8 Day China Express: Beijing Free-style Travel (2010)

Your exciting journey begins as you board Air China non-stop flight for Beijing. En route, you cross the International Date Line and lose one day. You will recover this day on the return portion of your trip.      (IM)     

 


Air China Flight Schedule

Arrive in Beijing in the afternoon. Meet your local representative and transfer to your hotel in the heart of Beijing. Your hotel has prime location and is only a few minutes walk to the Tiananmen Square, the Forbidden City, and the renowned Wangfujing shopping area. Relax and enjoy the evening in China's historic and vibrant capital city.      Beijing Huabin International Hotel  (IM)     

 

After an orientation briefing by your guide, the rest of the day is yours to explore Beijing on your own. Or, take an optional tour to visit Beijing's imperial treasures.

The optional tour starts with a visit to the Tiananmen Square, the largest public square in the world, capable of holding a million people. Stroll across its vast expanse. An assortment of historical buildings, Communist monuments and huge museums, including Chairman Mao's Mausoleum, the Monument to the People's Heroes, and the Great Hall of the People - home of the National People's Congress, flank the Square. Walk through the Gate of Heavenly Peace, under the famed portrait of Chairman Mao, to enter the Forbidden City, a 9,999-room compound, where the 24 emperors of the Ming and the Qing Dynasties ruled the Middle Kingdom for nearly 500 years (1420-1911). Experience the architectural splendor of the palaces, ceremonial courtyards and private quarters. Lunch at a local restaurant. Then visit the Giant Panda at Beijing Zoo.

In the afternoon tour the idyllic Summer Palace, with its sprawling encampment of temples, pavilions, the marble boat, and the 728-yard Long Corridor.

(Price for this optional tour including lunch: $50 per person)      (B)     

 

After breakfast, explore this vibrant city on your own, or join an optional tour to the Great Wall and Ming Tombs.

After breakfast, you take a scenic drive through the countryside to reach China's most renowned monument - the Great Wall. The 'original' wall was begun in the 5th century BC to keep out foreign invaders. Construction continued for centuries, eventually linking up the walls of the former independent kingdoms. The Great Wall meanders through China's northern mountain ranges from the Yellow Sea to the Gobi Desert - a distance of over 3500 miles! Chairman Mao once said "You haven't walked on the Wall, you haven't been a good Chinese". Today you will have ample time to climb a section of the Great Wall and to get a sense of the enormity of this ancient edifice.

In the afternoon, visit one of the 13 Ming Tombs, situated in a peaceful valley, chosen by the emperors as their final resting place. Access the subterranean burial vault via a marble passageway. In the evening, savor a specially prepared meal of Beijing Duck, cooked to crispy perfection.

(Price for this optional tour including lunch and Peking Duck dinner: $70 per person)      (B)     

 

After breakfast, explore this vibrant city on your own, or join an optional tour to the Temple of Heaven, Hutong tours on rickshaw, and 2008 Beijing Olympics venues.

In the morning, you visit the Temple of Heaven; this remarkable building is considered the supreme achievement of traditional Chinese architecture. During each winter solstice, the Ming and Qing emperors would perform rites and make sacrifices to Heaven praying for good harvest for their empire. The most striking edifice is the "Hall of Prayer of Good Harvests", which according to the emperor's Fengshui masters, is the exact point where heaven and Earth met. Built in 1420, this masterpiece of Ming architecture, features triple eaves, dramatically carved marble balustrades, and gorgeous glazed azure roof that symbolizes the color of heaven. Built without a single nails, this 120-foot-high structure is fixed by four inner pillars represent the seasons, and two sets of 12 columns denote the months and the traditional Chinese division of a day.

Later, you join our Culture InSites™ Program and experience the world of Beijing's Hutongs, via rickshaw. This network of courtyard homes and narrow lanes traditionally linked the Old City. Tour the maze-like alleyways and neighborhood residences before it's gone forever. See the locals as they go about their daily activities. Highlights include visits to a traditional courtyard style home, to the Lotus Flower Market, and a leisure walk along the "Lotus Lane" lined with bars, restaurants and coffee houses. This unique tour concludes with a delicious meal served at the home of a local family.

Afterwards, you will tour the exterior portion of the main 2008 Beijing Olympics venues - "Bird Nest" and "Water Cube".

(Price for this optional tour including the home-hosted special lunch: $50 per person)      (B)     

 

Today is a free day for you to explore this vibrant city on your own.      (B)     

 

Today is a free day for you to explore this vibrant city on your own.      (B)     

 

In the morning, you are free to pack, to relax, or to do some last-minute shopping. Then you are transferred to the airport for your return flight to San Francisco. You arrive in SFO later today.      (B)     

 
Air China Flight Schedule