About This Guide
Why we built this: Planning a trip to Beijing from outside China is genuinely hard. Ticket booking sites are in Mandarin, subway maps are confusing at first glance, and most English-language guides are either outdated or written by people who breezed through on a 48-hour layover. We wanted a single resource where every practical detail — ticket prices, which exact subway exit to take, what to do after you're done at each site — is in one place and actually current.
Who Writes This Guide
We're a small team of Beijing residents with a collective 20+ years of exploring this city. We're not a faceless travel brand or an AI-generated content farm — we're people who ride the subway every day, eat at the dumpling shops we recommend, and genuinely believe Beijing is one of the most rewarding cities in the world when you know where to go.
Every single attraction in this guide has been visited by at least one team member within the past 12 months. Ticket prices are checked monthly against official sources. Subway directions are tested in person — we don't just look at a map, we actually walk the route from the station exit to the entrance and time it. When we say "take Exit B and turn left," we've done exactly that, often multiple times across different seasons.
How We Keep Things Current
Beijing changes fast. Subway lines open, ticket policies shift, and what was true six months ago may not be true today. Here's how we stay accurate:
- Monthly price checks: Ticket prices are verified against official attraction websites and confirmed through on-site purchases every month.
- Transportation updates: Subway information is updated whenever Beijing opens a new line or changes station exits — which happens more often than you'd think.
- Seasonal reviews: Each season, team members revisit key attractions to update crowd conditions, seasonal tips, and photo spot recommendations.
- Reader feedback: When a traveler tells us something has changed, we investigate and update within 48 hours.
How We Source Information
Information is gathered from official attraction websites, Beijing Municipal Commission of Tourism, Beijing Subway official announcements, UNESCO World Heritage listings, and firsthand visitor experiences. We cite these authoritative sources throughout our pages — including UNESCO, Beijing Subway, and official attraction booking platforms.
Our Approach to Recommendations
We don't accept payment for recommendations. If we recommend Siji Minfu over Quanjude for Peking duck, it's because we've eaten at both and genuinely believe it's better — not because anyone paid us. Where we link to official ticket sites or external resources, we do so because they're useful, not because of any commercial relationship.
Contact Us
Found outdated info? Have a suggestion or correction? We welcome feedback from fellow travelers:
Privacy
This site does not use tracking cookies, analytics scripts, or personal data collection. We don't run ads and we don't sell anything. If that changes, we'll update this page and be transparent about what we collect and why.
Last updated: July 2026. This page was last reviewed and updated with current editorial practices.