Beijing

Is Beijing safe?

On the street, very. Beijing police say the city's crime rate per 10,000 people was the lowest this century in 2025 and that every homicide has been solved for 11 years in a row. In Gallup's survey, 94% of people in China say they feel safe walking alone at night, one of the highest shares in the world.

The risks are of another kind. Traffic kills more people than crime. The air, though far better than a decade ago, is still well above the WHO guideline. Summer storms can turn deadly. And mainland China's legal system, with its exit bans and broad national security laws, is the main reason travel advice for China is stricter than for Japan or Korea. We score Beijing 82, just below Shanghai (84).

Crime, cameras and scams

Beijing's police publish few raw numbers, but what they do publish points the same way. In June 2026 they said criminal and public order incidents had fallen 29.9% year on year since a spring crackdown began in April, and that every robbery, snatch theft and home burglary since then had been solved. China's national homicide rateHomicide rateThe number of people killed on purpose each year for every 100,000 residents. It is the most comparable crime figure between countries.More in the glossary is about 0.4 per 100,000 people (National Bureau of Statistics, 2024).

These are official figures and are not audited independently, so we treat them as a strong sign rather than proof. Even allowing for that, violent crime against foreign visitors is very rare.

What does catch visitors is the scam. The UK FCDOFCDO travel adviceThe UK government's travel advice for each country, which can advise against all travel or all but essential travel to specific areas.More in the glossary describes the classic "tea tasting" or massage scam: a friendly stranger invites you to a bar, to drink tea or to have a massage, and the place then demands a large fee. It can be followed by threats, violence or credit card fraud. Say no to invitations from strangers and choose your own café.

Other practical points:

• Use the metro, marked and metered taxis or a ride-hailing app. The FCDO warns of sexual assaults and robberies of foreigners in unmarked or unmetered taxis.
• Carry your passport. The FCDO warns that failure to produce ID can lead to a fine or detention.

Exit bans, surveillance and detention

This is the risk that sets Beijing apart from Tokyo or Seoul, and it is a matter of government advice, not crime statistics. The FCDOFCDO travel adviceThe UK government's travel advice for each country, which can advise against all travel or all but essential travel to specific areas.More in the glossary's China advice says:

• Exit bans can be imposed on foreigners involved in commercial or civil disputes, or connected to investigations into themselves, their family or employer. They can last months or years, and you may not know about one until you try to leave.
• National security laws are broad, and you may be detained without intending to break the law. Someone held on national security grounds can be kept for up to 6 months before formal arrest and denied a lawyer before charges.
• People with links to foreign governments, media outlets or NGOs may face more surveillance, harassment or detention.
• Police can impose up to 15 days of administrative detention without trial for minor offences, and any physical fight can lead to detention regardless of who started it.

Ordinary tourists are rarely affected. The risk is highest for people with business disputes in China, for journalists, researchers and staff of NGOs, and for anyone linked to a legal case in China. If that is you, read the full travel advice and take a clean phone. See our China page for the national picture.

Air quality: the long clean-up

Beijing's air was notorious a decade ago. The annual average of fine particlesPM2.5Tiny airborne particles 2.5 micrometres across or smaller. They reach deep into the lungs and are the air pollutant most linked to early death.More in the glossary was 89.5 µg/m³ in 2013. By 2025 it had fallen to 27.0, the first year under 30, according to the city's Ecology and Environment Bureau, which also counted 311 good or fair days and only one day of heavy pollution. That is roughly the level of Shanghai and still more than five times the WHO guideline of 5.

Bad days come mostly in winter, when heating and still air trap smog, and in spring, when dust blows in from the north and west. If you have asthma or a heart or lung condition, check the air quality index each morning and carry N95 or KN95 masks.

Floods, heat and the roads

Beijing's deadliest natural hazard is summer rain. In late July 2025, storms dumped nearly a year's rain on the hilly north of the municipality in a few days. Officials said 44 people died in Beijing, 31 of them in a flooded care home in Miyun, and made a rare public apology. If you plan to hike the wild sections of the Great Wall in July or August, check the weather warnings and stay out of river valleys during heavy rain.

On the roads, Beijing recorded 45 deaths per million people in 2024, about 4.5 per 100,000, according to a comparison by Hong Kong's Transport Department. That is five times the rate of Tokyo but less than half that of Kuala Lumpur. E-bikes and electric scooters are quiet and fast and do not always keep to the road, and cars may turn right on a red light. Look both ways on every crossing, including one-way streets.

How we scored it

Violent crime (93) and walking at night (93) are Beijing's strongest factors, based on police data and Gallup's national survey. Health and environment (69) is held back by PM2.5PM2.5Tiny airborne particles 2.5 micrometres across or smaller. They reach deep into the lungs and are the air pollutant most linked to early death.More in the glossary that is still five times the WHO guideline, and natural hazards (65) by the deadly 2025 floods. Exit bans and detention risk are not part of the city rubric; they are reflected in the country's conflict score, and we describe them above rather than in the factors.