Beijing: the imperial city behind the smog and the headlines

It’s 5:53 a.m. in a hutong off Gulou East Street, the bell tower hutong, and the bell tower itself — the Gulou, a Yuan-dynasty drum-and-bell complex — is just emerging from the dawn haze. An old man in cotton-padded jacket is walking a bird in a bamboo cage (yes, that’s a thing; the birds get exercised by being carried in the open air). A woman is sweeping the front step of a courtyard house. A jianbing cart on the corner is firing up the griddle. Beijing in the hour before the city wakes is one of the most extraordinary urban experiences in the world.

Why I keep coming back

Beijing has been a capital, in various forms, since the 13th century. The Yuan, Ming, and Qing dynasties all built their imperial palaces here. The grand axes of the city — the central north-south spine, the surrounding ring roads — were laid out before any European capital was its current shape. The Forbidden City, the Temple of Heaven, the Summer Palace are some of the most consequential architectural complexes on earth.

And the hutongs — the grey-brick alley neighbourhoods, dating in their oldest sections to the Yuan dynasty — remain, in the surviving pockets around the Drum and Bell Towers, around Houhai lake, and in the southern Dashilan area, the most distinctive surviving urban-historical texture in any major Asian city.

Where to base yourself

Dongcheng (around the Drum Tower or Houhai) for the hutong access and a walking-friendly base.

Wangfujing for the central downtown, walking distance to the Forbidden City.

Sanlitun for the modern bar and restaurant district.

Avoid anywhere in the second ring road’s outer edges as a base — long taxi rides for everything.

What to actually do

Visit the Forbidden City early. Time-ticketed entry, book online a day or two ahead. The 8:30 a.m. opening is the only way to get the central courtyards before the tour groups. Allow three hours minimum.

Walk the hutongs. The Nanluoguxiang area is the most-touristed; the parallel alleys (Beiluoguxiang, Mao’er Hutong, Xijiang Hutong) are quieter and more authentic. Around the Bell and Drum Towers, the hutongs that radiate out are the heart of the old city.

Walk the Great Wall at Jinshanling, not Badaling. Badaling is the closest section to the city and is permanently crowded. Jinshanling is three hours out, partially restored and partially wild; the hike from Jinshanling to Simatai (where it gets dangerous beyond the marked sections) is one of the great day hikes within reach of Beijing. Mutianyu is the compromise — closer, restored, but less crowded than Badaling.

Visit the Temple of Heaven at sunrise. The Ming-dynasty altar complex in southern Beijing; the morning is when locals do tai chi, ballroom dancing, and chess in the park around it.

See an opera at the Liyuan Theatre. Beijing opera (jingju) is acquired-taste but worth one performance. The Liyuan Theatre does an English-titled performance several evenings a week, around 90 minutes.

Walk the central north-south axis. From the Drum Tower south through Jingshan Park (the artificial hill north of the Forbidden City) through the Forbidden City and out the south gate, down through Tiananmen Square, and to the Front Gate (Qianmen) and the Temple of Heaven. The axis is 8 km. The full walk takes a full day with stops.

Where to eat

Da Dong (multiple locations) — Modernised Beijing roast duck; reservations. Siji Minfu — The local favourite for roast duck (Peking duck); lower prices than Da Dong. Najia Xiaoguan — Imperial Manchu-style cooking; the old yellow-curtained imperial recipe book. Mei Mansion (Mei Fu) — Refined Beijing-Huaiyang in a small Houhai courtyard. Yao Ji Chao Gan — The old-style stewed-pork-intestines noodle (chao gan); braver eaters only. Old Beijing dishes: zhajiang noodles (with the fermented soybean paste), jianbing (the crepe-pancake breakfast), mutton hot pot in winter. Coffee at Voyage Coffee or Soloist Coffee for the modern Beijing café scene.

When to come

Mid-September through October, or April through May. Pleasant temperatures, lower pollution.

May can have sand storms. Summer (June–August) is hot and the pollution can be heavy. Winter is cold (often –10°C) but dry and frequently clear.

Avoid the National Day Golden Week (first week of October) and Chinese New Year (January or February) when domestic travel saturates.

Practical notes

• Visa: As Shanghai — check current transit-without-visa rules; 240-hour transit is available for many Western passports.
• Money: As Shanghai — mobile payment is universal; the Alipay foreign-card linkage works in Beijing.
• Transport: Beijing Metro is excellent, signposted in English, and the cheapest of the world’s major capital subways.
• Pollution: Less of an issue than it was a decade ago but still variable. AQI apps are useful.
• The Great Wall touts: At Badaling and Mutianyu, there are now official sledge rides down (yes, a sledge), which are fun. Avoid the unofficial ‘private tour’ offers near the entrance.
• The Forbidden City: Tickets must be booked online with your passport details. Walk-up is not generally possible.

A final thought

Beijing is the most consequential historical capital in East Asia and one of the world’s deepest urban-historical experiences. Three dynasties’ worth of imperial architecture is concentrated within the inner ring road. The Great Wall sections within reach are some of the most extraordinary built objects on earth. The hutongs — the parts that survive — are a 700-year-old residential pattern still in active use.

The modern political conversation about China sometimes makes Beijing feel like an inadvisable trip. The visit itself, in my experience over twenty years, has been consistently rewarding. Visitors are welcomed; the tourism infrastructure works; the food is some of the best in China; the historical sites are extraordinary.

Go for at least a week. Stay in a hutong courtyard hotel. Walk the central axis. Spend a day on the Great Wall. Eat duck twice. Get up at 6 a.m. once, while the city is still emerging from the dawn haze, and walk to the Drum Tower as it opens for the morning’s drum strike. The empire is gone but the architecture — and the patient routines of the people who live around it — remain.