China Art Museum (Red Wall Museum)中国美术馆

798 Art District

Contemporary art in a former East German-designed electronics factory. 200+ galleries, UCCA ¥100. Half day (3–5 hours). Open 24/7, galleries 10:00–18:00. Free district entry.

Badaling Great Wall

The most classic stretch of the Great Wall, 60 km from Beijing at roughly 1,000 m. Entry CNY 40 off-season and CNY 45 in season, cableway extra; allow 2-4 hours.

Beihai Park

Beijing's most central imperial garden — a circular island temple, lotus-covered moat, and white pagoda rising from the lake, walking distance from the Forbidden City. ¥5 park entry, 2 hours.

Old Summer Palace (Yuanmingyuan)

The ruins of the 18th-century imperial garden destroyed by Anglo-French troops in 1860 — haunting stone arches, reconstructed marble bridges, and a museum of recovered artifacts. 2–3 hours. ¥10.

Beijing Botanical Garden

Beijing Botanical Garden at the foot of Fragrant Hills, about 200 hectares with 10000+ species; entry 5 yuan, greenhouse 50 yuan more, open 06:00-19:00.

The Forbidden City

The world's largest ancient palatial complex — 980 surviving buildings across 72 hectares. 3-4 hours minimum. Book tickets 7 days in advance.

Fragrant Hills Park

Beijing's most famous spot for autumn foliage: Xianglufeng peak rises 575 m, entry 10 yuan (5 off-season), cableway 100 yuan one way; best in late October, open 06:00-19:00.

Great Wall at Mutianyu

The best-preserved Great Wall section, 70 km from central Beijing. Cable car + toboggan slide. 3-4 hours including travel.

Gubeikou Great Wall

Wild, unrestored Ming Wall section 2.5h from Beijing. Crumbling watchtowers, no crowds, camping allowed. ¥45. Best for hikers and photographers wanting the real Wall.

Jingshan Park (Prospecting Mountain Park)

The best viewpoint over the Forbidden City: Jingshan's 45 m hill tops Beijing's central axis at Wanchun Pavilion; entry 2 yuan, open 6:00-21:00, opposite the palace north gate.

Juyongguan Great Wall

Famed Juyong Pass of the Great Wall near Beijing, rebuilt in the Ming dynasty with 12 watchtowers; entry 45 yuan including the Yuan-era Cloud Platform, open 8:30-17:00.

Yonghe Temple (Lama Temple)

Beijing's largest Tibetan Buddhist monastery, once a living Buddha's residence — home to the Hall of the Wheel of Law and its five hundred arhats. Entry CNY 25.

Liulichang (Glazed Tile Factory)

Beijing's antique and calligraphy street with over 800 years of history, about 750 m long and home to Rongbaozhai (founded 1672); free to stroll, shops open 9:00-18:00.

798 Art District

Beijing's contemporary art hub, the 798 Art District reuses Bauhaus-style factory buildings from the 1950s across about 600,000 sqm; free entry, galleries about 10:00-18:00.

Mutianyu Great Wall

One of the best-preserved Great Wall sections near Beijing, about 5400 m with 22 watchtowers; entry 40-45 yuan, cable car 120 yuan, open 7:30-18:00, allow 3-5 hours.

Nanluoguxiang (South Luogu Alley)

Old Beijing's signature hutong — 800 years of history, now a lane of creative shops, snacks and cafes.

National Day 70th Anniversary Exhibition

An exhibition of the People's Republic's achievements across its first 70 years, on the west side of Tiananmen Square. Free, with advance reservation.

National Museum of China

The world's largest museum by floor area, with 48 galleries carrying 5,000 years of Chinese civilization.

Old Summer Palace Ruins Park

Ruins of the famed 'Garden of Gardens', burned by the Anglo-French forces in 1860 — a site that stands as a warning to later generations.

Shichahai

Old Beijing's lakeside hutong-and-bars district — Houhai nights and the filming location of Mr. Six. Free to explore; allow 2-4 hours.

Summer Palace

Empress Dowager Cixi's summer palace in Beijing, about 290 hectares with Kunming Lake covering three quarters; entry 50-60 yuan, 728-metre Long Corridor, built in 1750, UNESCO-listed in 1998.

Working People's Cultural Palace (Imperial Ancestral Temple)

Site of the former Imperial Ancestral Temple southeast of the Forbidden City, with about 140,000 sqm of ancient cypress woods, many Ming-era trees; free with reservation, 6:00-20:00.

Temple of Heaven

Ming and Qing emperors' altar of heaven in Beijing, a 273-hectare park with the 38.2-metre Hall of Prayer for Good Harvests; entry 10-15 yuan or a 34-yuan combo ticket, built in 1420.

Tiananmen Square

The world's largest city square — 440,000 sq m, completed in 1959, free and open all day. The dawn flag-raising is a must-see; Metro Line 1 to Tiananmen East or West.

798 Art District (798 Art Zone)

Beijing's converted 1950s East German factory complex now packs roughly 200 galleries, cafes, and design shops into about 600,000 sqm of Bauhaus industrial space — a full day of wandering.

Beijing Ancient Architecture Museum

Chinese architectural history from Neolithic to Qing, housed inside the 15th-century Temple of Agriculture (先农坛). ¥15. The Hall of Jupiter ceiling alone is worth the trip.

Beijing Auto Museum

China's automobile history from Chairman Mao's limousine to modern EVs, in a striking turbine-shaped building in southwest Beijing. Rare Hongqi and Shanghai sedans. ¥30.

Beijing Capital Museum

Beijing's city-level museum in its landmark new building — the definitive collection of Beijing's imperial, folk, and modern urban culture. Free with passport; 2.5–3.5 hours.

Beijing Planetarium

China's largest planetarium with two buildings, a 3D space theater, and a 200mm refractor telescope open to the public. ¥45. Excellent for families and space enthusiasts.

Beijing Police Museum

Police history, forensics, and criminal investigation through the ages. Free. Passport required. Allow 1.5–2 hours. One of Beijing's most unusual specialty museums.

Capital Museum

Beijing's city museum: 3,000 years of the capital's history with world-class galleries of ancient bronzes, Buddhist art, and Beijing folk culture. Free.

CAFA Art Museum

China's top fine-arts university museum holds roughly 13,000 works across six floors inside a purpose-built I.M. Pei-adjacent campus; allow 2 to 3 hours.

China Customs Museum

Seized smuggled goods — ivory, endangered animal parts, counterfeit luxury items — and the 2,000-year history of Chinese customs. Free. One of Beijing's strangest museums.

China Railway Museum

Stand inside Mao Zedong's personal train carriage, then walk among dozens of steam locomotives in a vast roundhouse — all for ¥20.

Military Museum of the Chinese People's Revolution

Beijing's massive free military museum — tanks, missiles, and Korean War exhibits told through a Chinese perspective, housed in a Stalinist architectural landmark. Allow 3–4 hours.

Museum of Chinese Gardens

All Chinese garden styles in one place — from Suzhou scholar gardens to Lingnan tropical courtyards — in a museum with real outdoor gardens and indoor exhibitions. ¥20.

National Art Museum of China

China's flagship state-run art museum with 100,000+ modern Chinese paintings, calligraphy, and folk art; 1.5-3 hours is enough to see the highlights during a single sit-and-skim visit.

National Museum of China

China's premier national museum on Tiananmen Square — 1.2 million artifacts spanning 3 million years of Chinese history.

Palace Museum (Forbidden City)

The imperial palace of Ming and Qing Dynasty emperors for 500 years — 180-acre palace complex with 980 buildings and the definitive collection of imperial Chinese art, furniture, and ceramics.

Red Gate Gallery

China's first privately-run contemporary art gallery, operating since 1991 in a Ming-dynasty watchtower.

Today Art Museum

Contemporary Chinese art in a converted boiler factory. ¥20. One of Beijing's first private contemporary art museums. Experimental and unpredictable.

UCCA Center for Contemporary Art

The anchor museum of Beijing's 798 Art District. World-class contemporary exhibitions. ¥100. The most internationally recognized contemporary art museum in China.