Beijing has a reputation, thanks mostly to five-star hotel packages and pricey guided tours, of being an expensive city to explore properly. It isn't. With a bit of planning, three days in the Chinese capital — including the Great Wall, the Forbidden City and a genuinely satisfying amount of food — can comfortably run under S$100 a day per person. Here's exactly how, broken down day by day with real costs in both CNY and SGD.
Why Beijing Is Cheaper Than You Think
The city's subway system is absurdly cheap by international standards (flat-ish fares from CNY 3, roughly S$0.55), street food is abundant and excellent at CNY 5-15 a portion, and several of Beijing's best experiences — its parks, its Olympic legacy sites, its art districts — cost nothing at all to enter. The expense that catches people out is almost always tours and hotels booked through Western platforms at Western markups, not the actual cost of living and eating in the city.
Day-by-Day Budget Itinerary
Day 1: Forbidden City and Free Central Beijing
Start at the Forbidden City — book ahead online for CNY 60 (roughly S$11) in peak season, less in winter. Walk through to Jingshan Park just north of the palace (CNY 2 entry, effectively free) and climb to the pavilion at the top for a genuinely spectacular panoramic view over the palace's golden rooftops — arguably a better photo than anything inside the palace grounds itself. In the afternoon, wander Tiananmen Square (free) and finish with a walk through the free public areas of the hutongs around Nanluoguxiang.
Day 2: The Great Wall on a Budget
This is where most tour packages massively overcharge. A private tour or coach transfer to Mutianyu typically runs S$60-90 per person including entry and cable car — a perfectly fair price for the convenience, but not a budget option. The genuine budget route is the 877 public bus to Badaling from Deshengmen, which costs roughly CNY 12-16 each way (around S$2.50-3) versus the CNY 400+ a private tour to the same section can run.
Public Bus vs Tour: The Real Trade-off
The 877 bus saves you upward of S$70 per person versus a private tour, but costs you flexibility — fixed departure and return times, standing room only during peak periods, and zero English support if anything goes wrong. If your Mandarin is nonexistent and this is a first trip, the modest tour premium buys real peace of mind. If you're comfortable navigating with a translation app and some patience, the bus is genuinely fine.
Day 3: Pandas, Free Art Districts and Local Life
If pandas are on your list and you're not making it to Chengdu, Beijing's own Panda Pavilion (inside Beijing Zoo) is a solid, far cheaper alternative to a dedicated Chengdu trip if pandas are a nice-to-have rather than the whole point of your trip. Spend the rest of the day at 798 Art District — a repurposed Bauhaus-era factory complex now filled with contemporary galleries, most of which are completely free to browse — and finish at Nanluoguxiang or Houhai Lake for cheap eats and people-watching.
Free Things to Do in Beijing
- Olympic Green and Bird's Nest exterior — the 2008 Olympic Park is free to walk through, with paid options only for entering the stadiums themselves.
- 798 Art District — dozens of contemporary galleries in a converted industrial complex, almost entirely free entry.
- Nanluoguxiang and Houhai Lake — wandering the hutong lanes and lakeside paths costs nothing and is one of the best ways to see everyday Beijing life.
- Ritan Park, Jingshan Park, Beihai Park — city parks with nominal or zero entry fees, popular with locals for tai chi, mahjong and morning exercise.
- Wangfujing Snack Street — browsing (if not always eating everything) the famous, slightly notorious street food stalls costs nothing to walk through.
Cheap Eats Guide
Accommodation: Hostels in the Hutong Area
Budget accommodation in Beijing's hutong neighbourhoods (around Nanluoguxiang, Gulou and Andingmen) runs roughly CNY 80-140 per night (S$15-25) for a hostel dorm bed or basic private room, and puts you within easy walking distance of some of the city's best free attractions and cheap food. It's a genuinely better base than a generic business hotel near the CBD for budget travellers, both for cost and for atmosphere.
Transport: Subway and Bike Share
Beijing's subway is one of the cheapest and most extensive in the world — most single rides cost CNY 3-5 (roughly S$0.55-0.90) depending on distance, capped well below what you'd pay in most global capitals. Bike-share schemes (Hello Bike, Meituan Bike) are ubiquitous, unlocked via WeChat or Alipay for around CNY 1.5 per 30 minutes, and are a fast, cheap way to cover the "last mile" between subway stations and specific sights.
Temple and Attraction Entry Fees Compared
WeChat Pay Setup Guide
- Download WeChat before you land, and set it up with your international phone number.
- In Settings > WeChat Pay (or Alipay's equivalent), add an international Visa or Mastercard — this now works for most foreign visitors without needing a Chinese bank account.
- Complete identity verification while you still have reliable Wi-Fi; it can require a passport photo and facial verification step that's far easier on a stable connection.
- Once set up, virtually every subway ride, street stall and shop transaction can be paid by scanning a QR code — cash is genuinely optional for most of your trip.
SIM Card and eSIM Options
An eSIM purchased before departure (Airalo and similar providers now cover mainland China) is the simplest option, activating the moment you land without needing to find a China Unicom or China Mobile counter at the airport. If you want a physical SIM, airport kiosks sell tourist SIMs with data packages, but expect a queue and bring your passport — registration is mandatory.
Haggling Tips at Silk Market
The Silk Market (Xiushui) is Beijing's most famous tourist bazaar for souvenirs, bags and clothing — and prices are set deliberately high for exactly this negotiation ritual. A good rule of thumb: counter the first quoted price at around 20-30% of what's asked, and expect to settle somewhere in the 30-50% range after a bit of back-and-forth. Walking away (genuinely, a few steps) is often the single most effective negotiating tool — vendors will frequently call you back with a better offer.
3-Day Budget Summary
Under $100/Day Is Genuinely Achievable
Even accounting for accommodation, three days in Beijing covering the Forbidden City, the Great Wall and a genuinely good food crawl works out comfortably under S$100 a day per person on the public-transport, street-food-forward route above — with room to spare for the occasional splurge, like a proper Peking duck dinner.
Final Thoughts
Beijing's reputation as an expensive, tour-package-dependent city is mostly a myth built by exactly those tour packages. With WeChat Pay set up before you land, a hostel base in the hutong area, and a willingness to take the public bus to the Great Wall instead of a private car, three days in the capital covering its two biggest headline sights is entirely achievable on a genuine backpacker budget — without cutting a single major sight from the list.