Half-Day Private Tour of Beijing Hutong Highlights

Beijing, China

Soak up the atmosphere of old Beijing on this 4-hour private walking tour of some of the city's most famous hutongs. You'll visit Nanluoguxiang and Yandai Xie Street, stroll along Qianhai Lake, climb the Drum Tower, and ride a rickshaw to meet a family in their courtyard house.

Expect your private guide and driver at 8am for the short drive from your downtown Beijing hotel to Nanluoguxiang.

This 2,625-foot (800-meter) hutong is lined with trendy bars, delicious restaurants, characterful hostels, and lively themed stores, and shows how Beijing's hutong have developed with tourism.

From here, you'll ride a rickshaw to an old courtyard to visit a local family. Your guide will explain the traditional layout of a courtyard house (siheyuan), and the history, culture, and feng shui that underlie its arrangement.

Next, you'll walk to the Drum Tower, which, along with the Bell Tower, was for many centuries the highest building in Beijing: it's 154 feet (47 meters) tall. Climb to the second storey for a bird's-eye view of the surrounding hutong and courtyards.

From here, it's a short stroll down the 800-year-old hutong known as Yandai Xie Street because it's shaped like a tobacco pipe's stem to Yinding Bridge and Beijing's lake district. You'll walk along Qianhai Lake, surrounded by buildings that were once the palaces of ministers, as well as temples and beautifully refurbished courtyard houses.

Your tour finishes at 12 noon. You might wish to explore the Back Lakes (Houhai) bar area independently, or you can be transferred back to your hotel.