Autumn in Beijing: Weather, Scenery, Activities, Food, Tours and Tips

Wandering along the Great Wall to feel the gentle autumn breeze atop the mountains, hiking on the Fragrant Hill park to experience the life style of local Beijingers, strolling under the golden gingko trees in the ancient royal palace such as Forbidden city and Summer Palace, you will have a wonderful travelling experience during autumn, and it is the best time to visit there, especially from mid-October to mid-November.

The temperature is so comfortable and the air is quite clean, and it is a period of time when you can most possibly encounter the blue sky each day in Beijing.

Since it is also a famous scenic city in China and a great number of people flood into the city to enjoy a break, you may wisely skip the national holiday (Oct 1st to 7th) and weekends.

Travelling Beijing in autumn, you will witness the most colorful and vibrant side of the city from the royal palace in the downtown to the ancient relics at outskirt. It's all in all beautiful, all in all gorgeous, all in all worthwhile to travel.

Beijing is a city where you can visit whenever you want. As the chilly wind from the north gently comes and embraces this city, the autumn marks itself with those golden ginkgo leaves and red maple trees. Fragrant Hill Park and Badaling national park become like fairylands. Except for the National holiday (from Oct 1st to 7th), you will have a lot to explore in Beijing.

Fragrant Hill Park 香山

Address: 40 Maimaijie, Haidian District, Beijing 北京市海淀区买卖街40号

Entrance Fee: CNY 10

Located in the northwest suburb of Beijing,Fragrant Hill is about 20 kilometers away from the city center. It is a magnificent royal garden with mountains and forests. In addition to the natural scenery, there are many ancient temples in the park.

A large area of apricot was planted there. During the blooming season, the flowers are beautiful and fragrant. Also, Buddhism believers come to burn kinds of fragrant incense in the temples, and that is how the park was named.

Autumn Leaves Festival is held in fragrant hill park every year with over 100,000 maple trees and yellow oak trees. You can take a cable car to the top area. Hiking in the mountains and enjoy the dazzling spectacular leaves and ancient sites, such as Biyun Temple (碧云寺).

Address: Mutianyu, Bohai Town, Huairou District, Beijing 北京市怀柔区渤海镇慕田峪

Entrance Fee: CNY 40

No list of autumn destinations is complete without the Great Walls, whose location on mountain ridges makes it ideal for foliage viewing. The most recommended Great Wall is Mutianyu section. While further away and 75km to the city center, it's less tourist infested than nearby Badaling. Built in 5400m long, it is regarded as the “Essence of the Great Wall in Ming Dynasty” and the longest great wall in China for now.

Walk a couple of miles along the historic relics and hike atop to the watchtowers. Most of the walls have been renovated which makes it safer for both the young and the old to travel along. If you don't want to walk up, you can also get a cable car to the top area, and then slide 1.5km back down on a toboggan. Check Mutianyu Great Wall Tours >>

Summer Palace 颐和园

Address: 19 Xin Jian Gong Men Rd, Haidian District 海淀区新建宫门路19号

Entrance Fee: CNY 30

Located on the western outskirts, Summer Place (颐和园) is one of the most popular attractions in Beijing. Just as its name implies, the palace is the place of emperors and his families for summer retreat. Not only the landscape, but also the designs of Summer Palace are the best masterpieces among all the ancient gardens. You will see the most aesthetic color matching there during autumn.

Appreciate the Fall Foliage

Beijing in autumn has the richest color and the most spectacular scenery. The dazzling oak trees, a large area of red-tinted forest, and the orange fallen leaves cover the entire woodlands, parks and palaces.

You will encounter the best color matching in the forbidden city, stand in awe before the stunning maple tree vegetation at Fragrant Hill Park, and walk along 'the flaming natural gallery' where the Great Wall lies atop.

Temperatures in October go down rapidly, especially at night, creating an ideal condition for conceiving a sea of red leaves. At that time, 80% of the leaves in these areas have turned red. Therefore, the best time to enjoy the red leaves scenery is from middle October to middle of November.

Hike on the Great Wall

There are different sections of the Great Walls. They are the outstanding representative manual antique relics of China. Hiking on the Great Walls, appreciating the watchtowers, surrounded by high mountains and multicolored vegetation in autumn, you can enjoy the quintessence of Ming Dynasty Great Walls, such as the Badaling Great Wall, Mutianyu Great Wall, Jinshanling Great Wall, etc. The former one is the earliest developed and most famous both in China and aboard, which also brings it a large number of tourists all year round. It is proposed to plan your travel schedule wisely, to avoid the crowded time, or choose to visit Mutianyu Great Wall and Jinshanling Great Wall where you can enjoy the same marvelous scenery. Check Recommended Great Wall Tours >>

Pick Fresh Fruits in Suburb Areas

Autumn is the harvest season in Beijing. When fruit and vegetables get ripe, picking fresh fruit and vegetables in local orchards is a good way to relax and have quality time with your beloved ones.

It's one of the most popular activities for local Beijingers to relax themselves on weekend and holidays. Walking in orchards and fields, enjoying the scenery while picking your favorite vegetables and fruit, in the quiet suburbs of Beijing, you can enjoy picking fruit and vegetables by hand.

If you would like to try the regional lifestyle living in Beijing, it is always better to go there on a weekday, avoiding the crowds.

Recommended Beijing Tour in Autumn

☛ 2 Days Jinshanling and Simatai Great Wall Wild Hiking

☛ 2 Days Gubei Water Town & Simatai Night Great Wall Tour