Things to do in Beijing, China
The top attractions and places to visit in Beijing, by how many Wikipedias have an article about them: Forbidden City, Tiananmen Square and Temple of Heaven, and 37 more within 21 km of the centre.
- 40places to see
Top attractions in Beijing
Forbidden CityMuseum · 1.1 km from the centre
Tiananmen SquareSquare · 0.6 km from the centre
Temple of HeavenTemple or shrine · 2.9 km from the centre
Summer PalacePalace · 15 km from the centre
National Museum of ChinaMuseum · 0.5 km from the centre
ZhongnanhaiPalace · 1.5 km from the centre
Museums
Forbidden City1.1 km from the centre · On the map
National Museum of China0.5 km from the centre · On the map
Capital Museum5.2 km from the centre · On the mapThe Palace Museum1.1 km from the centre · On the map
National Art Museum of China1.9 km from the centre · On the map
Military Museum of the Chinese People's Revolution6.8 km from the centre · On the map
Institute of Vertebrate Paleontology and Paleoanthropology6.7 km from the centre · On the map
Landmarks and monuments
Tiananmen SquareSquare · 0.6 km from the centre · On the map
China Media Group Guanghua Road Office AreaSkyscraper · 5.2 km from the centre · On the map
Mausoleum of Mao ZedongMonument · 0.9 km from the centre · On the map
National Centre for the Performing ArtsTheatre or opera house · 1.3 km from the centre · On the map
China ZunSkyscraper · 5.4 km from the centre · On the map
China World Trade Center Tower IIISkyscraper · 4.7 km from the centre · On the map
Lugou BridgeBridge · 17 km from the centre · On the map
Monument to the People's HeroesMonument · 0.7 km from the centre · On the map
Central Radio & TV TowerTower · 8.3 km from the centre · On the map
Central Axis of BeijingWorld HeritageLandmark · 1 km from the centre · On the map
Churches, mosques and temples
Temple of HeavenWorld HeritageTemple or shrine · 2.9 km from the centre · On the mapNiujie MosqueMosque · 4.2 km from the centre · On the map
Imperial Ancestral TempleTemple or shrine · 0.4 km from the centre · On the map
Temple of EarthTemple or shrine · 5 km from the centre · On the map
Fayuan TempleTemple or shrine · 3.9 km from the centre · On the map
Church of the SaviourTemple or shrine · 2.8 km from the centre · On the map
White Cloud TempleTemple or shrine · 5.1 km from the centre · On the map
Beijing Temple of ConfuciusTemple or shrine · 4.3 km from the centre · On the mapTemple of the MoonTemple or shrine · 4.5 km from the centre · On the map
Temple of the SunTemple or shrine · 3.6 km from the centre · On the map
Miaoying TempleTemple or shrine · 3.9 km from the centre · On the map
Castles, palaces and cathedrals
Summer PalaceWorld HeritagePalace · 15 km from the centre · On the map
ZhongnanhaiPalace · 1.5 km from the centre · On the map
Yonghe TemplePalace · 4.6 km from the centre · On the mapSt. Joseph's Church, BeijingCathedral · 1.2 km from the centre · On the map
Cathedral of the Immaculate ConceptionCathedral · 2.5 km from the centre · On the mapPrince Gong's MansionPalace · 3.6 km from the centre · On the map
Parks, gardens and zoos
Old Summer PalaceGarden · 14 km from the centre · On the map
Jingshan ParkGarden · 1.9 km from the centre · On the map
Beijing ZooZoo or aquarium · 6.5 km from the centre · On the map
Beihai ParkGarden · 2.2 km from the centre · On the map
Olympic GreenGarden · 11 km from the centre · On the map
Fragrant HillsPark · 21 km from the centre · On the map
More to do in Beijing with TAKIP
Day trips from Beijing
Photo credits
- Forbidden City: N509FZ, CC BY-SA 4.0
- Tiananmen Square: N509FZ, CC BY-SA 4.0
- Temple of Heaven: Shujianyang, CC BY-SA 4.0
- Summer Palace: xiquinhosilva, CC BY 2.0
- National Museum of China: xiquinhosilva, CC BY 2.0
- Zhongnanhai: 維基小霸王 (Wiki Little Overlord), CC BY-SA 4.0
- China Media Group Guanghua Road Office Area: HoweyYuan, CC BY-SA 4.0
- Mausoleum of Mao Zedong: xiquinhosilva, CC BY 2.0
- Old Summer Palace: 颐园新居, CC BY-SA 3.0
- National Centre for the Performing Arts: xiquinhosilva, CC BY 2.0
- Niujie Mosque: User:Vmenkov, CC BY-SA 3.0
- Jingshan Park: N509FZ, CC BY-SA 4.0
- Beijing Zoo: N509FZ, CC BY-SA 4.0
- Beihai Park: EditQ, CC BY-SA 4.0
- China Zun: Milkomède, CC BY-SA 4.0
- China World Trade Center Tower III: Ian Holton, CC BY 2.0
- Lugou Bridge: Fanghong, CC BY-SA 3.0
- Monument to the People's Heroes: Yaoleilei, CC BY-SA 3.0
- Yonghe Temple: Shakti, CC BY-SA 3.0
- Olympic Green: Picrazy2, CC BY-SA 4.0
- Central Radio & TV Tower: N509FZ, CC BY-SA 4.0
- St. Joseph's Church, Beijing: BrokenSphere, CC BY-SA 3.0
- Capital Museum: Neo-Jay, CC BY-SA 3.0
- Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception: alexandrine_chan, CC BY-SA 2.0
- Imperial Ancestral Temple: Legolas1024, CC BY-SA 4.0
- Temple of Earth: David290, CC BY-SA 4.0
- The Palace Museum: user:kallgan, CC BY-SA 3.0
- National Art Museum of China: N509FZ, CC BY-SA 4.0
- Fayuan Temple: Unknown author, CC BY-SA 2.0
- Church of the Saviour: Zheng Zhou, CC BY-SA 4.0
- White Cloud Temple: Gene Zhang, CC BY 2.0
- Beijing Temple of Confucius: LuxTonnerre, CC BY 2.0
- Military Museum of the Chinese People's Revolution: Tyg728, CC BY-SA 4.0
- Temple of the Moon: Dirrival, CC BY-SA 3.0
- Temple of the Sun: Naplee12, CC BY-SA 3.0
- Fragrant Hills: zengsx, CC BY-SA 3.0
- Central Axis of Beijing: N509FZ, CC BY-SA 4.0
- Institute of Vertebrate Paleontology and Paleoanthropology: User:Captmondo, Copyrighted free use
- Prince Gong's Mansion: zh:User:用心阁, CC BY-SA 3.0
- Miaoying Temple: Naplee12, CC BY-SA 3.0
Pictures from Wikimedia Commons, through each place’s Wikidata entry.
Good to know
- The list comes from Wikidata (CC0): museums, castles, palaces, cathedrals, parks, gardens, zoos, squares, monuments and other landmarks with their own articles in at least three Wikipedias, the best known first.
- Each place counts for one city, the one closest to it by size and distance, so nearby towns don’t repeat it.
- There are no opening hours, tickets or pictures here: the Wikipedia article for each has them.