Located in northern China, Beijing is the capital of China and is the nation's political, cultural, and educational center. As the last of the Four Great Ancient Capitals of China, Beijing has been the political center of the country for much of the past eight centuries. The city is renowned for its opulent palaces, temples, parks and gardens, tombs, walls and gates, and its art treasures and universities have made it a center of culture and art in China. Now Beijing has become one of the most popular tourist destinations in the world.

Our representative will meet you at Beijing airport, then we drive to hotel. Free at leisure for the rest of the day. 

This morning, our tour guide will meet you at hotel lobby, then we drive to Tian'an Men Square which is located at the center of Beijing City. Firstly we' ll visit Tian'an Men Tower. It was initially built in 1417 during the Ming Dynasty (1368 A.D.- 1644 A.D.), it was the front door of the Forbidden City. The most important use of it in the past was to declare in a big ceremony to the common people who became the emperor and who became the empress. When we arrive at the 2nd floor of tower, we can enjoy stunning view of Forbidden city and Tian'an Men Square.

Then, we go to visit Forbidden city (also called The Palace Museum) which was first built throughout 14 years during the reign of Emperor Chengzu  in the Ming Dynasty. It was the imperial palace for twenty-four emperors during the Ming and Qing dynasties. Listed by UNESCO as a World Cultural Heritage Site in 1987, the Palace Museum is now one of the most popular tourist attractions world-wide. The palace 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. 14 emperors of the Ming dynasty and 10 emperors of the Qing dynasty had reigned here until 1924.  It was forbidden to enter without special permission of the empeor. Hence its name 'The Purple Forbidden City', usually 'The Forbidden City'.

Through visiting the palace, we can learn more about Chinese culture. For example,  "yellow" is regarded as the symbol of royal family, it is the dominant color in it. Roofs are built with yellow glazed tiles; decorations in the palace are painted yellow; even the bricks on the ground are made yellow by a special process. However, there is one exception. Wenyuange, the royal library, has a black roof. The reason is that it was believed black represented water then and could extinguish fire.

Nowadays, it is open to tourists from home and abroad. Splendid painted decoration on these royal architectural wonders, the grand and deluxe halls, with their surprisingly magnificent treasures will certainly satisfy 'modern civilians'.

After visiting Palace Museum, we transfer to Wangfujing pedestrian street which is a very popular shopping place for both tourists and residents. Then, we wander around the snack street located in hutongs just west of the main street (pedestrian street). After dinner, we drive to watch Beijing Opera (or Kongfu show). 

This morning, your tour guide will meet you at hotel lobby, then we drive to visit Great Wall (Badaling / Mutianyu, according to your requirement). The Great Wall of China is a series of fortifications made of stone, brick, tamped earth, wood, and other materials, generally built along an east-to-west line across the historical northern borders of China to protect the Chinese states and empires against the raids and invasions of the various nomadic groups of the Eurasian Steppe. Many dynasties in Chinese history actively built walls in this area. Among many historical ruins of the Great Wall in Beijing, the wall built during the Ming Dynasty (1368 - 1644) is the most often seen and best preserved, running over 342 miles (550 kilometers) and containing about 827 city wall platforms, 71 passes and countless towers. The famous sections include the Badaling, Huanghuacheng, Mutianyu, Jiankou, Gubeikou, Jinshanling and Simatai. We' ll visit Badaling Great Wall which is about 80 km northwest of urban Beijing city.

Badaling Great Wall resembles a dragon winding along the steep mountain ranges. It was built in the Ming Dynasty (1505) to defend the capital against the intrusion of these Mongolian people. It was enlisted in the World Cultural Heritage Directory by UNESCO and was listed among the New Seven Wonders of the World in 2007.

The Mutianyu Great Wall (originally built during 550-557, then rebuilt during Ming Dynasty 1368-1644 ) is well known for its surroundings - dense woods and rich pastures, which change colours with the seasons of the year. We could take the cable car/ ski-lift (* the fee is included in this package) to get onto and off of the wall (well, walking via stairs is also possible), Tobaggan will give us an opportunity to experience thrills by taking us swoop down from high mountains.

After lunch, we drive to visit Summer Palace which is the largest and most well-preserved royal park in China. It was also recorded that Empress Dowager Cixi embezzled navy funds to reconstruct it as a resort in which to spend the rest of her life. In December 1998, UNESCO included the Summer Palace on its World Heritage List.

The entire Summer Palace is centred around Longevity Hill and Kunming Lake, with the latter covering about three quarters of the area. Most of the important buildings were built along the north–south axis of Longevity Hill which is divided into the front hill and the back hill. The West Dam of Kunming Lake divides the lake into two. The East Dam was constructed during the reign of the Guangxu Emperor. The attractions in the Summer Palace may be divided into six different sections or scenic areas: the Halls, Longevity Hill, Kunming Lake, the Farming and Weaving Picture Scenic Area, the Long Corridor, and the Central Axis area. After tour, we drive back to hotel.

This morning, we drive to the Temple of Heaven Park. The complex was visited by the Emperors of the Ming and Qing dynasties for annual ceremonies of prayer to Heaven for good harvest. The complex was constructed from 1406 to 1420 during the reign of the Yongle Emperor who was also responsible for the construction of the Forbidden City. The Temple of Heaven was inscribed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1998 and was described as "a masterpiece of architecture and landscape design which simply and graphically illustrates a cosmogony of great importance for the evolution of one of the world’s great civilizations."

Then, we drive to The Prince Gong Mansion. The Prince Gong Mansion was constructed in 1777 during the Qing dynasty for Heshen, a prominent court official in the reign of the Qianlong Emperor. From a young age, Heshen earned the favour of the Qianlong Emperor and rose swiftly through the ranks in the imperial administration to become one of the top and wealthiest officials in Qianlong's court.

 After lunch, we' ll visit local Hutong by taking rickshaw.  The term "hutong" which is the name given to a lane or small street appeared first during the Yuan Dynasty(1271–1368). In Beijing, hutongs are alleys formed by lines of Siheyuan, traditional courtyard residences. Now they have become representatives of local culture.

After tour, we transfer to airport and fly back to Shanghai. Good bye, Beijing!