Legendary bar Hope and Sesame from Guangzhou, voted one of Asia's best bars in 2019, crafted the molecular-style cocktail list at MO Bar, an uber-glam hangout in the Mandarin Oriental. Arrive early to bag a terrace table for the chance to see the sun set behind the Forbidden City.
MO Bar
Top choice
Lonely Planet's must-see attractions
0.82 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…
2.23 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…
9.31 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…
0.86 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…
1.54 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…
1.59 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…
0.69 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 …
6.54 MILES
Contemporary art meets communist history at this thrilling enclave of international galleries installed within China's model factory complex of the 1950s…
Nearby attractions
0.11 MILES
Monolithic shopping malls face each other across this prestigious avenue thronged with mostly out-of-town tourists. The late-20th-century Chinese…
0.23 MILES
In two roadside excavations north and south of the crossroads here are the remains of the once magnificent Dong'an Men – the east gate of the Imperial…
0.26 MILES
This inactive Tibetan Buddhist temple can't be entered, but the elevated square in front, which forms part of a small park, is a peaceful little escape…
0.35 MILES
Squeezed between shopping malls on Wangfujing Dajie is the delightfully incongruous St Joseph's, dating, in its current incarnation, from 1901. In fact,…
0.41 MILES
This renovated courtyard was the home of Lao She (1899–1966), one of Beijing’s best-loved 20th-century writers. Author of Rickshaw Boy and Tea House, and…
0.45 MILES
The east gate of the Forbidden City, through which you can exit but not enter. Inside are exhibitions belonging to the Gallery of Historic Architecture.
0.51 MILES
Known locally as the Resting Hall, this imperial building has a yellow-glazed eave-hipped roof. Closed for visitors.
0.51 MILES
The main attraction within the Workers' Cultural Palace is the monumental Sacrificial Hall, as exquisite as any temple you'll find in Beijing. Built in…