Seven days lets you see Beijing’s essential sights without turning every day into a race. The extra time is valuable because the city is large, the Great Wall is outside the centre, and many museums and historic sites require reservations. This plan uses one downtown hotel for the whole stay and leaves a realistic amount of time for meals, queues, weather, and rest.
Use the China Travel Essentials guide for payments, internet, apps, maps, railway tickets, and general reservations. Use the five-day guide if you want a shorter version, or the three-day guide for a stopover.
Last checked: 11 September 2026. Ticket prices, operating hours, and reservations can change. Re-check official pages before travel.
Seven-day overview
| Day | Main plan | Pace |
|---|---|---|
| Day 1 | Tiananmen Square, Palace Museum, Jingshan | Full but essential |
| Day 2 | Temple of Heaven, Qianmen, Dashilar, food | Moderate |
| Day 3 | Mutianyu Great Wall | Full-day excursion |
| Day 4 | Summer Palace, optional Old Summer Palace | Moderate |
| Day 5 | Hutongs, Shichahai, Confucian Temple and Imperial College | Easy to moderate |
| Day 6 | National Museum, 798 Art District, or Olympic Park | Flexible |
| Day 7 | Choose a second Great Wall area, Ming Tombs, Gubei Water Town, or a relaxed city day | Flexible |
Before booking
Reserve the Palace Museum first. The official international ticket page currently states that tickets open at 20:00 seven days before the visit, there are no same-day tickets, the museum is normally closed on Mondays, and visitors must bring the passport used for the booking. Current adult admission is CNY 60 from April 1 to October 31 and CNY 40 from November 1 to March 31; the Treasure Gallery and Gallery of Clocks are CNY 10 each.
Reserve the National Museum separately if you want a museum day. It is free but requires a real-name reservation. The official NMC page currently lists up to seven-day advance booking, time slots, normal hours of 09:00–17:00, and Monday closure.
Book a hotel in one of these practical bases:
- Dongdan/Wangfujing: best all-round first-visit base;
- Qianmen/Chongwenmen: Central Axis, food, and early starts;
- Gulou/Shichahai: hutongs and evening atmosphere;
- Sanlitun/Dongzhimen: international restaurants and nightlife, but longer trips to the imperial centre.
Day 1 — Imperial centre
Suggested timing
- 07:30–08:15: breakfast and travel to Tiananmen;
- 08:15–09:00: security checks;
- 09:00–12:30: Palace Museum from the Meridian Gate;
- 12:30–13:30: lunch after leaving the museum;
- 13:30–15:00: remaining palace halls or a slower museum route;
- 15:00–16:00: Jingshan Park;
- Evening: Wangfujing, Dongdan, or Shichahai dinner.
The Palace Museum is enormous. Do not treat the northern exit as an afterthought: the Meridian Gate (午门) and Gate of Divine Might (神武门) are far apart. Save both names in your map app.
Tiananmen Square is subject to security and reservation arrangements that can change for events and holidays. Consult the Beijing 12345 official FAQ, bring your passport, and allow time for inspection.
Day 2 — Temple of Heaven and the Central Axis south
Suggested timing
- 07:30–09:30: Temple of Heaven;
- 09:30–10:30: travel to Qianmen;
- 11:00–12:30: early lunch around Qianmen or Xianyukou;
- 12:30–15:30: Qianmen Street, Dashilar, Yangmeizhuxie Street, and side lanes;
- 15:30–17:00: Liulichang or a café;
- Evening: roast duck, copper-pot hot pot, or a performance.
The official Temple of Heaven page currently lists adult park admission at CNY 15/10 for high/low season and combination admission at CNY 34/28. The park generally opens 06:00–22:00 in high season and 06:30–22:00 in low season; the principal paid attractions have shorter hours and normally close on Mondays. Foreign visitors can reserve with a passport through the official account.
Use the combined ticket if you want the Hall of Prayer for Good Harvests, Echo Wall, and Circular Mound Altar. The surrounding Qianmen area is one of the easiest places to sample several traditional foods in one afternoon.
Day 3 — Mutianyu Great Wall
Treat this as a full day and start early. The official city listing currently gives Mutianyu adult base admission as CNY 45 and discounted admission as CNY 25; shuttle buses, cable cars, and toboggan rides may be separate. Check the official scenic-area website or official WeChat account for the current product.
Suggested timing
- 06:30–07:00: depart;
- 09:00–10:00: arrive and enter;
- 10:00–13:00: walk the wall;
- 13:00–14:00: lunch;
- 14:00–16:00: continue if conditions are good;
- 17:30–19:30: return downtown.
For a group of three or four, a licensed private car can be good value. Confirm waiting time, tolls, tickets, and the exact return point. A DiDi ride is possible, but do not assume the driver will wait all day.
Wear shoes with grip, carry water, and expect steep or uneven steps. Do not plan an evening show unless everyone has plenty of energy.
Day 4 — Summer Palace and the western gardens
The Summer Palace is best visited as a landscape, not as a race through every building.
Suggested timing
- 08:00–09:00: travel to Beigongmen or Xiyuan;
- 09:00–12:30: North Palace Gate, Longevity Hill, Long Corridor, and Kunming Lake;
- 12:30–13:30: lunch;
- 14:00–16:00: continue in the Summer Palace or add Old Summer Palace if energy allows;
- Evening: return downtown and choose a relaxed dinner.
The official Summer Palace page currently lists CNY 30/20 main admission and CNY 60/50 combination tickets for peak/off season. Most park areas generally operate 06:00–20:00 in peak season and 06:30–19:00 in off season; special paid sights close earlier and some close Mondays.
Line 4 serves Beigongmen and Xiyuan. Pick the station that matches your planned entrance; crossing the park to a different gate can take much longer than expected.
Day 5 — Hutongs and traditional education
This is intentionally a slower day after two large outdoor days.
Morning and afternoon route
- 09:00: Drum Tower and Yandai Byway;
- 10:00–12:00: Shichahai, Nanluoguxiang, or quieter lanes around Andingmen;
- 12:00–13:30: hutong restaurant or noodle shop;
- 14:00–16:30: Confucian Temple and Imperial College, or Prince Gong’s Mansion;
- Evening: Gulou, Dongzhimen, or Sanlitun.
The official Confucian Temple and Imperial College listing currently lists adult admission at CNY 30, hours 09:00–17:00 with last entry at 16:30, and Monday closure.
Respect residential courtyards. A hutong is a living neighborhood, not an open-air film set.
Day 6 — Museum, modern Beijing, or a recovery day
Choose one track instead of trying to complete all three.
Track A: National Museum of China
Reserve a free time slot up to seven days ahead on the official platform. The official visitor page currently lists three time windows, Monday closure, and passport verification at the North Gate. Spend two to four hours on one or two galleries rather than attempting the entire building.
Pair it with a short evening walk around the Central Axis or a Qianmen dinner.
Track B: 798 Art District and Sanlitun
This is a good contrast to imperial Beijing: galleries, design shops, cafés, and modern restaurants. Check individual gallery hours because independent spaces can change schedules. Finish in Sanlitun if nightlife and international food are priorities.
Track C: Recovery and food day
After the Great Wall and large gardens, a low-pressure day is not wasted time. Sleep later, visit a neighborhood market, take a cooking class or food tour, and leave an open evening for the restaurant you could not enter earlier in the week.
Day 7 — Choose your final excursion
Option A: Badaling and the Ming Tombs
This is the most history-focused extra day. Badaling is easier to combine with a railway journey than Mutianyu. The official Badaling listing currently gives adult admission as CNY 40 in high season and CNY 35 in low season. The Ming Tombs require separate planning and transport; use an official or licensed operator if you combine both.
Option B: Simatai Great Wall and Gubei Water Town
Choose this for a slower resort-and-wall experience, especially if you want evening scenery rather than another urban museum. It is farther from central Beijing and should be treated as a full-day or overnight excursion. Check current operating hours, night-tour restrictions, and transport before booking.
Option C: Museums and shopping
If weather is poor or the group is tired, choose a museum that you did not visit, a shopping district, or a final food route through Qianmen, Wangfujing, or Gulou. This is often a better ending than forcing a second long excursion.
Food strategy for a full week
Spread the famous dishes across different days:
| Meal | Try | Where it fits |
|---|---|---|
| Breakfast | baozi, shumai, soy milk, jianjiao | Hotel neighborhood or Qianmen |
| Lunch | zhajiang noodles, dumplings, simple shared dishes | Hutongs and museum districts |
| Dinner | Peking duck | Day 1, 2, or 5; book or queue early |
| Dinner | copper-pot lamb hot pot | Qianmen, Wangfujing, or Dongzhimen |
| Snacks | yogurt, tanghulu, sesame cakes, traditional snack plates | Qianmen and hutongs |
| International meal | Italian, Turkish, Indian, vegetarian, or halal options | Sanlitun and central commercial districts |
Indicative budgets are CNY 30–80 per person for a casual local meal, CNY 80–180 for a comfortable sit-down meal, and CNY 200–500+ for a famous roast-duck or upscale dinner.
Seven-day booking calendar
| Time | Task |
|---|---|
| Before booking flights | Check visa or visa-free eligibility and choose a hotel that accepts foreign guests |
| 7+ days before the Palace Museum | Reserve the Palace Museum at its release time |
| Up to 7 days before the National Museum | Reserve a free real-name time slot |
| 1–7 days before parks | Reserve Temple of Heaven, Summer Palace, and other parks as required |
| Before each Great Wall day | Confirm weather, transport, ticket inclusions, and return plan |
| 24–48 hours before each visit | Re-check official hours, closures, entrances, and passport requirements |
Seven-day pacing rules
- Never schedule the Palace Museum and a Great Wall excursion on the same day.
- Keep at least one flexible half-day for weather or sold-out reservations.
- Stay in one central hotel unless you specifically want a suburban overnight.
- Use the Great Wall day for physical activity and the next day for a slower museum or hutong route.
- Make restaurant plans by neighborhood; do not cross the city just for a single casual meal.
- Save both English and Chinese hotel addresses.