6 Days Beijing and Pingyao Discovery Tour

Day-by-day Itinerary

1. Day 1: Beijing Arrival

   Upon your arrival at Beijing airport/train station, a local driver will pick you up from the exit gate by holding a welcome board with your name. Then you will be transferred to the downtown hotel for check-in.

   The rest of the day is left for you to explore this city on your own. Feel free to ask your knowledgeable travel consultant for practical advice and recommendations.

   Meal: N/A

   Accommodation: in Beijing

2. Day 2: Beijing City Tour
   Discover the Imperial Heritage of the Ming and Qing Dynasties in China

   You will start your Beijing tour with the largest city square in the world - Tian'anmen Square. The square has a very important role in China’s history. You can just wander around the square and take in the rich history.

   Then, follow your private tour guide into the incredible Forbidden City, which was once the royal palace of the Ming and Qing dynasties with more than 70 big and small palaces and over 9,000 rooms. It is one of the largest and most well-preserved ancient wooden structures in the world. Walking into the grand and majestic complex, you will step in China’s long history and marvel at this architectural masterpiece.

   

   After lunch, continue your visit to the Temple of Heaven, famous for its meticulous layout, unique architecture, and magnificent decoration. This grand complex was built for the emperors of the Ming and Qing dynasties to offer sacrifices to heaven and pray for good harvests. It was listed as a World Heritage site by UNESCO in 1998.

   Last, come to enjoy the amazing royal garden in Summer Palace. With an area of 2.9 square kilometers, this palace was the best place where the emperors of the Qing Dynasty spent their summers. Here you will enjoy the amazing lake view, explore the exquisite long corridor, appreciate precious cultural relics, step on the elegant stone bridge, see high old trees, etc.

   Optional Night Activity: Kungfu Show

   Chinese Kung Fu has a very wide influence in the world, and most foreigners know Kung Fu from Jackie Chen and Bruce Lee's films. You can enjoy a superb Kung Fu show at a nice theater. The entire cast is very professional and talented which combines fantastic martial arts, challenging acrobatics, and a wonderful story.

   Meal: Breakfast + Lunch

   Accommodation: in Beijing

   

3. Day 3: Beijing Great Wall Tour
   Hike on the Mutianyu Great Wall for the Beautiful Scenery

   Today will be the highlight of your China tour in Beijing. It would be around 2 hours driving, and you can take this chance to see the urban and suburban scenery of the Chinese capital on the way.

   Mutianyu Great Wall is the most scenic part of the China Great Wall. It was built in the early Ming Dynasty in 1368 and stretches for 5400 meters. 90 percent of the Mutianyu is covered by vegetation. So in each season, this part of the Great Wall will treat visitors with its unique scenery. If pure hiking is too much for you, there are options of cable car and toboggan for you to see the spectacular scenery from different angles (optional).

   

   After a Chinese-style lunch, continue your exploration to Ming Tombs - Dingling Mausoleum, a shared tomb by Emperor Wanli and his two empresses. It is the only excavated tomb among the thirteen tombs of the Ming Dynasty. Your tour guide will tell you some information about the emperor and Ming Dynasty and lead you to the underground palace which housed the emperor and empresses’ coffins.

   After that, on the way back, have an exterior visit of the marvelous Bird's Nest and Water Cube, which were built for the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games. Walking around the outside of the building to appreciate the unique design.

   Meal: Breakfast + Lunch

   Accommodation: in Beijing

4. Day 4: Beijing to Pingyao Tour by High-speed Train
   Explore Historic Hutongs by Rickshaw and Visiting A Local Family

   After breakfast, your guide will show you around Beihai Park, which is absolutely a nice place to relax and enjoy yourself! It is one of the oldest, most complete, most comprehensive, and representative royal gardens in China. You will have lots of opportunities to take great photos of the lovely lake and historic buildings.

   Beijing Hutongs are full of history which attracts many worldwide tourists! Today your local guide will take you to feel the charm of the hutongs in the Shichahai scenic Area. Taking a rickshaw to ride along the ancient alleys, you will learn more about the background information of the Hutongs by visiting a local family living in the Hutong. You will enjoy a homemade lunch with the friendly family. It will be a great chance for you to visit a real courtyard house - Siheyuan and and have a glimpse of the local people’s lifestyle.

   

   After your Beijing tour, you will be escorted to the train station and catch the high-speed train to Pingyao. The train rides for around 4 hours. When you arrive at Pingyao, there will be a local driver waiting for you at the exit gate holding a welcome board with your name.

   Meal: Breakfast + Lunch

   Accommodation: in Pingyao

5. Day 5: Pingyao Highlights Tour
   Explore An Ancient City with Centuries-old History and a Paper Cutting Class

   Today, you will officially start your Pingyao tour at the Pingyao Ancient City. Bearing a history of over 2,700 years, sharing the title Four Best Preserved Ancient Chinese Cities, this ancient city is one of the only two ancient cities succeeding in applying World Cultural Heritage in China. Pingyao started to be built in the Western Zhou Dynasty (827BC-782BC) and extended in 1370 AD, Ming Dynasty. Until today, the basic layout and landscape of the Ming and Qing Dynasties are still visible in Pingyao.

   Like most city walls, the Pingyao City Wall was built for defense against foreign invasion and was patched 26 times in later generations. Stretching around the city 6,000 meters in length and up to 12 meters in height, the Wall divided the small city into 2 distinct worlds inside and outside. The inside was prosperous in trade with the streets lined with shops and people coming and going.

   

   You will be guided to visit the relics of the famous Rishengchang Exchange Shop to trace the history of the Chinese financial industry. Built in 1823 by the general manager Lei Lvtai with fund support from local rich merchant Li Dajin, Rishengchang had even dominated the economic artery of the Qing Empire in the 19th century.

   Setting your feet on Ming-Qing Street, one of the busiest commercial streets in China, you shall have a better idea in mind about how advanced the development in China was at that time. Today, the relics of those ancient shops still are well preserved and visible, including exchange shops, banks, drugstores, butchers, pawnshops...

   Besides, taking in a Paper Cutting Class in the ancient city would be a big highlight today. Following a local expert and waving the scissors in your hands, you will amazingly get a vivid bird or fish, through which the interesting Chinese culture could be caught a glimpse.

   Meal: Breakfast + Lunch

   Accommodation: in Pingyao

   

6. Day 6: Departure from Pingyao
   Glimpse Shanxi Merchant Culture and Architecture

   Today you will head to Qiao Family Courtyard which could be said as a name card of travel to Shanxi Province. It’s a typical folk-art museum with strong characteristics of Shanxi merchants’ culture, reflecting the social and economic life in the Ming and Qing Dynasties.

   Different from the tiny and elegant ancient town embraced by streams in southern China, Qiao Family impresses visitors strikingly with its square layout, tall and thick walls, grey bricks, and red lanterns as well as classic overhanging eaves, suddenly bringing you back to ancient northern China when you stepping into the yard.

   Later, move on to Shuanglin Temple. It is a lesser-known site, but collecting incredible artworks in its lengthy past. It’s a Buddhist temple where you will meet many delicate wall paintings, colored statues, and beautiful buildings of the Tang, Song, and Ming Dynasties.

   At the end of the private China tour in Pingyao and Beijing, you will be dropped off at the train station for departure.

   Meal: Breakfast + Lunch

   Accommodation: N/A