A Cultural Guide: 4 Days in Beijing, China

You’d likely arrive in the morning in Beijing, pre book an airport transfer where there’s meet and greet - Beijing International Airport is huge, without the airport transfer, we would have been lost!

We stayed at Aman Summer Palace during our trip which is an exceptionally beautiful property located within Summer Palace itself.

Through a little red door of Aman Summer Place connecting you directly to Summer Palace grounds - Explore and hike up and around, take the boat ride across the lake and back (you can drive the boat on your own!). It’s a huge ground to cover and if you enjoy long beautiful nature walks, this is something for you - picturesque views everywhere and there are cafes around. Take it easy and return back to the hotel late afternoon and get ready for dinner.

Have dinner at Aman’s Chinese restaurant, and a night cap at the pavilion with the oriental infused cocktails selections.

Kick off day two by exploring the Great Wall of China. Highly recommend the less touristic section: Mutianyu (one-and-a-half hours away from Beijing)

Insider tip: Entrance to the wall opens at 08:30 a.m. and if you are one of the first to arrive, the entire journey from the entrance to bus shuttle up to the chair lifts followed by the chair lift up to the Great Wall section will only take 15-20 minutes. If you arrive around 10 a.m. (that’s the timing of most tour groups), average time will be one to one-and-a-half hours.

Two ways of heading up and down the Great Wall:

1. Chair lift up and toboggan down

2. Cable car up and down

It is also recommended to purchase the tickets beforehand. Get in touch with me as I work in collaboration with a local tour guide who does the end to end transport & booking of these tickets to ensure a seamless experience!

Insider tip for lunch: When you head downwards to the entrance around lunch time, there is a dumpling restaurant, which serves up great local food. You can have a lunch there and then head back to Beijing right after.

You can explore the areas of Sanlitun in the late afternoon for some (high end) shopping & coffee, followed by dinner at Rosewood’s Country Kitchen (REM to pre order the Peking Duck) followed by a cocktail at the bar for the views!

Check out the Forbidden City on day three with a private guide. Insider tips: Tickets to go inside the Forbidden City need to be purchased before the trip and it’s hard to get (max 30,000 tickets a day). So double check if your tour covers the ticket to get inside.

After Forbidden City, you can make your way to Temple of heaven and enjoy the view. Please also note that in this area, no taxis are allowed, so best is to arrange for a private transport pick up back to your hotel/your next destination.

Alternatively, you can hang around in the area and head to Qianmen Street (Main Street) where you can check out the traditional shops for tea leaves and souvenirs. If you are up for an immersive dining experience in a palace dining setting (you get to dress up as well if you like!), there is a restaurant nearby that’s extremely popular, food is 10/10 (fine dining but not static!), and needs to be pre booked in advance on a mandarin website - which i can definitely link you up! Highly recommended dining experience, this was definitely a highlight for us!

If you are still up for it - check out Bar Confidential for a night cap.

Explore the Antique market of Beijing in the morning where you might find hidden gems/treasures - they have everything from books to jades to vases to paintings!

Have lunch at TRB Hutong (they have a really cool set menu!) and check out the Hutongs (traditional alleys) where there are cute little shops in a traditional house setting. Lots of hidden gems here!