5-DAY BOUTIQUE BEIJING TOUR

Our guide will pick you up at Beijing airport and transfer you to the hotel. we think the best way to cover the jet leg is trying to live as the local time. So we recommend the Hutong tour with the pekcab in the afternoon. If you like, we would also arrange your dinner in Hutong.

- Hutongs: Explore the traditional courtyard homes and alleys that once characterized Beijing's urban fabric. Although Beijing's hutongs are rapidly disappearing, some districts of the city have managed to maintain their traditional identity.  Within the maze of alleys, things can be found lots of interesting little shops, markets and tea houses, as well as the Drum and Bell towers. You will even have the opportunity to visit with a local family to learn more about the fascinating history of Beijing's traditional neighborhoods.

- Tiananmen Square: The world's largest city square and an enduring symbol of China's national pride, surrounded by many imposing buildings including the Heavenly Gate (entrance to the Forbidden City), National Museum of China, government buildings and Chairman Mao's Mausoleum.
- The Forbidden City: The Imperial Palace, home to 24 Emperors between 1420 and 1911. Great squares, halls and gates contrast with the intricate networks of side halls, gardens, courtyards and quarters for those who lived in this 'city within a city'. The exhibitions, both permanent and temporary, are also fascinating. 
 

Temple of Heaven: One of the most famous sites in Beijing, this is Ming architecture at its best: beautiful, balanced and highly symbolic. The surrounding gardens are full of interesting sights and activities, particularly on weekend mornings when many Beijing residents come to the park to enjoy some traditional forms of exercise such as Tai Chi.

- Dinner at Dadong Duck Restaurant: This restaurant has a reputation for being among the very best in the city. The new artistic decoration and the Chinese Shanshui Scroll painting style presentation create a new eating experience for all their guests.

Great Wall at Mutianyu (with cable car and Toboggan): This less-crowded section of the Great Wall is a pleasant drive 90km NE of Beijing. A cable car takes you to a well preserved section (avoiding a very steep climb), where you can walk along the wall, through the watch towers and enjoy superb views of the wall as it snakes across the hills and mountains. You can return by cable car, walk down or walk along the wall for about an hour to descend by chairlift or Toboggan. Wear good walking shoes and protection from the weather.

Lunch at Local Restaurant: Have lunch at Xiaolongpu, the local cuisine restaurant to try the best organic food.

On the way back to the city, visit the Olympic Stadium.

-Olympic Stadium: Some of the worlds most internationally renound architects helped to create a new identity for Beijing to prepare for the 2008 Olympic Games.  Structures such as the National Stadium, commonly known as the ‘Birds Nest’, and the Olympic Swim Stadium, or "Water Cube", have become iconic structures that represent a turning point in China's modern history.  Venture through both of these intriguingly fascinating complexes that speak to the exciting future of a rapidly changing Beijing.

Beijing Urban Planning Museum: The Beijing Urban Planning Museum exhibits stunning scale models of Beijing's city planning including its business districts, Olympic Village and on the third floor the entire city of Beijing in miniature and aerial photographs.

798 Artist District: Beijing's search for a contemporary art colony has resulted in the reinvention of the 798 factory, an industrial complex designed by East German architects of the Bauhaus school of thought in the early 1950's.  The factory was established as one of 156 "joint factory" projects initiated under an agreement to observe military-industrial cooperation between the Soviet Union and the People's Republic of China. Located in the Dashanzi Art District, 798 has become the avant-garde scene for artistic exploration in Beijing.  Meander through the shaded streets of this visually tantalizing village popping in and out of galleries hosting exhibits from China's most cutting edge artists and observing artists at work in well-lit studio spaces.  The factory boasts a wide array of galleries with an emphasis on high-level cultural, artistic, and commercial works in this invigoratingly rich contemporary arts enclave.

Go back to the hotel for a rest and fresh up. Depart to visit Summer Palace for its sun setting because it will be less crowded and you will enjoy more about this 250 year old imperial garden. After Summer Palace, have dinner in the Bai Garden Restaurant.

Summer Palace:  Spend the sun sets moment in the peaceful elegance of the Summer Palace.  First erected during the Jin Dynasty (1115-1234) as a retreat for royal courts, the Summer Palace is widely regarded as one of the world’s most noted classical gardens.  Covering 294 hectares, ¾ of which is water, the Summer Palace is seen as the quintessential Chinese garden, achieving a purely seamless unity with nature.

- Bai Family Garden Restaurant: Originally a prince's mansion and now a garden restaurant, Bai serves good food in a beautiful environment.

Hotel to airport Transfer