2-Day Combo Package: Beijing City Tour and Great Wall at Mutianyu Including Lunch

Beijing, China

On this 2-day coach tour combo package see the best of Beijing and take a day trip to the Great Wall at Mutianyu!  Your tour guide will pick you up at your hotel lobby each morning and on the first day you will visit Tiananmen Square (the political symbol of communist party in China), the Forbidden City, the Summer Palace and the Temple of Heaven (A World Culture Heritage site).  On the second day explore the most beautiful and best preserved section of Great Wall, Mutianyu.  In addition, on the second day you will also see the Ming Tombs and will view the Olympic stadiums in the distance. Please note: Hotel accommodation is not included in this tour package.

Escorted by your English-speaking guide and air-conditioned coach, start the 2 days tour in Beijing. Each day you will be picked up from your downtown Beijing hotel between 7am and 8am 

Day 1: (Lunch)
The tour starts at Tiananmen Square, which is the biggest city square in the world and the political symbol of communist party in China. From there you will proceed to the Forbidden City. Constructed 600 years ago and passing from the Ming and Qing dynasties, the Forbidden City is the largest collection of preserved ancient wooden structures in the world. Your next destination is the Temple of Heaven, which was constructed from 1406 to 1420 during the reign of the Yongle Emperor, where Emperors of the last two dynasties prayed for peace and good harvests.

On the way here you will have an introduction to traditional Chinese medicine built on a foundation of more than 2,500 years of Chinese medical practice. After a Chinese lunch, enjoy a short visit to a pearl market and then ride to the Summer Palace, home to the largest and most beautiful Chinese imperial garden. It is considered a museum of gardens in China.

After the tour, be transferred back to your hotel.

Day 2: (Lunch)
In the morning, you will be picked up to discover another aspect of ancient Beijing. Before driving to the Ming Tombs, visit the Jade Carving Factory to see jade carved into various shapes, a unique Chinese craft.

Then, head to the Ming Tombs complex.  This incredible complex of Ming Tombs includes a 4 mile (7 kilometer) road named the "Spirit Way" lined with statues of guardian animals that leads to the entrance. The Ding Mausoleum is one of 13 emperor tombs, where excavation has unearthed important objects for the study of the history of the Ming Dynasty.

After visiting the Ding Mausoleum, break for lunch at a local restaurant. Next, you will be driven to the Mutianyu section of the Great Wall, one of the best preserved areas of the Great Wall. The Great Wall rides on the ridge of the Yan Mountain and is enshrouded by a green forest. Hiking up the Great Wall is a challenging climb. Alternatively you can ride the available cable car (at your own expense) to reach the top of this ancient defense project.  From the top, enjoy a relaxing view of this section of the Great Wall with densely packed watchtowers and crenelated parapets snaking along the mountains.

On the way back to downtown, you will pass by the Olympic Green to get a distant view of both the “Bird's Nest “and "Water Cube" -- two of the most iconic buildings from the 2008 Olympic Games. 

Afterwards, you will have the opportunity to taste traditional tea, and you can also experience Chinese Calligraphy for free. Chinese Calligraphy has thousands of years of history and it was regarded as a kind of cultural and visual art.

End the tour with a drop-off at your hotel around dinner time.