The Great Wall at Mutianyu
Restored Ming ramparts, 23 watchtowers, a cable car up and a toboggan down. We run private transfers that arrive before the tour buses.
Beijing · Beijing Municipality
Beijing Tours & Travel Guide 2026 | Great Wall, Forbidden City | JoyoTour
Beijing is China's capital and where almost every first trip begins: the Great Wall, the Forbidden City and Peking duck. Private Beijing tours from US$189 a day.
The short version
Beijing is China's capital and the most efficient place to start a first trip: the Forbidden City, the Great Wall, the Temple of Heaven and the hutong lanes all sit inside one city. Two full days cover the imperial highlights; a third lets you add a wild, unrestored stretch of the Wall.
- Give Beijing 3 full days — 2 for the city, 1 for the Great Wall.
- Mutianyu is restored and has a cable car; Jinshanling is wilder and quieter.
- High-speed rail reaches Xi'an and Shanghai in 4h 30m each.
- Forbidden City tickets sell out about a week ahead — we book them for you.
- Both airports, PEK and PKX, fly intercontinental routes daily.
The place itself
What Beijing is actually like
Eight hundred years of imperial history sit inside a ring road. The Ming and Qing emperors ruled from here, and the result is a city of deliberate symmetry: a north–south axis, walls within walls, and gates that were locked at curfew every night.
What surprises visitors most is that Beijing works as two trips in one. Inside the 2nd Ring Road you get the imperial set pieces. Forty minutes north, the mountains take over and you are walking ramparts that no one has restored.
Beijing is also the practical gateway: almost every international arrival lands here, and the high-speed network puts Shanghai, Xi'an and Datong within half a day.
Destination — click to open the guide
Province or autonomous region
Provincial capital
Major river
Pins are plotted from real latitude and longitude on a 5° graticule. This is a schematic orientation diagram, not a political map — no boundaries are drawn.
What not to miss — Beijing
The Forbidden City
China's largest surviving wooden palace complex — 980 buildings. Enter through the Meridian Gate and exit into Jingshan Park for the classic rooftop view.
The Temple of Heaven
Where the emperor prayed for good harvests at the winter solstice. Morning is best, when locals are practising tai chi and ballroom dancing in the park.
Hutong lanes and courtyard houses
Grey-brick alleys north of the Drum Tower. Ride a rickshaw through them, then eat a courtyard-house lunch with a family.
The Summer Palace
A Qing retreat of lakes, marble boats and painted corridors — noticeably calmer than the city palaces.
Peking duck dinner
Crisp-skinned duck carved at the table with pancakes, scallion and sweet bean sauce. Two restaurants in the city are worth planning an evening around.
China tours that include this stop — Beijing
China Highlights Express
The essential first-time itinerary: imperial Beijing, the Terracotta Army in Xi'an and futuristic Shanghai, linked by high-speed rail.
★★★★★4.9 218 reviews
From US$1,290 US$1,490/per person
Golden Triangle & Giant Panda
The three great capitals plus a morning with the pandas of Chengdu — the trip we recommend to seven out of ten first-time visitors.
★★★★★4.9 164 reviews
From US$1,690/per person
View tourGreat Wall & Beyond
Walk the restored battlements of Mutianyu, then camp overnight on a wild, unrestored stretch of the wall at Jinshanling.
★★★★★4.9 96 reviews
From US$890/per person
View tour
Family China Discovery
Twelve days built for children: panda mornings, dumpling classes, a Great Wall toboggan, karst rivers and no 5 a.m. wake-ups.
★★★★★4.9 97 reviews
From US$1,980/per person
View tour
Yangtze River Cruise Odyssey
Beijing, four nights afloat through the Three Gorges, and Shanghai — the classic river journey with shore excursions included.
★★★★★4.7 87 reviews
From US$2,190/per person
View tour
Grand China Odyssey
Five regions, one journey: imperial north, panda country, the karst rivers of Guilin and the skyline of Shanghai, with Hangzhou's West Lake.
★★★★★4.8 132 reviews
From US$2,580/per person
View tourDay tours from here — Beijing
Beijing
Mutianyu Great Wall Private Day Tour
Cable car to Tower 14, a 2-hour walk east along the ramparts, then the toboggan down. Departure timed to arrive before the coach groups.
From US$118/per person
View tour
Beijing
Forbidden City & Jingshan Private Day Tour
Enter at the Meridian Gate, walk the central axis with a guide who knows the side halls, then climb Jingshan for the view back over 980 buildings.
From US$109/per person
View tour
Beijing
Hutong Lanes & Peking Duck Day Tour
A rickshaw through the grey-brick alleys north of the Drum Tower, a courtyard-house lunch, and Peking duck carved at the table to finish.
From US$99/per person
View tourGetting there and away
Beijing Capital (PEK) handles most long-haul arrivals; Beijing Daxing (PKX) takes most domestic plus an increasing number of international routes. Both connect to the metro.
Coming from Shanghai, you arrive at Beijing South on the Jinghu line, where the fastest trains run every 15–20 minutes.
Within the city, 27 metro lines cover every major sight. Your guide handles tickets, transfers and the ticket gates.
Best time to visit — Beijing
| Month | Weather | Crowds | Verdict |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 4°C / -4°C · dry, cold | Quiet | Avoid |
| February | 6°C / -1°C · dry, cold | Very busy | Avoid |
| March | 14°C / 5°C · dry, cold | Moderate | Good |
| April | 21°C / 12°C · clear and mild | Moderate | Best |
| May | 27°C / 18°C · clear and mild | Busy | Best |
| June | 31°C / 23°C · hot, humid | Moderate | OK |
| July | 32°C / 25°C · hot, humid | Busy | OK |
| August | 30°C / 24°C · hot, humid | Busy | OK |
| September | 26°C / 19°C · clear and mild | Moderate | Best |
| October | 20°C / 12°C · clear and mild | Very busy | Best |
| November | 12°C / 4°C · dry, cold | Quiet | Good |
| December | 5°C / -2°C · dry, cold | Quiet | Good |
How many days do you need?
Three full days is the honest answer. Two days cover the Forbidden City, the Temple of Heaven, a hutong walk and one Great Wall section; the third lets you reach Jinshanling or add Datong's Yungang Grottoes.
Plan these days properlyMeet guides who cover this area
Beijing
Zhang Wei
National Tour Guide Certificate, English
★★★★★4.9214 reviews
- English
- Mandarin
Zhang Wei grew up in a hutong ten minutes' walk from the Drum Tower, and he still starts most Beijing days there, before the crowds, when the lane smells of fried dough and soy milk. He has walked the Great Wall more than 300 times and keeps a hand-drawn map of which stretches are restored, which are not, and which justify an extra hour of driving. Guests tend to remember that he explains a Ming emperor's decision by first describing what the weather was doing that year.
We had seen the wall in pictures; Zhang Wei took us to a stretch where we were the only people for two hours.
Sarah M., United Kingdom
- Imperial Beijing: the Forbidden City, the Temple of Heaven and hutong courtyards
- Unrestored Great Wall stretches: Jinshanling, Gubeikou and Jiankou
- Ming and Qing history explained through buildings rather than dates
- Photography timing — empty courtyards at opening, wall sections at golden hour
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Frequently asked questions
How many days do you need in Beijing?
Three full days. Day one for the Forbidden City and Tian'anmen area, day two for the Great Wall and the Summer Palace, day three for hutongs, the Temple of Heaven and Peking duck. Add a fourth if you want Datong.
Which section of the Great Wall should I visit?
Mutianyu for first-timers — restored, cable-car served and rarely overcrowded after 15:00. Jinshanling for walkers — semi-restored, quiet, and the hiking is genuinely dramatic.
Is Beijing polluted?
Winter is the worst season, mainly December to February. Spring and autumn are generally fine, and the air-quality index is published daily. When a genuinely bad day lands on an outdoor day, we move the plan.
Can I do Beijing as a stopover?
Yes — the 240-hour visa-free transit policy covers Beijing with an onward ticket, which makes a 72-hour stopover possible without a visa. We build these around your actual flight times.
How much does a private Beijing tour cost?
From US$189 per person per day for a private guide, driver and vehicle, including entrance fees. Group tours run from US$79 per person per day.
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