Beijing · From the Forbidden City to the Great Wall
Few cities on Earth keep so much behind their walls: the largest palace complex on the planet, history's most famous wall snaking through the mountains next door, centuries-old alleys where life still happens on the doorstep — and, threaded through it all, a contemporary capital of galleries, Olympic architecture and haute cuisine. Beijing is an entire civilisation in the shape of a city, and every chapter of it can be designed tailor made.
The destination
Capital for more than seven centuries, Beijing is where the Chinese empire left the best of itself: the Forbidden City and its nine hundred and eighty buildings, the Temple of Heaven where emperors prayed for the harvest, the Summer Palace mirrored in a lake — and, guarding it all, the Great Wall riding the mountains to the north.
But reducing Beijing to its monuments means missing half the journey. Between one heritage site and the next lives a deliciously vivid city: the hutongs — the grey alleys where neighbours play chess on the pavement —, the century-old ritual of Peking duck, the Houhai lakes at dusk and a contemporary capital that has become a powerhouse of art, design and fine dining.
This page walks the city in four chapters: imperial Beijing, the Great Wall, the hutongs and contemporary Beijing. It is also China's great gateway — the bullet train puts Xi'an and Shanghai a few hours away — and it pairs naturally with other routes across Asia, from Japan to Southeast Asia. Drawing that cut is exactly our job.
Imperial Beijing · The forbidden heart
First chapter
For almost five hundred years, entering here uninvited cost you your life — hence the name. Completed in 1420, the Forbidden City housed twenty-four Ming and Qing emperors: 72 hectares, some nine hundred and eighty buildings and a procession of ceremonial courtyards that still commands silence today. It is the largest palace complex in the world, and no photograph prepares you for its true scale.
Imperial Beijing continues all around it: the Temple of Heaven, where the emperor prayed for the harvests beneath the most beautiful blue roof in Asia; the Summer Palace, its pavilions leaning over Kunming Lake; and Jingshan Hill, which keeps the city's simplest secret — the full view of the Forbidden City turning gold at sunset.
With a private guide-historian, the palace stops being a sea of rooftops and becomes a saga: court intrigue, concubines, eunuchs and the fall of the last emperor. You enter early, slip away from the crowds and finish on Jingshan Hill, with the whole city at your feet.
Arriving as the gates open means seeing the park the way Beijingers live it: tai chi under the cypresses, fans, skipping ropes and impromptu choirs. Then the Hall of Prayer for Good Harvests — built without a single nail — nearly empty, just for you.
China's most beautiful imperial garden asks for a stroller's pace: crossing Kunming Lake by boat, walking beneath the Long Corridor — almost a kilometre of hand-painted galleries — and climbing to the Tower of Buddhist Incense. Children love it; so do adults.
Great Wall · The work of every century
Second chapter
Adding up every section built across two millennia, the Great Wall runs past twenty-one thousand kilometres — and some of its most spectacular stretches lie less than two hours from Beijing. Forget the rushed visit in the middle of a crowd: with the right section at the right hour, the wall becomes an experience of silence, wind and historical vertigo.
At Mutianyu, the restored section climbs by cable car and comes down — to everyone's delight — by toboggan, its Ming towers framed by forest. At Jinshanling, the wall runs half-wild along mountain ridges, the favourite setting for those who want to hike. And, for a few, there is the privilege of watching it wake: arriving before the sun and having kilometres of stone entirely to yourselves.
The wall's friendliest stretch: ride the cable car up, walk from tower to tower with the forest below and come down by rail toboggan — the memory no child (or adult) ever forgets. Add a picnic at the top and it becomes the trip's favourite day.
For those who want to truly feel the wall: hours walking tower to tower, restored stretches alternating with original stone and hardly anyone on the way. The guide adjusts the distance to your stamina — and the car waits exactly where the hike ends.
Leaving the hotel before dawn has its reward: watching the first light set the towers aglow with the wall practically empty, breakfast served at a lookout and the vanishingly rare feeling of having one of the planet's most visited monuments in absolute silence.
You don't visit Beijing — you cross it. Six centuries of empire, revolution and neon live side by side between the wall and the skyscraper, and every corner changes the century again.
From the Forbidden City to the 798, everything designed tailor made
Hutongs · Beijing behind the grey walls
Third chapter
Beyond the palaces, old Beijing lives in the hutongs — the maze of grey alleys that has drawn the historic centre since the Yuan dynasty, more than seven hundred years ago. Behind the red gates hide the siheyuan, the traditional courtyard houses; out on the pavement, life runs as it always has: chess games, birdcages, kitchen steam and neighbours who know each other by name.
It is also the tastiest chapter of the trip. Beijing invented one of world gastronomy's great rituals — Peking duck, its lacquered skin golden and crisp, served in pancakes thin as paper — and keeps teahouses, markets and dumpling counters worth any detour. At the end of the day the Houhai lakes light up, and the neighbourhood becomes a party.
The classic way into the hutongs: a rickshaw weaving through the lanes, a tea stop at a family siheyuan and the conversation — with your guide translating — about what it was like to grow up there. Touristy? Yes. And still one of the city's most genuine memories.
Roasted in a wood-fired oven until the skin turns to golden lacquer, carved before your table and rolled into pancakes with spring onion and plum sauce: Peking duck is ceremony, not a dish. We book the right houses — from the century-old classics to contemporary rereadings.
When the lights come on over the lakes, old Beijing shows its bohemian side: waterside bars, live music, couples dancing in the square. A walk along the banks, a cocktail on a terrace and the Drum Tower silhouetted against the sky — the perfect night.
Contemporary Beijing · The capital reinventing itself
Fourth chapter
A few kilometres from the Forbidden City, another Beijing accelerates. In the 798 Art District, a 1950s military factory complex became the heart of Chinese contemporary art — galleries, studios and cafés filling brick warehouses beneath Mao-era slogans. In the CBD, CITIC Tower stretches the city to 528 metres, surrounded by signature architecture that has become a postcard in its own right.
The only city in the world to host both Summer and Winter Olympics, Beijing turned its Olympic park into a playground: the Bird's Nest glowing at night, the Water Cube reborn as a water park. And the table kept pace with the ambition — the capital now counts starred restaurants and tasting counters that stand shoulder to shoulder with any metropolis on Earth.
Half a day among heavyweight galleries, independent studios and design bookshops, with lunch in a warehouse café. With a curator or gallerist leading the visit, the district gains context — and Chinese contemporary art, worth millions abroad, gains a face.
The Olympic park makes a perfect family late afternoon: the Bird's Nest lighting up at dusk, the Water Cube — now a full water park — and wide avenues where children run free while the modern city glows all around.
Tasting menus rereading imperial recipes, rooftops with the CBD skyline in your glass and world-class cocktail bars. Beijing's dining scene surprises even seasoned travellers — and the right tables book out weeks in advance.
Day by day
A skeleton itinerary through the city's four chapters, to give you a sense of scale — every block can grow, shrink or drop off the map. Length, pace and order are always adjusted to you.
Airport meet-and-greet, check-in and a first gentle outing to reset the clock: a walk around the neighbourhood, tea at a traditional house and a welcome dinner — your first hands-on lesson in Beijing gastronomy.
A whole morning in the Forbidden City with a guide-historian, from the great ceremonial halls to the court's intimate courtyards. Late afternoon on Jingshan Hill, watching the rooftops turn gold — and, at night, the ritual of Peking duck.
The Temple of Heaven as the gates open, the park in full morning life. Then the hutongs: a rickshaw through the lanes, lunch at a siheyuan and an afternoon of markets. At night, the Houhai lakes aglow.
An early start for the Great Wall on the section designed for your profile — Mutianyu with the family, the Jinshanling hike or the private sunrise. Picnic at the top and a sunset drive back to the city.
Morning at the Summer Palace, crossing Kunming Lake by boat. Afternoon in the 798 Art District, among galleries and warehouse cafés. At night, contemporary Beijing at the table — a tasting menu or a rooftop in the CBD.
A wildcard day, designed with you: a dumpling or calligraphy class, the Olympic park with the kids, silk and porcelain shopping, a hidden temple — or simply repeating the chapter that won your heart.
A calm last morning and a choice: close the trip or keep going — the flight home, or the bullet train to Xi'an and its Terracotta Army, or to vertical Shanghai. From Beijing, all of China sits a few hours down the rails.
Gallery
Click any image to enlarge.
How we travel
Beijing is magnificent — and, on your own, it can be hard work: crowds, tickets with daily quotas, the language, its own apps. With the right design, all of it disappears from your path before you even board.
Beijing rewards anything from four days to a full week — and it is the natural gateway to Xi'an, Shanghai and the rest of Asia. We draw the cut from your days, the time of year and what cannot be missed.
Historians in the Forbidden City, curators at the 798, hosts in the hutongs — privately, and in your language whenever possible. With timings calculated so you see the great icons away from the flow of the crowds.
Section, hour and logistics chosen for your profile: cable car and toboggan with children, the Jinshanling hike, the private sunrise. The difference between visiting the wall and living it lies entirely in that design.
Quota-limited tickets booked in advance, driver and guide coordinated, payment and translation apps set up and tested before departure. China runs on apps — you arrive with everything ready.
From Peking duck at the historic houses to the tasting menus of the new scene, we book the tables worth the evening — with ordering guidance for those who can't read the menu and alternatives for any dietary need.
From departure to return, one team follows the whole journey. Any hiccup — a flight, a train, a special request at the hotel — is solved with a single message, in your language.
Where to stay
We work with a short list of houses we know and trust — organised here by style, which in Beijing completely changes how you experience the city. The final choice is always designed with you.
The great urban classics: impeccable service, benchmark spas, awarded restaurants in-house and the historic city or the skyline at the window. The most comfortable base for having all of Beijing within reach of the car.
Century-old siheyuan restored into hotels of just a few rooms: silent courtyards, timber, lanterns and the life of the alleys starting at your door. The most charming — and most intimate — way to live in old Beijing for a few days.
To close the trip in silence: country houses and design lodges in the valleys at the foot of the wall, watchtowers at the window and starry skies at night. One or two nights here turn the day at the wall into a whole chapter.
Know before
Practical notes for those starting to think about the trip.
Beijing has four sharply drawn seasons — and two golden windows. Autumn is unanimous; spring comes right behind:
Good news: China currently keeps a visa exemption for Brazilians on tourist stays of up to 30 days — a passport valid for at least six months is all you need. Immigration rules change; we confirm the current policy as we design the trip.
On arrival, fingerprints and a photo are collected, as in much of Asia. For longer stays or itineraries that leave and re-enter China, we advise case by case — item by item, before departure.
Everyday China runs on apps: nearly everything is paid with WeChat Pay or Alipay — which now accept international cards — and cash barely circulates. Google, WhatsApp and Instagram don't work on local networks; an international roaming eSIM solves it.
This is how we design it: you board with the apps installed, your card linked and the eSIM tested — plus our step-by-step for every situation. Technology becomes a detail, not an obstacle.
Outside hotels and international restaurants, English is rare — signs and menus are often Mandarin only. With a private guide on the outings, a phone translator for the rest and our itineraries written in two languages, the barrier simply never appears.
And etiquette helps: local culture is generous with visitors — there is no tipping, the table is round and shared, and a heavily accented xièxie (thank you) opens more smiles than any fluency.
To add on
Layers that fit naturally into a Beijing journey.
Around four and a half hours away by bullet train, the first emperor's terracotta army — thousands of life-size soldiers, every face unique — is one of the most astonishing sights in world archaeology. With the ancient city wall and China's best street food as a bonus.
If Beijing is the glorious past, Shanghai is the future under construction: the Pudong skyline, the European facades of the Bund, classical gardens and the country's most cosmopolitan scene. The bullet train links the two in about four and a half hours — and the contrast completes China.
China built the largest high-speed rail network on the planet, and riding it is an event in itself: 350 km/h cruising speed, stations the size of airports and the Chinese countryside streaming past the window. First class booked, seats chosen, everything coordinated.
A short flight lands you in Chengdu, capital of Sichuan, where conservation centres let you watch giant pandas up close — from nursery cubs to adults in the bamboo groves. With Sichuan's fiery cuisine and century-old teahouses on the same trip.
( Pairs well with this trip )
Tokyo, Kyoto and the snow of Hokkaido — the Far East's classic pairing, a short flight from Beijing.
The temples of Angkor, the bays of Vietnam and the beaches of Bali — a dose of the tropics after imperial grandeur.
Bangkok, golden temples and turquoise-water islands — the perfect rest to close out Asia.
