Beijing Travel Guide

Guidebooks

Fodor's Beijing, 3rd Edition

Photo: Corbis

Beijing is a vibrant jumble of neighborhoods and districts. It's a city that was transformed almost overnight in preparation for the 2008 Olympics, often leveling lively old hutongs (alleyway neighborhoods) to make way for the glittering towers that are fast dwarfing their surroundings. Still, day-to-day life seems to pulse the lifeblood of a Beijing that once was.

Beijing Hotels

Communism closed the doors on the opulent accommodations once available to visiting foreigners in Beijing. Functional concrete boxes served the needs of...read more

Fodor's Choice

Beijing Restaurants

China's economic boom has revolutionized dining culture in Beijing. Today you can eat a wide variety of regional cuisines, including unusual specialties...read more

Fodor's Choice

Things To Do in Beijing

Explore the best sights, entertainment, and shopping with our top choices and insider tips.

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Beijing Experiences

Top Reasons to Go to Beijing

The Forbidden City has been home to a long line of emperors, beginning with Yongle, in 1420, and ending with Puyi (made famous by Bernardo Bertolucci's... Read more
Beijing Today

The air is dirty, the traffic is horrendous, and almost nobody speaks more than a word or two of English—so what makes Beijing one of the... Read more
Museums & Monuments

With its historic sites as the major attractions, Beijing has a variety of museums and monuments that often get overlooked. Our favorites, listed... Read more
Getting Outside: Parks & Lakes

Thanks to Beijing's former imperial families, who had a proclivity for lush green playgrounds, the Chinese capital is dotted with beautiful parks... Read more
Discover the Hutong

Beijing's hutong areas are ancient, twisting alley neighborhoods that simply beg to be explored—whether on foot, by bicycle, or by pedicab... Read more
Beijing Then & Now

Since the birth of Chinese civilization, different towns of varying size and import have stood at or near the site where Beijing is now. For... Read more