Built on a mountain ridge, the Huangyaguan Great Wall (Great Wall at Huangya Pass) is known for its steep steps and climbs, but the effort yields spectacular views. Huangyaguan, which is located farther away from Beijing than many other sections of the Great Wall, is ideal for visitors looking to explore a restored section of the wall, away from the crowds.
Towering 125 feet (38 meters) above Tiananmen Square, the Monument to the People’s Heroes is a Beijing landmark. Constructed during the 1950s, not long after the establishment of the People’s Republic of China, the granite structure pays tribute to Chinese revolutionaries with inscriptions and reliefs.
These ruins are all that remains of several grand palaces that made up a summer retreat for Chinese emperors from the 15th to mid-19th centuries. Occupying a space the size of Central Park in New York, the Old Summer Palace (Yuanming Yuan) is now a collection of marble chunks, crumbling statues, and broken columns.
Step back in time in historic Cuandixia Village, a picturesque town nestled in the mountains. Founded during the Ming Dynasty, the village has 70 well preserved stone courtyard homes. It’s a popular day trip destination from Beijing, offering visitors stunning vistas and a glimpse into traditional village life.
During a 1773 renovation of a northeastern section of the Forbidden City, a Nine Dragon Screen—common in palaces and gardens throughout China—was added to provide privacy and protection from evil spirits for Emperor Qianlong’s retirement villa. The screen depicts nine Chinese dragons, each playing with a pearl amid ocean waves.
Within Beijing's Forbidden City complex—a vast museum in its own right—sits the Treasure Gallery. With a collection of paintings, clocks, pottery, furniture, bronze, and jade statuary, some artifacts date to the days when Qing emperors roamed the halls. A must-visit for anyone interested in the last imperial dynasty in China.
The Capital Museum in Beijing houses a sizable collection of imperial Chinese art and artifacts, as well as Buddhist relics from several Asian countries. Five aboveground levels and two basement floors house more than 200,000 pieces, including bronzes, ceramics, textiles, and sculptures. History lovers will be enthralled during their visit.
Some 485 granite and marble lions—each slightly different—stand guard along Beijing’s Marco Polo Bridge (Lugou Qiao), built in 1192 and the oldest in the Chinese capital. Italian explorer Marco Polo supposedly wrote about the bridge, with its 11 arches spanning the Yongding River southwest of central Beijing.
Once an imperial residence, the palace of the Forbidden City had an inner and an outer court. While the outer court was for official business, the inner court held the royal family’s personal living quarters and gardens. Visitors can now enter these once-private areas, to see how emperors lived until the 1720s.
Giant pandas are the main draw at Beijing Zoo, a wildlife attraction with a heritage dating back over 100 years. Besides distinctively Chinese animals, such as white tigers, golden monkeys, and milu deer, it hosts everything from giraffes to polar bears. The Beijing Aquarium is within the zoo, but a separate ticket is required.
Built in 1777, the Prince Gong Mansion (Gong Wang Fu) is one of the best preserved imperial mansions in Beijing, and it has been turned into an excellent museum. Be sure to visit the ornamental gardens, featuring pavilions, ponds, and winding paths. A central stage hosts Beijing opera and orchestral performances throughout the day.
St. Joseph's Church (sometimes referred to as the East Cathedral is one of four significant Catholic cathedrals in Beijing. Construction finished in 1655, making it the second oldest in the city after the Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception. It’s predominantly Romanesque in style but with some Chinese architectural features.
The China Aviation Museum (Datangshan Museum is the largest of its kind in Asia. This huge facility, located in an old air force base north of Beijing, displays hundreds of aircraft and missile launchers of various makes, including various Russian and Chinese crafts, two British Spitfires, and a US Starfighter.
Housed in a classical, multistory pavilion-style building in central Beijing, the National Art Museum of China (NAMOC) is one of the largest art museums in the country. Its collection spans over 100,000 works across different periods of Chinese art, from imperial to contemporary, as well as notable works by international masters.
Founded in 1317, Dongyue Temple is dedicated to Tai Shan, one of the five great mountains of Taoism. Still an active temple, it’s one of the largest Taoist temples in north China at 11.7 acres (4.7 hectares). It’s also one of Beijing’s more unusual temples, with 76 small rooms representing the “departments” of the Taoist underworld.
Built in 1984 on the site of a former imperial palace, Beijing’s Chaoyang Park is the largest park in the city at 714 acres (289 hectares). Visitors enjoy relaxing or boating at Lotus Lake, exploring the artworks and fountains on display, treating the kids to amusement park rides, taking a bike ride, or playing basketball.
Step back in time at the Shijia Hutong Museum. Located in Beijing’s Dongcheng District, the museum gives visitors insight into life in the hutong alleyways and traditional courtyards homes of years past, with exhibits that showcase life at various points in the 20th century, from contracts and bus tickets to furnished rooms.
Located in Ditan Park, the Temple of Earth is the last remaining temple dedicated to the God of Earth, and the second largest of the five altar temples in Beijing. Built in 1530 by Emperor Jiajing, it is believed to have been used by 14 emperors as a place of sacrifice and to pray to the God of Earth for a good harvest.
China is home to the world’s largest network of high-speed rails, which connects Beijing with other notable destinations in the country. Quiet, fast, and efficient, bullet trains reach a top speed of 220 miles (354 kilometers) per hour. The longest route covers more than 1,200 miles (2,000 kilometers) from Beijing south to Guangzhou.
The Juma River snakes through Shidu Nature Park and its landscape of striking limestone karst formations, making it a photogenic spot from almost every vantage point. The park in China’s Fangshan District encompasses some 74,131 acres (30,000 hectares) and is a popular day trip from Beijing for those who enjoy the great outdoors.
Beijing Opera (Peking Opera) has been around since the late 18th century and was originally performed for the imperial family of the Qing Dynasty. It has enjoyed something of a revival since the Cultural Revolution, with visitors from around the globe coming to see the highly stylized costumes, dances, and singing.
Miaoying Temple (Miaoying Si, White Stupa Temple, or White Dagoba Temple) features a famous white dagoba, or stupa, that towers 167 feet (51 meters) over the neighboring hutongs in Beijing’s Xicheng District. Although the present temple was built in the Ming Dynasty, the stupa itself dates from the late 1200s and is the oldest and tallest such structure in China.
The Imperial Vault of Heaven, one of three main structures of the UNESCO-listed Temple of Heaven, is a top Beijing attraction. Built during the Ming Dynasty in 1530 and rebuilt in 1752, the Imperial Vault of Heaven once housed the tablets of the emperors’ ancestors, used in rituals and ceremonies, and the tablet of the God of Heaven.
Positioned just north of its sibling, the Drum Tower (Gulou), Beijing’s Bell Tower (Zhonglou) kept time for the city until 1924. The tower was originally built in the 13th century, but its current incarnation dates to the 18th century. The grey stone structure holds an enormous bell and a tea house and offers spectacular views.
Nowhere is China’s rapid modernization more apparent than at the China World Trade Center (Guomao) in Beijing. Completed in 2010, the complex houses Beijing’s tallest skyscraper, the China World Trade Center Tower III, as well as upscale hotels, shopping complexes, apartments, convention space, and office buildings.
Follow the sizzle of wok frying and the shouts of vendors to this quintessential after-dark hotspot in Beijing. The pedestrianized Donghuamen Night Market teems with locals and tourists who come for the adventurous street food, including skewers of scorpion, snake, starfish, or lamb testicles (as well as tamer options).
The Beijing Aquarium (Beijing Haiyangguan)—the largest inland aquarium in China—is part of the Beijing Zoo. Anyone interested in marine life will enjoy experiencing its Amazon rain forest pavilion, coral reef, shark aquarium, and marine mammal exhibits complete with daily sea lion and dolphin shows.
Beijing may not be known for environmental values, but Wild Duck Lake National Wetland Park (Yeyahu) outside the city is flying the flag for natural restoration. Migrating birds and indigenous plants adorn the flat wetlands that fringe Wild Duck Lake, while a network of cycle paths make it a pleasant place to explore.
