One Day in Beijing: Imperial Gardens, Top Universities, and Student Life
If you want to see a different side of Beijing, head northwest toward Haidian District. This part of the city is known for its beautiful imperial gardens, some of China's most famous universities, and neighborhoods shaped by student life.
The Summer Palace and Old Summer Palace offer a glimpse into China's imperial past, with lakes, gardens, historic ruins, and traditional architecture. Nearby, Tsinghua University and Peking University are two of the country's best-known universities. The National Library provides another perspective on Beijing's academic culture, while Wudaokou is a lively area filled with restaurants, cafés, and students.
It's an interesting combination of old and new Beijing. You can spend the morning walking beside a lake in a former imperial garden, explore university campuses in the afternoon, and finish the day with dinner in a neighborhood popular with students.
There is quite a lot to see in this part of the city, though, and the gardens alone can take several hours each. If you want to visit all six places, you'll need to keep the stops relatively short. Otherwise, choose the places that interest you most and enjoy a more relaxed day.
1. The Summer Palace (颐和园): Beijing's Most Beautiful Imperial Garden
Allow around 2–3 hours, or longer if you want to explore more of the grounds.
The Summer Palace is one of the most beautiful places to visit in Beijing. Built as an imperial garden during the Qing dynasty, it combines traditional Chinese architecture with a landscape of lakes, hills, bridges, pavilions, and long covered walkways.
The garden is centered around Kunming Lake and Longevity Hill. As you walk through the grounds, you'll see historic halls, decorative corridors, traditional bridges, and views across the water. The scenery changes depending on where you go, so the experience is about more than visiting a few famous buildings.
One of the best ways to enjoy the Summer Palace is to slow down and explore on foot. Walk along the Long Corridor, admire the lake from one of the bridges, and take your time looking at the buildings and gardens. If you have enough time, you can climb toward the higher viewpoints for a wider view of the surrounding landscape.
The grounds are large, so don't expect to see everything in a short visit. It's worth deciding which entrance you'll use and which parts of the garden you most want to explore before arriving.
What should you see at the Summer Palace?
If this is your first visit, the Long Corridor, Kunming Lake, and the area around Longevity Hill are good places to start. The Seventeen-Arch Bridge is another well-known landmark, particularly if you enjoy photography.
You can also explore additional halls and garden attractions, although some areas require separate tickets or have their own opening hours.
Is it worth visiting?
Absolutely. If you only have time for one major attraction in this part of Beijing, the Summer Palace would be my first choice.
It combines history, architecture, and natural scenery in a way that's quite different from the Forbidden City. It's also a pleasant place to visit if you want a break from the traffic and busy streets of central Beijing.
Check the current opening hours before your visit. Some enclosed attractions within the grounds have different schedules from the main park, and certain areas close on Mondays except public holidays.
2. The Old Summer Palace (圆明园): History Among the Ruins
Allow around 1.5–2.5 hours for a shorter visit.
The Old Summer Palace, known in Chinese as Yuanmingyuan, is close to the Summer Palace but offers a very different experience.
Once an enormous imperial garden complex, it combined landscaped lakes, gardens, palaces, and buildings influenced by both Chinese and European architectural styles. Much of the complex was destroyed by Anglo-French forces in 1860, and the ruins that remain have become an important reminder of a painful period in China's modern history.
Today, the park is a large green space with lakes, walking paths, gardens, and historic remains. Some visitors come to see the famous Western-style ruins, while others spend more time enjoying the landscape.
The most recognizable area is the Western Mansions ruins, where fragments of European-style stone buildings remain. The ruins look very different from the intact halls and pavilions at the Summer Palace. Instead of showing imperial grandeur at its height, they tell a story about destruction, loss, and the passage of time.
You can walk around the ruins, read the historical displays, and explore the surrounding grounds. If you enjoy history, this is a particularly worthwhile stop.
How is it different from the Summer Palace?
The Summer Palace is known for its well-preserved architecture and carefully designed landscape. The Old Summer Palace is more about historical remains, open space, and the story of what was lost.
Visiting both gives you a broader understanding of Beijing's imperial history, but the two parks are large enough that exploring both thoroughly in one day can be tiring.
If you enjoy gardens and history, allow more time for these two sites and consider skipping one of the other stops.
Is the Old Summer Palace worth visiting?
Yes, especially if you're interested in Chinese history. The ruins are meaningful beyond their appearance, and the park offers a different atmosphere from Beijing's more polished tourist attractions.
If you have limited time, prioritize the Western Mansions ruins rather than trying to cover the entire park.
3. Tsinghua University (清华大学): A Look at Modern Academic China
Allow around 45–60 minutes if campus access is available.
Tsinghua University is one of China's most prestigious universities and is particularly well known for its strengths in science, engineering, and technology.
The campus is in Haidian District, an area that has become a major center for education and research. Walking around an accessible part of the campus can give you a sense of university life in Beijing, from landscaped paths and academic buildings to students moving between classes.
Tsinghua is also interesting because of its location. The campus occupies land associated with former imperial gardens, and its grounds include a mixture of traditional-style spaces and modern university architecture.
If you enjoy architecture or are curious about higher education in China, it's a worthwhile addition to your itinerary. You don't need to understand the university system in detail to appreciate the atmosphere.
What should you see at Tsinghua?
Rather than planning a long list of buildings, focus on the areas that visitors are permitted to enter. Take a walk, enjoy the campus scenery, and look at the contrast between the older buildings and the more modern academic facilities.
Keep in mind that Tsinghua is a working university, not a public park. Campus entry rules can change, and visitors may need to make a reservation or provide identification. Check the university's current visitor policy before making it a fixed stop.
Is it worth visiting?
If you're interested in education, architecture, or student life, yes. It can be especially interesting for visitors who want to see something beyond Beijing's traditional tourist attractions.
If you're mainly interested in imperial history, though, you may prefer to spend the extra time at one of the gardens.
4. Peking University (北京大学): Traditional Scenery and University Life
Allow around 45–60 minutes if campus access is available.
Peking University, often called Beida in Chinese, is another of China's most famous universities. Founded in 1898, it has played an important role in the country's modern intellectual and academic history.
Compared with Tsinghua, which is widely associated with science and engineering, Peking University is particularly well known for its humanities and social sciences, as well as its strengths across many other academic fields.
The campus has a distinctive atmosphere, with academic buildings, tree-lined paths, and traditional-style scenery. Weiming Lake is one of its best-known features and a popular place to walk when campus access is available.
The area around the lake is a pleasant place to slow down after visiting the imperial gardens. Depending on the season, you may see students studying outdoors, walking between classes, or taking photographs around the campus.
What makes Peking University special?
Part of its appeal is the combination of academic history and traditional scenery. It feels different from a conventional tourist attraction because the campus is still a place where people study and work every day.
If you have time, take a relaxed walk through the permitted visitor areas and enjoy the surroundings rather than rushing from one building to another.
Should you visit both universities?
That depends on your interests. If you're curious about China's leading universities, visiting both can be worthwhile. If you have limited time, choose one campus and give yourself more time at the Summer Palace or Old Summer Palace.
As with Tsinghua, campus access is subject to current university rules. Check the official visitor arrangements in advance, and don't assume that you can enter freely just because the campus appears on a tourist map.
5. The National Library of China (国家图书馆): A Different Kind of Cultural Stop
Allow around 30–60 minutes, depending on visitor access.
The National Library of China is one of the country's most important institutions for preserving and making Chinese publications and historical materials available.
It's a different kind of stop from the gardens and university campuses. Instead of traditional architecture or open landscapes, the focus here is on books, research, and China's literary and documentary heritage.
For visitors who enjoy libraries, architecture, or learning about the country's academic institutions, the building and its surroundings may be worth a look. It can also be a useful stop if you're interested in seeing a less tourist-oriented part of Beijing.
However, a visit needs a little planning. Reading rooms and other facilities may have access requirements, and entering the building does not necessarily mean that every area is open to casual visitors. Check the library's current visitor rules and opening arrangements before adding it to your route.
Is it worth visiting as a tourist?
It depends on what you're interested in. If you enjoy libraries, research, or cultural institutions, you may find it interesting. For most first-time visitors with limited time, however, the imperial gardens and university campuses are likely to be higher priorities.
I would treat the National Library as an optional stop rather than a must-see attraction for this itinerary.
6. Wudaokou (五道口): Restaurants, Cafés, and Student Life
Allow around 1–1.5 hours, or longer if you're staying for dinner.
After a day of gardens and campuses, Wudaokou is a good place to experience a more modern side of Beijing.
Located in Haidian District, Wudaokou is known for its student population, international atmosphere, restaurants, cafés, and casual nightlife. Its proximity to several universities has helped make it a popular meeting place for students and young professionals.
The area feels quite different from the historic gardens you've visited earlier in the day. Instead of traditional pavilions and quiet lakes, you'll find busy streets, shopping areas, casual eateries, and places to meet friends.
One of the best things to do here is simply wander around and decide where to eat. Depending on what you're in the mood for, you can find Chinese food, Korean restaurants, cafés, and a variety of inexpensive meals.
Wudaokou has also long been associated with international students, which gives parts of the neighborhood a more international feel than many other parts of Beijing.
What should you do in Wudaokou?
There's no need to plan a detailed sightseeing route. Walk around the main commercial streets, look for a restaurant that interests you, and take a break after a full day of walking.
If you enjoy cafés, it's a good place to sit down for a drink. If you're hungry, you can make dinner the main activity and explore the neighborhood afterward.
Is Wudaokou worth visiting?
It's worth a stop if you want to see everyday urban life in Beijing, especially around the city's university district. It's less about monuments and famous landmarks and more about food, people, and atmosphere.
For this itinerary, I'd save Wudaokou for the end of the day. It gives you a natural transition from Beijing's imperial past to its modern student culture.
How to Fit Everything into One Day
These six places are all in northwest Beijing, but visiting every one of them properly in a single day is ambitious. The Summer Palace and Old Summer Palace are both large, and university access can involve reservations or restricted visiting hours.
If you want to include all six, the schedule below is a fast-paced outline rather than a relaxed tour. Check campus access before choosing a date, and be prepared to skip a stop if travel or queues take longer than expected.
8:00–10:30 AM — The Summer Palace
Start early at the Summer Palace. Walk along the Long Corridor, enjoy the views over Kunming Lake, and explore part of the grounds around Longevity Hill.
Don't try to see every section of the park. Choose a route that fits your interests and leave enough time to travel to the next stop.
10:45 AM–12:15 PM — The Old Summer Palace
Continue to Yuanmingyuan and focus on the Western Mansions ruins and the surrounding landscape.
This is a shorter visit than the park deserves, but it gives you a chance to understand its history without spending the entire day there.
12:15–1:00 PM — Lunch
Have a quick lunch near the university district. There are plenty of casual dining options around Haidian, so you don't need to travel far for a meal.
1:00–2:00 PM — Tsinghua University
If you've arranged access in advance, spend some time walking through the permitted visitor areas. Keep the visit simple and focus on the campus atmosphere rather than trying to see every landmark.
2:00–3:00 PM — Peking University
Head to Peking University if visitor access is available. A short walk around the permitted areas, including the surroundings of Weiming Lake if accessible, is enough for a first visit.
If you cannot arrange access to both universities, choose one rather than spending valuable sightseeing time trying to enter the other.
3:15–4:00 PM — The National Library of China
Make this an optional stop. If the library's visitor arrangements allow you to enter and you have a particular interest in libraries or cultural institutions, take a short look around.
Otherwise, skip it and use the extra time to relax, explore the university area, or head toward Wudaokou.
4:30 PM Onward — Wudaokou
Finish the day in Wudaokou. Browse the shops, find a café, or settle in for dinner.
After a busy day of sightseeing, this is a good place to stop following a strict schedule and enjoy the neighborhood at your own pace.
A More Relaxed Alternative
If I were planning this day for a first-time visitor, I'd choose one of these combinations instead:
Option A — Imperial gardens and history
- The Summer Palace
- The Old Summer Palace
- Dinner near Wudaokou
Option B — Gardens and university culture
- The Summer Palace
- One university campus, depending on visitor access
- Wudaokou for dinner
Option C — Academic Beijing
- Tsinghua University, if visitor access is available
- Peking University, if visitor access is available
- The National Library, subject to its visitor rules
- Wudaokou for dinner
Option A is best if you love history and scenery. Option B offers a better balance between sightseeing and modern Beijing. Option C is more suitable for visitors particularly interested in universities and academic life.
Practical Tips for Visiting
Check opening hours and reservations
The Summer Palace and Old Summer Palace have seasonal opening hours, and some attractions inside the parks operate on different schedules.
Tsinghua University and Peking University may require advance reservations or impose restrictions on visitors. The National Library also has its own access arrangements. Check official information before your trip, especially if visiting a campus or entering a particular building is important to you.
Wear comfortable shoes
Both imperial gardens are large, and you'll probably walk more than you expect. Comfortable shoes are essential, particularly if you plan to visit both parks on the same day.
The university campuses can also involve a fair amount of walking, depending on which entrances and visitor areas are available.
Plan your transport
The attractions are in the same general part of Beijing, but they're not all next door to each other. Use the subway or a taxi between major stops, and check the walking distance from each station to your chosen entrance.
For the gardens, choosing the right gate can save a significant amount of time.
Prepare a map before you go
Google Maps may not provide reliable navigation in mainland China. Consider preparing your route in advance and using a locally supported map service such as Amap (高德地图).
Saving the Chinese names of each destination can make searching for directions much easier:
- Summer Palace — 颐和园
- Old Summer Palace — 圆明园
- Tsinghua University — 清华大学
- Peking University — 北京大学
- National Library of China — 国家图书馆
- Wudaokou — 五道口
You can use these names to search for directions or show them to a driver.
Leave time for lunch and breaks
The gardens are best enjoyed at a relaxed pace, and the university area has plenty of casual places to eat. Don't plan every minute of the day so tightly that you have no time to sit down or explore something unexpected.
If you start feeling rushed, skip the National Library or one of the campuses. You'll probably enjoy the day more by seeing fewer places properly.
Final Thoughts
Northwest Beijing offers a different perspective on the city. The Summer Palace and Old Summer Palace reveal two sides of imperial history: one through preserved gardens and architecture, the other through ruins that reflect a difficult chapter in China's past.
Tsinghua University and Peking University introduce you to another part of modern China, where education and research play a major role. The National Library adds a cultural dimension, while Wudaokou brings the day back to everyday life, with restaurants, cafés, and a lively student atmosphere.
You don't need to visit all six places to appreciate this part of Beijing. If you love history and scenery, spend more time in the gardens. If you're curious about Chinese universities, choose a campus you can access and explore the surrounding area.
And if you still have energy in the evening, head to Wudaokou for dinner. It's a fitting way to end a day that moves from imperial Beijing to the modern city.
