Secret of Beijing

Your private guide will be ready to meet and greet you at the arrivals hall. A comfortable private car (no-smoking) with an experienced driver will transfer you directly to your hotel, where your guide will help you to check-in.

Hotel Recommendations

The itinerary price includes 4-star hotels for your reference, however there are alternative options.

Novotel Beijing Peace

• Very central location, 15 minutes walk to the Forbidden City
• Member of Accor Group, ensuring standard Western service

Crowne Plaza Hotel Beijing Chaoyang U-Town

• Wins Certificate of Excellence of Tripadvisor
• Surrounded by touring conveniences, Member of Intercontinental Group

Hotel Eclat Beijing

• Ranked 3/6561 of Beijing hotels on TripAdvisor
• About 5 km (3 mi) from the Forbidden City
• Member of Small Luxury Hotels of the World

After breakfast, a comfortable private car will transfer you and your guide to the historic Tian’anmen Square . You will have some time there for taking photos, after your guide will provide you with some commentary about the history and architecture as well as anecdotes of the square.

And then start to enjoy the highlight of the day — the Forbidden City, home to 24 emperors in the Ming and Qing dynasties (1420–1911). In addition to the background introduction on the architecture, history and art of the City, your guide will bring you to 12 selected places in the complex to discover the deep secrets of the emperors and concubines, while other group tours only visit 6 spots briefly. You will be walking for about 2 hours (2 kilometers), on a walk that is graded moderate.

When Queen Victoria ruled the British Empire, Empress Dowager Cixi reigned China. You can learn about her rise from being a concubine to leading China in the Forbidden City from our guide in Beijing.

Have a rest and enjoy delicious lunch at our selected local restaurant. You can order the dishes as you like or your guide help you order it.

After lunch, ride to Gubei Water Town. It takes about 2.5 hours from central Beijing to Gubei Water Town where you will stay overnight. After hotel check-in, you will have some time to take a rest and have dinner. You can eat at a restaurant, from where you can see clearly the lit-up wall while enjoying the delicious meal.

Around 8pm, your guide will accompany you to take the cable car up to the wall and see the stunning night views. Simatai is the only section of the Wall which is lit up and open to tourists at night. Only towers 5 and 6 are open to tourists for the night tour, as these two towers are comparatively flat. The trip will last about 1 hour.

Hotel Recommendations

The itinerary price includes a 5-star resort hotel for your reference, however there are alternative options.

William Edgar Hotel

• In a beautiful riverside location in Gubei Water Town
• Big beautiful room with first-class bedding and accessories, convenient for a night experience at Simatai

Beijing Water Town Hot Spring Resort

• Located in Gubei Water Town, at the base of the Simitai section of the Great Wall
• Convenient for a night experience at Simatai

Wangjing Tower Hotel

• Located at the base of the Simitai section of the Great Wall
• Big beautiful room with great views of the Great Wall. The hotel’s restaurant is the best in the water town.

In the morning, your guide will go with you to do the Simatai Great Wall day tour. As there are few tourists there (except at Chinese national holidays), you will just have the wall to yourself.

The best way to enjoy sightseeing at Simatai is by taking the cable car up and walking down slowly around the lakeside, as the way up will be the same as the way down on foot, besides, it is a challenging climb up to the Simatai section of the Great Wall, as it is much steeper than the Badaling and Mutianyu sections.

After descending from the wall, you will have some time back at the hotel to take a shower if you wish. Lunch is left open to your own arrangement. You could order some dishes in your hotel, or our guide can recommend a nice local restaurant outside the Water Town.

The tour will end at noon, and it is better to choose a departure flight for after 5 PM as it will take about 2 hours to Beijing Capital Airport. Your guide will handle your luggage, transfer, and accompany you to the train/bus station or to the correct check-in desk at the airport for your departure.