Four Day Beijing Itinerary

Wondering what to do in Beijing on holiday? Check out this four day Beijing itinerary and make the most of your trip to China. Beijing surprised me in many ways, good and bad. I’m gonna start off with some of the bomb diggity because you’ll wanna know what’s good in this huge city. The layout of Beijing is enormous and clean which gives it a lot of space to wow you with its scenery and cultural sites. Without further adieu, let’s dig into this post and delve into a four day Beijing itinerary.

Pro Tip: Do not exchange all your money at the airport. It is a GIANT rip off. I exchanged $100 and received 576 yuan. When I exchanged my money at a bank, I received 625 yuan.

Also, I noticed some airport workers will come up to you and offer you a ride from the airport if your flight comes in late. Trust them at your own risk. We were lucky and had a guy who gave us a semi decent price but it truly beats standing in the queue outside waiting for a taxi. He drove us in his own vehicle and gave us receipts. I would recommend also taking the license plate number just in case.

Blog Posts You Might Like

• A Complete Guide to a China Transit Visa
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• What To Eat in Beijing
• Why I Hated Traveling in Beijing

Day One

Since we flew in so late, we got a pretty late start. One of my biggest recommendations for when walking around and site seeing in Beijing is when you see something that looks like a convenience store buy snacks. I’m not kidding. Food is so hard to find near big tourist attractions. Also, Beijing is a lot bigger than you think it is. Wear comfortable walking shoes and stock up on water. You’re gonna need both of those essentials. Don’t make my ridiculous mistakes and get dehydrated and hangry. You’ll feel it in your soul.

Temple of Heaven

This was one of my favorite sites in Beijing. Besides the main pagoda which is a super Instagrammable location, the grounds are vast and gorgeous. There’s a rose garden and other scenic places to see. With this beautiful location comes a catch though. The other scenic places on the grounds are gonna cost you money. Alas, it’s not much, but an entrance ticket doesn’t guarantee you access to everything.

Compared to Seoul and most cities which are concrete jungles, you’ll be thrilled to find there is a lot of nature. And nature meets urban is something more cities should incorporate into their layout. Trees help soak up the harmful Co2 many inhabitants urban spaces put into the air.

There’s food outside of the temple grounds, but unless you can read Chinese, you’re gonna have tough time ordering. There’s no pictures to go with the food so it’s kinda like Russian Roulette as to what you’re going to get when you eat in Beijing.

Tiananmen Gate & Square

One of the most nerve wracking things for me while traveling to the square was all the security to get in. All train stations have scanners where you put your bag and other essentials. They also have guards with the metal detecting wands. While you’re trying to get into the square also have your passport or some sort of ID on you when you pass through. Many people (including myself) feel super uncomfortable traveling with a passport. For the most part, I didn’t feel unsafe in Beijing; however, I didn’t like carrying my passport around.

I also didn’t enjoy a metal detection wand hovering around my pelvis as I passed through. Overall, it’s a pretty big square with lots of history and culture.

Related: What to Eat in Beijing 

Day Two

Forbidden City

I’m sure you’ve read online a million times you need to get up early to see the Forbidden City. It’s not an understatement. China really doesn’t cater to foreign tourists, so unless you have Weechat, wifi and speak some pretty awesome Chinese, you’re gonna be in for a not so lovely treat. I recommend booking your tickets to the Forbidden City here to avoid the hassle we did.

If you’re feeling really adventurous and want to dive into doing things the Chinese way, headlong, then by all means, be my guest. When you walk into the palace, towards the entrance, you’re going to see a very large queue to go through security. Tucked away in the right hand corner, there will be a small ticket booth many Chinese will refer to as, “Small House.” To avoid going to the small tents or police box like we did, below is a photo for reference.

Our passports became our entry ticket into the Foribidden City. Don’t forget it or you’re not getting in. In case you didn’t know, big brother is always watching.

Related: A Complete Guide to the Forbidden City

Jingshang Park

Looking for real visual hangovers? If you want a bird’s eye view of the Forbidden City, I highly recommend climbing to the top of this temple. You’ll be facing the north gate of the city. This is also a royal garden covering about 57 acres of land so there’s plenty of photo opps and things to see. If you’ve got time to kill, there are five different summits with temples at the top.

You can also dress up in the traditional costumes and take home a great souvenir.

Behai Park

Nature is neat. There, I said it. If you’re looking for a place with beautiful scenery, gorgeous artwork, gardens, and pagodas, then I really recommend going for a walk around the park. It’s super ideal for taking gorgeous photos and there are restaurants inside the park. So if you’re hungry, grab a bite to eat while looking at some seriously visually appealing sites.

Summer Palace

This was the farthest away of all the sites. The palace was built into the side of the mountain with nature intended to envelope it. You’ll be walking through a bunch of stairs and caves as you go higher and higher. The palace was pretty, but it wasn’t my favorite part of my trip to Beijing. If you need something to do, then this is a great place to go. If this type of architecture is your thing, then definitely don’t miss the Summer Palace.

Pro Tip: Don’t jam pack four things in one day. You will die. 

Related: Beijing Photo Essay 

Day Three

Have you truly visited Beijing, China unless you’ve seen the Great Wall? As one of the Seven Wonders of the World, this is something every traveler should have on their bucket list.

The Great Wall

Once you’ve gotten a feel for the city, then it’s time for you to see the Great Wall. For a cheap tour with lunch included, I recommend getting this Klook tour. It’s only $32 and you get the most bang for your buck. This includes a hotel pick up, tour in English, lunch, and a free 48 hour cancellation.

I think it’s so much better to go to Mutianyu as compared to the popular Badaling. There will be a lot of people but not over crowded and super touristy as compared to Badaling.

Climbing the Great Wall isn’t so bad if you’re in good shape. The only hard part was going to the 20th watch tower because the stairs are a direct steep climb up. But the views are definitely worth it.

As for lunch, get ready to DROOL because Chinese cuisine is a lot of yummy stir fry. The guides were also super sweet because they accommodated for everything that was vegetarian including myself. The food was served hot and fresh and I legit kept coming back for seconds.

Wanfujing Pedestrian Street

You’ll definitely still have energy after your Great Wall Tour. This street is littered with shopping upon shopping. There’s lots of name brand stores, delicious foods, and of course shopping. Go be basic, grab yourself a Starbucks and get ready to have the time of your life shopping at VS. Seoul doesn’t have Victoria’s Secret. Le sad. (Also, get on that, VS. Host a fashion show and then open a three floor flagship store like Beijing.)

Wangfujing Snack Street

Feeling hungry after all your shopping? The Wangfujin Snack Street alongside the shopping street is where you can eat everything from fried scorpion on a stick to chicken. I daresay the scorpion was something frightening because some were still alive and moving while waiting to meet their doom in the fryer. You can even purchase herbs and other food related trinkets while walking along. It’s an experience within itself.

Day Four

Lama Temple

If you’re looking to see a real place of worship, I would check out the Lama Temple. This is a Mongolian-Tibetan style temple so a lot of the architecture is inspired by those designs. The real stunner of this attraction is the 15 meter Buddha made completely of Tibetan sandalwood.

Like all religious places, please be aware of the no photo signs and dress code. Whether or not you believe, I think it’s absolutely crucial that you respect any and all places of worship. And in case you were wondering, yes, I did wear my jacket inside the temples with Buddha so I could cover my shoulders.

Confucius Temple

Out of all the places we visited, I really enjoyed this temple the most because it was the most quiet and people free. Try going in late afternoon and you’ll definitely be free from tour groups and the massive hoards of people.

So besides going to someplace cool, why is this place famous? Well, it’s the second biggest Confucian temple in China after the one in his hometown Qufu. There’s also various carvings inside the ground including stone tablets of scholars that passed the official examinations.

After all, you gotta be pretty smart to be hanging around the Confucian ways.

Wudayaoyng Hutong

If you’re looking for a subculture with trendy and Boho vibes, I highly recommend walking along this street. It’s super great for photos and there are a lot  of restaurants, places to drink beer, and vegetarian friendly options. I felt the most at home on the street since it was so different from the uniformity of the majority of the city. It had personality and character.

This street is located north of the Confucian Temple. I really enjoyed soaking in the surroundings and relaxing vibes. There’s a huge tea drinking culture China and no matter where you go, the tea will always be pretty fragrant and wonderful tasting. (And low in calories too if you’re on a diet. ;))

UnTours Food Tour

Do you love to eat? I know I sure do. Even as a vegetarian there is still so much to try and eat whenever I visit a foreign country. Trust me, I’m not missing out not eating meat from different places (and I’m sure other veggies agree). However,  meat eaters and vegetarians alike can rejoice on this food tour because there’s something for everyone. How does sampling rice wine, beer, chicken, dumplings, donkey burgers, and Mongolian Hot Pot sound to you? Untours Old Beijing Dinner Tour is Gina Bear approved. It was also an incredible way to end my Beijing trip and go back to Seoul happy.

In case you were wondering why the skies look so clear and unpolluted in my photos… The government shut down the factories for a few days for a summit with another country. Which means they were putting their best foot forward to show the world. I would also compare many of the buildings in Beijing to something you would see in a military installation. Uniform and pristine.

China is a super pretty country, don’t get me wrong. But legit… I wasn’t very fond of the people. They were the least friendly I’ve encountered in my travels thus far. You can also tell China doesn’t really care about foreign tourists. The lack of English signs and English speakers (or any bilingual speaker) is very rare. No one could even speak Japanese or Korean which was also super shocking to me. Just prepare to be completely on your own when you visit China. Buckle in and man up, pork chop because you’re in for a bumpy ride at times. 

Despite this, there’s no shortage of what to see in Beijing. Enjoy your time, keep your chin up, take in the sites and don’t let the cold demeanor of many Chinese get you down. 🙂

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