Beijing One-day Tour to the Great Wall and Forbidden City

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Highlights:

• For those on a tight schedule and budget, this is a great way to see the 3 essential sights of Beijing (and China), the Great Wall, the Forbidden City and Tiananmen Square. You will be awed by the colossal setting of the Forbidden City (the home of the Chinese emperor for over 400 years), the sheer power of Tianamnen Square, and the Great Wall at Mutianyu, which is probably the most beautiful of all the Beijing sections of the Great Wall, yet is not nearly as crowded and touristy as the Badaling Great Wall.

• Lunch is included on this tour, and so is pick-up and drop-off from your hotel. You will be back no later than 6pm, allowing you to have a full evening of activity on Beijing.
• You will be accompanied on your tour by a professional English-speaking guide, which will make your tour informative, fun, and worry-free!

Tour Itinerary

MORNING

At 8:00 am (or around at your request), your guide and driver will meet you at your hotel lobby or residence to start a wonderful day.

We will explore what is perhaps the greatest attraction in China, the Forbidden City. The largest surviving palace complex and the former home of the emperors of the Ming and Qing Dynasty, the Forbidden City is one of the greatest attractions in the world. Built by the third Ming emperor between 1406-1422, the Forbidden City served as the official residence to the Emperor of China until the last emperor, Puyi, was forced to evacuate in 1924. The Forbidden City is divided into two parts. The southern section, or the Outer Court was where the emperor exercised his supreme power over the nation. The northern section, or the Inner Court was where he lived with his royal family. Consisting of 980 buildings and with 8,707 bays of rooms, the Forbidden City is the best example of classical Chinese architecture in the world, and is a wonder to behold.

*Please send us your full name and passport number for us to buy the e-tickets of the Forbidden City in advance. Thank you for your understanding!

After a few hours of touring the Forbidden City, we’ll walk out the south entrance and walk across to Tiananmen Square, the largest public square in the world, Tiananmen Square is seen as China’s political center. Its grounds have seen some turbulent moments, from the May 4th Movement of 1919 to the political turmoil of 1989. The south of the square is marked by the Chairman Mao Memorial Hall, while the center of the square is dominated by the Monument to the People’s Heroes, an imposing 10-story granite obelisk. To the east is the National Museum of China, and to the west is the Great Hall of the People, home to China’s legislative bodies. The north of the square is dominated by the Gate of Heavenly Peace, known for its iconic portrait of Mao Zedong, and is the national emblem of China.

NOON

We will have a break for a brief lunch by tasting the local specialties of Beijing - dumplings, Chinese quesadilla, noodles with stir-fried sources, or Qingfeng baozi (meat buns), a roadside restaurant chain in old Beijing famed for its succulent steamed buns. Chinese President Xi ordered 6 pork buns and other dishes in this restaurant before and it has greatly improved the reputation of Qingfeng. Qingfeng, in Chinese, means "celebrating the harvest." 

AFTERNOON

After lunch, we will drive to the Great Wall at Mutianyu, and the drive will take about 1.5 hours.

We will arrive at the Mutianyu Great Wall. As one of the best-preserved parts of the Great Wall, the Mutianyu section of the Great Wall used to serve as the northern barrier defending the capital and the imperial tombs. First built in the mid-6th century during the Northern Qi, Mutianyu Great Wall is older than the Badaling section of the Great Wall.  Compared with other sections of Great Wall, the Mutianyu Great Wall possesses unique characteristics in its construction. Watchtowers are densely placed along this section of the Great Wall - 22 watchtowers on this 2,250-meter-long stretch. The Mutianyu Pass consists of 3 watchtowers, one big in the center and two smaller on both sides. Standing on the same terrace, the three watchtowers are connected to each other inside and compose a rarely seen structure among all sections of Great Wall. To get on the wall, you can either walk up or take the cable car, but on the way down you can take a toboggan ride, which is a lot of fun and highly recommended!

Around 6 pm, you’ll be dropped off back at your hotel. You may plan your evening and enjoy the night of Beijing.