Three days in Beijing is enough to experience the greatest hits of China’s capital without overwhelming yourself — the Forbidden City, the Great Wall, the Temple of Heaven, and the hutong alleyways that give the city its ground-level character. It is also enough to eat exceptionally well and understand why Beijing feels like a different country from Shanghai, let alone from Chengdu.
This itinerary is built around what actually works: realistic timing, specific restaurants, and the walking distances that guidebooks often gloss over.
Table of contents
Open Table of contents
Before You Arrive in Beijing
Book in advance:
- Forbidden City tickets: dpm.org.cn — tickets sell out, especially on weekends. The daily cap is 80,000 visitors. Book at least 3–5 days ahead, ideally a week.
- Mutianyu Great Wall: Less critical to pre-book, but cable car and toboggan tickets can be purchased online at mutianyugreatwall.com.
Download before landing:
- Amap (高德地图) for navigation
- DiDi for taxis
- Alipay for payments — see setup guide
Get your Beijing Card or transit card: At any Beijing Metro station, buy a Yikatong transit card (¥20 deposit, refundable). Load ¥100. Used for all metro journeys and buses — much faster than buying individual tickets.
Day 1: The Imperial Core
Morning — Tiananmen Square and the Forbidden City
7:45am: Take the Metro to Tiananmen East (Line 1). Walk Tiananmen Square before the crowds build. The scale is vast — it is the world’s largest public square. The Gate of Heavenly Peace (Tiananmen Gate itself) with Mao’s portrait is the northern boundary.
8:30am: Enter the Forbidden City through the Meridian Gate (south gate). You enter on presentation of your pre-booked ticket (or scan your passport at the machine if you have a foreigner-specific e-ticket).
Route through the Forbidden City:
- Gate of Supreme Harmony → Hall of Supreme Harmony (the main ceremonial hall) → Hall of Middle Harmony → Hall of Preserving Harmony — the three main ceremonial buildings along the central axis
- Turn east to the Palace of Tranquil Longevity complex — the Emperor Qianlong’s retirement palace, less visited and more intimate
- Continue north to the Imperial Garden — a rare green space in the stone-and-brick complex, with ancient cypress trees
- Exit through the Gate of Divine Prowess (north gate)
Allow: 2.5–3.5 hours. The Forbidden City is larger than most people expect — the full complex is 960 metres north to south.
Hire a guide: A licensed guide at the south gate for 2 hours costs ¥200–350. For a first visit, the storytelling transforms the architecture from impressive to meaningful.
12pm: Cross Jingshan Park (opposite the north gate, ¥2 entry). Climb the central pavilion for the best aerial view of the Forbidden City’s yellow roof tiles — this is the photograph. 20 minutes up, 20 minutes down.
Afternoon — Nanluoguxiang and Hutong Exploration
1pm: Lunch near Jingshan. Beihai Park has a good lakeside restaurant option; alternatively, walk 10 minutes northeast to the Nanluoguxiang area for lunch options.
2pm: Walk Nanluoguxiang (南锣鼓巷) — Beijing’s most famous hutong lane, now thoroughly commercialised but still architecturally interesting. Browse the side alleys branching east and west — Mao’er Hutong, Juer Hutong — where residents still live in traditional courtyard houses.
3:30pm: Shichahai Lake area — the three connected lakes (Qianhai, Houhai, and Xihai) surrounded by bar streets, willow trees, and old courtyards. Rickshaw tours of the hutongs are available here — a 1-hour loop covers the key courtyards including the former residence of Soong Ching-ling.
5pm: Return to hotel, freshen up.
Evening — Peking Duck Dinner
7pm: Peking duck dinner. Options:
- Da Dong (大董) — considered Beijing’s best creative duck restaurant; book ahead; expect ¥250–400 per person
- Siji Minfu (四季民福) — near the Forbidden City’s east gate, popular with both locals and visitors; ¥150–200 per person
- Quanjude (全聚德) Qianmen branch — the original 150-year-old institution; touristy but the duck is good; ¥180–250 per person
Peking duck is served in three stages at good restaurants: the skin alone with sugar and garlic paste first, then the meat and pancakes, then the carcass as soup.
Day 2: The Great Wall
Full Day — Mutianyu Great Wall
8:00am: Leave your hotel by DiDi or arranged private car to Mutianyu (approximately 1.5 hours in normal traffic; allow more on weekends). Cost: ¥300–500 for a private car round trip; the driver waits and returns you. Negotiate the wait and return as part of the same price.
10:00am – 2:00pm: Mutianyu Great Wall.
The cable car up: Takes 8 minutes. Saves the 45-minute steep climb on foot. Strongly recommended for first-timers.
Walking the Wall: Mutianyu’s restored section runs for about 3km. The restored section between towers 6 and 23 is the main circuit. Walking from the top cable car terminus east to tower 23 and back takes about 1.5 hours at a relaxed pace.
The toboggan down: The highlight for many visitors — a metal toboggan track descends from the Wall to the base. Speed is controlled by the rider. Fun for adults, genuinely exciting for children. ¥100 for one descent.
What makes Mutianyu better than Badaling:
- Less crowded (Badaling has 4–5x the visitor volume)
- More aesthetically interesting section of Wall
- Toboggan option
- Easier logistics for independent travellers
2:30pm: Return to Beijing. Stop at the Ming Tombs (明十三陵) on the way back — 13 emperors of the Ming dynasty are buried in this valley 45 minutes north of Beijing. The Changling tomb complex (the largest) has an impressive ceremonial hall. ¥90 entry. Allow 1.5 hours. Ask your driver to include this on the return route.
6pm: Back in Beijing. Light dinner — Wangfujing Snack Street (王府井小吃街) near the Forbidden City area for street food: scorpions on skewers (photogenic novelty), tanghulu candied fruit (genuinely delicious), lamb kebabs.
Day 3: Temple of Heaven and Beijing’s Modern Side
Morning — Temple of Heaven
8:30am: Metro to Tiantandongmen station (Line 5). Enter the Temple of Heaven park.
The Temple of Heaven complex covers 273 hectares — larger than the Forbidden City. It was where the Emperor performed annual rituals to pray for a good harvest, and where he communicated between Earth (represented by the square outer park) and Heaven (the circular inner buildings).
The essential sights within the complex:
- Hall of Prayer for Good Harvests (祈年殿) — the circular, blue-roofed hall on a white marble triple-tiered terrace. The most photographed structure. Three times as tall inside as you expect.
- Echo Wall — a circular wall around the Imperial Vault of Heaven with unusual acoustic properties: a whisper against the wall carries to the other side.
- Circular Mound Altar — the open-air altar where the Emperor performed the winter solstice ritual. The central stone has a resonance effect that amplifies a single clap.
Allow: 1.5–2 hours.
Also at the park: In the morning, the surrounding park is filled with locals doing tai chi, ballroom dancing, kite flying, card games, and erhu practice. This is Beijing at its most organically local.
Afternoon — 798 Art District and Modern Beijing
1pm: Lunch in the Dongcheng or Sanlitun area.
2:30pm: 798 Art District (798 艺术区) in Chaoyang — a former military electronics factory complex turned into China’s most significant contemporary art hub. Dozens of galleries, design stores, cafes, and sculpture installations fill the Bauhaus-era industrial buildings.
A 2-hour walk through 798 shows a completely different Beijing from the imperial monuments — international art, Chinese contemporary practice, design culture, and good coffee.
5pm: Sanlitun area — Beijing’s main expat and youth shopping and dining district. The Sanlitun SOHO complex and the surrounding streets have international dining options if you want a break from Chinese food on the final evening.
Alternatively: If you’ve had enough art, spend the afternoon at the Summer Palace (颐和园) — the imperial retreat 20km northwest of central Beijing, with a vast lake, marble boat, and Long Corridor of painted scenes. More beautiful in autumn when the willows turn gold. 3 hours minimum.
Evening — Night View of the City
7:30pm: Dinner at your preference — by Day 3, most travellers have found their comfort zone in Beijing’s restaurants.
9pm: Walk the Beihai Park area or the Houhai bar street at night — the lake area has a very different quality after dark, with lanterns reflecting on the water and the White Pagoda illuminated.
Transport Within Beijing
Metro: The most reliable option for Tiananmen/Forbidden City (Line 1), Temple of Heaven (Line 5), and city movement. Buy a Yikatong transit card on arrival.
DiDi: Essential for the Great Wall day trip arrangement and for any cross-city movement where the metro doesn’t go directly. Set up before arrival. DiDi guide here.
Avoid: Regular taxis for tourist routes — DiDi’s upfront pricing is simpler. The “black taxi” unofficial cab operators outside tourist sites charge 5–10x normal prices.
Where to Stay in Beijing
For the imperial experience (recommended): Stay in a courtyard hotel (四合院) in the hutong area — Gulou (Drum Tower) or Dongcheng districts. Small, atmospheric, and within walking distance of both the Forbidden City and Shichahai Lake. Prices: ¥400–800 per night for a private room.
For international hotel reliability: Wangfujing or Dongcheng districts — both central, with good metro access. JW Marriott, Regent, and Peninsula Beijing are the prestige options here.
Avoid staying: In the Chaoyang CBD (too far from the historical sights), or in Fengtai/Tongzhou without specific reason.
Budget Estimate for 3 Days
| Category | Budget (USD) | Mid-range (USD) |
|---|---|---|
| Accommodation (3 nights) | 60–90 | 180–360 |
| Food (all meals) | 30–50 | 90–150 |
| Transport (metro + Great Wall car) | 40–60 | 50–80 |
| Entrance fees (all sites) | 35–50 | 35–50 |
| Total | 165–250 | 355–640 |
Also see: Beijing Complete Guide | Great Wall Badaling vs Mutianyu | Beijing Food Guide