Beijing Private Culture Experience with Imperial Lunch

8 Hours

Mobile Ticket

Hotel Pickup Offered

Chinese,English

Language Offered

Overview

Delve deep into Beijing's rich culture on this 8-hour private experience. Admire the UNESCO-protected Temple of Heaven, Jingshan Park, and Drum and Bell Towers; and explore the 'hutong' neighborhoods of courtyard homes and narrow lanes by foot and rickshaw. View a courtyard home, take a lake cruise, and savor an imperial-style lunch. Plus, learn a traditional craft like paper-cutting at a family home. Entrance fees, private transport, and central hotel pickup and drop-off included.

Private 8-hour Beijing cultural tour including imperial-style lunch
Visit the UNESCO-listed Temple of Heaven where China's emperors prayed for good harvests
Experience Liulichang Street, Jingshan Park, and the drum-beating ceremony at the Drum and Bell Towers
Discover Beijing's old hutongs, visit a courtyard home, and ride a boat on Behai Lake
Enjoy a Qing-style lunch at Beijing's oldest imperial restaurant
Ride a rickshaw through a hutong and learn a traditional craft at a family home
Private transport, entrance fees, cruise, lunch, and central hotel pickup and drop-off included

Inclusions & Exclusions

Departure & Return

What To Expect

After pickup from your central Beijing hotel, travel by private, climate-controlled vehicle to your first stop: the Temple of Heaven.Take a guided tour of this UNESCO-listed complex, whose origins date to the 15th century. See the ornate altars and halls, and hear how China's Ming and Qing emperors performed rituals and sacrifices here to ensure bountiful crops.Stroll around the gardens to see Beijing's older citizens socializing, singing, and performing tai chi; and drive on to Liulichang Street, a lane lined with grey-stoned Qing-style (1644-1911) buildings housing antique book, curio, and art shops.View some of the artisans at work, and then visit royal Jingshan Park to enjoy bird's-eye views of the Forbidden City and downtown Beijing. Learn how China's last Ming emperor hanged himself here in 1644 as enemy forces neared the city, and then continue to Behai Park, home to Fangshan, Beijing's oldest imperial restaurant. Admire the richly decorated interior and enjoy a sumptuous lunch featuring dishes once favored by the Qing-era emperors. Afterward, board an imperial-style boat for a scenic cruise around Lake Beihai to Houhai, one of the city's most popular bar quarters. Here, explore the narrow hutong alleyways, and visit a traditional courtyard home before strolling down Yandaixie Street, one of Beijing's oldest lanes.Continue to the nearby Bell and Drum Towers, and watch the famous drum-beating ceremony that recalls how the original drum in the Drum Tower was beaten to mark the time in imperial days.Lastly, ride a rickshaw through a hutong to a traditional family home. Here, learn a handicraft like calligraphy, clay sculpture, mask or snuff bottle painting, Chinese yoyo, or paper-cutting - having selected your preferred craft on booking your tour.Your experience then concludes with a late-afternoon hotel drop-off.

Beijing Private Culture Experience with Imperial Lunch

Inclusions & Exclusions

Departure & Return

What To Expect

Additional Info

Cancellation Policy

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