10 Things to Do in Beijing at Night

Beijing is not only one of China's most famous destinations, it is also the country's capital and therefore the epicentre of many of the local customs and some of the most significant attractions. Noted as one of the cities that never sleeps, during a night tour you can discover luminous decorations and interesting shows.

Some of the best things to see and do in Beijing at night include visiting the Silk Night Market, enjoying a traditional show at the National Theatre, taking in the panoramic views from the Olympic Tower, touring the traditional hutongs on a bicycle tour and dining in the street markets.

The Silk Night Market is one of Beijing's most popular shopping spots and one of the places you're almost certain to be taken if you book a tour of Beijing. Here you can find clothes, handicrafts, electronics, jewellery, souvenirs and a wide range of other varieties. But you can also do other activities such as sampling Chinese cuisine and enjoying the atmosphere, which becomes festive at night.

At the food stalls you can indulge in traditional dishes of the local cuisine. Meanwhile, you'll also notice the neon lights, the music and the crowds of people that gather there every night. Note that bargaining is a widespread custom in all Chinese markets. In all cases, the more goods you buy, the better overall prices you will get.

Another activity you can do at the Silk Night Market is to attend a traditional Chinese dance and music show, which usually takes place on an open-air stage. You can either tour the market on your own or visit during a tour of Beijing that includes a visit to this site.

Interesting details

• Price: Admission to the market is free.
• Location: 186 Wangfujing, Dongcheng, Beijing.
• Hours: 10am to 11pm.

The Olympic Tower has one of the highest observatories in Beijing and marks one of the city's landmarks, as it was built to mark the highest point of the Olympic Village for the 2008 Olympic Games, dividing the capital into the old, traditional downtown area and the modern area on the outskirts. From the 234-metre observation deck you can see some of the best views, especially at night.

Nowadays the Olympic Tower is used solely as an observatory and from here you can see the bright lights of the city and some of the most famous buildings, such as the National Stadium, known as the Bird's Nest, the Aquatic Centre, the Forbidden City and the modern skyscrapers that line the banks of the Hai River.

The Olympic Tower will give you one of the best night-time views of the city from high above and outside the main city centre, which is crowned by Tiananmen Square and the imperial palaces, especially if you plan to visit Beijing in summer. Book a tour of Beijing and find out more about this iconic place.

Interesting details

• Price: entrance fee is approximately €15.
• Location: Kehui South Road, Olympic Park in Chaoyang, Beijing.
• Opening hours: 7am to 11.30pm.

Tiananmen Square is one of Beijing's most iconic sights and the view at night is breathtaking. You will marvel at the illuminated buildings and visit the Monument to the People's Heroes, where you can learn more about China's history and culture.

If you book a tour of Tiananmen Square, you will visit the Heavenly Peace Gate, which is one of the most recognisable symbols and is located at the southern end of Tiananmen. This impressive structure was built in 1417 during the Ming Dynasty and rebuilt in the 17th century during the Qing Dynasty. The gate is 33 metres high and consists of a central tower and two side wings, each with five rooms.

The Gate of Heavenly Peace occupies a central space in Beijing's past, as it served as the main entrance to the Forbidden City, which is China's imperial palace. Today, it remains an important political symbol and is used for official events. You should note that it is also known for its tragic history. In 1989 Tiananmen was the scene of student protests that ended in violent repression. Since then, the site has been guarded by the authorities.

Details of interest

• Price: Admission to the square is free.
• Location: Dongcheng, Beijing
• Opening Hours: No opening and closing restrictions, although it is guarded 24 hours a day.

Houhai is a man-made lake in the centre of Beijing that is known for offering some of the best panoramic views of the city, especially at night when the buildings and lights of the capital are reflected in the water. It also has a direct view of the Forbidden City, which for several centuries was the official residence of the Chinese emperors.

Among the options you can choose to discover the views from the lake are renting small rowing boats to explore the lake on your own or joining the tourist boats that can accommodate a large number of people. Restaurants, bars and temples are also nearby in the lake area.

The Houhai Lake area also includes other activities such as visiting the surrounding hiking trail, doing water sports, enjoying the local music and atmosphere and taking some of the best pictures from a different skyline. The lake can be reached by Beijing's hop-on-hop-off sightseeing buses.

Details of interest

• Price: boat rides have an initial cost of approximately €9 per adult.
• Location: Houhai Lake, Beijing.
• Hours: Tours are available until approximately 11.30pm.

Beijing and its citizens' daily lives revolve around the capital's street markets, so if you want a local experience, you can't miss the opportunity to visit these places at night and dine at their stalls, which are often included in the itineraries of the city's best food tours.

If you book a tuk tuk food tour, some of the markets you can visit include the Silk Market, Panjiayuan Market, which is the city's most famous antique market, Hongqiao Market, Yashow Market, Dashilan Market, Liulichang Market and Wangfujing Market, which offers a wide variety of goods. There are more than 100 markets throughout the capital, but these are the most popular.

Note that the markets are usually open until midnight, so you can not only dine at them, but also discover the festive spirit of the city, which revolves around the music and lights of the stalls.

The Drum Tower and the Bell Tower are two famous historical structures. Both towers are ancient monuments dating back to the Ming Dynasty and are considered important treasures of local culture. Today, you can discover some of the best views of the city from them, although it is best to visit them at night to see their unique oriental structure.

The Drum Tower was originally used to mark the time and to signal the beginning and end of the day, so it occupied a prominent place in the city's past. Nowadays, it is one of the most visited monuments in Beijing and houses an exhibition displaying ancient musical instruments and is considered one of the best museums in the Chinese capital.

The Bell Tower, meanwhile, is located north of the Drum Tower. It will catch your eye with its 47-metre height and its beautiful garden. Visitors can climb to the top for panoramic views of Beijing, but only until 8pm. However, it will be enough to see the sunset. On clear summer days you can even see one of the Beijing parts of the Great Wall of China from the Bell Tower.

Interesting details

• Price: entrance fee for both towers is approximately €22 per person.
• Location: Zhonglou Wan Tong, Dongcheng, Beijing.
• Opening hours: The towers are open to the public daily from 7am to 8pm.

The hutongs are narrow alleys typical of traditional Chinese cities that you can discover if you book a Beijing tour. These narrow lanes, which are a tourist attraction in Beijing, are flanked by low, usually residential buildings that are designed to form a complex of terraced houses. The best way to explore them is to rent a bicycle and take a night tour, when the crowds are at their lowest.

In ancient times, hutongs were common in many Chinese cities, but with rapid urban development and modernisation many of them have been demolished to make way for high-rise buildings and wider roads. Today, the surviving hutongs are considered historical and tourist sites, and are often seen as a symbol of traditional Chinese culture and identity.

The best bike tours in Beijing usually propose a tour of the hutongs to discover a classic city skyline and experience the atmosphere of these alleyways, where typical houses are mixed with food stalls and shops.

Interesting details

• Price: night bike tours have a starting cost of approximately €18 per person.
• Location: In Beijing you can find them in the city centre, which is considered the old part of the Chinese capital.

The Olympic Park, in the Chaoyang district on the outskirts of Beijing, was built to house the delegations during the 2008 Olympic Games and has since become a landmark of the new part of the city, in contrast to the centre of the Chinese capital which harks back to ancient oriental architecture and traditions.

In this park you can discover some of the best views of the city and, during the night, you can see the imposing Olympic venues illuminated, such as the Bird's Nest or the Water Cube, which offers luminous panoramic views and a large number of attractions, including green areas, fountains and artificial lakes.

The best alternative for visiting this site is to opt for the full day tours of the Olympic Village or choose one of the city's hop-off sightseeing buses that offer stops at the Olympic Park.

Details of interest

• Price: Admission to the Olympic Park is free.
• Location: Kehui South Road, Olympic Park in Chaoyang, Beijing.
• Opening hours: Open 24 hours a day.

The National Grand Theatre of Beijing is one of the most important and modern theatres in China and is considered a masterpiece of contemporary architecture. The theatre is located in an area close to the Forbidden City and Tiananmen Square, making it possible to combine a visit with other excursions.

Designed as a circular structure with a titanium and glass dome that resembles a giant egg, the building is an attraction in itself. It can seat over 5000 people and has three main halls: the opera house, the concert hall and the theatre hall where you can attend performances during your trip.

If you are an opera fan, you can enjoy a typical classical music performance hosted by the Beijing Philharmonic. These concerts are usually available at least once a month and you can get tickets in advance from the National Theatre's official website. Enjoying a show at this theatre is one of the best things to do in Beijing at night.

Interesting details

• Price: depends on the show, but you can get tickets from €18.
• Location: 2 Chang'an West Avenue, Xicheng, Beijing
• Opening hours: Shows start from 8pm onwards.

The Liyuan Theatre is not as modern and architecturally striking as the National Theatre or as eclectic as the Red Theatre, which offers the best Kung Fu shows in Beijing, but it is one of the most traditional in the Chinese capital, offers the best Chinese opera concerts and is one of the places to see and do in Beijing

The theatre is located in a building over 100 years old and is characterised by the quality of its acoustics, which is often accompanied by lighting effects and the costumes of the performers in the concerts. Traditional Chinese opera is a very colourful spectacle, which also includes acrobatics and performances of different kinds, so visiting the Liyuan to attend these shows is one of the best alternatives for your trip.

Although the shows are regular and tickets usually do not sell out, I advise you to book your tickets in advance to avoid last minute delays and to avoid price changes.

Interesting details

• Price: Traditional Chinese opera performances start at approximately €24 per person.
• Location: 175 Yong'an, Xicheng, Beijing.
• Opening times: Evening performances start from 7pm.