Beijing
Aspiring to the Chinese notion that good health starts in the stomach, this graceful vegetarian restaurant serves fine-dining renditions of the meat-free cuisine enjoyed by Buddhist monks. Zen-like dining rooms hum to the arpeggios of a harpist, as dry ice wafts over flower displays. Your qi will rebalance itself in no time.
Founded by chef Pan Jianjun, a former Buddhist disciple, an afternoon high tea at King's Joy combines delightfully with a trip to the Lama Temple across the street.
2.22 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…
4.68 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…
8.3 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…
3.21 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 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…
3.39 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…
2.9 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 …
4.64 MILES
Contemporary art meets communist history at this thrilling enclave of international galleries installed within China's model factory complex of the 1950s…
0.08 MILES
Converted from a princely residence to a lamasery in the 18th century, the Lama Temple extends through a crescendo of ever more divine halls in a whirl of…
2. Confucius Temple & Imperial College
0.22 MILES
An incense stick’s toss away from the Lama Temple, China’s second-largest Confucian temple is a haven of scholarly calm and contemplation. Come to wander…
0.31 MILES
Beijing is surrounded by four heavenly altars, or tán, and Ditan (Altar of the Earth), situated in the north within grounds that are today a public park,…
4. Overseas Chinese History Museum
0.61 MILES
Charting the history of Chinese emigration from the era of the Silk Road to the present day, this is a terrific museum with full English captions…
0.89 MILES
This largely renovated residence was the home of Mao Dun, the pen name of Shen Yanbing (1896–1981), a well-known author. He lived at the back courtyard…
6. Duan Qirui Former Government Building
1 MILES
This imposing slab of Republic-era architecture, complete with brick clock tower, is the former headquarters and residence of Duan Qirui, a warlord who…
1.16 MILES
The restrained, grey-stone edifice of the Bell Tower (Zhonglou) is arguably even more charming than its resplendent other half, the Drum Tower (Gulou),…
1.19 MILES
Beijing's most touristy hutong, Nanluogu Xiang is a north–south strip of snack stalls, small food courts, souvenir shops and more people than you can…