Travellers seeking the new and modern among China’s metropolises might gravitate towards Shanghai. Beijing’s evolution, on the other hand, is more measured and subtle but no less thrilling – and definitely not to be ignored. We explore the fresh experiences and places that should be on your itinerary on your next trip to the capital.

1. The Mutianyu Great Wall by Helicopter

Fact: you can’t see the Great Wall from space. The best alternative? To see the Great Wall from a helicopter.

Mutianyu is already the most popular part of the Great Wall for overseas visitors and for good reason: it’s close, just 70 kilometres from Beijing; it’s far less touristy than overcrowded Badaling; and it’s more dramatic than the green-covered beauty of Simatai. And late last year, a new helicopter tour started to offer a whole new view of Mutianyu.

‘Seeing it from above really makes me wonder how they built it,’ says Snow Chen, a former pilot who founded G-Max helictoper tours. Chen started his company in 2015, flying over Badaling before expanding operations to Mutianyu. ‘People are now looking for more and more experiences,’ he says. ‘And with this, we can take you to the original great wall of Jiankou, where there’s no road and it’s not open to tourists. It’s a different perspective of the wall.’