If your visions of Beijing are centered around pods of Maoist revolutionaries in buttoned-down tunics performing exercise in Tiananmen Square, put them to rest: this city has embarked on a new millennium rollercoaster and it's taking the rest of China with it.
Today's youth are more interested in MTV than Mao, rhetorical slogans from the Cultural Revolution have given way to butchered English splashed across designer-copy T-shirts.
Beijing Tours, Attractions & Activities
Great Wall at Badaling & Ming Tombs
Drive to the Badaling section of the Great Wall, the symbol of ancient Chinese engineering. From here it is on to the sacred Ming Tombs, burial grounds to 13 of the 16 Ming emperors.
Beijing's Forbidden City & Tiananmen Square
Beijing is a reflection of China itself, steeped in history from the ancient to the modern. This tour starts at Tiananmen Square; from here it's on to the Forbidden City, commissioned by Emperor Yong Le in the Ming Dynasty.
Suggested Itineraries: Beijing
The Lantern Festival is a colorful time to visit Beijing. People walk the streets at night carrying colored paper lanterns. It falls on the 15th day of the first moon (two weeks after the Spring Festival starts).
Tomb Sweeping Day is a day for worshipping ancestors; people visit the graves of their dearly departed relatives and clean their gravesites. They often burn 'ghost money' (for use in the afterworld) for the departed. It falls on April 5 in the Gregorian calendar in most years; April 4 in leap years.
If you're still stuck for inspiration in Beijing, read our Suggested Beijing Itineraries or our things to do during the Beijing Games post over on the Viator travel blog.
Classic Beijing Tour
From USD $61.00
Experience all the main sites in Beijing. Highlights include Tiananmen Square, the Forbidden City, the Temple of Heaven, Pearl Market & Summer Palace.
Peking Duck Banquet & Chinese Acrobatic Show
From USD $65.00
Dine and be entertained in traditional fashion on this excursion. Watch exotic entertainment by a Chinese acrobat troupe and eat Peking Duck, 'Beijing style'.
Top-rated things to do in Beijing according to Viator.com travelers:
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Great Wall at Badaling and Ming Tombs Full Day tour from Beijing
based on 20 reviews
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Essential Beijing - Great Wall at Badaling, Forbidden City, Tiananmen Square
based on 10 reviews
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Beijing International Airport (PEK) Roundtrip Transfer
based on 13 reviews
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Classic Beijing - Forbidden City, Tiananmen Square, Summer Palace, Temple of Heaven
based on 13 reviews
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Historic Beijing II - Summer Palace, Lama Temple Panda Garden
based on 7 reviews
All Beijing traveler reviews »
Cultural Beijing Tour
From USD $69.00
A rickshaw tour of Hutong, Chinese family visit, Prince Gong Mansion… this tour allows you to get a taste of life in the city.