Day 01Arrival in Beijing

Our guide will meet you outside the baggage claim area at Beijing Airport and transfer you to the hotel. The rest of the day is on your own to explore the city.

Accommodation: Golden Palace Silver Street Hotel

Learning to tease the pet bird

Day 02Beijing

Visit the Tiananmen Square, the Forbidden City and the Temple of Heaven.(B+L)

Accommodation: Golden Palace Silver Street Hotel

Descriptions:
Tiananmen Square - To the south end of the Tiananmen Square, there lies the Tiananmen Tower and the Forbidden City, both of which are surrounded by the Outer Golden River. Above the river, seven white marble bridges called Outer Golden Water Bridges were erected in the Ming Dynasty and supply the only way leading to the imperial palace. Besides the five bridges located in front of the Tiananmen Tower, the other two are in front of the Altar of Land and Grain (current Zhongshan Park) and the Imperial Ancestral Temple (current Beijing Working People's Cultural Palace).
 
Forbidden City - In the Forbidden City, there are three most important halls. They are the Supreme Harmony Palace (Taihe Palace), the Central Harmony Palace (Zhonghe Palace) and the Preserving Harmony Palace (Baohe Palace). They three formed the venue that the emperor held court and conducted his grand audiences. In the Ming Dynasty (1368-1644), they were called Fengtian Palace, Huagai Palace and Jinshen Palace respectively and later the Emperor Jiajing of Ming changed their names to be Huangji Palace, Zhongji Palace and Jiangji Palace. The present names of these three palaces were given during the Qing Dynasty (1644-1911).

A family visit in the traditional Hutong area Photo by our client Mr. Robin Pollock

Day 03Beijing

Visit the Badaling Great Wall, the Sacred Way and  the Ming Tomb in the afternoon. On the way back to downtown, drive by the Bird's Nest (Olympic National Stadium). You will see its appearance at a distance.(B+L)

Accommodation: Golden Palace Silver Street Hotel

Descriptions:
Great Wall - In current China, those best existing sections of the Great Wall were mainly built in the Ming Dynasty. Besides them, some best preserved city wall, such as the Xian City Wall, were constructed in this period. Adopting the accumulated wall building skills from the Spring and Autumn Period, the Ming's wall is said to have the best fortification and framework. It spans a length of about 6,300 kilometers, passing by nine provinces and cities of China-Liaoning, Hebei, Tianjin, Beijing, Inner Mongolia, Shanxi, Shaanxi, Ningxia and Gansu.
 
Ming Tomb - Situated on the southern slope of the Tianshou Mountain in Changping District of Beijing, the Ming Tombs comprises 13 mausoleums of the Emperors of the Ming Dynasty (1368-1644), including Changling, Xianling, Jingling, Yuling, Maoling, Tailing, Kangling, Yongling, Zhaoling, Dingling, Qingling, Deling and Siling. So far, Changling, Dingling, Zhaoling and Sacred Way have been open to the public. Changling is where Emperor Zhu Di and his Empress were buried. Dingling is Emperor Zhu Yijun's tomb. Emperor Zhu Zaihou was entombed in Zhaoling.

Day 04Beijing

We intend to leave the day free for you to absorb something of the vibrant atmosphere of Beijing and you could refer to Beijing free day suggestions for details. We only reserve the hotel with breakfast for you on the free day. Any other charges (Including transfers, admission fees, other meals and so on) incurred by personal activities will be on your own. (B)

Accommodation: Golden Palace Silver Street Hotel

Lama Temple, Beijing

Day 05Beijing

Visit the Summer Palace, the Lama Temple and have a Hutong Tour.(B+L)

Accommodation: Golden Palace Silver Street Hotel

Descriptions:
Summer Palace - Covering three quarters area of the Summer Palace, the Kunming Lake is one of the major scenic spots inside the royal park. The lake was originally a natural lake formed by a number of springs in the Ming Dynasty (1368-1644) and was expanded as a part of the imperial garden during Emperor Qianlong's reign of the Qing Dynasty (1644-1911). People consider it a mirror of the Summer Palace. Now it has become a fantastic resort for visitors to relax and spend their holiday.
 
Lama Temple - Lama Temple, namely the Yonghe Lamasery, is attractive both for the splendid royal buildings and mysterious Tibetan religion. This temple was originally constructed in the later Ming Dynasty, when it was the residence of the court eunuch. In 1694 of the Qing Dynasty, the Emperor Kangxi reconstructed a royal residence here and sent it to his fourth son-Yin Zhen, who ascended to the throne in 1722 and was known as Emperor Yongzheng. Later, this royal dwelling was changed to be a lamasery in 1744 of the Emperor Qianlong.

Day 06Departure from Beijing

Our guide and driver will see you off at the airport today. Hope next time we still have the chance to serve you again.(B)

B-- Breakfast     L-- Lunch     D-- Dinner