Gathering in Beijing

Stay: Beijing   |   Meals: At your own expense

Dear distinguished guests, welcome to the magnificent and beautiful city of Beijing. Beijing is an international metropolis where historical civilization meets the fresh spirit of the modern era. The city is home to world-famous historic sites, distinctive local customs and warm, hospitable people. We sincerely hope that this journey will bring you wonderful memories, rewarding discoveries and a truly enjoyable experience.

Beijing Arrival & Free Time & Pick-up: Our company provides complimentary airport or railway station pick-up. The shuttle driver will contact you by telephone call or SMS one day in advance, so please pay attention to your phone messages. Because guests arrive at different times and Beijing traffic can be considerably congested, some waiting time may occur during the airport or station transfer. Thank you for your patience and understanding.

Hotel Check-in: According to hotel requirements, guests may need to pay a refundable security deposit of approximately RMB 100–300 directly at the hotel front desk. If hotel property is damaged or a room key card is lost, the guest will be responsible for the corresponding compensation. If there is no damage, loss or additional consumption, the full deposit will normally be returned at check-out according to the hotel's procedures, usually against the deposit receipt. Guests can check in using the name on the reservation.

Tiananmen Square · Tiananmen Gate Tower · Forbidden City Deep Tour · Prince Gong's Mansion

Stay: Beijing   |   Meals: Ice Cellar Restaurant — Wangmu Special Meal Set

After breakfast, visit Tiananmen Square (approximately 1.5 hours), one of the world's largest city-center squares and one of the most recognizable symbols of Beijing.

Continue to the Chairman Mao Memorial Hall. During periods when the memorial hall is closed, guests will view the exterior. Admission requires a real-name reservation. If the reservation quota has already been filled, the program will be changed to an exterior visit. Guests are kindly asked to understand that admission is subject to the attraction's operating policy and reservation availability.

View the Monument to the People's Heroes, together with exterior views of the National Centre for the Performing Arts and the Great Hall of the People. The National Centre for the Performing Arts is often described through the poetic image of a theatre within a city and a city within a theatre, floating above an artificial water surface like a pearl on the lake.

Tiananmen Gate Tower (approximately 30 minutes): climb the historic gate tower for a closer encounter with one of Beijing's defining landmarks. Reservations can be tight. If the tower is closed for policy reasons or tickets are unavailable, the visit will be changed to Jingshan Park, offering a panoramic view overlooking the Forbidden City.

Exclusive Lunch: lunch is specially arranged at the Forbidden City Ice Cellar Restaurant, featuring the Wangmu Special Meal Set.

Forbidden City · approximately 3 hours: enjoy a deep tour of the Forbidden City with a special focus on Yanxi Palace. Guests can explore and photograph popular locations including Yanxi Palace, Shoukang Palace and the Ice Cellar Restaurant.

The Forbidden City is a proud cultural treasure of the Chinese nation and a precious heritage site for humanity. Its red walls, golden roofs, magnificent courtyards and masterful architecture preserve layers of history and the memory of the imperial era. The former imperial precinct, covering approximately 1.12 million square metres according to the supplied itinerary, is both a vast repository of Ming and Qing imperial treasures and a vivid historical record of the life and institutions of the imperial court.

The program specially includes a wireless audio guide and Forbidden City shuttle service to make the extensive palace complex more comfortable to explore.

Prince Gong's Mansion Garden · approximately 1.5 hours: visit one of the best-preserved Qing Dynasty princely residences in China. The mansion was originally built during the Qianlong period and first served as the private residence of Heshen. It later witnessed the Qing Dynasty's transition from prosperity to decline, inspiring the well-known description that one Prince Gong's Mansion reflects half of Qing Dynasty history.

If tickets to Prince Gong's Mansion are sold out, the program will be changed to the Confucius Temple and Imperial Academy Museum, approximately 1.5 hours.

Be a Great Wall Hero · Bird's Nest & Water Cube · North Central Axis Heritage · Deyunshe

Stay: Beijing   |   Meals: Deluxe Suburban Buffet

After breakfast, travel by vehicle to Yanqing, with a journey of approximately 90 minutes under normal traffic conditions.

Visit the magnificent Badaling Great Wall (approximately 2.5 hours). The experience brings to life the famous spirit behind the saying, “He who has not climbed the Great Wall is not a true hero.” The Great Wall stretches across the northern landscape like a giant dragon, extending for thousands of kilometres and carrying a history that spans many centuries. Badaling is one of the most classic and celebrated sections.

From the Great Wall, look across the surrounding mountains and experience the changing scenery of the four seasons: wild flowers in spring, green mountains in summer, colourful forests in autumn and vast snowy landscapes in winter. The views are memorable in every season.

Optional slide car / cable car: RMB 140 per person, at your own expense.

Lunch: enjoy a deluxe suburban buffet before continuing the day's sightseeing.

Bird's Nest & Water Cube · approximately 1.5 hours: view the exterior of the Bird's Nest, the venue for the opening and closing ceremonies of the 2008 Olympic Games, together with the National Aquatics Center, known as the Water Cube. The two landmarks stand on opposite sides of the central axis, creating a distinctive Olympic landscape. Although the Olympic flame has moved on, the venues remain lasting reminders of a major international sporting event and the ideals of perseverance and determination.

North Central Axis Intangible Cultural Heritage Experience · approximately 1 hour: experience the atmosphere of Beijing's historic hutongs. Hutongs are part of the living character of old Beijing, with grey bricks, tiled roofs, courtyard walls and narrow lanes carrying the everyday warmth of generations.

In the morning, traditional food aromas and street calls bring the lanes to life; at midday, neighbourhood life continues beneath the shade of trees; and toward evening, bicycle bells and friendly conversations fill the streets. This experience reveals Beijing not only as an imperial capital, but also as a living city shaped by food, neighbourhoods, customs and everyday hospitality.

Deyunshe Crosstalk · approximately 1.5 hours: enjoy an exclusive traditional crosstalk performance. Deyunshe is a Beijing-based crosstalk organization founded by Guo Degang in 1995 and formerly known as the Beijing Crosstalk Conference. Its guiding idea is to bring crosstalk back to the theatre and present authentic crosstalk, offering guests a distinctive window into Beijing's traditional performing-arts culture.

Temple of Heaven · Chang'an Avenue Cycling · Summer Palace · Tsinghua or Peking University

Stay: Beijing or Departure   |   Meals: Premium Old Beijing Zhajiangmian Set

After breakfast, visit Temple of Heaven Park (approximately 1.5 hours, through ticket), including the Hall of Prayer for Good Harvests, Echo Wall and Circular Mound Altar.

The Temple of Heaven was constructed in the 18th year of the Yongle period of the Ming Dynasty. It served as the dedicated ceremonial complex where emperors of the Ming and Qing dynasties worshipped Heaven, prayed for rain and sought blessings for abundant harvests. According to the supplied itinerary, beginning in the 19th year of the Yongle period, 22 emperors personally visited the Temple of Heaven to conduct solemn ceremonies.

The complex is presented as one of the world's largest and most complete surviving ancient sacrificial architectural ensembles, combining ceremonial architecture with a highly distinctive sense of proportion, space and symbolism.

Lunch: enjoy a premium local Beijing set featuring established local-style options such as Ziguangyuan or Dahaiwan, according to the day's arrangement, with Old Beijing Zhajiangmian as the featured meal.

Summer Palace · approximately 2.5 hours: visit one of China's most celebrated imperial gardens, mainly composed of Longevity Hill and Kunming Lake. Its predecessor was Qingyi Garden, created by the Qianlong Emperor in 1750 in honour of his mother.

The garden was destroyed in 1860 and later reconstructed. In 1888, it was rebuilt and renamed the Summer Palace. The complex combines the grandeur of imperial garden architecture with the beauty of mountains and water. Buildings are arranged around the visual presence of the Tower of Buddhist Incense, while Kunming Lake, Longevity Hill and the surrounding structures create a harmonious landscape.

The supplied itinerary describes the Summer Palace as one of China's largest and best-preserved imperial gardens. It combines the magnificent character of a royal garden with natural charm and is regarded as an extraordinary example of Chinese garden art.

Optional Cixi Waterway or Summer Palace lake cruise: RMB 120 per person, at your own expense.

Tsinghua University or Peking University: view the exterior of one of China's most prestigious universities and take photographs according to the day's arrangement.

Chang'an Avenue Cycling · approximately 1 hour: as evening light touches the glazed tiles of Tiananmen Gate Tower, Chang'an Avenue becomes a flowing ribbon of history and modern city lights. The approximately 6-kilometre stretch from Jianguomen to Fuxingmen forms one of Beijing's most distinctive straight urban corridors — a memorable “time tunnel” where the scenery evokes the grandeur of the imperial city, the changes of the Republican era and the modern achievements of China.

End of the Beijing Royal Journey: the Beijing sightseeing program ends today. A private transfer will take guests to the railway station or other departure point as arranged. Guests departing the following day will receive the scheduled station transfer service.

Return from Beijing to Your Warm Home

Stay: Departure   |   Meals: Breakfast

There is no scheduled sightseeing program on the departure day. Guests may arrange their breakfast time with the hotel front desk one day in advance according to their departure schedule. Breakfast is generally provided by the hotel as a complimentary breakfast; unused breakfast is normally non-refundable.

If the departure time is later in the day, guests must still complete hotel check-out by 12:00 PM. If an extension or late check-out is required, guests should negotiate directly with the hotel front desk and pay any additional room charges directly to the hotel.

24-Hour Dedicated Departure Transfer: throughout the day, regardless of whether you are departing by airplane, conventional train or high-speed rail, dedicated station-transfer staff will be arranged for you. The departure staff will contact guests in advance to confirm the pick-up arrangements.

With the Beijing Royal Journey complete, we hope the imperial landmarks, ancient streets, Great Wall landscapes, Olympic architecture, traditional performances, royal gardens and everyday cultural experiences have created lasting memories. We wish you a safe and pleasant journey home.