Beijing Culture Experience

Tai Chi at the Temple of Heaven

Your vacation begins at the moment you touch down. Your private guide, driver and car will meet you and handle your luggage, transfer, and check-in. We take the stress out of travel, so you can enjoy China more.

GOOD TO KNOW

• Evening ideas: Your guide will be with you between 9am and 5pm during a typical day. The evenings are yours for exploration or relaxation. You can ask for ideas and recommendations from your guide, an expert on Beijing. Or see Discover More for ideas.

Recommended Free-Time Ideas for Your Beijing Tour

• Take a massage to relax. Oriental Taipan is reported to be popular with expats. See our full massage guide.
• A night cap in the 1920’s US Embassy Building, in the Litigation Quarter of Beijing, offers world class food and drink at China prices.
• Discover Beijing snack streets, and taste what Beijing people eat as traditional snacks.

Hotels: Here are three recommended choices based on feedback and value.

Days Inn Forbidden City / Sunworld Hotel / Crowne Plaza

The Great Wall at Mutianyu

You will have a Western breakfast at the hotel. Your private guide and driver will be waiting in the lobby, prepared with drinks and map, ready to maximize your time.

Your sightseeing begins with the Temple of Heaven, the royal altar where the emperors of the Ming and Qing dynasties worshipped heaven. If you are interested in Chinese tai chi, you can learn to do Tai Chi at the Temple of Heaven. Your private guide will explain the profound culture of tai chi to you.

The Mutianyu Section of the Great Wall is about a 2-hour drive from the Temple of Heaven.

Before visiting the Great Wall, you will have your lunch in a garden style restaurant quite near Mutianyu — Xin Shuang Quan Restaurant (鑫双泉餐厅), which serves farmhouse dishes. A cable car is available at the Mutianyu. This Great Wall section has impressive scenery.

GOOD TO KNOW

• Best Great Wall Section — The Mutianyu section is ranked #1 of 900+ attractions in Beijing on TripAdvisor.
• “A Guide is Essential” — Beijing’s Expat Travel Writer Sara Naumann recommends definitely using a guide, even for an independent traveler. She also recommends Mutianyu “the views are awesome and the wall itself is in great shape”.

The Back Gate of the Forbidden City

In the morning you will visit Tiananmen Square (‘Gate of Heavenly Peace Square), the largest city square in the world, where the founding ceremony of the People’s Republic of China was held.

Walking northward from the square, you will enter the renowned Forbidden City. Your private guide will escort you to visit this largest and best-preserved imperial palace constructed in 1420, and will explain the profound culture, history, and story hidden behind the palace to you.

Lunch: You will have your lunch in Courtyard 7 Restaurant, a restaurant offering new modern French dishes. It’s a well-designed building with typical traditional Chinese style.

In the afternoon, your hutong discovery begins. Hutongs, narrow alleys between rows of quadrangle dwellings, presents traditional Beijing life. You will take a rickshaw to explore the hutongs, and visit a local family, where your private guide can explain you the architecture and landscape gardening, and traditional local life.

GOOD TO KNOW

• Courtyard 7 — Trip Advisor’s ‘Traveler’s Choice of 2012’ Rated 4.5/5.
• Hutong Family Visit — Highly recommended by customers and travel reviews as ‘making the hutongs worth it’.
• Want to discover more in the hutongs? Add DIY traditional Chinese handicraft to your Beijing itinerary.

Yonghe Temple

Discover Beijing’s ancient culture in-depth, by visiting Beijing Capital Museum, the Lama Temple, Beijing Zoo, and the Guozijian (the Imperial College).

Beijing Capital Museum: There are more than 250,000 historical relics covering China's history from the Neolithic Age to the Qing Dynasty (1644–1911).

The Lama Temple: Once the palace of Prince Yong (the Yongzheng Emperor, the fifth emperor if the Qing Dynasty), the architectural features, the precious historical relics, and the Tibetan Buddhist culture make it outstanding.

Beijing Zoo: China’s first zoo built in 1906, it is the largest zoo in China, housing more than 500 species animals. You can see some rare animals there, including giant pandas, black swans, golden monkeys, and red-crowned cranes.

The Guozijian (the Imperial College): The top university in China’s feudal society times, it is the best place to uncover the education of ancient China.

Lunch is at Beijing Style Noodle King (京味面大王, literally "King of Beijing Flavor Wheaten Food") — a restaurant serving various of Beijing-styled food.

Hutong Discovery by Rickshaw

After breakfast, you will start your discovery of Beijing’s modern culture. The 798 Art District, the Bird’s Nest, the Water Cube, and the Summer Palace are included.

The 798 Art District is a great place to discover China’s modern art. There are also unique works of art for sale, and your guide will assist you in barging for the right price.

The Bird’s Nest and the Water Cube are the iconic architecture of Beijing 2008 Olympic Games.

The Summer Palace, the imperial court's summer retreat, still makes a nice place to escape the heat of the summer. You can climb the hill or take a scroll in the charming decorated walkways, before your cruise in a dragon-shaped boat on Kunming Lake.

Lunch is at Xibei Northwest Cuisine Restaurant.

Your private vehicle, driver and guide will be ready and waiting at your hotel lobby to get you to the airport on time. Sit back and relax. They will help you check-in and escort you to the correct security gate. We take the stress out of travel, so you can enjoy China more.