Visiting Beijing for the First Time? Here's What To See and Do

Amid the city’s galaxy of UNESCO World Heritage Sites, three imperial remnants are among the top things to see in Beijing. The Forbidden City (Palace Museum), with nearly 10,000 rooms, many still crammed with treasures, was the seat of empires for around 500 years. The complex around the perfectly circular Temple of Heaven (Tiantan) is a tranquil idyll where emperors prayed for a good harvest. And the Summer Palace (Yiheyuan) is a decadent pleasure garden nestled on a forest-clad lake.

Winding its way through around 5,500 miles (8,850 kilometers) of rugged terrain, the Great Wall of China is one of the key Beijing attractions for first-time visitors. Every stretch of wall has its own unique character. Great Wall hiking tours run from full-day or multi-day walks along the Jinshanling Great Wall to visits to the ever-popular Great Wall at Badaling. The Mutianyu Great Wall includes the chance to ride a cable car or a chairlift up and toboggan down, while the Simatai Great Wall serves up wonderful views of Gubei Water Town.

No trip to Beijing would be complete without a close encounter with the delight once known as Peking duck: moist, succulent meat nestled below a thin layer of opalescent fat and delicately crispy skin. Three of the most popular venues in the city are BeiJing LiQun Roast Duck, Quanjude Roast Duck, and Dadong Roast Duck: LiQun’s setting in a historic hutong makes it one of the most atmospheric, with Quanjude and Dadong more contemporary and upscale. Or, treat yourself to a Beijing food tour.

From pedal boats or dragon boats on Back Lakes (Hou Hai) to rowing boats on the Summer Palace lake, summer is a magical time to take to the water in Beijing. But the city’s icy winters turn its lakes into giant playgrounds, with ice skating, ice bikes, ice toboggans, ice bumper cars, and more forming some of the best activities in Beijing. The Summer Palace makes a magical skating backdrop, or recapture the Olympic spirit on an outdoor rink just south of the Beijing National Stadium.

Atmospheric warrens of low courtyard houses, hutongs used to define Beijing. Although gentrification and skyscrapers are destroying them fast, you can still soak up the atmosphere, perhaps on a hutong tour. Options run the gamut from hutong food tours to food and beer tours to tours by rickshaw or bicycle: Many include a visit to a local family to see how they live. You can even get the skinny on traditional lifestyles at the Shijia Hutong Museum.

No list of Beijing sightseeing tips would be complete without acknowledging the modern influences that continue to shape this dynamic city—including Zaha Hadid’s undulating, sci-fi Galaxy Soho building. From the Bird’s Nest to the gravity-defying CCTV Headquarters to the National Center for the Performing Arts (better known as the Giant Egg), the city comes alive after dark. Discover it on a Beijing night tour, which usually also includes a view of the illuminated Forbidden City.

Northern Chinese food is very different from southern Chinese food, and dim sum is a Hong Kong specialty, not a Beijing thing. But Beijing dumplings, deliciously solid affairs packed with juicy pork and tingling chives or hearty cabbage, are a must to any visitor to the city. Try them on a hutong tour, at eateries like HuiFeng Old maoyunping or Baiweiyuan Dumpling, or join a Beijing cooking class and make new friends as you roll and pinch dumplings: It’s simple, addictive, and a recipe that’s easy to take and recreate at home.

Many travelers simply wander across Tiananmen Square (Tiananmen Guangchang), one of Earth’s largest public squares, en route to the Forbidden City. But the vast National Museum of China is a must-visit: Its collection includes more than 1.4 million artifacts, spanning the gamut from archaeological treasures to revolutionary kitsch. Other highlights include the Stalinist Great Hall of the People and the Chairman Mao Memorial Hall (Maozhuxi Jinian Tang), where the late dictator still lies in state (despite his express wish to be cremated).

Insider tip: Filming, photography, bags, and backpacks are not allowed at the Chairman Mao Memorial Hall. You’ll also need to dress modestly and wear closed-toe shoes.

Wondering what to do in Beijing at night? The city’s nightlife scene runs from sophisticated Japanese-style cocktail bars and speakeasies through to down-and-dirty dive bars and pumping clubs. But Chinese contortionists and the Shaolin monks are famed around the globe, and you’d be missing a trick if you didn’t take in an acrobatics show or a Shaolin-style kung fu show. Beijing opera, an eclectic fusion of dance, mime, drama, opera, and comedy, is another classic choice if you have time in town.

Shanghai’s dynamic modern art scene may have the edge on the capital, but that doesn’t mean art lovers will go home from Beijing empty-handed. The National Art Museum of China (NAMOC) is one of the country’s biggest and most comprehensive art museums. 798 Art District is a contemporary art hub, with warehouses full of boutiques, studios, and galleries. Art tours can get you into the heart of the matter—or you can even try your hand at calligraphy or Chinese painting.