Discover the best of Beijing on a 2-day small-group tour with a personal touch. Explore iconic landmarks like the Great Wall and Forbidden City, and immerse yourself in local culture with visits to ancient temples and traditional hutongs. Avoid shopping detours for a pure sightseeing experience.
Tiananmen Square, Forbidden City, Mutianyu Great Wall
Tiananmen Square (Tiananmen Guangchang) - In the morning, your professional guide will pick you up at your hotel lobby, and then a comfortable and capacious chauffeur-driven minivan will transfer you to Tiananmen Square. Follow your guide to take a morning walk around this city square, and you can shoot distant view photos of the brilliant landmark buildings such as the Monument to the People’s Heroes, the Great Hall of the People and the Memorial Hall of Chairman Mao.
Forbidden City-The Palace Museum - Walk through the Gate of Heavenly Peace with the great Chairman Mao’s portrait on it; you come to this morning’s highlight - the 600-year-old Forbidden City - the largest and the most intact imperial palace complex of the Ming and Qing Courts (1368 - 1911 AD).
The majestic Forbidden City has 9,999 rooms! Which are the most essential and interesting parts? The veteran itinerary designer carefully selects the top 10 palaces for you, including major ones on the traditional central axis, and some special chambers on the east and west wings.
Mutianyu Great Wall - After 1.5 hours driving, you will arrive at the Mutianyu Great Wall, which is the best preserved and most popular section among all in Beijing. The itinerary designer smartly choose afternoon to visit the Wall to avoid the crowds, and you’ll have at least 2.5 hours to visit the wall and take some nice photos.
Back Lakes (Hou Hai) - At the end of this day trip, your tour guide will take you to the famous Houhai Lake Area and Yandai Xiejie Hutong, where you will find various bars, cafes, restaurants, and curio shops. It might be a good idea to spend a leisure evening there to ease your fatigue as well as to experience Beijing’s legendary nightlife. Enjoy your time leisurely at your own pace and get back to the hotel by yourself afterwards. For travelers who are not interested in exploring this Hutong area, we will drive you back to your hotel directly. Hope you have collected great memories on this trip!
Temple of Heaven, Hutong Alleys, Lama Temple & Summer Palace
Temple of Heaven - In the morning, the guide and driver will pick you up from your hotel on time and continue your Beijing group tour to the Temple of Heaven, where the emperors worshiped the God of Heaven for good harvest in ancient times. Now it turns out to be a big park where you can see local people doing exercise and more recreational activities.
Hutong Tour - Next continue your tour to Beijing Hutong. There you will take a rickshaw to go through the old alleys and pay a visit to a Hutong family to see how the old Beijingers live. There are many popular restaurants, cafes and local food stores in the area. It should be a good chance to taste the local food if you want to have a try. Your guide will offer you suggestions. After lunch, you could stroll around Houhai Lake and explore more of the Hutong area.
Lama Temple (Yonghegong) - Lama Temple, also known as Yonghe Lamasery is a beautiful old temple in the center of Beijing. It was initially built in 1694 as the residence Emperor Yongzheng when he was just a prince. Now it is considered as the largest and most perfectly preserved lamasery in present day China.
Summer Palace (Yiheyuan) - An about 30-minute drive will take you to the Summer Palace, which is reputed as the museum of ancient royal gardens. Your expert guide will show you around. Centered upon Wanshou Mountain and Kunming Lake, the Summer Palace boasts a perfect combination of natural landscape and royal garden. It is a fantastic resort for travelers to admire the peaceful landscapes and magnificent architectures.
After that, you will be escorted back to your hotel.
- Complimentary bottled water with unlimited supplies
- Air conditioned minivan with chauffeur
- Pick up and drop off to hotels within the fifth ring road of the Beijing city
- Professional English speaking guide
- Meals
- Overnight accommodation
- Gratuities
- Cable car fee at the Great Wall
Explore Mutianyu Great Wall, Forbidden City and Tiananmen Square in the first day and visit the Summer Palace, Temple of Heaven, Lama Temple and old Hutongs with Rickshaw ride in the second day tours. Besides, you will also stop by the bustling Nanluoguxiang Hutong at the first night.
This 2-day mini group tour with maximum 9 guests ensures a more personal experience. Avoid the ticket line at the entrance of all attractions. No shopping detours, no factory, no tea ceremony and no shopping site restaurant, which at least save you two hours today for a pure sightseeing experience. That’s the reason why you can have more time at the attraction sites. This tour are running for guests’ interests rather than the shopping commission.
- NO shopping detours, no factory stores, no tea ceremony, no shopping site restaurant. Avoid wasting time at any shopping motive stop.
- We offer free pick-up within the fourth ring road of the Beijing city. While Beijing is really a very large city, to ensure the morning pick-up going smoothly as scheduled, we suggest you choose centrally located downtown hotels. If the location of your hotel is beyond our free pick-up range, you may need to pay for extra mile transfers or get to an appointed meeting point. For any pick-up issues, your one-on-one travel consultant is ready to help anytime.
- Group Size: About 9 people. There are chances that 10% of the tour groups will exceed 9 people but we will make proper arrangements.
- Important note: Entrance tickets of the Forbidden City are usually released online 7 days in advance and could be easily sold out. Kindly advise you to book the tour 8 days before since the ticket purchase is based on the real name policy.
- Departures are guaranteed with even two persons.
- The time schedule of the itinerary is for reference. It will be adjusted according to the traffic and real situations.
- Please carry your valid passport on the day of travel.
- Please wear comfortable walking shoes.
- This supplier also offers 1-day mini group tour and multi-day tours. Please search the supplier’s name to check its tour list.
For a full refund, cancel at least 24 hours before the scheduled departure time.
