Lena Brandt
Beijing on foot, hutong by hutong
Based in Dongcheng, Beijing.
Lena has lived in a Dongcheng courtyard since 2014 and maps Beijing on foot, from the Ming-era ramparts to the art warehouses of 798. She builds her city-break routes around the subway's last trains and the days the Forbidden City closes.
Latest stories
Where Beijing's Emperors Prayed at the Temple of Heaven
Beijing's imperial sacrifice ground is best walked south to north, early in the day, and the hall everyone comes for is shut on Mondays.
Walking Longevity Hill and Kunming Lake in Beijing
A full day on foot: in at the East Palace Gate, up the stair flights of Longevity Hill, then out along the West Causeway, with the tickets, the boat seasons and which halls shut early.
Walking the Bird's Nest Plaza and Beijing's Olympic Green
What ¥100 buys you on the Bird's Nest roof, and how to walk the rest of Beijing's Olympic Green in 2026.
Inside Beijing's Forbidden City Without Wasting a Morning
The Palace Museum has no door ticket, a hard daily cap and a passport check. Here is how the booking, the walk and the quieter ground around it work.
Watching the Flag Rise on Beijing's Tiananmen Square at Dawn
The dawn flag-raising lasts three minutes. The passport booking, the checkpoint queue and the empty half hour afterwards are what take the planning.
Behind the Grey Bricks: Beijing's Hutongs and the City That Predates the Ring Roads
A calm, walkable route through Beijing's grey-brick lanes — where to arrive early, which alleys reward a detour, and how to read the old city before the ring roads swallowed it.
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