Beijing

Beijing's metro is one of the world's great urban transit systems — 27 lines, 490+ stations and growing, running clean, air-conditioned trains at 2–5 minute intervals during peak hours. Fares are distance-based and extremely cheap by London standards (typically equivalent to 25–60p per journey). I use the metro for almost everything; it reaches the Forbidden City (Tiananmen East/West), Temple of Heaven (Tiantan Dongmen), the Summer Palace (Beigongmen) and most of the city's major sights directly. Download the Metro Man Beijing app or use Google Maps for route planning — both work well. Tap in and out with a transit card (available from any station vending machine with a refundable deposit) or use a linked Alipay or WeChat Pay account.

The bus network is vast and fares are even cheaper than the metro, but route signs and announcements are primarily in Mandarin, which makes navigation harder for first-time visitors. For families, buses are most useful on specific well-known routes — the 快速公交 (BRT) corridor routes are fast and manageable. For most sightseeing purposes, the metro is simpler and almost as quick.

DiDi is China's dominant ride-hailing app and the equivalent of Uber for foreign visitors — the English-language version of the app works well, accepts foreign payment cards through WeChat Pay or Alipay, and is safe and metered. Regular metered taxis are plentiful and inexpensive but communication is easier with DiDi's in-app translation. I always recommend having your destination written in Chinese characters (your hotel can print a card) as a backup — most taxi drivers do not speak English.

Parts of central Beijing are very walkable — the hutong neighbourhoods, the area around the Forbidden City and Jingshan Park, and Sanlitun are all pleasant on foot. The city is flat, which helps. However, Beijing's main boulevards are wide and traffic is heavy; pedestrian crossings are formal and respected, but always use them — crossing mid-block is genuinely hazardous. In summer, heat makes long walks tiring by midday; plan sightseeing for morning and early evening and retreat to air-conditioned spaces or the metro in the hottest part of the afternoon.

Shared e-bikes from Meituan and Hello Bike are widely available in hutong areas and around parks, and Beijing has an extensive cycle lane network on its wider boulevards. Cycling is a genuinely enjoyable way to explore the hutong neighbourhoods and Houhai lake area. Helmets are not provided by bike-share systems; the pace of traffic on main roads means cycling is best kept to quieter lanes and dedicated paths.

I recommend a minimum of five full days for a first family visit — one day for the Forbidden City and Tiananmen area, one day for the Great Wall, one for the Summer Palace and hutong exploration, one for the Temple of Heaven and the National Museum, and a fifth day for the Central Axis walk, the Bell and Drum Towers and any remaining hutong wandering. Seven days allows a much more relaxed pace and time for day trips to the Ming Tombs.

The Forbidden City — the centrepiece of the UNESCO Imperial Palaces inscription — tends to land extremely well with teenagers, particularly if you brief them on the Five Elements cosmology behind the colour choices, the eunuch system, and the specific emperors who lived and died there. The sheer scale (it took 14 years to build and employed a million workers) is genuinely staggering. Pair the visit with the Palace Museum audio guide or an app-based tour and most teenagers will be absorbed for the full morning.

UK passport holders can enter China visa-free for up to 15 days (as of 2024–2025 policy) for tourism purposes — but check current visa rules on the Chinese Embassy in the UK website before booking, as policies change. For stays longer than 15 days, or if you plan to travel to regions outside the major tourist circuit, a standard tourist visa (L visa) should be applied for in advance.

The most important is WeChat Pay or Alipay — both now accept foreign bank cards and are essential for paying for almost everything in Beijing, including metro tickets, DiDi rides, restaurant bills and market stalls. VPN apps are also useful as Google, WhatsApp and many Western social media platforms are blocked in China; install and test your VPN before departure (it cannot be downloaded inside China). Download offline maps via Maps.me or Baidu Maps for navigation without data reliance.

No — tap water in Beijing is not safe to drink without boiling. Bottled water is cheap, widely available and sold in every convenience store, hotel and tourist site. Your hotel room will almost certainly provide a kettle and bottled water. This is one of those practical points worth explaining to teenagers before arrival so they are not caught out.

For families, Mutianyu is the consistently recommended section — it has an excellent cable car, well-restored ramparts stretching across several ridges, and the famous toboggan descent. Most family-friendly tours from the city run in the morning and return by mid-afternoon, which is the right pace. Badaling is closer to Beijing but significantly more crowded; Jinshanling and Simatai are more dramatic but involve harder hiking. Book Mutianyu through a reputable day-tour operator or arrange a private driver through your hotel for the most relaxed experience.

Beijing is genuinely affordable by London standards once you are there. Metro fares, street food, noodle restaurants and admission to most parks are all cheap. The main costs are flights (~£450–£900 per person return from the UK), accommodation (budget hotels from ~£40/night, mid-range courtyard hotels from ~£80–£140/night) and admission to the Palace Museum (moderate, timed-entry tickets). A mid-range daily budget for a family of five once in the city runs to roughly ~£120–£200/day including meals, transport and main attractions — lower if you eat local, higher if you add private drivers and duck restaurants every night.

Most UK families fly into Beijing Capital International Airport (PEK), around 25 km northeast of the city centre. Direct flights from London Heathrow are operated by British Airways and Air China, with journey times of approximately 10–11 hours outbound. Return flights typically take around 9–10 hours due to favourable jet stream. Return fares from London in economy class range broadly from ~£450–£900 per person depending on season and how far ahead you book; school holiday periods push prices toward the upper end of that range. I recommend booking at least three months ahead for summer travel. The airport express rail (Airport Express Line) connects PEK to Dongzhimen metro station in around 25 minutes for a flat fare — fast, air-conditioned and very easy for families with luggage.

Beijing Daxing International Airport (PKX), around 46 km south of the centre, opened in 2019 and handles a growing number of routes. The Daxing Airport Express connects to the city in around 20 minutes but the interchange to central Beijing metro lines adds transfer time. Check which airport your airline uses when booking.

High-speed rail from other Chinese cities is excellent and worth knowing about if you are combining Beijing with a wider China itinerary. The Beijing–Shanghai high-speed line covers roughly 1,300 km in 4.5–5.5 hours — a genuinely impressive and comfortable journey. Beijing South Station is the hub for these services. The Trans-Siberian Railway via Moscow is a legendary overland option from Europe, but at 6+ days it is a trip in its own right rather than a practical family journey to Beijing specifically.