Beijing Historical Tour including the Forbidden City, Tiananmen Square and Temple of Heaven

Beijing, China

Get to know Beijing and its amazing history by visiting three of the city's most impressive historic attractions: Tian'anmen Square, the Forbidden City and the Temple of Heaven. Beijing is an enormous city of nearly 15 million people, with one of the oldest cultures on earth.

Your relaxed seven-hour tour begins at Tian'anmen Square, focusing on a more recent page from China's history and the Cultural Revolution of Chairman Mao Zedong. You will tour the grounds and see Tian'anmen Tower, monument to the People's Heroes, Great Hall of the People and Chairman Mao's monument.

Then it's on to the legendary Forbidden City, known as the Imperial Palace Museum. The history of every dynasty is represented here in four palatial halls, and you'll have the most in-depth visit of the Forbidden City available on this tour.

After a substantial lunch, your final destination is the aptly named Temple of Heaven, dating from the 15th century. Built in the Ming and Qing dynasties, the Temple of Heaven was the center of prayer, traditional ceremonies and sacrificial rites. To complete your sightseeing you'll have the opportunity to enjoy traditional Chinese tea.

USD $59.99

Review by: Amr S	April 2012
Informative tour guide. Spoke descent English. Professional and picked us up on time

Review by: Joan R	November 2011
Very good and energetic tour. We learned alot about China.

Review by: LIGIA M	November 2011
wonderfull

Review by: Jennifer Kate	September 2011
This was a good tour and the guide, Ming, was excellent. My only criticism is that the Hall of Jewelery, the Hall of Clocks and Watches and Ther Imperial Treasury were not included. I went back later myself to do these.

Review by: PALLAVITA SAHA	September 2011
I was the only one on this tour on the particular day and Jackie was really great - he was flexible and was fine with me taking more time than planned at certain places. This tour was also shorter than stated in the itinerary but I thoroughly enjoyed it. Jackie had lots of information and knowledge. Only suggestion would be that we could be given some free time in Forbidden City to wander around and do our own thing.

Review by: Uki Kustaman B	September 2011
This historical tour is a must see tour._br/_ The guide was very informative and very friendly.

Review by: Catherine S	June 2011
Excellent Tour + well worth doing. We had Sherry as our guide and she could not do enough for us, showing us the best place to take photos, avoiding the big crowds etc. I think we could have skipped the visit to the Chinese medicine house however everything else was worth seeing.

Review by: BARBARA B	June 2011
Our tour guide, Tony, was excellent -- knowledgeable, friendly and fun. We saw a lot and learned a lot without ever feeling rushed. And Tony made himself available to help us later in our trip. Great experience, terrific guide.

Review by: Walter C	May 2011
FELT A LITTLE RUSHED BUT WAS A VERY_br/_ NICE TOUR. RECOMMEND TO GET A_br/_ FEEL FOR THE HISTORY OF THE SIGHTS.

Review by: Graham	April 2011
My first experience with Viator on the recommendation of a friend was excellent. The guide, driver and bus in Beijing were great and the guide was informative and helpful. I will use Viator next time I travel overseas. Thanks Graham

Review by: Stephen V	March 2011
On the whole it was very good but I felt short-changed at Tiananmen Square. We basically walked across it without an commentary or getting to stop to look around. That could have partly been because of the weather which was very, very cold and windy. Thoroughly enjoyed the Forbidden City and Temple of Heaven. A little more time to explore on our own would have been nice and less time at the Silk Factory. The buffet was horrible. Thomas, our guide, was very informative and helpful.

Review by: CLAYTON F	September 2010
The tour of the Forbidden city was great., but make sure that you come back another day to see more of the city, it is to much to take in in just one day. Lunch was just OK, guide was very good.

Review by: Esperanza R, France	April 2009
I should have preferred to go to a better restaurant. European people don't get used to using plastic plates to eat. Moreover, it is not very hygienic.

Review by: Michael H, United States of America	October 2008
This was a very professional and well-led tour. The very small size of our group made it feel like we were being given a private tour. And our guide called our hotel room the night before to introduce herself and confirm pickup times. Nice touch especially when you're on the go. Obviously, these sites are much too large to experience in just a few hours, but we got the highlights. Being led through the Forbidden City is a good thing as it is massive. We also took the Historic Beijing II tour and are glad we did not try to combine everything into one tour. The shopping did not feel forced and we did spend. If you want a tour, however, that just hits historic sites without the shopping experience, you should look around. But this group does a very nicely balanced tour, and the whole experience is very pleasing. We recommend this tour. After taking this one, we feel confident enough to return by ourselves the next time.

Review by: Ray G, United States of America	October 2008
Nice to see all those temples and the people going around the square.

Review by: Lucine G	October 2008
Nice to see all those temples and the people going around the square.

Review by: Anonymous, Israel	July 2006
We did not spend enough time in the Forbidden City and the Temple of Heaven. It felt rushed.