sell out, and the palace is closed on Mondays except public holidays.
- Skipping the Tiananmen Square and National Museum reservations. Both are free but need real-name booking with your passport (the museum releases slots daily at 17:00 for 7 days ahead and closes on Mondays).
- Visiting the Temple of Heaven on a Monday and finding the Hall of Prayer shut. The park opens daily, but the three halls close on Mondays (except public holidays and 15 Jul–31 Aug). The Summer Palace's inner gardens close on Mondays too.
- Buying the park-only ticket at the Temple of Heaven or Summer Palace. Buy the combo (联票) to get into the main halls.
- Doing the Great Wall on the arrival or departure day. Mutianyu is a full day including about 1.5 hours each way; put it mid-trip and book real-name tickets with your passport.
- Booking a 'Badaling' train to the wrong station. High-speed trains go to Badaling Great Wall station (八达岭长城站) from Qinghe or Beijing North; boarding gates close 12 minutes before departure there.
- Arriving without Alipay or WeChat Pay set up and tested. Link your card, verify your passport, make a test payment in Singapore and warn your bank — first foreign transactions are often blocked as fraud.
- Letting your Singapore SIM lapse or switching it off. Alipay, WeChat, DiDi and your bank send one-time passwords to your +65 number. Use dual SIM: eSIM for data, Singapore SIM for SMS.
- Relying on hotel Wi-Fi or a local SIM for Google, Instagram, WhatsApp or YouTube uploads. These are filtered; use roaming or a travel eSIM with HK/SG breakout. Don't count on a VPN.
- Assuming Changi Pay still works in China. Its overseas QR payments ended on 1 Oct 2026. Use a card linked to Alipay or WeChat, DBS Remit to a Weixin Pay wallet, or OCBC Scan & Pay.
- Pasting Google Maps coordinates into Amap or Baidu without converting them. China's maps use an offset datum, so the pin lands 100–700 m off — about 555 m at the Forbidden City. Search by the Chinese name instead (every stop in this guide has one).
- Booking with a name or passport number that doesn't exactly match the passport you carry — palace, museum, Great Wall and train tickets are all real-name.
- Joining the Siji Minfu queue at 18:30 on a weekend. Take a number in the afternoon on Dianping/Meituan, or eat at Bianyifang or another branch.
- Accepting invitations to tea, a bar, a massage or an 'art student' gallery from friendly strangers around Wangfujing, Tiananmen and Houhai — the bill can run to thousands of yuan.
- Arriving at Beijing South or West 15 minutes before a high-speed train. Security queues are long, gates close 2–7 minutes before departure (12 at Badaling), and Beijing has several similarly named stations.
- Paying large bills through Alipay or WeChat with a foreign card (3% fee above ¥200) when the hotel or mall takes the card directly.
- Carrying only ¥100 notes. Change can be short, and counterfeit ¥100 notes circulate.
- Staying in an Airbnb or private home without registering with the local police within 24 hours (hotels do it for you at check-in).
- Miscounting the 30 visa-free days. Days run from the day after arrival; keep a buffer, and repeat visitors should watch the 90-days-in-180 cap.
- Flying a drone in Beijing. Flying is effectively banned inside the 6th Ring Road, and new drones need CAAC real-name registration and activation (since 1 May 2026).
- Bringing a power bank without a clear 3C (CCC) mark, or from a recalled batch, onto a domestic Chinese flight, or using one to charge devices in flight.
Good to know
Where to stay
Wangfujing / Dongdan, Dongsi / Nanluoguxiang hutongs, Qianmen, Sanlitun / Chaoyang.
How long to go
4–5 days suits most visitors. Shorter and longer routes are built in, so you are never padding a trip to fill days.
Beijing travel guides
In-depth, free reads with real routes, Maps links, budgets and the mistakes to skip:
- Beijing in 4 Days: A Practical Itinerary
The Forbidden City and Jingshan's view, the Lama Temple and hutongs, a full day on the Great Wall at Mutianyu, and the Temple of Heaven and Tiananmen — a four-day Beijing plan with real stops, Chinese names for taxis, the bookings you must make, budgets and the things to know.
Plan a nearby trip
Easy to pair with Beijing on the same trip — tap through to a full guide.
Plan Beijing your way
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