Direct Flights from Washington to Beijing
Beijing · China
Nonstop service from IAD to PEK on CA. Here's the schedule at a glance — plus what to do once you land.
How rare is this nonstop?
Only 4 cities have a nonstop to Beijing, so this is a route worth knowing about — most travelers connect to get there.
How long to go to Beijing for, from Washington
14h 20m in the air, 6,905 miles. Give Beijing a week: the first day goes to the journey and the jet lag, whatever you intend.
The schedule narrows it further. This route does not fly daily, so assuming the return runs the same days, your trip is 3 or 4 nights — or a full week. Worth checking before you book time off.
About Beijing
Beijing is China's capital and its second-largest city after Shanghai, with a population of around 22 million. With a rich history as the capital of Imperial China for much of its past, Beijing became the political and cultural heart of the People's Republic of China following the Chinese revolutions.
Summary from Wikivoyage (CC BY-SA).
Top things to do in Beijing
- The Forbidden City is the imperial palace complex in the center of the Imperial City in Beijing, China.
- The Temple of Heaven is a complex of imperial religious Confucian buildings situated in the southeastern part of central Beijing.
- Zhoukoudian Peking Man Site (周口店北京人遗址), also romanized as Choukoutien, is a cave system in suburban Fangshan District, Beijing.
- The National Museum of China is an art and history museum located on the eastern side of Tiananmen Square in Beijing.
- The Tiananmen, also Tian'anmen, is the entrance gate of the Forbidden City imperial palace complex and Imperial City in the center of Beijing, China. It is widely used as a national symbol.
- The Chairman Mao Memorial Hall, also known as the Mausoleum of Mao Zedong, is the final resting place of Mao Zedong, who was the Founding Father of the People's Republic of China and chairman of the Chinese Communist Par…
- The Old Summer Palace, also known as Yuanmingyuan or Yuanmingyuan Park, originally called the Imperial Gardens, and sometimes called the Winter Palace, was a complex of palaces and gardens in present-day Haidian District…
- Jingshan Park is an imperial park covering 23 hectares immediately north of the Forbidden City in the Imperial City area of Beijing, China. The focal point is the artificial hill Jingshan.
- Dadu or Khanbaliq was the winter capital of the Mongol-led Yuan dynasty in what is now Beijing, the capital of China today.
- Beijing Zoo is a zoological park in Xizhimen, Xicheng District, Beijing. Founded in 1906 during the late Qing dynasty, it is the oldest zoo in China and oldest public park in northern China.
- Beihai Park is a public park and former imperial garden immediately northwest of the Forbidden City in Beijing, China.
- The Monument to the People's Heroes is a ten-story obelisk that was erected as a national monument of China to the martyrs of revolutionary struggle during the 19th and 20th centuries.
Attraction descriptions from Wikipedia (CC BY-SA); place data from Wikidata (CC0).
Beijing weather, compared with Washington
Within 1° of Washington on the annual average, so pack much as you would at home — but the two cities do not track each other month to month:
- January
- Beijing 36°F · Washington 43°F · 7° colder
- April
- Beijing 70°F · Washington 67°F · 3° warmer
- July
- Beijing 89°F · Washington 88°F · much the same
- October
- Beijing 67°F · Washington 68°F · much the same
January bottoms out near 36°F — a real coat, not a layer.
Average daily highs, 1991–2020 station normals from Meteostat (CC BY 4.0), measured at the nearest weather station to each city.
Planning a trip to Beijing
- Best time to visit
- The best time to visit Beijing is April–May and September–October, when daytime highs are a comfortable 67–81°F.
- How long to stay
- Beijing rewards a longer visit — a full week lets you explore its many sights, from Forbidden City, Temple of Heaven, and Zhoukoudian Peking Man Site and beyond.
Frequently asked questions
- Is there a direct flight from Washington to Beijing?
- Yes — you can fly nonstop from Washington (IAD) to Beijing (PEK) on CA.
- Which airlines fly nonstop from Washington to Beijing?
- CA flies nonstop between Washington (IAD) and Beijing (PEK).
- How far is Beijing from Washington?
- Beijing is about 6,905 miles from Washington by air.
- How many days can I spend in Beijing flying from Washington?
- Because this route doesn't operate daily, your trip is effectively 3 or 4 nights — or a full week — assuming the return flies the same days as the outbound.
- Is there a direct flight from Washington to China?
- Yes — Beijing (PEK) has nonstop service from Washington on CA, making it a nonstop gateway to China.
- What is there to do in Beijing?
- Popular things to do include Forbidden City, Temple of Heaven, Zhoukoudian Peking Man Site, National Museum of China, and more.
More nonstop destinations from Washington near Beijing
Airports near Washington
The closest other departure airports to Washington — each opens up more nonstop destinations.