OVERVIEW

Beijing in 4 DaysPartially verified 8/40 · rest are estimates

Four days, four clusters: Day 1 stay around Qianmen after you land; Day 2 walk the imperial axis (Tiananmen → Forbidden City → Jingsian overview); Day 3 temples and hutongs south-to-north; Day 4 the Great Wall in the morning, airport by evening. No crossing the city twice.

Beijing in one line: a city built to be walked north-to-south along its axis — and one where booking ahead decides everything. The Forbidden City is the single most gatekept attraction in China.

⚠️ Three things to do before you fly:① Forbidden City tickets go on sale 7 days ahead at 20:00 Beijing time — book the moment your window opens (see Tickets); ② install Alipay and add your foreign card — cash is nearly dead in Beijing; ③ download this book's offline copy — Google services do not work in mainland China, so save maps and this page before arrival.
Today
TBD
placeholder
Tomorrow
TBD
placeholder
Day after
TBD
placeholder

Weather cells are placeholders — do a final check 3 days before departure; swap the Great Wall day if storms are forecast.

Visa-free entry — do you qualify? (2026-10-09 checked)

China currently runs two visa-free lanes: ① 30-day unilateral visa-free entry for ordinary-passport holders of France, Germany, Italy, Spain, Australia, New Zealand, Japan and dozens more countries; ② 240-hour (10-day) transit visa-free for 55+ countries entering through designated ports (Beijing Capital and Daxing both qualify) with an onward ticket to a third country. Check your nationality against the current list before booking — policies have been expanding quarter by quarter. Your passport needs 2+ blank pages; the 12-page US emergency passport is not accepted.

Beijing · cluster overview (schematic, not to scale) central axis Forbidden City D2 · book 7d ahead Temple of Heaven D3 morning · park from 06:00 Jingshan · Nanluoguxiang D2/D3 north of the palace Qianmen · Dashilar D1 evening · where you sleep Mutianyu Great Wall D4 · 1.5h northeast N
One colored block per day. Dashed = optional. Schematic only — for route checking, not navigation.

Countdown

  • T-7, 20:00 Beijing time — Forbidden City booking window opens. Book it the same night (passport works as ID for foreigners; WeChat mini-program “The Palace Museum” is the only channel).
  • T-5 — Mutianyu reservation (official “慕田峪长城” WeChat mini-program) + Great Wall transport ticket.
  • T-3 — Set up Alipay with your foreign card; download offline maps + this book's offline copy.
  • T-1 — Weather final call: storms = swap the Great Wall day with the hutong day.

Packing for this trip

Trip-specific: your passport (it is your ticket into every attraction), a portable battery, comfortable shoes (Day 2 alone is 15,000+ steps), and pollution mask if you're sensitive — Beijing AQI swings. Power adapters: China uses Type A/I, 220V.

Offline survival kit: this book offline, an offline map app (Maps.me/Organic Maps with Beijing downloaded), your hotel name in Chinese characters (show it to taxi drivers), and emergency numbers saved: police 110, ambulance 120.

GETTING AROUND

Routes & transport

Airport → city

Capital Airport (PEK): Airport Express train about ¥25 to Dongzhimen/Sanyuanqiao【estimate】. Daxing (PKX): Airport Express to Caoqiao, about ¥35【estimate】. A taxi/didi from PEK to Qianmen runs about ¥100-130【estimate】 — worth it with luggage.

Getting around

The subway is your spine: rides cost ¥3-9 by distance, Alipay/WeChat QR codes work at all gates with a foreign card attached. Rush hour (07:30-09:00, 17:30-19:00) — avoid Line 1 through Tiananmen with a backpack. Taxis are metered and honest; drivers rarely speak English — show the Chinese address.

LegModeTimeNotes
PEK → QianmenAirport Express + Line 2~60 minTransfer at Dongzhimen; ¥25 + ¥4-5【estimate】
Qianmen → Forbidden CityLine 2 → Line 1, or 20-min walk15-25 minWalk up the axis from Qianmen if weather is kind — it's the point of Beijing
Qianmen → Temple of HeavenLine 8 or taxi~15 minEast gate is the quiet entrance
Dongzhimen → MutianyuTourist bus / through-ticket coach~90 minDirect coaches and ticket+transport bundles exist (2026-10-09 checked); first departures ~08:00
DAY 1

Arrival & Qianmen

◉ today
HotelQianmen StDashilar
Today's route (check: no backtracking) · Red = walk/taxi · Blue = metro/bus · Gold = night · schematic, not to scale
🧭
Today at a glance: afternoon = land and drop bags; evening = Qianmen Street and the Dashilar hutong alleys at dusk; early night — tomorrow is the big walking day.
15:00
Land, SIM/eSIM on, Airport Express in. Check in around Qianmen — everything on this trip radiates from here.
17:00
Qianmen Street (free). The restored main street south of Tiananmen. Walk it north until you can see the gate lit up, then turn back.
18:00
Dashilar (free) — the hutong grid west of Qianmen Street, where the street food actually lives. This is dinner: see Food list.
20:00
Zhengyangmen gate view at night, then sleep early. Set two alarms — the Forbidden City window tomorrow is unforgiving.
🛟
Plan B: flight delayed past 17:00 — skip Qianmen Street, go straight to Dashilar for a late dinner; the street is better at dusk anyway.
💡
Did you know: Dashilar's Yangmeizhu Xiejie was Beijing's publishing street a century ago — the quietest pretty lane in the area, one block from the crowds.
DAY 2

Tiananmen → Forbidden City

◉ today
HotelTiananmen SqForbidden CityJingshan ParkWangfujing
Today's route (check: no backtracking) · Red = walk/taxi · Blue = metro/bus · Gold = night · schematic, not to scale
🧭
Today at a glance: morning = Tiananmen Square security line, then the Forbidden City northward; midday = Jingshan Hill panorama; evening = Wangfujing food street.
07:30
Tiananmen Square (free, but requires a reservation via the WeChat mini-program “天安门广场预约参观” — your hotel can help, book 1+ day ahead). Security lines move fast this early.
08:30
The Forbidden City — ¥60 peak season / ¥40 off (2026-10-09 checked · official channel). Booked 7 days ahead at 20:00 or you don't go in — no on-site sales, no day tickets. Enter from the south (Meridian Gate), walk the axis, exit north (Gate of Divine Prowess). Treasure & Clock galleries +¥10 each, worth both. ~3.5 hours.
12:30
Lunch — see Food list; then enter Jingshan Park (¥2【estimate】) directly opposite the north gate. Climb 15 minutes to the panorama of golden roofs you just walked through. This is the money shot of Beijing.
15:30
Optional: National Museum (free, reservation needed) if legs allow — or collapse into a café. Day 2 is 15,000+ steps; earned rest is part of the plan.
18:00
Wangfujing — the pedestrian street and its food alley (gold · night stroll). Touristy, but the lights are good and dinner is adjacent.
🛟
Plan B: Forbidden City sold out before you got a ticket — swap Day 2 and Day 3 entirely, and try the 20:00 release again for tomorrow; same-week returns do re-enter the pool.
💡
Did you know: the Forbidden City has 8,700+ rooms; a classic saying claims spending one night in each would take 23 years — your 3.5 hours is the correct human amount.
DAY 3

Temple of Heaven & Hutongs

◉ today
HotelTemple of HeavenNanluoguxiangHouhai
Today's route (check: no backtracking) · Red = walk/taxi · Blue = metro/bus · Gold = night · schematic, not to scale
🧭
Today at a glance: morning = Temple of Heaven at its local best (old people exercising); afternoon = hutongs around Nanluoguxiang; evening = Houhai lakeside bars.
08:00
Temple of Heaven — combined ticket about ¥34【estimate】; the park itself opens around 06:00 and locals own it until 09:00 — choirs, mahjong, ribbon dancers. The Hall of Prayer for Good Harvests is the postcard; the Echo Wall is the fun part. ~2 hours.
11:30
Metro north. Lunch in the hutongs — see Food list.
14:00
Nanluoguxiang (free) — the hutong main street, then deliberately get lost one block east or west where the tour groups thin out and courtyard doors are real homes. Yandaixie (Pipe Alley) is the prettiest diagonal.
17:00
Walk west to the Drum & Bell Towers (square between them is free; towers ~¥20 each【estimate】), then down Yinding Bridge into Houhai.
19:00
Houhai lakeside (gold · night) — bars with live music ringing the water. Walk the full loop before choosing a seat; the far shore is quieter.
🛟
Plan B: rain — hutongs in drizzle are actually beautiful; heavy rain swaps in the National Museum or Capital Museum (free, indoor, excellent).
💡
Did you know: the Bell and Drum Towers were Beijing's clock for 600 years — the evening drum at 19:00 once set bedtime for the whole city.
DAY 4

Mutianyu Great Wall & Departure

◉ today
HotelMutianyuAirport
Today's route (check: no backtracking) · Red = walk/taxi · Blue = metro/bus · Gold = night · schematic, not to scale
🧭
Today at a glance: morning = Mutianyu Great Wall before the crowds; afternoon = back to the city, collect bags; evening = fly out. Only workable with an evening flight — 20:00 or later.
06:30
Checkout, bags stored at hotel. Dongzhimen for the first coach (~08:00). Ticket+shuttle+cable car bundles start around ¥155 (2026-10-09 checked); the through-ticket coach from the city is the no-stress way.
10:00
Mutianyu Great Wall — real-name reservation required (official WeChat mini-program; passport OK). Take the cable car up, walk the restored stretch west — towers 14 to 20 are the postcard section with the steep dips. Toboggan down if the queue is short. ~2.5 hours on the wall.
14:00
Coach back (~90 min), collect bags, airport by 17:00-17:30 for a 20:00+ flight. International check-in at PEK can take 45 minutes at peak.
🛟
Plan B: afternoon flight — swap Day 3 and Day 4 (Great Wall on Day 3, city on your last morning) and do the wall with a private driver; a rush-hour Great Wall-to-airport dash is the one mistake this book exists to prevent.
💡
Did you know: Mutianyu is the wall the dignitaries get shown — it's less restored-crowded than Badaling and the views are wider. The cable car and the toboggan run on separate lines; you choose your descent style.
OPTIONAL

Optional extras

Summer Palace (half day): lake-and-hill imperial garden, gate about ¥30【estimate】. Swap in for Day 3 afternoon if temples aren't your thing.

Lama Temple (¥25【estimate】): Beijing's most alive temple — working incense, not a museum piece. Pairs naturally with Nanluoguxiang (same Line 2/5 corner).

798 Art District: galleries in a decommissioned factory quarter; a half day northeast, best on a clear afternoon.

Peking opera / acrobatics: Liyuan Theatre evening shows about ¥100-280【estimate】 — book via your hotel front desk, which is the foreigner-friendly channel.

TICKETS

Tickets & booking

SightPriceBookingNotes
Forbidden City¥60 peak / ¥40 off; galleries +¥10 (2026-10-09 checked · official)WeChat mini-program “故宫博物院” only — passports work; sales open 7 days ahead at 20:00, sell out in minutesClosed Mondays; no on-site sales
Mutianyu Great Wallticket+shuttle+cable bundles from ~¥155 (2026-10-09 checked)Official “慕田峪长城” mini-program — real-name, passport OK; book 3+ days ahead in peak seasonThrough-ticket coaches from Dongzhimen save the transfer hassle
Tiananmen SquareFreeReservation mini-program “天安门广场预约参观”, 1+ day aheadID/passport check at security
Temple of Heaven~¥34 combined【estimate】On-site or official account; park itself from ~06:00Morning is the show
Jingshan / Bell-Drum towers / Lama Temple¥2-25 each【estimate】On-siteCash rarely needed — QR everything

The one booking that can kill this itinerary is the Forbidden City — treat the 20:00 release like a concert sale. 【estimate】= not verified to official source on 2026-10-09; re-check before you go.

REAL SITUATIONS

Tips & pitfalls

Google doesn't work here. Maps, Search, Gmail — all blocked in mainland China. Download an offline map before flying, and remember this book works offline: that's what it's for.

Alipay is your wallet. Add a foreign card in the app (takes 5 minutes, works for the vast majority of cards since 2023). Street vendors to subway gates — one QR. Keep ~¥200 cash as backup only.

Passport = your ticket. Every reservation above is real-name. Carry the passport every day; a photo of it does not pass security checks at sights.

Monday is museum day — literally. The Forbidden City and most museums close Mondays. If your trip includes one, put the Great Wall or hutongs there.

Trains need passport collection. If you add a high-speed rail leg (e.g. to Xi'an — 4.5h), buy on 12306 with your passport number and collect paper tickets at the station's passport machine, 30+ minutes early.

The 20:00 alarm. Set a daily 19:55 alarm during your trip-week: Forbidden City tickets for 7-days-later drop at 20:00 sharp. Miss it once, fine; twice, no palace.

Footwear is equipment. Day 2 alone covers 15,000+ steps on stone. Dress shoes have ruined more Beijing trips than rain.

Taxis are honest, drivers are monolingual. Meters always run; have your destination in Chinese characters (every stop in this book: copy it). Didi (the app) lets you type English and pay in-app.

WHERE TO SLEEP

Where to stay

AreaPer night (double)Why
Qianmen / Dashilar¥400-700【estimate】On the historic axis, walking distance to Day 2's start, hutong atmosphere at night. Default pick for a first visit.
Wangfujing¥500-900【estimate】Central, hotel-heavy, English-friendly; one stop from the axis. Slightly more sterile.
Houhai / Nanluoguxiang¥350-650【estimate】Courtyard boutique hotels in real hutongs; charming, but subway access is a 10-min walk.

Location logic: this itinerary radiates from the central axis — Qianmen minimizes transit on 3 of 4 days. Don't stay by the airport to save ¥100; you'll pay it back in subway hours.

Three questions when booking: ① can they store luggage after checkout (Day 4 needs it)? ② does the front desk speak any English (they'll help with mini-program bookings — this matters)? ③ is the booking platform one that accepts foreign passports?

Light sleeper note: Qianmen's hutong hotels put you inside the atmosphere — and inside the 06:00 delivery scooters. Ask for a courtyard-facing room. Prices are shoulder-season estimates; national holidays double【seasonal】.

KNOW THE NUMBERS

Budget

¥1.8-2.8k
per person total, excl. flights (estimate)
¥450-700
per person / day (estimate)
~¥300
all tickets incl. Great Wall bundle
ItemPer personNotes
Hotel 3 nights¥600-1,050【estimate】Double room split, Qianmen area
City transport~¥120Subway ¥3-9/ride + airport express ~¥25【estimate】
Tickets~¥300Forbidden City ¥60 + Mutianyu bundle ¥155-200 + misc (2026-10-09 checked for the two big ones)
Food 4 days¥600-900【estimate】Street food to one Peking duck dinner
Hidden costs¥100-300Toboggan at the wall, drinks, museum extras; souvenirs excluded (most elastic)

Reference rate: 1 USD ≈ ¥7.1, 1 EUR ≈ ¥7.7【estimate】 — card settlements will vary. Tax refunds for tourists: China piloted departure-tax-refund at major ports; ask for the refund form when buying souvenirs over ¥500 in tax-free shops (2026-10-09 checked, policy in rollout).

IF THINGS GO WRONG

If things go wrong

🌧 Storm forecast

The Great Wall in a storm is closed cable-car territory. Swap Day 4 with Day 3 the night before; hutongs and museums absorb rain, the wall doesn't.

🎫 Palace sold out

Keep trying the 20:00 release (returns re-enter); meanwhile National Museum + Jingshan + Beihai make a respectable imperial day. Don't buy “guided entry” from street touts — that's the classic scam.

🚕 Lost / no English

Open Didi, set destination, show the driver the plate number — the app does the talking. Emergency: police 110, ambulance 120. Your embassy's number goes in the offline book before you fly.

💳 Payment dead

Card declined in Alipay — open WeChat Pay and try there; then any Bank of China ATM for cash. Foreign cards work at virtually all ATMs, rarely at small merchants' POS.

JUST EAT HERE

Food list

MealWherePlaceOrderPer person
D1 dinnerDashilarMenkuang Xiejie stallsjianbing (crepe) + lamb skewers¥40-70【estimate】
D2 lunchNear JingshanSiji Minfu (roast duck)half duck + pancakes¥100-150【estimate】, queue 30-60min
D2 dinnerWangfujingfood alley + noodle shopzhajiang noodles + tanghulu¥40-80【estimate】
D3 lunchNanluoguxianghutong courtyard cafénoodles or dumplings¥50-90【estimate】
D3 dinnerHouhailakeside Yunnan or hotpothotpot for two¥100-160【estimate】
D4 lunchMutianyu basethe wall's canteen or foot-town restaurantssimple noodle bowl¥40-80【estimate】
Breakfast · flexibleQianmenstreet jianbing / hoteljianbing + soy milk¥10-25【estimate】
Tea breakhutongscourtyard teahousejasmine tea set¥40-120【estimate】

One rule: duck queues are real — Siji Minfu at 11:30 not 13:00. QR ordering in restaurants has English buttons; when it doesn't, point at the next table and smile.

BRING HOME

Souvenirs

TypePickPriceWhere
TeaJasmine or loose-leaf pu'er, sealed tins¥60-200【estimate】Ten Fu chains or the mall opposite Qianmen; avoids fake-leaf risk
Silk & clothSilk scarf / canvas panda anything¥50-300【estimate】Wangfujing department stores — fixed prices, no haggling shame
SnacksDaoxiangcun pastry gift boxes¥40-120【estimate】Their own stores, look for the queue of locals
Mao-era kitschpropaganda-poster prints, enamel mugs¥20-150【estimate】798 Art District or Dashilar design shops

Don't buy at the attraction gate: “Great Wall stamps” and jade at exit shops are the two classic markups — the same jade bead string is a third of the price in city shops. Ask for the tax-refund form at proper stores (see Budget note).