Home > Beijing > Beijing Historical Tour including the Forbidden City, Tiananmen Square and Temple of Heaven
USD $57.00
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, the Temple of Heaven and the Hall of Prayer for Good Harvest. 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.
Tour Stops: 1 Tiananmen Square, 2 Forbidden City, 3 Silk Factory, 4 Temple of Heaven, 5 Foot Massage, and 6 Lunch at Shanshuijian Lamb Spine Hot Pot.
Review by: Jasmine A, February 2018
Overpriced for what it is... Got rushed through the sites with barely any explanation on their history or architecture. The guide barely spoke English so it was difficult to communicate at all. Half of the time was basically spent at the silk factory or pearl shop where they try really hard to make you spend more money nice try, but I'm broke after paying for this tour lol. Tour was supposed to be 7 hours but I was brought back after barely 4? What? The food was ok at least. But nothing special. I don't recommend... There's cheaper tours out there with better guides...
Review by: princessleah, January 2018
Our tour guide spoke good English and she showed us around some very interesting places. Be aware though, the queue through security at the Forbidden City can be very long, and locals push their way closer to the entrance. Other than the general behaviour of the locals, this tour was fantastic, especially if you want to learn about the history of China.
Review by: Luke R, January 2018
Guide was ok at English, however she was quick and knew how to avoid the crowds. So shes perfect.
Review by: Lauritz Clement L, November 2017
Lovely tour, the guide Mark was extremely friendly and joyful. He gave us plenty of details to the history and development of the different monuments. He spoke english relatively well although he had a hard time understanding some of our questions. The tour to the silk factory was not very interesting but these kind of detours are to be expected in a country like China. Overall definitely worth the money!
Review by: satkugo, September 2017
Excellent Tour. Our tour guide Cherry did an excellent job. She put things in context. She also helped us to make great compositions for photography including panorama shots.
Review by: Emma B, June 2017
I have just completed the Beijing Historical Tour and was extremely disappointed. I would absolutely advise you not to book this tour. _br/_ The tour guide gave us only about 10 minutes in Tianmen square and simply pointed out the various building - with no mention of the cultural revolution. Nor did we get the opportunity to walk around the square- this was by no means a comprehensive tour of the square. _br/_ The tour of the forbidden city was also disappointing as we spend only 90 minutes there all tour books and guides suggest a minimum of 2-3 hours - for the central route alone!!!!, we were only taken on the central route, I would have thought that a tour where this was the main draw card would at least have taken a more comprehensive route and tour of the renown attraction. _br/_ Then we were taken to the Silk factory, which was more like a shopping trip than an informative part of the tour - we were there for over 2 hours, much longer than we spent at the Forbidden City, this is completely unacceptable. After lunch we were taken to yet another shopping stop neither of these were mentioned in the description. _br/_ The final place was the temple of heaven - we were given less than half an hour here and did not get the opportunity to explore the rest of the extensive grounds and gardens. Further it was promised that there would be a traditional tea that we would participate in- this was not mentioned by the guide and absolutely did not happen.
Review by: LUIS M, June 2017
Very good tour
Review by: Iulia, June 2017
The tour was good but a bit rushed.
Review by: Xavier M, April 2017
For this tour, our tour guide Alice reviewed the itinerary of what we would be seeing that day. She was very knowledgeable and was captivating while giving the introduction prior to each site stop: 1 Forbidden City 2 Silk Weaving then we had a nice Chinese lunch 3 Temple of Heaven and 4 Pearl Factory. Alice was very engaging while sharing Chinese culture and ancient traditions. I would highly recommend this tour to friends and family visiting the Beijing area.
Review by: mweinzimer, March 2017
Excellent tour! My tour guide was knowledgable and friendly. I was lucky enough to have been the only person who booked this outing that day so I had a private tour. Private driver and Guide were on time and always waiting to take me to the next stop. Tour guide had extensive knowledge of the places we visited and was pleasant and informative. Only downside was that being on my own I ended up eating lunch by myself. It would have been nicer to have been able to share experiences with others, but that was not under the control of the guide.
Review by: Alexandra D, February 2017
I enjoyed this tour and our guide was informative too. It was a worthwhile experience for me and what I had expected.
Review by: gsenderlin, January 2017
Roy and our driver picked us up on time and delivered us safely back to our hotel. We thoroughly enjoyed every aspect of this tour and would highly recommend it. Roy was very knowledgeable and a very considerate guide.
Review by: Paul M, January 2017
This was a fun tour with lots of walking. The tour guide was extremely knowledgeable. We had a very small group and it was not crowed due to the New Year so that really helped. The one thing I would change is the lunch. It seemed to be more for tourist as far as flavor or lack thereof egg drop soup was the best part of lunch as I would like more authentic food or even to go to one of the snack streets which I think was close by.
Review by: Whitney J, December 2016
Worth it if you and #39;re in Beijing, but obviously you and #39;ll get a censored commentary on the history of these sites.
Review by: nomad, November 2016
Amazing trip!!! This was a dream come true..Only our guide was not right n had expected a better guide via Viator..He rushed us everywhere n did not give us time to see the historical sites well..Beijing is historical n beautiful too..Truly wish to go back again..
Review by: Zachary S, November 2016
Do not let all the 5 and 4-star reviews sway you like they did me.
Review by: Vasco S, October 2016
Great tour and our guide was great!
Review by: John C, October 2016
Great tour, very fast paced. Bring your walking shoes and be prepared for a workout.
Review by: Rishi S, June 2016
Fantastic tour all around! This was the quickest way to see around these places. The tour guide was awesome at taking us around, avoiding the large crowds, and very knowledge about the sites. The only thing I thought was odd is that we have to pay an extra 20 RMB to go inside the Temple of Heaven. I thought this would be covered. However, the tour guide allowed me to go inside the Temple of Heaven. It was totally worth the 20 RMB to see this temple. Also, I was the only one on the tour, and had a private car and tour guide. I got very lucky, so take for what it is worth.
Review by: Wendy J, May 2016
I had a great time! Our tour guide Jacky was great. This was worth my money.
Review by: dft, March 2016
Our tour guide, Gu, was excellent. The Forbidden City and Temple of Heaven are extremely interesting--unfortunately, when we were there, there was a huge conference going on of Chinese governmental officials from across the country, so Tiananmen Square was completely closed off and we weren't able to tour it. The tour also stops at a silk factory and a tea house--these are both very interesting demonstrations, but they both concluded with a pretty high-pressure sales effort by the staff there. The pressure is polite, but it is obvious that the expectation is that the tourists will make a purchase. Just be prepared.
Review by: Elizabeth S, March 2016
This tour was a scam and I am surprised that Viator includes it on their website. I should have read the reviews a little more closely. You need to wonder why? when you find out that you and your spouse are the only ones on the tour. Our guide, Victoria, was nice enough, but the tour was not was we expected based on the description included in Viator and nothing like the other tours that we did over the course of our 2-week vacation in Thailand and China. As others have mentioned, the tour of Tiananmen Square is just a look at it from across the very busy street. The walk through of the Forbidden City was fairly quick, which was actually welcome since it was very cold the day of the tour. The guide was very nice about taking photos of us, but heck, we were the only ones on the tour! We also went to the Temple of Heaven and surrounding park which was all outside, and was nice but rather quick. But the disappointment was being taken to a silk factory where we were taken to a showroom of silk duvets and mattress pads, and then led into a large store where we were guided through various sections and encouraged to purchase items that we found out later were about 4-5 times what they cost in markets and other stores. We were also taken to a tea house where we were given a demonstration and tasting of 5 or so different types of teas that then encouraged to buy tea, again, which we found out was at very highly inflated prices. The final disappointment was the lunch. We were brought to a traditional Chinese restaurant, to a large, deserted room in the basement. Our meal was horrible - tasteless soup, dry beef or pork noodle dish and chewy, dry chicken. The rice was served about 10-15 minutes after the rest of the meal. When I left to use the restroom, I happened to pass by the tour guide and bus driver having a very lovely hot-pot lunch! We were dropped off at least 2 hours earlier than the scheduled time. Overall, it was a horrible experience.
Review by: Chris M, December 2015
Great historic tour with lots of great information and details!
Review by: Howard K, November 2015
Our tour guide was terrific. There were only two other people on our tour, besides us. We covered everything that was promised on the tour and then given the opportunity to add one more stop...the pearl factory. It was both informative and a great chance for some welcome shopping.
Review by: Jennifer T, October 2015
Great Tour. Beware there is a forced shopping stop at an overpriced silk factory.
Review by: Paul L, October 2015
I have mixed thoughts on this tour. William, my guide, was very knowledgeable and a great guide for the day. We saw the three sites on the itinerary, and the guide took care of all admissions, which was very convenient as we could bypass the lines. Be forewarned - you will spend 30 minutes trapped in a silk market, were you will be followed by staff trying to sell you items - something that is not mentioned in the tour description funny that!. The included lunch was surprising good I had kung pao chicken, rice, steamed veggies, and watermelon. The whole tour wrapped up at about 1:30. If you are pressed for time in Beijing, this tour is for you. In hindsight, I would not have booked this tour and done the three sights on my own so I could spend as much time at each as I liked.
Review by: Aurelie C, October 2015
Tiananmen place was close, so we could not do it ..._br/_ Except from that, Forbidden city and Temple of Heaven are beautiful. We were a bit hurried by the tour guide and could not wander around as much as we wanted. I would recommend to just to go by yourself and do it at your own pace._br/_ The lunch was nothing spectacular. However, when we arrived to the restaurant, they took us
Review by: Mary S, July 2015
This was the way to go in order to see these sites! Our tour guide was really sweet, and explained everything in English really well. There was never a communication gap. We always felt safe. Never a problem. The food was really good at the restaurant they picked. I had gone to other Silk Factories, but, this one was the best with variety, and the explanation about the silk worms. The tour took the hassle out of finding transportation, getting tickets, etc.. Very smooth. I would highly recommend the tour agency that Viator used, and would use them again.
Review by: Paul M, June 2015
I ended up being the only one in my tour group. My tour guide was vary informative, was able to take the tour at my pace. Lunch was way more than one person could possibly eat and was very standard chinese fare.
Review by: Aaron W, May 2015
My guide Cynthia knew her stuff but I felt like she was rushing. This is supposed to be a full day trip, about 7 or 8 hours. But for me and the other three in our group, it was more like a half day trip, so I had nothing to do for the rest of the day. Was back at the hotel by 1:30. We only spent a few minutes in one corner of Tiananmen Square, and about 10 minutes at Temple of Heaven. Literally in and out at both places. At Forbidden City, it was about an hour, but only because it takes that long to walk from one end to the other, but still, it was come on, let's go all the time. Way too long having lunch, and way way wayyy too long at the Silk Shop. Spent more time in the Silk Shop than at Tiananmen Sq and Temple of Heaven put together. Was okay and I got to see these places I've always wanted to see, just a shame it was so brief. 2 stars definition by Viator is It was OK, but could have been better, and that sums up this trip.
Review by: Annika W, May 2015
The tour was ok, the sights are worth doing. The tour guide Cynthia was pushy to move forward fast and we did not really have time to stay at the sights and did not really see all of the grounds, however, we spent a lot of time at the silk company and at the lunch place. The time was not well spent.
Review by: Juliette T, May 2015
Maria was fabulous an very knowledgeable. She really made history come alive. I would highly recommend her.
Review by: Victoria B, April 2015
Tour was good, the guide - Victoria, was fairly knowledgeable, friendly and enthusiastic. The group size was good, only 5 of us. The lacking factor was the lunch - a buffet at 11:15am that was not even warm yet. Nevertheless, even if the buffet had been warm it was still nothing special - this is an area that could do with being worked on.
Review by: Dimitra B, April 2015
Very good tour guide, food was so and so.
Review by: Joseph M, April 2015
Victoria was great
Review by: LONGINO S, March 2015
The tour was incredible, The guide was marvelous explaining everything I recommend everyone to do this tour.
Review by: Lindsay I, October 2014
We were a group of seven, with Cynthia as our guide. A very full day, with lots of walkng. Cynthia was a superb guide - we couldn't fault her. Knowlegeable, enthusiastic, and very helpful.. A great experience.
Review by: Gregory C, October 2014
Absolutely fabulous. Our guide Cynthia was an absolute angel. She was so friendly, knowledgable and professional. Our tour was comprehensive, fun and complete. Would book again in a heartbeat. Thanks so very much for a great day.
Review by: Grayden H, October 2014
Excellent insight into the Forbidden City. Would be good to have gotten more information on Tiananmen Square or being able to tour some of the surrounding builds of the Square. Tour guide was excellent - really nice and spoke the best English of any of our guides.
Review by: Alexander H, October 2014
This was a very long day but it was amazing to see such great, historical sites. Our guide, Jacky, was very nice but perhaps not the best story teller. Despite it being the national holiday we got through the sites with no problems. _br/_
Lunch, however, was a disaster. It was absolutely disgusting. Nobody in my group enjoyed it. It was a buffet that seemed like the "western options" part of a Chinese buffet in the US. Soggy fries and something titled "chicken flavor": Whatever that was. I don't believe I;ve ever had such a nasty meal on a tour. Choose a good restaurant and charge more, give people a once in a lifetime experience.
Review by: kwame r, September 2014
great really enjoyed the Forbidden City
Review by: Nicole A, August 2014
Had Connie again for this one, she was great! I also had this one to myself; she let me pick how much/little time we took at each place and was very knowledgeable. Highly recommend!
Review by: Eugenio C, June 2014
What my family appreciate most was the personalized treatment of our guide Chynthia Cai. My kids like her so much and we seem to be in one family as we went along. She was so knowledgable and accommodating. Marvelous tour!
Review by: David M, May 2014
Tour 2 of 4 in Beijing and a more cultural and historical look at Beijing, We had Jackie Li for the second day running and on this tour my wife and I were the only 2 so a private tour which was lovely. I have already made reference to other peoples reviews relating to "full days" and side trips on tours in my review of the Badaling section of the great wall, I think that they both add to the tours and make them more comfortable. After our tour of Tiananmen Square and the forbidden city (Where our guide showed us where to get the best photos away from the crowds) then it was on to the silk factory where we bought some lovely gifts for our family, again no pressure to buy and if you say no they don't mind as I didn't buy things on every tour. However my wife had wanted to go to the silk market anyway, yes you can buy things cheaper elsewhere and we did that as well but the quality really was better in the silk factory so just decide whether you want cheap from the silk market or well made from the factory, there isn't a huge difference in price._br/_
Then we stopped at the temple of heaven and the walk through the park and gardens was wonderful with local people meeting to dance, play or yoga in the park is really something special and shows a real sense of community in Beijing that is lovely. I realise I don't mention the sites themselves much but the speak for themselves._br/_
Then off for lunch which was pleasant everyday although the first day at the jade factory was probably the best or at the enamel factory but all lunches on every tour were very nice and plenty of food._br/_
Then back to the hotel by 2pm and off out for the afternoon.
Review by: Rebecca S, April 2014
This was a very interesting tour had a great day and our tour guide was the best she supplied so much info and answered all our questions thank you _br/_
Lunch however was terrible
Review by: Angela S, January 2014
Since I was the only one in this trip, which was a little scary at first, the day trip became a half day trip. However I was glad that I booked the tour since it was my first time in Beijing. Be prepared to visit 2 companies that want to sell you pearls and silk.
Review by: Mikael F, January 2014
Mr. Jackie Li was the most well informed and super funny tour guide ever. He planned everything out so meticulously (for example he took us to the sites at certain times of the day where there would be the least amount of tourists). He was so friendly as well. Thank you for making our trip great!
Review by: Mikael F, January 2014
Mr. Jackie Li was the most well informed and super funny tour guide ever. He planned everything out so meticulously (for example he took us to the sites at certain times of the day where there would be the least amount of tourists). He was so friendly as well. Thank you for making our trip great!
Review by: Mikael F, January 2014
Mr. Jackie Li was the most well informed and super funny tour guide ever. He planned everything out so meticulously (for example he took us to the sites at certain times of the day where there would be the least amount of tourists). He was so friendly as well. Thank you for making our trip great!
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