5-Day Beijing Private Tour of Tiananmen Square, Forbidden City, Mutianyu Great Wall, Ming Tombs and Summer Palace

Attractions: Beijing International Airport
Meal: Not Included
Hotel: Not Included

Beijing International Airport

On landing at Beijing Capital Airport, after reclaiming your luggage and clearing customs, you will find your tour guide waiting for you there. Then you will be taken to the hotel and check in at the hotel for a three-night stay. The rest of the day remains free for you to get over the jet lag and prepare for your two full days Beijing group tour.

Attractions: Tiananmen Square, Forbidden City, Shichahai Area, Yandai Xiejie, Drum Tower, Kung Fu Show at Red Theatre
Meal: Not Included
Hotel: Not Included

After breakfast at your hotel, start your tour with the visit to Tiananmen Square (40 minutes sightseeing), the largest public square in the world. Located in the heart of Beijing City, it is the site for massive parades and rallies, which is the largest square of this kind in the world. This was the site when in 1949, from a rostrum on Tiananmen (the Gate of Heavenly Peace), Chairman Mao proclaimed the establishment of the People’s Republic of China.

Then move on to the Forbidden City (2 hours visit), the Chinese imperial palace from the mid-Ming Dynasty to the end of the Qing Dynasty. For almost 500 years, it served as the seat- bed of the Emperors in Ming and Qing Dynasties as well as the ceremonial and political centre of Chinese government.

To avoid the tourist meal, today you have a la carte lunch with an a la carte menu at a nice local Cantonese restaurant, where you could enjoy the authentic Chinese food.

After lunch, head to the Shichahai Area ( 2.5 hours sightseeing) – the old part of Beijing and visit a century-od old courtyard and learn about its history, layout, Fengshui, and its traditional Chinese culture involved.

Then take a pedicab and drive through the zigzag and narrow alleys or hutongs. Two people share one rickshaw. Drop off the pedicab at the Silver Ingot Bridge( Yinding Bridge ) and walk along the 800-year old Yandai Xiejie ( Tobacco Pipe Lean Street ), and get to the Drum Tower.

Ascending the 67-meter high and two-story Drum Tower dating from 1420 is sure to bring you back to the old Beijing by seeing the big drum tower and having bird’s-eye view of the surrounding communities of hutongs and siheyuan – existing traditional courtyards in Beijing.

Tonight you are arranged to see the Kung Fu Show at Red Theatre (middle Seating Area). This is a great show. It tells a story of Chin Yu entering the monastery and making his way through life to finally becoming the Abbott. There are many demonstrations of Kungfu and strength throughout the show.

The costumes and the choreography are great. Unfortunately people are not allowed to take photos nor video it. You can however purchase a DVD of the show. The show lasts about one hour and 15 minutes.

After the show, transferred back to your hotel.

Attractions: Mutianyu Great Wall, Ming Tombs
Meal: Not Included
Hotel: Not Included

Morning excursion to the most beautiful section of the Great Wall – the Mutianyu Great Wall (2 hours hiking). The hike takes about 2 hours. The Mutianyu Great Wall is less crowded than Badaling Great Wall with picturesque views. Mutianyu Great Wall once worked as the northern barrier defending the capital and the imperial tombs. It is a green section of the great wall in Beijing with vegetation, green trees covering 90 per cent of the section. Head back to the downtown Beijing.

After lunch, continue to visit Dingling (1.5 hours visit), one of the 13 Ming Tombs of the 13 emperors of the Ming Dynasty ( 1368 – 1644). From the Yongle Emperor onwards, 13 Ming Dynasty Emperors were buried in this area. You will visit Dingling, the tomb of the Wanli Emperor, which is the only one of the Ming Dynasty Tombs excavated.

Back to your hotel in Beijing.

Attractions: Summer Palace, Olympic Park, Capital Museum
Meal: Not Included
Hotel: Not Included

After breakfast, start your morning tour with the visit to the Summer Palace (2 hours sightseeing), originally a royal garden and a temporary dwelling palace for emperors of Qing Dynasty. Its predecessor was the Garden of Clear Ripples (Qingyiyuan) started in 1750 and burned down by the British and French allied troops in 1860.

To avoid the tourist meal, today you have a la carte lunch with an a la carte menu at a nice local Cantonese restaurant, where you could enjoy the authentic Chinese food.

After lunch, head to the Olympic Green ( 1 hour outside visit ) to have an outside look at the Bird’s Nest and Water Cube. The bird nest stadium hosted the main track and field Football, and final competitions for the 2008 Summer Olympics, as well as the opening and closing ceremonies. The Water Cube has a total floor space of 50,000 square meters with a seating capacity of 17,000. It is dubbed “cube” because of its semi-transparent “bubbles” spread out all over its surface with a shape very similar to the structure of “H2O”.

Then go to Capital Museum Beijing (1.5 hours visit), a five-storey building allowing for a maximum of 13 concurrent exhibitions, English and Japanese services are available. It has a large collection of ancient porcelain, bronze, calligraphy, painting, jade, sculpture, and Buddhist statues from imperial China as well as other Asian cultures.

After the day tour, back to your hotel in Beijing.

Attractions: Temple of Heaven
Meal: Not Included
Hotel: Not Included

After breakfast, start your morning tour with the visit to the Temple of Heaven (1.5 hours visit), the place where the emperors of Ming and Qing Dynasties worshiped heaven and prayed for peace and harvest. It is located in the southern part of Beijing, and had been one of the most holy places for the whole country for more than five centuries.

Then, transfer to airport for departure or free activity on your own.