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By Katherine Thornton
Tourists take photo in front of the Forbidden City, Beijing. Image courtesy of the City of Beijing.

Beijing is promoting the link between the culture and tourism. In 2024, the city welcomed 372 million visitors, a 13.1% increase from the previous year. The city continues to shape tourism through cultural experiences—while also using tourism as a platform to spotlight its rich heritage and contemporary innovation.  

Beijing is protecting and preserving its Intangible Cultural Heritage (ICH) by inviting artisans and craftspeople to major international events. During the APEC Economic Leaders’ Meeting, the Belt and Road Forum for International Cooperation, and the Beijing Summit of the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation (FOCAC), the city has invited ICH practitioners to host interactive experiences at venues like the Great Hall of the People and the China National Convention Center.

Beijing is developing cultural education by strengthening its status as a “City of Museums”. The city is planning to hold 100 high-quality exhibitions and 100 thematic cultural activities during the 2025 Beijing Museum Season. Beijing is also exploring school-museum integration as a new and dynamic approach to culture and education.

Related topics: cultural tourism, Intangible cultural heritage, museums, Heritage

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Key facts

  • Beijing is the capital of China and serves as the nation’s political and cultural centre, a hub for international exchanges, and a driver of national innovation. It is also a historic and vibrant, modern metropolis.
  • The world’s only “dual-Olympic city”, having hosted both the Summer and Winter Olympic Games, Beijing is using Olympic legacies to boost its sport industries and build a renowned sports city.
  • Beijing boasts eight World Heritage Sites, including the Great Wall, the Forbidden City, the Zhoukoudian Peking Man Site, the Summer Palace, the Temple of Heaven, the Ming Tombs, the Grand Canal, and the Beijing Central Axis. It ranks among the cities with the highest number of World Heritage Sites globally.
  • Beijing is home to 144 national and 303 municipal intangible cultural heritage projects. Thirteen are on UNESCO’s Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity, the most in China.
  • In 2024, the city was the site of 57,000 commercial performances and 202 large-scale performance events. The city also hosted over 16,000 cultural events with a focus on boosting public participation and enhancing both the quality and quantity of grassroots cultural activities.

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