The best way to understand the old city is from a bicycle, and the best time is early morning before the streets fill. The network of hutongs — narrow grey-brick alleys lined with courtyard walls and plane trees — is largely flat and navigable, connecting the Drum Tower area south through Nanluoguxiang and down to the northern edge of the Forbidden City in about 30 minutes of cycling. The Bell Tower to Shichahai lakes to Beihai Park route takes in the best of the old city in a few hours.
Bike-share schemes (Mobike, Didi Bike) are available throughout the city with a Chinese phone number; many hostels and hotels in the hutong areas also rent bicycles by the day. The main hazard is electric scooters moving silently through the alleys and the occasional delivery vehicle reversing without warning. The reward is access to a Beijing that the tourist buses cannot reach.