Beijing stories
17 stories from beijingcitybreaks.com, newest first.
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.
Beijing's Day-Trip Duel with the Crowds: Conquering the Great Wall at Mutianyu
Which Great Wall section actually rewards the two-hour drive out of Beijing — and how to walk it without the coach-park scrum.
The best Mutianyu Great Wall tours for first-timers in Beijing
From door-to-door private cars to the honest no-shop bus and the toboggan run every first-timer secretly wants — how to pick the right Mutianyu trip in 2026.
Yonghegong & Wudaoying, Beijing: incense, coffee and a lived-in hutong
A north-east Beijing corner where a great Tibetan monastery, a Confucian academy and a quietly stylish hutong street still share the same daily rhythm.
Wudaokou, Beijing: the student quarter that eats, studies and stays up late
Between Tsinghua and Peking University, Wudaokou is Beijing at its most practical and most alive: a noisy, international district of cheap grills, 24-hour cafes, student bars and campus days out.
Wangfujing, Beijing: the city’s most practical first base
A walkable, bright central district where Beijing’s imperial core, major museums, heritage restaurants and full-price malls sit within a few blocks.
Sanlitun, Beijing: rooftops, duck and the city after dark
Beijing’s most cosmopolitan square kilometre is all glass courtyards, late-night rooftops and embassy-zone polish — a district that lives for shopping, drinking and staying out late.
Qianmen & Dashilar, Beijing: where old commercial China still haggles, steams and sells
A walk through Beijing’s merchant quarter, from Qianmen’s polished front window to Dashilar’s time-honored counters, duck houses and renovated hutong lanes.
Gulou & Beiluoguxiang, Beijing: Drum Towers, Courtyards and Late-Night Beer
Old Beijing still sets the hour here, but the lanes off Gulou East Street now run on coffee, craft beer and small-room music.
Guanyuan & Xicheng Lakes, Beijing: Water, Willows and Old Beijing
A slow, watery corner of Xicheng where canal history, halal roast meats, hutong lanes and lakeside bars still share the same shoreline.
Chaoyang CBD, Beijing: glass towers, sky bars and the city’s sharpest modern address
Beijing’s most corporate district is also its most vertical: come for the skyline, the subway hub and the serious dining, stay for the view from above.
798 Art District, Beijing: Factory Bones, Gallery Light
Beijing’s best-known art district is still a working industrial shell at heart — a place where Bauhaus sheds, Mao-era slogans and serious contemporary galleries share the same weathered rooflines.