4 Days Beijing Essence Tour

Day-by-day Itinerary

1. Day 1: Beijing Arrival

   Welcome to Beijing! When you arrive at the airport or train station, your local driver will greet you at the exit by holding a name sign and transfer you to your downtown hotel. Before getting off the plane/train, please double check your belongings to ensure you have collect all your stuff. The rest of the day is for your own arrangement. You can freely explore the city by yourself. If you need any suggestions on your free time, we will be very happy to help you.

   Accommodation: Beijing local 4* hotel

2. Day 2: Beijing
   Tiananmen Square, Forbidden City, Jingshan Park, Summer Palace (B + L)

   AM: In the morning, your guide and driver will pick you up at about 8:00 am from your Beijing downtown hotel and start the tour with Tiananmen Square, the heart and symbol of Beijing and the largest city square in the world. The spacious square has been used for many public celebrations, ceremonies, and demonstrations for over a hundred years. Next we will pay a visit to Forbidden City, one of the largest and most completely preserved palace complex built of wood. It functioned as the imperial palace in the Ming and Qing Dynasties (1368-1912). 24 emperors of the two dynasties once lived here.

   Noon: Lunch in local restaurant.

   PM: Make a stop at Jingshan Park, opposite a street from the Forbidden City. In ancient time, Jingshan Park and its ancillary buildings not only served as a royal garden for visitors, but also had multiple functions such as learning shooting, offering sacrifices to ancestors, official learning, opera and regional activities, etc.

   After a Chinese style lunch, we will head to Summer Palace. It is located at the west skirt of Beijing and covers an area of 290 hectares. During the Qianlong Era of the Qing Dynasty, the Summer Palace was built by imitating the layout of the West Lake in Hangzhou. Now it is the largest and most completely preserved imperial garden in China.

   At the end of the tour, your guide and driver will escort you back to your hotel.

   Accommodation: Beijing local 4* hotel

   

3. Day 3: Beijing
   Mutianyu Great Wall, 798 Art District, Bird’s Nest, Water Cube (B + L)

   AM: After your breakfast, your guide and driver will meet you at your hotel lobby. We will directly drive to Mutianyu Great Wall for about 1.5 hours. We can enjoy the urban and suburban scenery of Beijing city on the way. Mutianyu Great Wall is the most scenic part of Chinese Great Wall. It was built in the early Ming Dynasty at 1368 and stretches for 5400 meters. 90 percent of the Mutianyu is covered by vegetation. So in each season this part of the Great Wall will treat visitors with its unique scenery. If hiking is too much for you, cable car is available and optional.

   Noon: Lunch in a local restaurant.

   PM: We will drive to 798 Art District. This district was built on an old factory. It gradually attracted many domestic and foreign artists and developed into a cultural exhibition center. The zone was listed by Time magazine as one of the world’s 22 most culturally symbolic art centers in 2003, and Beijing was selected as the world’s top 12 cities by Newsweek magazine in the same year because it turned an obsolete factory into a fashion district. We will wander around to appreciate the paintings, photographs, sculptures, performance art, etc. Then stop by Bird’s Nest and Water Cube in which the 2008 Olympics was held. We will admire the buildings from outside and take some pictures. The tour will conclude with drop-off at your hotel.

   Accommodation: Beijing local 4* hotel

   

4. Day 4: Beijing Departure
   Temple of Heaven, Hutong (B + L)

   AM: Your guide and driver will pick you up at your hotel after breakfast. We will begin today’s sightseeing with the Temple of Heaven. Located in the southern part of Beijing, it served as a complex of sacrificial buildings where emperors of the Ming and Qing Dynasties prayed for peace and harvest. Next, we will move on to the old Hutong to take a rickshaw ride and visit an ordinary family to have a glimpse of local people’s life. We will also get to know a traditional Chinese folk art, paper cutting (Jianzhi in Chinese). A skillful master will show you how to make different patterns by using scissors or knives.

   Noon: Lunch in a local restaurant.

   PM: After lunch, your guide and driver will transfer you to catch your departure flight or train. Our 4 days Beijing Essence Tour will end here. Wish you a pleasant journey.