Beijing Walking Tour: 50 Free Video Stops

This Beijing walking tour links 10 sights and 50 short video stops narrated by Clarissa, from Tiananmen Square to the Great Wall at Mutianyu. The notes below turn those stops into practical day plans, with walking order, transport, booking rules, etiquette and the free sights worth knowing before you go. For official visitor information, events and updates, also check Visit Beijing, the official tourism website of the Beijing Municipal Bureau of Culture and Tourism.

Route 1, the imperial axis (stops 1 to 3). Start on Tiananmen Square with the Tiananmen Gate Facade, the Monument to the People's Heroes, the flagpole, the Great Hall of the People and the approach to the Mao Mausoleum. Then walk north through the Meridian Gate into the Forbidden City and follow its five videos from the outer court to the Hall of Supreme Harmony, the inner courtyards, the Imperial Garden and the north gate facing Jingshan Park. From there it is about ten minutes west to Beihai Park and the White Dagoba on Jade Island.

Route 2, the lanes and the lamas (stops 4 and 5). From the north shore of Beihai, walk into the hutong lanes for the grey brick entrances, the courtyard gates, the street corners and the rickshaw passages, finishing at the lakeside edge near the Drum Tower. Take the subway to Yonghegong for the Lama Temple, where the videos move from the gate courtyard through the Hall of the Heavenly Kings and the Yonghe Hall to the Wanfu Pavilion and its giant Maitreya Buddha, carved from a single sandalwood trunk.

Route 3, heaven and the lake garden (stops 6 and 7). Ride the subway to Tiantandongmen and enter the Temple of Heaven, built in 1420, where Ming and Qing emperors prayed for good harvests. Walk from the south gate past the Circular Mound Altar and the Imperial Vault of Heaven to the round, blue-roofed Hall of Prayer for Good Harvests, then return along the cypress avenue. Give the Summer Palace on Kunming Lake its own half day, with the Long Corridor, about 728 metres of painted galleries, and the Marble Boat at the west end.

Route 4, modern Beijing and the Wall (stops 8 to 10). The Olympic Green sits at the north end of the city axis, with the steel lattice of the Bird's Nest and the blue Water Cube, which became the Ice Cube for the 2022 Winter Games. Take a taxi east to the 798 Art District, a 1950s factory complex now filled with galleries, sculpture courts and cafes. Save the Great Wall at Mutianyu, about 70 kilometres northeast, for a separate day, and start early.

If you only have one day, Route 1 is the best Beijing walking tour on foot, because the square, the palace and Beihai sit next to each other on the old axis. A three-day Beijing walking tour works well as Route 1 on day one, Routes 2 and 3 on day two, and Mutianyu on day three, with the Olympic Green added on an evening when the venues are lit.

Spring and autumn are the most comfortable seasons for a long Beijing walking tour. Summers are hot and humid with sudden storms, and winters are cold, dry and windy, although the clear winter light is good for photos of the Wall. Spring can bring wind-blown dust, so pack a light scarf. Avoid the national holidays if you can, especially the first week of October and the Spring Festival period, when the palace, the parks and Mutianyu are at their busiest.

Book ahead. The Forbidden City sells timed, real-name tickets online in advance, linked to your passport, and the page notes that it is closed on most Mondays. Tiananmen Square is free but needs a real-name reservation, made one to seven days ahead with your passport number, plus a passport check at the security gate. Mutianyu uses real-name booking too. Carry your passport every day of your Beijing walking tour, because hotels, ticket gates and some stations ask for it.

The subway is the fastest link between routes, with English signs and announcements and a bag scan at every station entrance. The page gives the useful stops: Yonghegong for the Lama Temple, Tiantandongmen for the Temple of Heaven, Beigongmen for the Summer Palace and Olympic Green for the stadiums. For 798 and Mutianyu, a ride-hailing app or a pre-booked car is easier than public transport, and many hotels can arrange a driver for the Wall.

Mobile payment rules daily life here. Set up Alipay or WeChat Pay with an international card before you travel, since both accept foreign cards, and keep some cash for small vendors. Distances are bigger than they look on a map, so plan two or three sights a day on this Beijing walking tour and use the Map button at each stop to check walking time.

The Lama Temple is a working Tibetan Buddhist temple. Cover your shoulders, walk clockwise around the halls, keep your voice low and do not take photos inside the halls, where signs ask you not to. At the Temple of Heaven, the morning crowds of locals doing tai chi, singing and playing cards are part of the show, so watch respectfully and ask before photographing anyone up close. On Tiananmen Square, follow the guards' instructions and keep the visit simple.

For food on the route, the hutong lanes around the Drum Tower and Nanluoguxiang are good for snacks and noodles, and Peking duck is the classic dinner after a long Beijing walking tour. Jiaozi dumplings, zhajiangmian noodles and jianbing pancakes from street stalls make cheap, quick lunches. Tipping is not expected in most restaurants. Drink bottled or boiled water rather than tap water, and carry a refillable bottle, since most hotels have hot and cold water dispensers.

Beijing is generally safe, but watch for the well-known tea-house and art-student scam around Wangfujing and Tiananmen, where a friendly stranger suggests tea and the bill is huge. Politely decline invitations from people who approach you. Use licensed taxis or ride-hailing apps rather than drivers who wait outside major sights, and keep your phone in a front pocket in crowds.

Wear comfortable shoes: the Forbidden City alone is close to a kilometre from south to north, and the Wall at Mutianyu has steep, uneven steps. Bring sun protection in summer and warm layers in winter, because the courtyards and the Wall have little shade or shelter. A small power bank keeps your phone ready for maps, payment and the videos on your Beijing walking tour.

Several stops cost nothing to visit. Tiananmen Square is free once you have a reservation, the hutong lanes are free to walk, the Olympic Green is free to stroll, and the streets of 798 are free, although some galleries charge. The Forbidden City, Beihai Park, the Lama Temple, the Temple of Heaven, the Summer Palace and Mutianyu all need tickets. That mix is why this free walking tour Beijing visitors can start at any hour works well: the 50 videos are free, and you only pay for the sights you choose to enter.

Buy tickets only through the official channels for each site, and book the Forbidden City several days ahead in busy seasons, because daily numbers are capped. At the Temple of Heaven and the Summer Palace, a combined ticket covers the main halls inside the park, so check what is included before you buy. Ticket rules change, so confirm the latest details on each site's official page before your Beijing walking tour.

For accessibility, the main axis of the Forbidden City is mostly flat but paved with old stone, and many halls have high thresholds. Tiananmen Square, the Olympic Green and the Temple of Heaven's central avenue are wide and level, which makes them the easiest stops for wheelchair users and strollers. The hutongs are flat but narrow and busy with bikes. At Mutianyu, the cable car removes the climb from the valley, but the Wall itself is steep, so treat that stop as optional for limited mobility.

When you finish this Beijing walking tour, carry on with more free walks in East Asia: the Shanghai walking tour, the Hong Kong walking tour, the Seoul walking tour and the Tokyo walking tour. You can browse every city on the Free City Tours home page.