Best of Beijing Private Day Trip: Tiananmen Square, Forbidden City, Mutianyu Great Wall & 2008 Olympic Bird Nest & Water Cube

Tour Highlights
• Feel the heartbeat of China at Tiananmen Square, the largest city square in the world.
• Explore the Forbidden City, home to 24 Chinese emperors and their households for almost 500 years.
• Hike along Mutianyu Great Wall of China, popular for its distinctive watchtowers and breathtaking natural scenery.

About This Tour
• Departure: Daily except Mondays.
• Tour Duration: Approximately 10 hours.
• Pickup Time: Between 07:00 and 10:00, choose a departure time most suitable for you.
• Pickup & Drop-off Place: Your self-booked accommodation in Beijing
• Advice on Meals: Lunch is not included in this tour. We recommend having a substantial breakfast and bringing snacks in case you get hungry while sightseeing. If you'd like to experience authentic local cuisine for lunch, feel free to inform your guide, who will be happy to assist.

Tour Itinerary at a Glance
• Pick up from accommodation in Beijing
• Visit Tiananmen Square
• Visit the Forbidden City
• Drive to Mutianyu Great Wall (approximately 70 km)
• Explore Mutianyu Great Wall of China
• Photo stop at 2008 Olympic Venues of Bird Nest & Water Cube
• Transfer back to your accommodation in Beijing

Price Remark
• Prices are not valid during National Day (Oct 1-7), Chinese New Year, and Labor Day (May 1-5).

Price Inclusions
• Professional English language speaking tour guide.
• Air-conditioned vehicle with an experienced driver.
• Admission tickets to sightseeing places.
• All government taxes.

Price Exclusions
• Hotel accommodation.
• Meals are excluded allowing you flexibility on menu.
• Your personal expenses.
• Travel insurance is not included. Please purchase before your trip to provide for any unforeseen circumstances.
• Gratuities to guide & driver. They are customary and would be of great encouragement and reward for quality service.

Additional Information
• Confirmation will be received at the time of booking.
• Operates in all weather conditions, please dress appropriately.
• The itinerary is subject to change due to traffic conditions or bad weather.
• The itinerary is flexible; changes can be made upon written request from travelers.
• IMPORTANT: It is required by the government regulations that travelers must provide their name, gender, nationality, passport number and date of birth to their tour operator upon booking a tour. Failure to do so could result in being denied access or admittance to sites and attractions during sightseeing. When you book this tour, please complete all required fields at checkout. Please bring your passport with you on the tour.

Cancellation Policy
• Cancellations made 24 hours prior to the scheduled departure time will receive a 100% refund.
• Cancellations made within 24 hours of the tour's start time or after the tour begins are non-refundable.
• Cancellation request will be confirmed within 2-5 business days, with refunds issued within 14 working days.

Tailor This Tour to Meet Your Needs
• If you want to customize this itinerary, contact us via WhatsApp (+86 139 1083 0737) or email (info@GrandChinaTravel.com). We'll create a tailor-made tour package just for you.

Know Before You Go
• Keep your passport with you throughout the tour; it may be needed to buy entrance tickets.
• Pickup time, guide's name, and contact information will be confirmed via WhatsApp or email.
• Your guide will be at the meeting point, holding a GGC pickup sign with your name.
• Meals are not included; please feel free to ask your guide for recommendations.
• If you book an Airbnb, please note that door-to-door pickup and drop-off might not be provided.
• There's a 20-minute grace period for waiting. Failure to show up will result in tour cancellation & no refund.

Hotel Pickup, Transfer to Tiananmen Square
Your private guide will be holding GoGrandChina pick-up sign and waiting for you in your hotel lobby (or other appointed meeting place) at the appointed time. You will be transferred to Tiananmen Square by a comfortable air-conditioned private vehicle. 

Visit Tiananmen Square & Forbidden City
Designed and built in 1651, the Tiananmen Square is not only an important site of political and historical events of China but also one of the largest city squares in the world with 44 hectares in size. The historical events like May Fourth Movement in 1919 and the proclamation of the People's Republic of China by Mao Zedong in 1949 all happened here. Tiananmen Square is the central focus of Beijing. To its west stands the Great Hall of People while the National Museum is located in the east. The Monument to the People’s Hero stands high in the middle of the square and the memorial hall of Chairman Mao is located on the south.

As the royal residences of the emperors of the Ming and Qing dynasties from the 15th to 20th century, the Forbidden City used to be the center of State power in late feudal China. It was constructed between 1406 and 1420 by the Ming emperor Zhu Di and witnessed the enthronement of 14 Ming and 10 Qing emperors over the following 505 years. There are over a million rare and valuable works of art in the permanent collection of the Forbidden City including paintings, ceramics, seals, steles, sculptures, inscribed wares, bronze wares, enamel objects, etc. The Forbidden City was declared a World Heritage Site in 1987 and is listed by UNESCO as the largest collection of preserved ancient wooden structures in the world.

Know Before You Go
Tiananmen Square could be temporarily closed for visit due to unpredictable government activities. In this case, your guide may need to adjust the itinerary accordingly.

Drive to the Great Wall of China at Mutianyu
Mutianyu is located 70 kilometers northeast of the center of Beijing. It will be 1½ or 2 hours' driving from downtown Beijing to Mutianyu Great Wall. Your knowledgeable guide will share with you historical facts about the Great Wall of China on the way.

Explore Mutianyu Great Wall
As one of the best-preserved parts of the Great Wall of China, Mutianyu Great Wall served as the northern barrier defending the capital and the imperial tombs of the Ming Dynasty. Built mainly with granite, this 2250-meter long section of the Great Wall is popular for its distinctive watchtowers and breathtaking natural scenery. Watchtowers are distributed at short intervals along the Wall, in total the wall has 23 watchtowers. These watchtowers is numbered from 1 to 23 from the east to west, the highest one on the western end is Tower 23 (23rd watchtower), which is the destination for visitors who hike up the wall. Generally it takes more than half an hour to hike up to the Great Wall starting from the entrance, after that you may not have enough energy to hike the Great Wall itself. Therefore, the best way is to take cable car or chairlift to reach the Great Wall, additionally you can enjoy the aerial views of the mountain from the cable car or chairlift. GoGrandChina has included round-way cable car or round way chairlift (toboggan) into this package. You may ascend to and descend from the Wall by cable car; you may ascend to and descend from the Wall by chairlift; you may ascend to the Wall by chairlift and descend from the Wall by toboggan. Please inform your option to GoGrandChina tour guide in advance. If you want to take one way cable car up and one way chairlift or toboggan down, you need to pay the price difference CNY120 per person at your own expense.

Tips on Selection of Cable Car or Chairlift
The cable car will take you to the 14th watchtower. From 14th watchtower, you can either first hike to the 23rd watchtower (the highest watchtower) at the higher and western section of the wall, or hike down to its eastern section at lower altitude. It’s better to hike towards the west first, as you can explore the eastern section (the lower section) after you returned from the higher section. Normally it would take about 2 hours to complete the hike from the 14th watchtower to 23rd watchtower. The chairlift ascends to the 6th watchtower while the toboggan descends from watchtower 6 too. It might be a challenge to hike from the 6th watchtower to the 23rd watchtower. But you can decide based on your physical condition.

Drive to 2008 Olympic Bird Nest & Water Cube
It usually takes about one and a half hour to drive to the 2008 Beijing Olympic Bird Nest stadium. 

Photo Stop at Bird Nest & Water Cube
Bird Nest is officially called National Stadium. It was designed and built for the opening and closing ceremonies, athletic events, and football final of the 2008 Beijing Summer Olympics. The design, which originated from the study of Chinese ceramics, implemented steel beams in order to hide supports for the retractable roof; giving the stadium the appearance of a bird's nest. Water Cube is the colloquial name of the National Aquatics Center; it was built alongside the National Stadium in the Olympic Green for the swimming competitions of the 2008 Summer Olympics.

Transfer Back to Your Hotel
After visiting 2008 Beijing Olympic Venues, this private tour comes to the end. Your private guide and driver will transfer you back to your hotel.