Top Photo Opportunities in Beijing

Whether you’re an IG Influencer or WeChat Moment-maker, vibrant Beijing abounds with #nofilter photo ops. Get your followers double-tapping with these pic-perfect hotspots.

The OG of photogenic architecture, the Great Wall is a must for any fledgling shutterbug, but if you prefer your photos without selfie-stick-wielding hordes in shot, avoid the famed Badaling stretch and head instead to Mutianyu. Just two hours out of town, it offers an easy-access cable car up and zippy toboggan down. Take lunch at nearby The Schoolhouse for farm-fresh global fare.

Nowhere can you better capture Beijing’s rare winter-only blue sky than happily hill-perched Jingshan Park. A leisurely gander will take you via 57 acres of pretty gardens and winding paths, but you’re really here for the view – Jingshan Park offers hands-down the best birds-eye view of the Forbidden City. Arrive just before dusk to capture the palace in all its mystical majesty.

As night descends, zip northwards to the Beijing Olympic Green, home to the Herzog & de Meuron-designed Bird’s Nest (National Stadium) and PTW’s Water Cube (Beijing National Aquatics Center). The latter snap-worthy structure is also a canvas for the daily light show, with its bubbly facade pulsing with colourful ripples.

Beijing’s much loved industrial compound turned artistic community, 798 Art District, is a warren of creativity and snapportunity. Hidden on its eastern side is Beijing's little-known Highline, an elevated, defunct train line boasting an epic outlook across the factory landscape. While warehouse-gallery 798 Space – with its saw-tooth roof and East Germany-imported factory equipment – is perhaps the best example of German Bauhaus design in the area. Look out for the 'Chairman Mao is the Sunshine In Our Hearts' slogan, daubed across the ceiling in red paint.

Flashy fashionistas should make for The Place, an upscale Chaoyang mall hosting many of the big-name global retailers, and the added attraction of a post-spree, hashtag-ready backdrop. Leading up to its entrance, over 250 metres, is a phenomenal overhead canopy made up entirely of state-of-the-art LED lights. Designed by Oscar and Emmy award-winning Hollywood stage designer Jeremy Railton, the sky screen displays eye-popping waves of colour and optics.

Mutianyu / Bohai Township / Huairou / Apr-Oct: 7am-6pm, Nov-Mar: 7.30am-5.30pm / mutianyugreatwall.net / & The Schoolhouse / +86 10 6162 6506 / lunch Wed-Sun / brickyardatmutianyu.com

Jingshan Park / Dongcheng / 6am-9pm daily Apr-Oct, 6.30am-8pm Nov-Mar

Water Cube / 11 Tianchen Dong Lu / Chaoyang / +86 10 8437 0112 / dusk-10pm daily

798 Art District / 4 Jiuxianqiao Lu / Chaoyang / +86 10 5978 9798 / most galleries open 10am-6pm Tue-Sun / 798district.com

The Place / 9A Guanghua Lu / Chaoyang / +86 10 6587 1188 / 10am-10pm daily