Itinerary
- Day 1
Beijing
Hotel pickup happens early, and you're heading straight to Tian'anmen Square to see the Rostrum and all the iconic monuments there. From there, you'll walk through the Forbidden City on a guided 2-hour route that follows the central axis, which gives you a really good sense of the layout. After that, there's a traditional Chinese medicine culture exhibit to check out. The Temple of Heaven comes next, where you can see where ancient emperors used to go for worship ceremonies. You'll break for lunch, then spend some time at a pearl market if shopping interests you. Later in the afternoon, head over to the Summer Palace, one of China's major imperial gardens with lots to see. You'll be back at the hotel by evening, so it's a full but manageable day.
- Meals
- Lunch (Chinese lunch in restaurant (40 minutes))
Included Activities
- View Tian'anmen Rostrum and stone lions
- Guided tour of Forbidden City (2 hours along central axis)
- Visit to Chinese traditional medicine culture (approximately 40-50 minutes)
- Temple of Heaven tour (approximately 1 hour)
- Visit to pearl free market (approximately 40-50 minutes)
- Summer Palace tour (approximately 1 hour 20 minutes)
Landmarks/POIs Tian'anmen Square Forbidden City Temple of Heaven Summer Palace 
- Day 2
Beijing
Early morning pickup takes you to Ming Tombs, and you'll spend time exploring Changling, the largest of the thirteen Ming Tombs with about 500 years of history behind it. Before lunch, there's a 45-minute stop at a jade carving factory where you can watch local craftspeople at work. Then you're off to Mutianyu Great Wall, and this is where you choose your approach, hiking through the wooded areas and seasonal scenery or taking the cable car if you'd rather skip the walk (that costs extra). The day finishes with a traditional Chinese tea ceremony back before heading to your hotel around 6:00pm.
- Meals
- Lunch (Chinese traditional lunch)
Included Activities
- Visit Changling Ming Tomb (approximately 1 hour)
- Jade Carving Factory visit (approximately 45 minutes)
- Mutianyu Great Wall visit
- Chinese traditional Tea Ceremony (approximately 40-50 minutes)
Optional Activities
- Cable car to reach highest point of Mutianyu Great Wall (RMB100 single way; RMB120 return)
Landmarks/POIs Ming Tombs - Changling Mutianyu Great Wall 
- Day 3
Beijing
This one starts at Beijing Zoo where you'll spend about 40 minutes seeing the giant pandas. Next stop is the Bird's Nest and Water Cube Olympic stadiums for photos, and you can pay extra to go inside either one if you want. Yonghe Temple, also called Lama Temple, is one of Beijing's largest Buddhist temples with Tibetan architecture throughout, so there's a lot to take in there. Lunch is something different here, eating with locals in a typical Beijing resident's home rather than a restaurant. After that, you're taking a rickshaw tour through the hutongs, those old Beijing lanes, for about 2 hours. Jingshan Park comes next and gives you panoramic views looking back at the Forbidden City. Before heading back to your hotel, there's a silk arts exhibition to walk through.
- Meals
- Lunch (Lunch with locals in a typical Beijing resident's house)
Included Activities
- Beijing Zoo and Giant Panda viewing (approximately 40 minutes)
- Bird's Nest and Water Cube photography (approximately 45 minutes)
- Yonghe Temple (Lama Temple) guided tour (approximately 1 hour)
- Lunch with locals in Beijing resident's house
- Hutong rickshaw tour (approximately 2 hours)
- Jingshan Park visit (approximately 40 minutes)
- Chinese Traditional Silk Arts visit (approximately 40-50 minutes)
Optional Activities
- Inner structure tour of Bird's Nest stadium (tickets available for purchase)
- Inner structure tour of Water Cube stadium (tickets available for purchase)
Landmarks/POIs Beijing Zoo Bird's Nest (National Stadium) Water Cube (National Aquatics Center) Yonghe Temple (Lama Temple) Jingshan Park
