Beijing
Big, sociable hostel with a communal bar, western food (including what must be Beijing's only 'beans on toast') and plenty of cosy seating. Staff are friendly and mostly fluent in English. Bathrooms are too few and not terribly clean. Great central location on a touristy, pedestrianised strip.
Leo Hostel is far more comfortable and modern than its crumbling cousin Leo Courtyard.
1.73 MILES
Enclosed by 3.5km of citadel walls at the very heart of Beijing, the Unesco-listed Forbidden City is China’s largest and best-preserved collection of…
1.47 MILES
An oasis of methodical Confucian design, the 267-hectare Temple of Heaven Park is unique. It originally served as a vast stage for solemn rites performed…
9.53 MILES
A marvel of Chinese garden design and one of Beijing's must-see attractions, the Summer Palace was the royal retreat for emperors fleeing the suffocating…
0.68 MILES
Flanked by triumphalist Soviet-style buildings, Tian'anmen Sq is an immense void of paved stone (440,000 sq metres, to be precise) at the symbolic centre…
2.32 MILES
Beihai Park, inside the old Imperial City, looks much as it would have done in the 18th century when it served as Emperor Qianlong's private gardens. The…
2.31 MILES
This immense fortress, part of the Ming City Wall Ruins Park, guarded the southeast corner of Beijing's city walls. Originally built in 1439 but repaired…
0.99 MILES
Instantly recognisable by its giant framed portrait of Mao, and guarded by two pairs of Ming dynasty stone lions, the double-eaved Gate of Heavenly Peace …
8.05 MILES
Contemporary art meets communist history at this thrilling enclave of international galleries installed within China's model factory complex of the 1950s…
0.23 MILES
This centuries-old shopping street, although tarted up for tourists, retains several timeworn emporia selling silk, cloth shoes and traditional Chinese…
0.3 MILES
Running due south from Beijing's 'front gate', the mighty Qianmen, this street was once the main commercial thoroughfare through what was known as the …
0.3 MILES
Fans of Communist ephemera or esoteric booze brands might get a kick out this place set up by Red Star, a popular brand of Beijing báijiǔ, China's famous…
0.42 MILES
This is the forward-defensive structure of Zhengyang Gate, which sits behind it. The imposing building is a jiànlóu (arrow tower), which would have been…
0.47 MILES
Qianmen, aka 'Front Gate', consists of a pair of gate-like structures: the northernmost is the 40m-high Zhengyang Gate, which dates from the Ming dynasty…
0.48 MILES
Qianmen (前门), or the Front Gate, consists of a pair of gate-like towers, the northernmost being the 40m-high Zhengyang Gate, which was also the largest of…
7. China Railway Museum – Zhengyang Gate
0.52 MILES
In the old Qianmen Railway Station, which served Beijing from 1906 to 1959 (although only the clock tower is original), this museum offers a fairly…
8. Beijing Planning Exhibition Hall
0.57 MILES
Presenting a top-down perspective on the world's most micromanaged megacity, dry exhibits detail the government's grand schemes for Beijing, with scant…