Castles · Tour
A Hall Built Without Nails, and 700 Years of Alley in Nanluoguxiang
A private day through imperial Beijing at your own pace, with a guide rather than a group. The route covers the halls and courtyards of the Forbidden City, the Temple of Heaven where the emperors dealt with the gods, and the hutong lanes of Nanluoguxiang, where people still live. Lunch is Peking duck, at a local restaurant rather than a tourist one. The itinerary can be changed: the Summer Palace, the Lama Temple or other sites can be swapped in, and the Great Wall is available as an upgrade.
What's included
- Entrance fee to the Temple of Heaven
- Professional English-speaking guide
- Entrance fee to the Forbidden City
- Exquisite Peking roast duck meal with drinks
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- Visit to Nanluoguxiang Hutong
- Private transport in an air-conditioned vehicle
- Convenient hotel pickup and drop-off
Itinerary
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Tiananmen Square
Hotel pickup, then straight to Tian'anmen Square, where the guide covers what happened here and why the buildings around it are arranged as they are. Whether this is a first visit to China or a return, the square is where the modern history of the country becomes legible.
The Palace Museum
Through the gates of the Forbidden City and into what was, for nearly 500 years, closed to everyone but the court. The guide covers the grand halls and the courtyards behind them: where the emperor held court, where the concubines lived, how dynasties turned over. The Palace Museum collection runs from Ming masterpieces to the private rooms of the last emperor.
Nanluoguxiang
After the palace, the hutongs, where people have lived for more than 700 years. Nanluoguxiang is a grid of narrow lanes with courtyard houses behind grey brick walls and carved doorways. It is a working neighbourhood rather than an exhibit: residents on the doorsteps, food cooking somewhere out of sight, and the ordinary rhythm of the city carrying on.
Temple of Heaven
Lunch is Peking duck at a place the locals use, crisp-skinned and roasted in the traditional ovens. Then the Temple of Heaven, where the Ming and Qing emperors performed the rituals meant to secure the harvest. The Echo Wall carries a whisper right round it, and the Hall of Prayer for Good Harvests was built without a single nail. The day ends with a private transfer back to your hotel. Important: the Forbidden City closes on Mondays. Monday bookings go instead to the Summer Palace, with its lakeside pavilions, or to the Lama Temple, the busiest Tibetan Buddhist monastery in Beijing.
Not included
- Gratuities to tour guide and driver
Good to know
- Infants are required to sit on an adult’s lap
- Suitable for all physical fitness levels
- Please be advised that the Forbidden City is closed on Mondays. Summer Palace or Lama temple will be substituted instead.
- Passport name, passport number is required at time of booking for all participants, we need that to book the Forbidden City ticket beforehand
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- Make This Tour Yours. Already seen some of these sites or have other Beijing spots on your wish list? This itinerary is fully customizable. After booking, just tell us what you'd like to swap in—alternatives like the Summer Palace, Lama Temple, or Jingshan Park can be substituted at no extra cost, while sites farther out (like the Great Wall) incur additional fees due to extended travel distance.
- Up to 15 travelers per booking.
- Mobile or paper ticket accepted
- Guiding available in: en, zh-CN.
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