KORA / Cities — North China
Beijing 北京
Local favourites
Where locals actually go.
Qianmen & Dashilan 前门·大栅栏
The emperors' processional street at blue hour — what to eat, what to skip, and the free rooftop view.
Beihai Park 北海公园
The thousand-year imperial lake garden — ¥10, lotus in July, dagoba floating over the leaves.
Yangmeizhu Xiejie 杨梅竹斜街
A 496 m Ming-era lane of indie shops without the theme-park polish — the walking route, the shops worth stopping in, and how to find it.
Beijing Fun 北京坊
The 2017 quarter around a 1905 department store — and the bookstore whose windows frame the gate tower.
Dongjiaomin Xiang 东交民巷
Beijing's longest hutong is a former Legation Quarter — Gothic spires over grey brick walls.
Sanlihe Park 前门三里河公园
A 1437 waterway brought back in 2017 — koi, willows and courtyards, free and open all night.
The big sights — the official way in
Beijing's headline sights don't sell tickets at the gate anymore — nearly all run on real-name reservations through their own official channels, and summer slots are gone days in advance. This table is sourced from each attraction's official WeChat announcements, which KORA tracks daily.
| Sight | Getting in | Tickets |
|---|---|---|
| Forbidden City 故宫 | Tickets released 20:00, seven days ahead, on the official site — passports accepted. Closed Mondays. Summer sells out in minutes. | ticket.dpm.org.cn |
| Great Wall at Mutianyu 慕田峪长城 | Real-name booking up to 30 days ahead, passport accepted — the easier wall to plan, and the one with fewer crowds. | Official site |
| Great Wall at Badaling 八达岭长城 | Real-name reservation up to 10 days ahead via official site or WeChat account; passport accepted. Watch for weather closures. | Official site |
| Summer Palace 颐和园 | Book on the city parks platform (畅游公园 WeChat mini-program) or the parks portal — Chinese-language flow. | Parks portal |
| Temple of Heaven 天坛 | Same city parks platform as the Summer Palace — one account covers both. | Parks portal |
| Lama Temple 雍和宫 | Tickets only via its official WeChat account, real-name — no website, no gate sales on busy days. | Official WeChat account only |
| Prince Kung's Mansion 恭王府 | Reservation via its official WeChat account; closed Mondays. | Official WeChat account only |
| National Museum of China 国家博物馆 | Free, but real-name reservation required (site or WeChat); closed Mondays. | chnmuseum.cn |
| Ming Tombs 明十三陵 | Book via the official WeChat account; individual tombs open and close for works — check announcements first. | WeChat account only |
| Gubei Water Town & Simatai Wall 古北水镇·司马台 | Town tickets on the official site; the Simatai Great Wall section needs its own separate reservation. | wtown.com |
| Universal Beijing Resort 北京环球度假区 | Dated tickets via official site (English available), app or WeChat. | Official site (EN) |
Most of these systems were built for Chinese ID cards; passports work in theory and jam in practice — wrong character counts, SMS codes that never arrive, mini-programs with no English. That's exactly what KORA's concierge is for: tell us the sight and the date, and we handle the reservation through the official channel. Message KORA before the slots go.
More Beijing from KORA
Visa-Free Transit, Explained
Whether your passport gets 240 hours in Beijing without a visa — and the rules that trip people up.
The Apps That Actually Work
Maps, translation, payments, rides — the China stack to install before you land.
First-Time Landing Checklist
SIM, cash, apps, bookings — the first 48 hours, in order.
FAQ
Do I really need to book the Forbidden City a week ahead?
In summer, effectively yes. Tickets release at 20:00 Beijing time seven days out and the popular dates go fast. If you missed the window, ask KORA — cancellations resurface and we watch for them.
What is Rednote?
Rednote (小红书) is the app Chinese people actually use to decide where to eat, walk and shop — hundreds of millions of users posting first-person field notes. It's almost entirely in Chinese, which is why we read it so you don't have to.
Why is the local list so different from a guidebook?
Because it starts from what locals actually post — the lanes, parks and streams they walk themselves — not the postcard checklist. It's a different city from the one on the postcards. The big sights are still worth it; that's what the booking table is for.
First time in China?
KORA is the insider in your pocket.
Directions, translations, ticket bookings, and a payment rescue when a QR code refuses your card.