Beijing
Beijing, previously romanized as Peking, is the capital city of China.
Beijing, previously romanized as Peking, is the capital city of China. With more than 21.8 million residents, it is the world's most populous national capital city, as well as China's second-largest city by urban area, after Shanghai. It is located in Northern China and is governed as a provincial-level direct-administered municipality with 16 municipal districts. Beijing is mostly surrounded by Hebei Province and neighbors Tianjin Municipality to the southeast; together, the three divisions form the Jing-Jin-Ji cluster.
Adapted from Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0.
Worth seeing in and around Beijing
10 places within 25 km that the world writes about, in the order of how widely: the ones a visitor has heard of first, then the ones only a local would name.
- 01Forbidden City
The Forbidden City is the imperial palace complex in the center of the Imperial City in Beijing, China. It was the residence of twenty-four Ming and Qing dynasty Emperors and was the center of political power in China for over five hundred years from 1420 to 1924.
1.2 km · Chinese imperial palace in Beijing · Wikipedia - 02Tiananmen Square
Tiananmen Square or Tian'anmen Square is a city square in the city centre of Beijing, China, named after the Tiananmen located to its north, which separates it from the Forbidden City imperial palace complex. The square holds the Monument to the People's Heroes, the Great Hall of the People, the National Museum of China, and the Chairman Mao Memorial Hall.
600 m · public square in Beijing, China · Wikipedia - 03Beijing National Stadium
The National Stadium, a.k.a. the Bird's Nest, is a stadium at Olympic Green in Chaoyang, Beijing, China.
9.5 km · stadium at Beijing, China · Wikipedia - 04National Library of China
The National Library of China is the national library of China, located in Haidian, Beijing, and is one of the largest libraries in the world. It contains over 41 million items as of December 2020.
7.9 km · library in Beijing, China · Wikipedia - 05National Museum of China
The National Museum of China is an art and history museum located on the eastern side of Tiananmen Square in Beijing. The National Museum of China has a total construction area of about 200,000 square meters, a collection of more than 1.4 million items, and 48 exhibition halls.
400 m · museum in Beijing, China · Wikipedia - 06Great Hall of the People
The Great Hall of the People is a state building situated to the west of Tiananmen Square in Beijing. It is used for legislative and ceremonial activities by the government of China.
900 m · state building in Beijing, China · Wikipedia - 07Zhongnanhai
Zhongnanhai is a compound which houses the offices of and serves as a residence for the leadership of the Chinese Communist Party and the State Council. It is a former imperial garden, and located adjacent to the Forbidden City in Beijing.
1.5 km · imperial garden in central Beijing, China · Wikipedia - 08China Media Group Guanghua Road Office Area
The CCTV Headquarters is a 51-floor skyscraper consisting of two conjoined towers that sits on the East Third Ring Road, Guanghua Road in the Beijing Central Business District. It serves as the headquarters for China Central Television and is the world's 10th largest office building.
5.2 km · skyscraper · Wikipedia - 09National Centre for the Performing Arts
The National Centre for the Performing Arts, colloquially described as The Boiled Egg, is an arts centre containing an opera house in Xicheng, Beijing, China. Designed by French architect Paul Andreu, the NCPA opened in 2007 and is the largest theatre complex in Asia.
1.2 km · opera house in Beijing, China · Wikipedia - 10Niujie Mosque
The Niujie Mosque, also known as the Oxen Street House of Worship, or the Oxen Street Mosque, is the oldest mosque in Beijing, China. It was built in 996 CE during the Liao dynasty, destroyed during the Mongol conquest of China, was rebuilt during the 15th century, and was reconstructed and enlarged during the 17th century, under the Kangxi Emperor of the Qing dynasty.
4.2 km · mosque in Beijing · Wikipedia
Ranked by the number of language editions of Wikipedia with an article on each, from Wikidata; the sentences are the openings of those articles, CC BY-SA 4.0.
What Wikivoyage says to see
The Great Wall of China (长城 Chángchéng) is the must-see on any trip to Beijing and a destination worth visiting multiple times due to its vastness and the variety of views, landscapes, and hikes it offers. The Wall is located about an hour by train or 1½ hours by bus from the city (be aware of bus scams, as mentioned in the "Stay Safe" section below).
From Wikivoyage: Beijing, CC BY-SA 4.0. Not yet checked by us.
Things to do
Hiking, camping, and tobogganing on the Great Wall: There are numerous hiking options available on the Great Wall, with various tours and groups offering guided experiences, such as the well-established but expensive tour operator Beijing Hikers. The unrestored Jiankou section, although dangerous, is often considered the most beautiful. Many of the "wild" sections of the Wall are ideal for both hiking and camping.
From Wikivoyage: Beijing, CC BY-SA 4.0. Not yet checked by us.
Where to eat
Beijing provides an ideal opportunity to sample food from all over the country. Some of Beijing's best restaurants serve food from Sichuan, Hunan, Guangzhou, Tibet, Yunnan, Xinjiang, and more. One of Beijing's most famous streets for food is undoubtedly Guijie (簋街/鬼街). This vibrant street, located in the Dongcheng District, is a true haven for food lovers, offering a wide array of excellent cuisines.
From Wikivoyage: Beijing, CC BY-SA 4.0. Not yet checked by us.
Getting to Beijing
- Airports
- Beijing Capital (PEK), 25 km · Beijing Daxing (PKX), 45 km · Tianjin Binhai (TSN), 119 km
- Stations
- Beijing railway station, 2.1 km · Beijingnan railway station, 5.2 km · Beijing West railway station, 7.2 km
- Tianjin → Beijing108 km · quickest by road, 2h 8m · ¥46–60
- Shijiazhuang → Beijing266 km · quickest by road, 4h 16m · ¥115–150
- Datong → Beijing265 km · quickest by road, 5h 2m · ¥135–180
- Plan a tripFrom anywhereThe planner compares every way there from wherever you are.
Road and air are today’s quick answer; timetabled trains, buses and ferries load on the results page from the operators’ feeds.
No local-transport research exists yet for Beijing
Our researched notes are written from a sourced entry: every shared taxi, boat and village bus with its operator, its rule, its fare and the year we saw it, and what could not be confirmed. Nobody has done that work for Beijing. What is above is what we hold from open sources; nothing here pretends to be more.
- Get aroundMinibuses are very common in the countryside outside the urban areas.
From Wikivoyage: Beijing, CC BY-SA. Not yet checked by us; that article was last edited 2026-09.
- 01913 km
- 021,560 km
- 031,729 km
- 041,826 km
- 051,876 km
If you know how people move in Beijing – the stand, the rule, the fare – tell us, and the note gets an entry.
Next door to Beijing
Beijing is 51 km from Langfang, the nearest large city, whose note carries the wider picture.
- Beijing Subwayrapid transit system for Beijing Municipality900 m
- Xicheng Districtdistrict of Beijing, China3.2 km
- Dongcheng Districtdistrict of Beijing, China2.5 km
- Chaoyang Districtdistrict of Beijing, China3.7 km
- Zhengyangmencity gate1 km