Beijing in 6 Days on a Budget (With Daily Costs)
Six days in Beijing: palace, wall, temples, tombs, and a bargaining afternoon
Six days is where you can finally give the Ming Tombs their own half-day instead of bolting them onto a rushed Wall tour, and still end with an afternoon spent haggling instead of queuing. Here’s the full run, cost by cost. Shorter trip? See the 5-day version; the 7-day plan adds a second, quieter Wall day.
| Day | Focus | Rough spend pp |
|---|---|---|
| Day 1 | Tiananmen, Forbidden City, Jingshan Park | ¥230-330 |
| Day 2 | Great Wall at Mutianyu | ¥350-550 |
| Day 3 | Temple of Heaven, hutongs, Houhai | ¥90-190 |
| Day 4 | Summer Palace, 798 Art District | ¥45-70 |
| Day 5 | Lama Temple, National Museum, Wangfujing | ¥65-85 |
| Day 6 | Ming Tombs, Olympic Green, Panjiayuan Market | ¥210-360 |
Book these before you go:
- Forbidden City tickets : real-name, released 8pm Beijing time exactly 7 days out.
- Mutianyu Great Wall transport or tour : sort the ride before your 7:30am start.
- Your hotel : Dongcheng covers Days 1, 3, and 5; either works fine for the Day 6 car pickup.
Lama Temple (Day 5) now requires a timed booking for everyone too, foreigners included.
Day 1: Tiananmen and the Forbidden City
Morning: Tiananmen Square security and your reserved slot, no ticket cost beyond the booking, then Meridian Gate for the Forbidden City, ¥60 peak / ¥40 low season, morning or afternoon slot set at booking, three to four hours.
Early afternoon: Jingshan Park, ¥2, for the rooftop view from Wanchun Pavilion.
Evening: Peking duck at Siji Minfu near the palace, ¥154-259 full duck, better value than Quanjude or Da Dong’s ¥300-600pp.
Roughly ¥230-330pp.
Day 2: the Great Wall at Mutianyu
Skip Badaling, it’s the closest section and the one every tour bus is aimed at, making it the most crowded stretch by far. Mutianyu , roughly 90 minutes out, is well-restored and quieter.
Morning: Depart 7:30-8am. Shared van round trip roughly ¥150-300pp. Entrance ¥45, shuttle ¥15 return, cable car up plus toboggan down another ¥100-140. Hike down and skip the toboggan fee if you’re up for the stairs.
Lunch: Noodles or roujiamo near the entrance, ¥30-50.
Evening: Jianbing (¥8-15) or zhajiangmian (¥20-35) once you’re back.
Roughly ¥350-550pp, the priciest day on the trip.
Day 3: Temple of Heaven, hutongs, and Houhai
Morning: Temple of Heaven, ¥15 park-only or ¥34 combined (peak), the combined ticket’s worth it for the Hall of Prayer.
Lunch: Dumplings or noodles nearby, ¥20-35.
Afternoon: Wudaoying or Fangjia hutong over Nanluoguxiang, which is now mostly coffee shops and souvenir stalls dressed up as history.
Evening: Houhai lakeside, paddleboat optional (roughly ¥40-80/hour) or just the bar strip.
Roughly ¥90-190pp, the cheapest sightseeing day.
Day 4: Summer Palace and 798
Morning: Summer Palace, ¥30 peak / ¥20 low, half a day around Kunming Lake and the Long Corridor.
Lunch: Near the East Palace Gate, ¥30-50.
Afternoon: 798 Art District, free (Line 14 to Wangjing South, then a short taxi or walk).
Evening: Sanlitun if you want a livelier night, or rest.
Roughly ¥45-70pp plus any Sanlitun spending.
Day 5: Lama Temple, the National Museum, and Wangfujing
Morning: Lama Temple, ¥25, timed booking required in advance for everyone now.
Lunch: Noodle shop near Yonghegong, ¥20-35.
Afternoon: National Museum of China, free with an online slot reservation, two hours minimum for the bronze and ancient-China halls.
Evening: Wangfujing for the walk, but skip the scorpion-skewer stalls, they’re priced for the camera, not the meal, and decline anyone offering a nearby “tea ceremony,” a well-known scam that ends in a large bill.
Roughly ¥65-85pp, food aside.
Day 6: Ming Tombs, Olympic Green, and bargaining at Panjiayuan
Morning: Ming Tombs, on their own rather than crammed into a Wall day-tour where you get 45 rushed minutes, ¥60 peak / ¥20 low season general admission, plus ¥30-45 for Changling or ¥40-60 for Dingling if you want to go inside a specific tomb (combined ticket for both roughly ¥95). No reservation needed, buy on-site. A private car or tour van there and back runs roughly ¥150-250pp if you’re not folding it into a Wall trip.
Lunch: Somewhere near the Tombs site, ¥30-50.
Afternoon: Olympic Green, free to walk and photograph the Bird’s Nest and Water Cube from outside; going inside either costs extra (roughly ¥50 for the stadium) and isn’t essential if budget’s tight.
Evening: Panjiayuan Antique Market for souvenirs and bargaining practice, best on weekend mornings but open daily; spend whatever you’re willing to haggle down to, nothing here has a fixed price worth taking at face value.
Roughly ¥210-360pp depending on tomb tickets and transport choice.
Is it better to see the Ming Tombs alone or with the Great Wall?
Alone, if you have the days. Tour groups routinely bundle both into one rushed day, which nets you 45 tired minutes at each. Split across two separate days like this plan does, both the Wall and the Tombs actually land instead of blurring into one long bus ride.
How do you get around for six days?
The metro runs ¥3 short hops to ¥5-10 across town. Tap a foreign contactless card at the turnstile or use the Alipay/WeChat transport QR code, not both. DiDi elsewhere, card linked through Alipay or WeChat rather than added directly in the DiDi app.
Give the Ming Tombs their own half-day rather than bundling them into a Wall tour. Rushed together, you get a tired hour at each; split across two days, both actually land.