Do I need a passport and visa to go to Beijing?

You need a passport and visa to go to Beijing, because Beijing is within the scope of Chinese mainland.

Passport is a legal document issued by a country to prove the nationality and identity of its citizens when they enter and leave the country and travel or stay abroad. The word Passport means port pass in English. In other words, a passport is a passport for citizens to pass through international ports in various countries. Therefore, some countries in the world usually issue passes instead of passports.

Different countries issue different types of passports. Passports in China are divided into diplomatic passports, official passports and ordinary passports, and ordinary passports are divided into ordinary passports for business and ordinary passports for private purposes.

Diplomatic passports are mainly issued to China government officials above deputy ministers and vice governors, heads and deputy heads of important delegations such as the party, government and army, as well as diplomatic officials, consular officials and their accompanying spouses, minor children and diplomatic envoys.

Official passports are mainly issued to the staff of government departments at all levels in China, the staff of Chinese diplomatic missions abroad, consular offices, United Nations organizations and relevant specialized agencies, their accompanying spouses and minor children.

Ordinary passports on business are mainly issued to those who go abroad to engage in business activities such as economy, trade, culture, sports, health, scientific and technological exchanges in state-owned enterprises and institutions in China, and those who are sent abroad for study, further study, visiting scholars and labor services.

Ordinary passports for private purposes are issued to China citizens who have settled abroad for personal reasons, such as visiting relatives, friends, inheriting property, studying abroad at their own expense, employment and tourism.

Visa refers to the procedure of endorsement and seal of passports or other travel documents held by domestic or foreign citizens by the sovereign organs of a country to show that they are allowed to enter, exit or transit. It can also be said that it is an endorsement certificate issued to them. Generally speaking, a visa is a document issued by a country's entry-exit administration (such as immigration bureau or its consulate abroad) to show foreign citizens that they have approved entry.

Simply put, passports are handled by the public security bureau (government) and visas are examined and approved by embassies of other countries in China. The visa is attached to the passport. You can't apply for a visa without a passport. But with a passport, you may not be able to apply for a visa. For China people, basically they need a visa to go abroad. Having a passport means having an ID card. So you still need a visa to go abroad.