Skip to the guide
Homeground ChinaChina Travel Agency
FAQ

City guideReviewed August 22, 2026

Beijing: palaces, the Great Wall and hutongs, over four or five nights

Walk north from Tiananmen through the Forbidden City, climb Jingshan, and a whole field of golden-tiled roofs spreads out below you. Give another day to the Great Wall on its mountain ridges outside the city, and spend your evenings eating and wandering the hutong lanes around the Drum Tower. Each of Beijing's big sights takes half a day to a full day, so four or five nights give you three or four real days without rushing.

By EvanFacts reviewed

Beijing's Drum Tower and Bell Tower rising above grey-tiled hutong roofs, with a busy lane on the right.
Below the Drum Tower and the Bell Tower, grey-tiled hutongs spread in every direction. Come in the late afternoon, eat in the lanes, then walk a few minutes to the lakes at Shichahai.

Must-See Sights

What to see in Beijing

Open one for why it is worth the trip and how to visit; the four decisions below show how to fit them into your days.

Photos (cropped and resized): Temple of Heaven (Maros M r a z (Maros), CC BY-SA 3.0)Summer Palace (Regina800809, CC BY-SA 3.0)National Museum of China (Daniel Case, CC BY-SA 3.0)

All must-see sightsTrip ideas: First time in China

Four city decisions

Understand the city, then plan the details.

How many nights, which area to stay in, how to arrive and leave, where to go next. How to book each part is in Travel Advice.

Search Travel Advice

Time

Four or five nights give you three or four full days.

Arrival and departure days mostly go to travel. Three nights still cover the Forbidden City and the Great Wall, but the Summer Palace usually drops out, and if a booking falls through there is no spare day to move it to.

Stay base

First time? Stay around Wangfujing or Dongdan.

The Forbidden City is close, subway lines run in every direction and dinner is easy to find. For a courtyard hotel in the hutongs, look around Gulou and Shichahai, but ask first about lifts and whether a car can reach the door.

Gateways

Check which airport and station your tickets name, then book the hotel.

Beijing has two airports, Capital and Daxing, and eight major railway stations, all far apart. Landing late at Capital? Spend the first night near Dongzhimen. Trains to Shanghai often leave from Beijing South, trains to Xi'an often from Beijing West. Keep the day you leave free of big sights.

Next place

Xi'an follows most naturally; Shanghai is the biggest contrast.

A high-speed train takes you on to Xi'an for the Terracotta Warriors and the old city wall. Shanghai swaps the old capital for skyscrapers. With enough time, Beijing, Xi'an and Shanghai link up in one line by high-speed rail.

Beijing's sights sit in five directions

NSWE12345678
  1. Tiananmen · Forbidden City · JingshanA full day, walking south to north
  2. Qianmen · Temple of HeavenHalf a day to a full day
  3. Summer Palace · northwestAt least half a day, often most of one
  4. Gulou · ShichahaiHutong walks and evening meals
  5. Chaoyang · CBDDinners, nightlife, easy after a late flight
  6. Great WallOut and back takes the whole day; add nothing else
  7. PEKNortheast; airport train to Dongzhimen
  8. PKXFar south; airport train to Caoqiao
  • City centre
  • Half a day or more
  • A whole day
  • Airport

Not to scale. Sights in the same direction fit in the same day; the Great Wall needs a whole day of its own.

Why so many first trips to China start in Beijing

One city holds an imperial palace, the Great Wall, hutong lanes and glass towers. You can spend the morning in the courtyards where emperors lived, eat dinner in a hutong, and finish the evening around Guomao or Sanlitun in today's Beijing.

Starting here has another advantage. A few days in one hotel let you get over jet lag and learn how China works on the ground: booking sights with your passport, riding the subway, and how far you walk inside the big sites. Every city after that feels easier. If Beijing comes last instead, don't chain arriving from another city, a Great Wall day and an early international flight back to back; one delay and everything after it falls apart.

Deeper answers

From where to stay to getting in and out of the city, one guide for each question.

Private tours

Private tours that include Beijing

Ready-made routes with their itinerary and price on each page. Just your group, on your dates.

Photo (cropped and resized): Beijing, Xi'an & Shanghai: 12-Day Private Tour (Pixelflake, CC BY-SA 3.0)

All private tours

Plan with a local team

Hand us the whole trip, or just part of it.

A real person replies to each request, working from your dates and group size.

Your privacy choices

Necessary storage keeps the planner working. In some regions we also remember your first page and referral source for 30 days; “Necessary only” turns this off. You can also allow analytics and Meta marketing measurement.

Read the privacy notice
HOMEGROUND CHINA

Let’s plan your trip.

Planning a trip to China? Talk to our team about routes, stays and private tours.

Chat on WhatsAppSend us an emailBrowse itineraries & prices