Audio tours in Beijing
Suggested plan for Beijing
Doing every Trevurs tour in Beijing takes about 2 h 15 min in total. A relaxed way to split it:
No fixed schedule: start whenever you want, skip stops, or spread a tour over several days.
Beijing on a budget
The Trevurs app is free and has 2 audio tours in Beijing: 35 min of narration across 20 stops and 5.3 km of walking routes. Download them over wifi and listen offline, with no mobile data. Entry tickets to museums, churches or monuments along the way are not included. Premium, from USD 1.99, adds unlimited offline downloads, every tour and no ads.
Beijing at your own pace
Each tour starts at stop 1 and you go stop by stop at your own pace: pause, rewind or skip any stop. No booking and no fixed start time, and it works offline once downloaded.
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The Forbidden City: 600 Years of Emperors No One Could See
Starts at stop 1, “Meridian Gate: Only the Emperor Used the Center Arch” (map) · 13 min of audio · 1.8 km (~25 min on foot) · ~45 min in total
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The Great Wall: Why It Failed and Why It Still Matters
Starts at stop 1, “Mutianyu Gate: Where It All Begins” (map) · 22 min of audio · 3.5 km (~55 min on foot) · ~1 h 30 min in total
In one day you can do The Great Wall: Why It Failed and Why It Still Matters (~1 h 30 min) and The Forbidden City: 600 Years of Emperors No One Could See (~45 min): about 2 h 15 min of touring with audio and walking. That covers every Trevurs tour in Beijing.
Why an audio tour
- ✓ No group to keep up with and no guide to wait for
- ✓ Start at any time of day, on your own schedule
- ✓ Go at your own pace: pause, rewind or skip any stop
- ✓ No need to commit 2 or 3 hours to a single tour: do one stop or the whole route
- ✓ Works offline once downloaded
Trevurs is a free app for iOS and Android. There is also an optional Premium version, from USD 1.99, with unlimited offline downloads, access to every tour and no ads. It also helps keep an independent app alive.