Beijing
Day of the Dead meets Chairman Mao at this carnivalesque hotspot where revellers dance to Latin beats. Cocktails (from ¥60) are heavy-handed with the tequila, which you can soak up with Colombian arepes (grilled dough 'sandwiches' with various fillings).
La Social is hidden away behind Mosto restaurant, and run by the same crew.
3.29 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…
4.44 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…
10.51 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…
3.77 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…
3.55 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…
2.62 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…
3.59 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 …
3.8 MILES
Contemporary art meets communist history at this thrilling enclave of international galleries installed within China's model factory complex of the 1950s…
1 MILES
Dedicated to the Eastern Peak (Tài Shān) of China’s five Taoist mountains, this morbid Taoist shrine is an unsettling, albeit entertaining, place of…
1.2 MILES
A thrilling discovery, this exquisite collection of treasures is hidden halfway up an office building! China's state-owned Poly Group has funnelled a…
1.28 MILES
Several teetering old storehouses here once held grain and rice for the imperial family. Today they've been integrated into a fairly lacklustre enclave of…
1.43 MILES
Beijing's largest park has plenty for kids, from fairground rides to pedal boats and swimming, and even a makeshift ski slope in winter.
1.54 MILES
Known locally as Da Kucha (大裤衩, Big Pants), the 234m-tall CCTV Tower is an architectural fantasy that appears to defy gravity. Designed by Rem Koolhaas…
1.55 MILES
Landscaped like an ornamental Chinese garden, Ritan Park provides peaceful respite for the embassy district's diplomats and worker bees. The historical…
1.57 MILES
After the CCTV Tower and the Bird's Nest Stadium, Beijing's Galaxy Soho trumpeted itself as the capital's next modern architectural landmark when it…
8. Overseas Chinese History Museum
1.63 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…