Simple One Day in Beijing Itinerary

Beijing is a city that you could spend multiple days in, but sometimes you only have one day to see the sites. If that’s the case, this post is for you! I’ve outlined how to maximize your day in Beijing following the same itinerary we did for our trip. During our one day in Beijing, we did not go see The Great Wall of China because we planned that for a separate date during our 10 Day trip to China. That was an incredible experience and I recommend you fit that into your schedule if you can.

Before I jump into the itinerary, I want to share a few tips that helped us navigated through Beijing.  Hopefully these help you on your trip, as well!

Tips:

• Be prepared for many websites and apps, like Google, to be blocked in China. I created an itinerary on my phone with English, Mandarin and Pinyin name variations along with rough instructions on how to navigate to them.
• You can use Google apps to be used in an offline mode. I used Translator, Sheets and Maps in offline mode throughout our trip and didn’t have any issues.
• Google Translate allows you to use your camera to translate texts and I used this many times to translate various menus at restaurants.
• Wear comfortable shoes that you don’t mind getting dirty. You’re going to be on your feet a lot, so wear comfortable shoes. Your body will thank you later.

Morning:

Start your day off at the Zhengyangmen Gate near Qianmen station. We were staying in a hotel outside of the city center so we took Line 5 to Qianmen Station. The gate once guarded the Imperial City. Many of the other gates were demolished in the 1960s; but the Zhengyangmen Gate stayed put. There isn’t much to do here but take photos, but it’s a beautiful gate to see.

From there we walked north towards Tiananmen Square. Tiananmen Square is is a city square that has been the site of several important events in Chinese history. It is mostly known around the world as the site for the 1989 protests and massacres. The square is filled with people – tourists and locals alike – but is heavily patrolled by security. There are both undercover and uniformed officers patrolling the square checking bags. The square is quite large, but you only need 5 – 15 minutes to get experience it and take some photos. From Tiananmen Square, you can walk across the street to the Forbidden City.

The Forbidden City

The Forbidden City is a palace (although definitely large enough to be its own city) that was built as a residence for the Emperor of China. It’s a World Heritage Site and an extremely popular site to see in Beijing. They only allow 50,000 people into the city gates each day so it’s good to do this in the morning.

The cost of entry is about 40 RMB ($5 USD) and you will need your passport to enter. We spent about 2 – 3 hours inside, but you could easily spend more time there as well. I recommend you buffer for at least 3 hours. The palace is huge, and it felt like we only saw a small percentage of it. In hindsight, having a tour guide to share history with us throughout the palace would have been very helpful. We walked through on our own and just heard snippets from other tours as we passed by.

Just outside of the Forbidden City is Jinghan Park. It costs 20 RMB to enter and has a beautiful view of the Forbidden City at the top of a hill, which is the main focal point of the park. However, we took the time to loop through the park and enjoyed the whole thing.

Afternoon:

You can rest your feet at one of several places near the park. We stopped into Little Yunnan for lunch and loved it. Yunnan cuisine is an ethnic minority within China. The restaurant was hidden in an alley but worth the search. The restaurant has an English menu option even though the servers do not speak English. It is cash only.

Another good lunch place nearby is Yuebin Restaurant. Like Little Yunnan, it is cash only; but they do not have an English menu option. It’s a cheap, local spot and the first privately owned restuarant in Beijing!

Once you’re feeling fed and rested, it’s time to get back on your feet. From here, it’s a great time to visit South Luogu Lane. South Luogu Lane is a traditional hutong. Hutongs are residential alleys commonly found throughout Bejing. The South Luogu Lane hutong, also known as  Nanluoguxiang, is one of the oldest and most preserved hutongs in Beijing. It was built during the Yuan Dynasty. It is a pedestrian street filled with shops, restaurants, and a great place to try authentic street food.

Evening:

From here, we took the Line 8 train to the Olympic stadiums. You’ll want to get off the train at either the Olympic Sports Center or Olympic Park stations. Both are roughly a fifteen minute walk to the National Stadium, also known as Bird’s Nest. The entrance fee is 50 RMB ($7 USD.) You’ll also want to stop in a the Water Cube, where the water sports took place. During the Winter Olympics 2022, the Water Cube became the “Ice Cube.”

I hope you enjoyed my One Day in Beijing itinerary! If you’re looking to head to Beijing soon, what are you most excited to see? If you’ve already been, what were some of your favorite sites to see?

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