Forbidden City, Great Wall + slide, 798, Hutongs, Hanging Temple + Yungang Grottoes via Datong (overnight), Tianjin Binhai Library day trip, Tianzi Hotel photo stop.
Sat 10/24 to Mon 10/26. The train lands at Qinghe at 14:27 and the Yantai flight leaves Capital at 10:05 on the 26th - an afternoon, one whole day, and an airport morning. Plan Sunday the 25th as if it were the only Beijing day, because it is.
Crisp & dry. Smog risk increases late Oct as heating ramps.
On Ganyu Hutong, a lane about 150 m off the Wangfujing shopping street. Dengshikou on Line 5 (exit A) is about a 5-minute walk and Jinyu Hutong on Line 8 (exit B) is close too. Not the Crystal Orange Tiananmen Wangfujing, a different hotel 130 m away.
Imperial palace complex in central Beijing. Residence and political center of Chinese emperors from 1420 to 1924.
Forbidden City. Mandatory in Beijing.
Taizhou (Zhejiang) seafood and East China Sea fish at the Beijing flagship inside Genesis Beijing's East Tower (Chaoyang). Three Michelin stars in the Beijing guide.
3 Michelin stars (7th consecutive year, 2026 guide). Taizhou cuisine + East China Sea fish. 28-day baby Peking duck - pre-order only. Flagship branch on Xinyuan South Rd; other Beijing branches are 1-star.
Refined Chaozhou (Teochew) cuisine with three Michelin stars at L406B, 4F, CP Center, 20 Jinhe East Road, Chaoyang - the first Teochew restaurant awarded three stars. Chef Cheung's braised fish maw with 30-year-aged dried radish is the signature, and the entrance hallway is lined with prized dried fish maws. The restaurant manages its own bookings by phone (+86 10 8596 2666).
Newly 3 Michelin stars in 2026 guide. Refined Chaozhou (Teochew) cuisine, Chef Cheung Yat Fung (inaugural Beijing Mentor Chef Award). 10 Guanghua Rd, Chaoyang.
Beijing's most queued-for Peking duck house; this branch at 32 Dengshikou West Street is a short walk from the Forbidden City. Expect a 30-120 minute wait without a booking - locals take a number or arrive before 5pm.
The people's choice for Peking duck. Locals queue for hours. Carved tableside, ~RMB 198/whole duck. Walking distance from Forbidden City. Beijing needs ONE duck pin and this is it.
Beijing's oldest roast duck house, founded in 1416 in the Ming dynasty, roasting duck in a closed oven rather than over open flame for crisper skin and juicier meat. This branch sits at 18 Chongwenmen Outer Street, Glory Plaza 4/F, Dongcheng.
Beijing's OLDEST Peking duck restaurant - founded 1416 (Ming dynasty). Closed-oven roasting (different from Quanjude's hung-fire method) - crispier skin. Branch at 18 Chongwenmen Outer St.
Halal instant-boiled mutton hot pot institution that began as a Wangfujing Avenue food stall in 1903. Mutton comes from small-tail sheep of Inner Mongolia's Xilin Gol League, hand-sliced thin enough to see the tray pattern through. Recognized as a Time-honored Brand by China's Ministry of Commerce in 2006.
Founded 1903. THE Beijing instant-boiled mutton hotpot. Brass charcoal pots, hand-sliced lamb, sesame-paste dipping sauce. Technique on China's National Intangible Cultural Heritage list.
Vegan tasting-menu restaurant from veteran chef Dai, holding two Michelin stars in the Beijing guide. A skylight in the pitched roof lights the main room; signatures include chargrilled Yunnan porcini with green pepper and sea salt, and tofu steeped in broth. Sits at Room 04, 1F, Block 14, Courtyard 4, Gongti North Road, Chaoyang; it manages its own bookings by phone (+86 10 8597 8888).
2 Michelin stars (2026). Chef Dai Jun's plant-based fine dining in a skylit Sanlitun courtyard - promoted from 1 star and named Highest Climber on Asia's 50 Best 2026 (#17). Tibetan Buddhist name meaning 'path and fruit'. Workers' Stadium North Rd, Chaoyang.
Exhibition venue established 1954, built in Sino-Soviet architectural style during the era of Sino-Soviet cooperation.
Stalinist wedding-cake gifted by USSR in 1954. Star-tipped spire, hammer & sickle reliefs. Easy Beijing add.
Former Qing imperial garden complex of 3.5 km² ~8 km north-west of Beijing's old Imperial City. Largely destroyed in 1860 by Anglo-French forces during the Second Opium War; preserved as a public ruin park.
Sacked & burned 1860 by Anglo-French troops; deliberately preserved as a ruin/national-shame site. Eerie and political.
Art and history museum on the eastern side of Tiananmen Square. Established in current form in 2003 by merger of the Museum of the Chinese Revolution and the National Museum of Chinese History (which had shared the building since 1959).
World's largest museum by floor area. The colossal 1959 socialist-realist slab on the east side of Tiananmen. Free, takes a passport. Opposite Mao's mausoleum. Skip the contents - the BUILDING is the visit.
Beijing branch of Pyongyang's state-run Okryu-gwan (founded 1960), opened 2003 in the Wangjing Koreatown and famous for Pyongyang cold noodles (raengmyon). Waitresses are graduates of North Korean commerce and culinary schools, and overseas branches remit USD 100,000-300,000 a year to Pyongyang. A Feb 2023 Trip.com review places it at No. 8 Huguang Zhong Street, Wangjing, Chaoyang, with weekend performances by the North Korean staff.
STATE-RUN NORTH KOREAN restaurant. Staffed entirely by NK government 'cultural workers' on rotation - they sing, dance, play accordion, and bring you cold noodles. Hard currency goes to the Kim regime. The most surreal communist meal you can have without crossing a border. Branches in Beijing & Shanghai. (Some closed under sanctions; verify before going - but the Beijing one was operating recently.)
Macau-style hotpot, in Beijing since 2005 and named after Taipa's Rua do Cunha. Order the 15-hour chicken claw and pork bone broth with geoduck. One diamond, 2025 Black Pearl guide.
Founded 2005 by Macanese restaurateur Chen Zhensheng - named after Taipa's Rua do Cunha (官也街). Macau-Cantonese seafood hotpot in Beijing. Seven-time Black Pearl, La Liste Top 1000. Guomao flagship has 270° CCTV Tower views. Signatures: chicken-foot pork-bone broth simmered from 3am, Boston lobster pot. China World Mall, CBD.
Former Shougang Group steelworks in Shijingshan, closed January 2011 and reopened as an industrial-heritage park in May 2020; home to Big Air Shougang (2022 Winter Olympics) beside the preserved cooling towers and blast furnaces No.1-4.
SHOUGANG PARK (首钢园), Shijingshan, west Beijing. The Shougang steelworks shut in Jan 2011 (air quality) and reopened in 2020 as an industrial-heritage park: blast furnaces No.1-4 still standing (No.3 is the landmark, No.1 houses a paid 'SoReal' attraction), the cooling towers, and Big Air Shougang - the world's first permanent big-air ramp, built for the 2022 Winter Olympics right beside them. Park entry free, venues ticketed; roughly 7:00-20:00. Metro: Jin'anqiao (金安桥). Decommissioned-industry + Olympic-kitsch in one frame.
Party-history museum beside the Olympic Green, opened June 2021 (public from 15 July 2021); '工'-shaped building with 28 columns per flank for 1921-1949 and a 16,800 m2 permanent exhibition of 4,500+ objects.
MUSEUM OF THE COMMUNIST PARTY OF CHINA (中国共产党历史展览馆), Beichen East Rd by the Olympic Green. Opened by Xi in June 2021: a '工'-shaped colonnaded block with 28 columns per flank (1921-1949), and a 16,800 m2 permanent exhibition of 4,500+ objects - Marx's notebooks, Mao's 1949 proclamation outfit, the whole liturgy. Free, but ONLINE RESERVATION ONLY with a limited daily quota (book at least 3 days ahead at ticket.cpcmuseum.cn; no walk-ups). Tue-Sun 9:00-17:00, last entry 16:00; closed Mon. Foreign-passport booking not verified - test early.
One Michelin star (2026). Beijing cooking in a historic three-courtyard siheyuan on Jianchang Hutong, Dongcheng, led by jujube-wood-fired Peking duck carved at the table or served three ways. Private rooms sit in the courtyard wings; no source confirms one room seats 15. Book by phone on +86 10 8663 2999.
1 Michelin star (2026 guide). Beijing cuisine in a three-courtyard siheyuan at 22 Jianchang Hutong, Dongcheng. Jujube-wood-fired Peking duck. Private rooms in the courtyard wings; book by phone +86 10 8663 2999.
One Michelin star (2026), and the only starred Beijing branch of this Peking duck house. Ducks are 45 days old, come with a provenance certificate and roast over jujube wood in a stone oven; caviar with the duck is optional. Reservation needed: +86 10 6464 0968.
1 Michelin star (2026 guide), the only starred Beijing branch. 5A Xindong Road, Sanlitun. 45-day ducks with a provenance certificate, roasted over jujube wood. Reservation needed: +86 10 6464 0968.
All-penis restaurant. Beijing branch is the original. Memorable for the wrong reasons.
Vegetarian fine-dining restaurant in a traditional courtyard at Wudaoying Hutong, opposite the Lama Temple (Yonghe Temple), Beijing. Three Michelin stars and a Michelin Green Star.
2 Michelin stars (2026 guide), Beijing. Modern vegetarian tasting. Worth it if you skip Ultraviolet.
Contemporary Chinese tasting-menu restaurant by chef Jason Liu. Beijing original (in the Bei Zhaolong Hotel / Stey co-living space) earned one Michelin star in the 2022 Beijing Guide; a Shanghai sister venue followed.
Modern Chinese tasting, Beijing. 1 Michelin.
Dumpling shop of 30+ years with skins dyed by fruit and vegetable juices and dozens of fillings. Order pork and fennel, or try Kung Pao chicken. MICHELIN Bib Gourmand in 2026.
Beijing colored dumplings - solid, cheap, iconic.
Contemporary French by Ignace Lecleir in a ~600-year-old historic temple courtyard at 23 Shatan North Street, Dongcheng, near the Forbidden City. One Michelin star.
TRB - restored Qing temple compound dining, Beijing. Atmosphere is peak.
Former state-owned military electronics factory complex with Bauhaus-influenced architecture (built 1954-57) in Beijing's Chaoyang District. Transformed since the late 1990s into one of China's most prominent contemporary art communities.
Beijing Bauhaus factory turned art zone. Easy add.
Historic Beijing roast (Peking) duck restaurant chain founded in 1864 by Yang Renquan during the Tongzhi reign of the Qing dynasty. Original / flagship branch on Qianmen Street.
Original Beijing roast duck. Touristy but the OG.
Wangfujing branch of Dong Zhenxiang's duck chain, known for 'SuperLean' Peking duck roasted in spherical wood-fired ovens. Sits on the 6th floor at 301 Wangfujing Dajie.
Upscale Peking duck contender. Chef Dong Zhenxiang's 'SuperLean' duck cooked in spherical wood-fired ovens. Pricier and more refined than Siji Minfu. Wangfujing.
Rem Koolhaas / Ole Scheeren (OMA), 2012. The looping continuous-loop skyscraper on the East 3rd Ring, Chaoyang CBD; locals call it Da Kucha ('big underpants'). No public tours, but the cantilever is jaw-dropping from the street. Best photographed from Guanghua Rd / the CBD plaza. Easy add in Beijing (4 nights).
Halal old-Beijing restaurant serving charcoal copper-pot instant-boiled mutton, using Sunite prairie lamb and western Shandong yellow beef, with Bib Gourmand status in the MICHELIN Guide Beijing 2026. The menu also covers Hui dishes such as tripe and five-spice roast lamb.
The main hall takes no reservations and queues run long, so arrive early; private rooms must be booked a week ahead, which is the only way to lock in a table for a big group. Michelin recommends the Sunite lamb with tail-fat pot, the small crispy shaobing and the sesame-sugar flatbread; foreign credit cards are not accepted. Ping'anli station (Lines 4 and 6) is about a 10-minute walk.
Mao-era nuclear bunker network beneath central Beijing. Mostly closed to public but parts pop up; even seeing the entries is worth it.
Titanium dome dropped onto the Mao Mausoleum's doorstep. Walk over from Tiananmen.
Zaha Hadid's flowing white pods - ideal contrast to the Soviet stuff.
OMA's gravity-defying loop. Polarizing icon of post-2008 Beijing.
Centerpiece venues of the 2008 Olympics. Bird's Nest by Herzog & de Meuron (completed 2008); Water Cube by PTW + Arup + CSCEC + CCDI (2007). Water Cube hosted curling at the 2022 Winter Olympics.
Herzog & de Meuron + PTW. Even if you've seen them in photos a thousand times, in person they're propaganda-monumental. Visit at dusk for the floodlights. 30 min from central Beijing.
266.5 m stone arch bridge completed 1192, praised by Marco Polo. The 1937 Marco Polo Bridge Incident here marked the start of the Second Sino-Japanese War. Adjacent 17th-c. Wanping Fortress houses the Museum of the War of Chinese People's Resistance Against Japanese Aggression.
Where the Sino-Japanese War kicked off in 1937. Memorial museum is heavy socialist-realist. The walled Wanping town beside it was preserved 1980s as a 'patriotic education base.' Easy half-day from Beijing.
Forgotten Beijing watchtower. Easy add.
Mongolian-themed restaurant in Chaoyang District, Beijing, with 50+ individual yurt-style private dining tents. Specialty: spit-roast lamb plus Mongolian and northern Chinese dishes.
Beijing hotpot.
Mao-era themed restaurant in a restored 200-year-old courtyard in Dongsi Jiutiao hutong, Beijing. Serves Zhongnanhai Cuisine inspired by dishes favored by Mao, Deng, and other PRC leaders.
Mao-era kitsch dining; touristy but novel.
Century-old halal tripe house with a patented recipe: 'tripe 13 ways' uses four beef and nine lamb cuts with secret dips. Try the half-cloud lamb. MICHELIN Bib Gourmand in 2026.
Beijing halal tripe house. Michelin Bib Gourmand (2026). Moved in 2025 to 13 Hepingli East Street, Dongcheng.
Beijing; the name alone.
Traditional Beijing zhajiangmian (fried-sauce noodle) house with branches including Chongwenmen. Theatrical service: servers shout greetings as guests arrive and applaud as they leave.
Theatrical noodle service, Beijing.
Beijing local.
Beijing craft brewery founded 2011 by Chandler Jurinka and Daniel Hebert. Sanlitun Brewpub at 6 Nan Sanlitun Lu has 36 taps over three floors. Known for Monkey's Fist IPA.
Beijing craft beer brewery.
Pedestrian snack alley off Wangfujing Street in Dongcheng, Beijing. Chinese street snacks and skewers. Busiest in evenings.
Scorpion-on-a-stick tourist market. Mostly closed/tamed now but still a stop.
Specialty museum in Pangezhuang Town, Daxing District, Beijing, dedicated to the history and agriculture of watermelons. Building shaped like a giant watermelon flanked by green leaves.
Beijing Daxing. Yes it's real.
Theme park in southwestern Beijing (Fengtai District) with ~100 scaled-down replicas of famous landmarks from nearly 40 countries.
Mini Eiffel etc. Bizarre and accessible.
Beijing dinosaur museum.
North Korean state-run gallery in Beijing's 798 Art Zone, opened 2009 as the first overseas outpost of Pyongyang's Mansudae Art Studio (producer of major DPRK monuments such as the Chollima Statue). Sells socialist-realist paintings, bronze, posters, stamps. Scaled-down Chollima replica at the entrance.
North Korean art in Beijing. Niche.
Final resting place of Mao Zedong on Tiananmen Square. Mausoleum completed 24 May 1977.
Mao mausoleum, Tiananmen. Polarizing experience.
High-end Sichuan chain, Beijing.
Hotpot restaurant inside Rosewood Beijing, cooked tableside, run by chef de cuisine Zhu Qing, who has created hot pot bases for more than 20 years. Counter seating, tables and six private rooms.
Book by phone (+86 10 6536 0066) or email beijing.diningreservations@rosewoodhotels.com; there are counter seats, tables and six private rooms. The current menu lists eight broths, including a spicy beef-tallow grid pot, green Sichuan pepper, Hainan rice wine lees, coconut, and an old-Beijing clear stock, and you can split a pot between two small broths. Open 5:00-10:30 pm daily.
Massive bronze cylinder slammed through a stone slab. Underrated, in central Beijing.
1950s Soviet-style Workers' arena. Rebuilt recently but the gymnasium retains the original look.
Pyongyang-vibes broadcast tower. Revolving restaurant inside.
Colossal 1950s Beijing Friendship Hotel - you can wander grounds; the lobby is a time-capsule.
Three Zaha Hadid towers, mountain-shaped, 798 area.
Urban village and contemporary arts district in Beijing's Chaoyang District near the 5th Ring Road / Airport Expressway. Artists and galleries (incl. studios designed by Ai Weiwei) began moving in around 2000; quieter counterpart to nearby 798.
Ai Weiwei's gray-brick studio district. Quieter than 798, more brutalist.
Beijing nightlife; if interested.
Mutianyu toboggan down. Pair with the Great Wall visit.
PLA Air Force museum at Datangshan/Xiaotangshan, Changping, opened 11 Nov 1989; 270+ aircraft across a 700,000 m2 site including a 586 m cavern that was the underground bunker of Shahezhen Airbase.
CHINA AVIATION MUSEUM (中国航空博物馆), Xiaotangshan, Changping, ~50 km north of central Beijing. PLA Air Force museum opened 1989; 270+ aircraft on a 700,000 m2 site, part of it inside a 586 m cavern that was the underground bunker of Shahezhen airbase - the arched cave-hangar entrance is the money shot. Grounds free, 9:00-17:00 (last entry 16:00), closed Mon; real-name reservation via the museum WeChat account. Whether the cave hall is currently open is unclear (one listing marks it closed) - check before the trek out.
500-year-old folk art performed in Nuanquan Town, Yuxian County, Hebei. Molten iron is thrown against a cold brick wall to create showers of sparks resembling a tree canopy. Traditionally during the Lantern Festival.
Molten iron firework show, Hebei. Specific dates.
Italianate quarter - only one outside Italy. Atmospherically rotting.
Upscale residential and tourist quarter in Tianjin's Heping District. 230+ buildings in British, French, Italian, German, and Spanish styles. From the former British concession; the Italian Concession (1901-1943) is a separate quarter.
European-style concessions, half decayed, half gentrified. Pair with Binhai Library.
Reconstruction of Datong's historic core launched 2008 by Mayor Geng Yanbo ('Demolition Mayor'), redeveloping over 3 km² and demolishing roughly 200,000 homes. Ming-style city wall rebuilt 2010-end of 2014. Geng left office 2013, leaving a half-finished city center; subject of the documentary 'The Chinese Mayor'.
Mayor Geng Yanbo demolished entire historic neighborhoods 2008-2013 to rebuild a 'Tang dynasty' fake-old city from scratch - bankrupting the city in the process. Empty new-ancient streets inside vast walls. You're already going to Datong for Yungang + Hanging Temple. THIS is the bonus. Watch 'The Chinese Mayor' (2015) before going.
Real working/decaying Mao-era mining city. You're already going to Datong for Hanging Temple/Yungang.
Easternmost terminus of the Ming Great Wall, where a granite seawall extends into the Bohai Sea south of Shanhaiguan Pass, Hebei. First built 1381; named for resembling a dragon's head dipping into the sea. Part of the Great Wall UNESCO listing.
Shanhaiguan, where wall meets the sea. Doable from Beijing.