Beijing Tour with Great Wall

Welcome to Beijing! After you arrive at Beijing airport, our guide will pick you up and take you to your hotel. As the capital of China, Beijing is not only the political center of China but also the capital of the Yuan (1271-1368), Ming (1368-1644), and Qing (1636-1912) dynastiesin the past eight hundred years. Therefore, Beijing is a good place for you to learn about China. Get ready to start your Beijing visa free tour!

If you ask a Chinese from other provinces where he wants to go most after coming to Beijing, I believe the answer of most people will be Tian’anmen Square. It is also the first attraction we will head to. Tian’anmen Square was the main gate of Beijing’s imperial city during the Ming and Qing Dynasties. It was built in the 15th year of Yongle in the Ming Dynasty (1417) and is located in the center of Beijing, the capital of the People’s Republic of China. After coming here, you will find a pair of stone lions (Chinese people are accustomed to placing stone lions in front of important buildings for protection) particularly eye-catching, because the stone lions in front of Tian’anmen are one of the most majestic ones in China. At present, a pair of huge stone lions are located in the north and south of the Jinshui Bridge in front of Tian’anmen. And these four white jade lions are exquisitely carved. These two pairs of stone lions, with 3 meters high, were carved in the 15th year of Yongle in the Ming Dynasty, as old as the Tian’anmen. According to the regulations at the time, it was the highest-ranking stone lion. After visiting Tian’anmen, we will head to the Forbidden City nearby (closed on Monday). The Forbidden City is the imperial palace of the Ming and Qing Dynasties. It is also one of the largest and best-preserved ancient wooden structures in the world. As the imperial palace of two dynasties, the Forbidden City has almost collected China’s most precious treasures in a century. According to statistics, there are 1,862,690 precious cultural relics here, which is more than four times the collection of the Louvre. If you are very interested in Chinese calligraphy, painting, porcelain, and other traditional arts, I believe you will love this place.

After lunch, we will head to the famous Badaling Great Wall. The wall is 68 kilometers northwest of Beijing and takes about an hour and 20 minutes by car. When we talk about China, the Great Wall must be mentioned. The Great Wall has been existing for many years and has witnessed the change of numerous dynasties. In addition, there is a legend about the Great Wall in China. Legend has it that in the process of building the Great Wall, Meng Jiangnv’s (an ordinary person living in that era) husband was also called by the king to build it. But due to exhaustion and starvation, he eventually died and was buried under the Great Wall. Seeing no word from her husband for many years, Meng Jiangnv went to the Great Wall to find her husband but find nothing. So she cried painfully for many days at the Great Wall, finally, a section of the Great Wall collapsed, revealing the bones of her husband. From this legend, we can imagine the difficulty of building the wall. After the tour, the guide will send you back to the hotel.

Badaling Great Wall

Forbidden City

Today we will visit the Temple of Heaven and the Summer Palace. In the Ming and Qing dynasties, the Temple of Heaven was a place where emperors worshipped the gods and prayed for an abundance of grains. As a cultural act of praying for gods’ blessing, worship to heaven was once an important part for ancient Chinese people. The temple was built in the Yongle period of the Ming Dynasty (1403-1420). Since then, 22 emperors had been to the Temple of Heaven and worshipped the gods. The most important building in the Temple of Heaven is the Circular Mound Altar. There is a circular stone in the center of the upper part of the Circular Mound. And there are nine fan-shaped stones on the outside, which extend outward in multiples of nine. Besides, there are also nine or multiples of nine columns and pillars, which symbolizes the number of “Heaven”. (Chinese people think nine is the number of Heaven)

After visiting the Temple of Heaven, we will head to the Summer Palace. The Summer Palace is a royal garden during the Qing Dynasty. It is located in the western suburbs of Beijing, 15 kilometers away from the city. The Summer Palace covers an area of 3.009 square kilometers, three-quarters of which is covered by lakes. And since there are so many lakes in the park, bridges must be indispensable. Among the many bridges in the Summer Palace, the seventeen-hole bridge is the most famous. The 17-hole bridge is the largest stone bridge in the garden, and it is located on Kunming Lake. The stone bridge is 8 meters wide and 150 meters long and contains 17 bridge holes. Besides, more than 500 stone lions of various shapes were carved on the railings on both sides of the bridge. When strolling on the bridge, you can not only enjoy the beautiful scenery on both sides of the strait as well as the beautiful scenery of the bridge itself!

After visiting the Summer Palace, our guide will take you to the airport according to the time of your flight. Hope you enjoy this trip to China!

Temple of Heaven

Summer Palace

Author: Zhang Ziyang