Day 01 Arrival at Beijing

On arrival in Beijing, you will be meet by our tour guide and transferred to your hotel in Beijing. Free for the rest of the day.

Day 02 Beijing ( B L )--- Tiananmen Square, Forbidden City, Shichahai Area

After breakfast at your hotel, start your tour with the visit to Tiananmen Square(40minutes), the largest public square in the world. Then move on to the Forbidden City(2hours), the Chinese imperial palace from the mid-Ming Dynasty to the end of the Qing Dynasty.

Tiananmen Square:

Tiananmen Square -The biggest downtown Square of the world,where you can visit Tiananmen Tower, Monument to the People's Heroes, Great Hall of the People, Mao Zedong Memorial Hall and see the national flag raising ceremony. Thousands of people come to the Square every day. It is the must place to visit in Beijing City.

Forbidden City:

The Forbidden City was the Chinese imperial palace from the Ming Dynasty to the end of the Qing Dynasty. It is located in the middle of Beijing, China, and now houses the Palace Museum. For almost 500 years, it served as the home of emperors and their households, as well as the ceremonial and political center of Chinese government.

Lunch at a characteristic restaurant(1.5 hours).

After lunch, head to the Shichahai Area(1.5hours) - the old part of Beijing. One-hour tour of a 300-year old courtyard. With the help of your English speaking tour guide, the housekeeper of the yard gives you a detailed explanation of the old courtyard ( Siheyuan ) - its history, its layout, its Fengshui, and its traditiona Chinese culture involved. Then take a pedicab and ride through the zigzag and narrow alleys or hutongs. Two people share one rickshaw. Drop off at the Silver Ingot Bridge(1hour)( Yinding Bridge ) and walk along the 800-year old Yandai Xiejie(1hour) ( Tobacco Pipe Lean Street ), and get to the Drum Tower(1hour). Ascending the 67-meter high and two-story Drum Tower dating from 1420 is sure to bring you back to the old Beijing by seeing the big drum tower and having bird's eye view of the surrounding communities of hutongs and siheyuan - existing traditional courtyards in Beijing.

Hutong:

Many famous operas and dramas are based on the themes of the "hutong life". When urban construction threatens the existence of these hutongs, some Beijingers become worried. We trust that a "must see" hutong tour will greatly help you know more about Beijing history and culture.

Day 03 Beijing ( B L )--- Mutianyu Great Wall, Dingling

Morning excursion to the most beautiful section of the Great Wall - the Mutianyu Great Wall. The hike takes about 2-3 hours.

Mutianyu Great Wall:

Mutianyu is a bit more rugged and slightly less crowded than the more famous Badaling. There are abundant natural springs which feed a great variety of plants and trees. Over 96% of Mutianyu is covered by trees and orchards, keeping the air fragrant with chestnut blossoms in the spring and fresh all year long.

Lunch at a characteristic restaurant(1.5 hours).

 

After lunch, continue to visit Dingling(1.5hours), one of the 13 Ming Tombs of the 13 emperors of the Ming Dynasty ( 1368 - 1644). Back to the downtown hotel in Beijing.

Dingling:

Dingling (Ding Tomb) is the only one excavated in this graveyard up till now. Zhu Yijun, the thirteenth emperor of the Ming Dynasty was inhumed together with his two empresses. Constructed between 1584 and 1590, this mausoleum used to have bridges, a stele pavilion, halls and towers and annexes on the ground. Hundreds of years later, only a stone tower, Bright Tower, survives following several fires. Behind the tower is the underground palace, 27 meters (88.6 feet) in depth. Visitors may enter via a tunnel. The stone palace occupies an area of 1,195 square meters (0.3 acre) and has five halls. Gates of the main halls are made of white marble, with fine thrones in the central hall, coffins and burial chests at the rear hall. Some precious articles excavated are on exhibition like crowns, ornaments, and utensils.

Day 04 Beijing ( B L )---Summer Palace, Sony Exploration Science & Technology

After breakfast, start your morning tour with the visit to the Summer Palace(2hours), originally a royal garden and a temporary dwelling palace for emperors of Qing Dynasty.

Summer Palace:

The Summer Palace was intended to serve as a scene of events organized for the entertainment of the court and also as a feature enhancing the pleasure of a sojourn in the garden.The Royal Summer Palace now serves mainly for exhibitions of creative art and artistic crafts.

Lunch at a characteristic restaurant(1.5 hours).

Discover Sony Exploration Science & Technology(1.5hours). After the day tour, back to your hotel in Beijing.

Sony Exploration Science & Technology:

Sony Exploration Science & Technology is an interactive educational center for promotion of science and education. The combination of science and technology is the main theme of Sony Exploration Science. It connects interactive educational exhibits from the Exploratorium in San Francisco with Sony's latest digital technologies to help your kids to experience the attraction of science. Sony Exploration Science is divided into four sections, namely,"illusion","refraction/reflection", "light/colors", "sounds". The purpose of Sony Exploration Science, as Nobuyuki Idei.

Day 05 Beijing ( B )--- Temple of Heaven

After breakfast, start your morning tour with the visit to the Temple of Heaven (1.5hours), the place where the emperors of Ming and Qing Dynasties worshipped heaven and prayed for peace and harvest. After lunch, transfer to airport for departure.

Temple of Heaven:

Emperor worship was formerly palace - the temple of heaven. The most magnificent buildings are the Circular Mound Altar(Yuanqiutan), Imperical Vault of Heaven(Huangqiongyu) and Hall of Prayer for Good Harvest(Qiniandian) from south to north.