# China Footnotes — Beijing (北京): 20 places for a first visit

> Walk the Forbidden City in the morning, eat Peking duck at night. Beijing is the China you read about — and the Great Wall is only a day trip away.

Data version 4729dd1ef515, generated 2026-10-07T20:25:51.372Z.

## How to use this file

- Read every Beijing place in full: https://chinafootnotes.com/beijing/llms-full.txt
- Read one place: https://chinafootnotes.com/places/{id}.md
- JSON: https://chinafootnotes.com/api/places?city=beijing · https://chinafootnotes.com/api/cities/beijing
- Before you go (visa, paying, apps, internet, booking ahead): https://chinafootnotes.com/before-you-go.md
- The whole guide, all cities: https://chinafootnotes.com/llms.txt

## Key figures

- Population: 21.8 million (2025)
- Area: 16410 km² (2026-03-25)

## Weather by month

- Jan: 2.3 °C / -6.9 °C, about 0.5 rain days
- Feb: 6.1 °C / -4.2 °C, about 1.2 rain days
- Mar: 13.2 °C / 1.9 °C, about 1.7 rain days
- Apr: 21 °C / 9 °C, about 3 rain days
- May: 27.2 °C / 15.1 °C, about 3.9 rain days
- Jun: 30.8 °C / 20 °C, about 6.9 rain days
- Jul: 31.8 °C / 23 °C, about 8.8 rain days
- Aug: 30.7 °C / 22 °C, about 7.3 rain days
- Sep: 26.5 °C / 16.3 °C, about 4.7 rain days
- Oct: 19.3 °C / 8.8 °C, about 3.3 rain days
- Nov: 10.3 °C / 0.7 °C, about 1.7 rain days
- Dec: 3.7 °C / -5 °C, about 0.7 rain days

Source: [WMO, distributed by NOAA NCEI](https://www.nodc.noaa.gov/archive/arc0216/0253808/6.6/data/0-data/Region-2-WMO-Normals-9120/China/CSV/BEIJING_54511.csv)

## Book before you go

- [The Palace Museum (Forbidden City)](https://chinafootnotes.com/places/forbidden-city.md): Book 7 days ahead from 20:00
- [National Museum of China](https://chinafootnotes.com/places/national-museum-of-china.md): Free timed booking · 7 days ahead at 17:00
- [Chairman Mao Memorial Hall](https://chinafootnotes.com/places/chairman-mao-memorial-hall.md): Reserve 1–6 days ahead
- [Tiananmen Square](https://chinafootnotes.com/places/tiananmen-square.md): Reserve 1–7 days ahead
- [Prince Kung's Mansion](https://chinafootnotes.com/places/prince-kungs-mansion.md): Online real-name ticket · 10 days ahead at 20:00
- [Lama Temple (Yonghegong)](https://chinafootnotes.com/places/lama-temple.md): Reserve and buy in the official WeChat account
- [Mutianyu Great Wall](https://chinafootnotes.com/places/mutianyu-great-wall.md): Real-name ticket; book up to 30 days ahead
- [Universal Beijing Resort](https://chinafootnotes.com/places/universal-beijing-resort.md): Buy dated ticket; reserve flexible products
- [Bell and Drum Towers, Beijing](https://chinafootnotes.com/places/beijing-bell-and-drum-towers.md): Book through 北京钟鼓楼 WeChat account

## Central axis

- [The Palace Museum (Forbidden City) (故宫博物院)](https://chinafootnotes.com/places/forbidden-city.md): Museum. Enter a former imperial palace through Meridian Gate and walk its courtyards northward.
- [Tiananmen Square (天安门广场)](https://chinafootnotes.com/places/tiananmen-square.md): Open neighbourhood. A public square with a separate free, real-name reservation and security check.
- [Chairman Mao Memorial Hall (毛主席纪念堂)](https://chinafootnotes.com/places/chairman-mao-memorial-hall.md): Museum. A free but separately booked memorial visit within Tiananmen Square.
- [National Museum of China (中国国家博物馆)](https://chinafootnotes.com/places/national-museum-of-china.md): Museum. A free national museum with timed entry beside Tiananmen Square.
- [Qianmen Street (前门大街)](https://chinafootnotes.com/places/qianmen-street.md): Open neighbourhood. An 840 m pedestrian street on Beijing’s southern central axis.
- [Jingshan Park (景山公园)](https://chinafootnotes.com/places/jingshan-park.md): Park. Climb Wanchun Pavilion for the overhead view of the Forbidden City.
- [Temple of Heaven (天坛)](https://chinafootnotes.com/places/temple-of-heaven.md): Attraction. An imperial altar park with separate tickets for its ceremonial buildings.

## Lakes & hutongs

- [Beihai Park (北海公园)](https://chinafootnotes.com/places/beihai-park.md): Park. A royal lake garden crowned by a white dagoba on Qionghua Island.
- [Shichahai and Houhai (什刹海)](https://chinafootnotes.com/places/shichahai.md): Open neighbourhood. A lakeside hutong district around Qianhai, Houhai and Xihai.
- [Prince Kung's Mansion (恭王府)](https://chinafootnotes.com/places/prince-kungs-mansion.md): Museum. A Qing princely mansion and garden with a passport ticket exchange.
- [Bell and Drum Towers, Beijing (北京钟鼓楼)](https://chinafootnotes.com/places/beijing-bell-and-drum-towers.md): Attraction. Two historic time towers with separate and joint tickets.
- [Nanluoguxiang (南锣鼓巷)](https://chinafootnotes.com/places/nanluoguxiang.md): Open neighbourhood. A narrow north–south hutong lined with shops and side lanes.
- [Lama Temple (Yonghegong) (雍和宫)](https://chinafootnotes.com/places/lama-temple.md): Temple. A Tibetan Buddhist temple with halls, courtyards and active worship.

## Big days out

- [Summer Palace (颐和园)](https://chinafootnotes.com/places/summer-palace.md): Classical garden. Walk lakeside paths and imperial buildings around Kunming Lake.
- [Old Summer Palace (Yuanmingyuan) (圆明园)](https://chinafootnotes.com/places/old-summer-palace.md): Park. Explore the ruins and waterways of a former imperial garden.
- [Olympic Green (奥林匹克公园（鸟巢、水立方）)](https://chinafootnotes.com/places/olympic-green.md): Open neighbourhood. A free Olympic plaza between the Bird’s Nest and Water Cube.
- [798 Art District (798艺术区)](https://chinafootnotes.com/places/798-art-district.md): Open neighbourhood. Former factories turned into galleries, design shops and public art.
- [Universal Beijing Resort (北京环球度假区)](https://chinafootnotes.com/places/universal-beijing-resort.md): Attraction. A full-day theme park with dated tickets and a passport entry rule.

## Great Wall

- [Mutianyu Great Wall (慕田峪长城)](https://chinafootnotes.com/places/mutianyu-great-wall.md): Attraction. A restored Great Wall section with ridge walks, shuttle buses and optional lifts.
- [Badaling Great Wall (八达岭长城)](https://chinafootnotes.com/places/badaling-great-wall.md): Attraction. Climb the famous Badaling section; daytime and night tickets have different rules.