China's capital, a city with 3,000 years of history: the Forbidden City, the Temple of Heaven, the Summer Palace, and the Great Wall 1.5 hours away. For history, culture and food lovers, and for families (Universal Studios, pandas, the aquarium). Daily direct flights from Ulaanbaatar take just 2 h 15 min, and you can also go by train. No time difference. Mongolian citizens need a tourist L visa.
🛂 Visa: Visa required · 30 days✈ Flight: 2.3h · direct☀ Best months: April, May, September, October
The palace of the Ming and Qing emperors, over 9,000 rooms — UNESCO. Tickets must be booked online with your passport, released 7 days ahead and sell out fast. Afterwards, see the whole palace from the hill in Jingshan Park.
CityFree (advance registration)≈5:00–22:00 (flag-raising at sunrise)
Travel guide
Like a well-travelled friend for a first-timer: before you go, landing, SIM, transport, money, food, safety, manners, apps, leaving — step by step.
🧳Before you goVisa, payment apps and internet — sort all three at home and nothing trips you up when you land in Beijing.+
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Visa: tourist L visa (embassy)
Mongolian citizens with an ordinary passport need a Chinese visa. Fill in the form in English on cova.cs.mfa.gov.cn, book an appointment and apply in person at the consular section of the Chinese embassy in UB. Fees: single entry $53, double $79, standard processing 4 working days. You need a return ticket, a hotel booking and a passport valid for more than 6 months.
Tip: Some Mongolian lists say 'China visa-free', but China's official list requires a visa for ordinary passports — check with the embassy.
Almost everything in Beijing is paid by QR code. Download Alipay and WeChat, verify them with your passport and link a Visa or Mastercard. Test with one small purchase before you go.
The Forbidden City, Tiananmen Square, the Lama Temple and others use online advance booking with your passport number and sell nothing at the gate. Forbidden City tickets are released a week ahead and go fast.
Tip: Avoid the 1–5 May and 1–7 October holidays — the city is packed.
🛬Landing and getting to the cityMIAT and Air China land at Capital (PEK), Hunnu Air at the new Daxing (PKX) airport — check your ticket.+
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Capital (PEK): Airport Express
The Capital Airport Express metro reaches Dongzhimen in about 20 minutes for a flat ¥25. Change there to lines 2 and 13. Tap in with a bank card or Alipay's metro QR code.
Daxing is about 40 km from the city. The Daxing Airport Express reaches Caoqiao in 19 minutes, ¥35 ordinary or ¥50 business class; change to line 10 at Caoqiao. A taxi to the centre takes about 80 minutes and costs about ¥220.
Leave the arrivals hall and take a cab from the official rank marked 'Taxi'; ignore people offering rides inside the hall. Taxis run on the meter and passengers pay expressway tolls. Have your hotel address in Chinese on your phone.
📶Phone and internet+
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Roaming eSIM — Google and WhatsApp work
On Chinese networks Google, Gmail, YouTube, Instagram, Facebook and WhatsApp are blocked. Foreign eSIMs such as Airalo or Holafly route data abroad, so these work without a VPN. Buy and install one before you go and switch it on when you land.
Tip: Roaming from a Mongolian operator works the same way but can be expensive — check first.
China Mobile and China Unicom counters at the airport sell tourist SIMs with your passport, cheap and quick. But foreign apps won't open on a Chinese SIM, so choose it only if WeChat, Alipay and Amap are enough for you.
🚇Getting aroundBeijing's metro is one of the largest in the world: fast, cheap, with English signs. The city is huge, so combine metro and taxis.+
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Metro: fares by distance
Metro fares go by distance: ¥3 up to 6 km, ¥4 up to 12 km, ¥5 up to 22 km, ¥6 up to 32 km, then more. Beijing was the first city where you can tap a Visa or Mastercard straight on the gate; Alipay's metro QR code works too. Every station has a bag check.
The DiDi app has an English interface: type your destination, call a car and pay by foreign card or Alipay — no language barrier. Street taxis are metered; showing the address in Chinese makes it easy.
Public transport to Mutianyu is awkward, with several changes. For families, hiring a car for the day through DiDi or a coach tour on Trip.com is easiest. Trains run to Badaling from Beijing North station.
Shops, markets, street food and taxis all take QR payments. With a foreign card linked, Alipay and WeChat Pay charge no fee on small amounts and a small percentage on large ones. Big hotels and department stores take Visa/Mastercard directly.
Cash yuan is legal tender and cannot be refused, but most people hardly use it. Get a small amount of yuan in Ulaanbaatar or from a Bank of China or ICBC ATM and keep it as a backup — useful when your phone dies or an app fails.
🍜FoodBeijing food means roast duck, noodles, buns and dumplings — and the cuisine of every Chinese province in one city.+
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What to eat
Peking duck (famous restaurants such as Quanjude and Siji Minfu), zhajiangmian — noodles with soybean sauce, jiaozi dumplings, hotpot, and jianbing — a crêpe-style breakfast. With children, dumplings, buns and noodles are everywhere and mildly flavoured.
Tip: No tipping in restaurants; most places let you order and pay via the QR code on the table.
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Where to eat
Small eateries in the hutongs and the top-floor food courts of shopping malls are cheap and clean. Wangfujing's 'snack street' is aimed at tourists and pricey. Pick restaurants by ratings on the Dianping app or Trip.com.
Around Tiananmen and Wangfujing, friendly English-speaking young people invite you to a 'tea ceremony' or 'art exhibition' and then present a huge bill — say no. Avoid unlicensed taxis and street ticket sellers. Carry your passport — it is checked in many places.
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Hospitals and air
English-speaking hospitals: Beijing United Family Hospital and the international wing of Peking Union Medical College Hospital. Call your insurer's assistance line first. On smoggy winter days or dusty spring days, wear a mask and check the air quality.
The Lama Temple is a working monastery: keep quiet inside, some halls ban photos, and incense is lit outside. Around Tiananmen and government buildings, no drones, political clothing or flags.
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Queues and noise
Pushing on the metro and buses is normal — don't take it personally, and hold your bag in front. Restaurants are loud and dishes are shared. Never stand chopsticks upright in rice — it recalls funeral rites.
📱Useful apps+
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Payments and messaging
Alipay — all payments, the metro QR code, DiDi and ticket mini-programs. WeChat — contacting locals and museum bookings. Link both to a foreign card at home.
Google Maps shows wrong positions in China. Amap (Gaode) or Baidu Maps give accurate metro, bus and walking routes; Amap has an English interface. Use DiDi for taxis.
Trip.com — hotels, trains, museum and Great Wall tickets in English, with a Mongolian card. For translation use Apple/Microsoft Translator, or Google Translate with a roaming eSIM; download Chinese for offline use.
MIAT and Air China leave from Capital (PEK), Hunnu Air from Daxing (PKX) — the two airports are far apart. Plan to be at the airport 3 hours before an international flight, and take the Airport Express to avoid traffic jams.
In shops marked 'Tax Free', show your passport and take the form; at the airport show the goods at customs and claim the VAT back. Power banks must go in hand luggage and carry the Chinese 3C mark.
AI answer: double-check anything beyond our researched facts with an official source.
One of the world's largest squares: Tiananmen Gate, the Great Hall of the People, the National Museum. Passports are checked at entry and security lines are long.
The round blue-roofed temple where emperors prayed for harvests. Come early to see older locals doing tai chi, dancing and playing cards — real Beijing life.
The imperial summer retreat with Kunming Lake, the Long Corridor and a hilltop temple — UNESCO. Boats in summer, skating on the frozen lake in winter. Allow half a day.
Nature¥40 (cable car ¥140 return, toboggan ¥100)7:30–18:00 (winter 8:00–17:30)
About 1.5 hours from the city, restored and less crowded than Badaling. Ride the cable car up and come down on the metal toboggan children love. Allow a full day.
KidsVaries by date (≈¥418–748)Varies by day (≈9:00–21:00)
A theme park with Harry Potter, Transformers, Kung Fu Panda and Minions lands. Weekend queues are long, so go on a weekday and buy tickets in the official app. Metro lines 1 and 7 reach it.
Beijing's largest Tibetan Buddhist monastery, with an 18 m Maitreya Buddha carved from a single sandalwood trunk. A familiar Buddhist setting for Mongolians. Book a timed ticket in advance.
