Explore Beijing and its most popular attractions on this week-long China tour. Visit the Forbidden City, Summer Palace, and Temple of Heaven. Hike along the renowned Great Wall, try your hand at cooking Chinese cuisine, and explore the magical Art Zone that has cropped up in the former industrial center of Beijing. This tour is a great introduction to the best China highlights in Beijing.
Highlights
Bike through the Hutong District & experience how locals live
Wander art galleries of the Danshanzi District
Participate in an authentic Chine cuisine cooking class
Moderately active but not overly strenuous. This level includes activities like casual cycling, yoga, or excursions/activities that typically last 3-5 hours total each day.
This morning start your China tour off with a visit to Tian'anmen Square. See the Tian'anmen Tower, National Museum of China, Great Hall of the People, Chairman Mao Memorial Hall, and the Monument to the People's Hero. Next head to the Forbidden City, a World Heritage Site which holds the legacy of emperors from the Ming and Qing Dynasties starting in 1420.
After lunch enjoy a biking tour of the nearby hutongs, or 'old neighborhoods', for an up-close perspective of how the locals live. Visit the Houhai area, Drum Tower, Lama Temple and royal Tibetan Monastery, and finish at Wangfujing, the popular local market and shopping district that once housed the Qing Dynasty aristocrats. Enjoy dinner this evening at Dadong Roasted Duck Restaurant for the chance to try the renowned culinary delight, Peking duc
This morning drive 2 hours and take the cable car to the Mutianyu section of the Great Wall, a less touristy section than other locations. Hike around here for 1-2 hours exploring this 6th century section of the World Cultural Heritage Site which was restored during the Ming Dynasty. After lunch at a local restaurant, visit next the Summer Palace, a quiet royal retreat that epitomizes the philosophy and practice of Chinese garden design. Wander through the unique landscape design and palaces along Longevity Hill overlooking Kunming Lake. This evening, visit Olympic Park to see the two 2008 Olympics stadiums, the Bird's Nest and Water Cube, and their dazzling light display at night.
*Modify your trip: A full day Jinshanling hike, two day overnight hike, or a multi-day trek can be planned in place of Mutianyu.
Today you visit the Temple of Heaven, a Ming Dynasty creation built in 1420 to offer sacrifice to heaven. Learn about how its landscape design and construction reflected ancient Chinese thought regarding heaven and earth.
This afternoon enjoy firsthand instruction at the Cuisine Cooking School. Learn how to cook four main dishes and observe a chef's demonstration. Chop, mix, and stir fry your dishes during the course. This evening attend an acrobatics show in Beijing or explore on your own.
This morning wander the 798 Art zone in the Dashanzi area. Explore the decommissioned military factories built 50 years ago that now have been transformed into a vibrant village lined with art galleries and local cafes. Contemporary artists, architects, and tourists alike are drawn to this unique evolution of urban culture.
Enjoy the rest of your day free to explore as you like. Your guide is available to escort you to any part of the city you might like to see.
Day 6: Return Home
1 Breakfast
Transfer back to the airport for your return flight home.
Apologies for the inconvenience. Prices for not yet published. Below per person rate based on previous season. Contact us to confirm upcoming season pricing.
Prices for are estimated based on inflation. Contact us to confirm pricing and availability for your desired departure date.
$1,6382-3 travelers
Notes
Select a Date
Rates based on current exchange rate CNY/US dollars. Please contact us for exact quote in US dollars.
Initial deposit is 30%, and most travelers will call our office and pay the deposit with a credit card.
Final payment is due 70 days (10 weeks) prior to departure by bank transfer, check or credit card. All final payments by credit card may be subject to a surcharge and maximum of $20,000 charge
The trip might have been the absolute best of our lifetime (thus far). We particularly want to commend our guide Peter in the Guilin area-he was so incredibly attentive, energetic, enthusiastic-and absolutely dedicated to ensuring that our meals were 100% vegetarian.
Our agent Jessica was very helpful with the whole process and always responded in a timely way to all of our questions.
K Van
1 day ago
Chern was very patient snd helpful.
CaBaba
2 days ago
Cruse ship was great. Fantastic food and service. Cruise itinary got changed so not what we expected, but not an major issue. Japan portion was great. Drivers/guides arranged by 80 Days were great. Hotels were mostly ok. Did not know that most hotels outside of major cities do not allow shoes to be worn in the hotel. again a minor inconvenience. Overall a great trip. Adventure Life communications were timely and much appreciated as far as changes/requests.
Peter Goff
3 days ago
We were a group of three that initiated our research by independently searching for the best agency to help us in the somewhat complex experience of traveling to the Galapagos. We chose adventure life because they were the most responsive in the website provided the most comprehensive overview of the trip. Their reviews were also very good.
Adventure, life splits up its booking process in two parts. First Jeff, the booking agent helped us decide which experience best suited are interests. We chose a small 14 to 16 group sized yacht. Once the booking was made with Jeff, we were handed off to Coleene, who oversaw the complex process of assembling all of the necessary documents and making sure we had everything we needed to make the trip go smoothly. The adventure, life website, then becomes your personal place of reference for all things related to your trip from door to door. It’s a lot of information to assemble, especially for three travelers, but the website makes it easy and Colleen‘s gentle reminders kept us on track. In all, from the beginning, we had four months from the time we started our research till the time we departed. We felt that was, a good amount of preparation time and don’t think it would be wise to do it in less than four months. Mostly because I think you have more options with that amount of time. There were others on our trip that took six months and more from the time they started planning.
The trip itself was outstanding. We ended up on an excellent yacht (Galapagos Angel II) with a great group of guests that we were able to connect with and put together a really nice google photos album to share.
Jed
1 week ago
Mary was very helpful. Quick to reply with helpful information and closure on arrangements.
