Five days

Main Attractions: Tiananmen Square flag-raising, Chairman Mao Memorial Hall, Forbidden City, Temple of Heaven, Badaling Great Wall, Olympic Park, Bird’s Nest, Water Cube, Summer Palace, Old Summer Palace, Tsinghua or Peking University

Route Highlights

Beijing’s four great World Heritage sites in five unhurried days, with a group size capped at 18 in writing. The journey opens with the flag-raising ceremony on Tiananmen Square and a deep walk through the Forbidden City, then climbs Badaling, returns to the imperial gardens of the Summer Palace and Old Summer Palace, and closes with the Olympic skyline. Selected Fourth Ring hotels, buffet breakfasts, a coach kept a third empty and three proper sit-down meals, including Peking duck, keep the days comfortable. A complimentary Tiananmen group photo is included.

• A written cap of 18 travellers per departure
• Four UNESCO World Heritage sites: Forbidden City, Great Wall, Temple of Heaven, Summer Palace
• Tiananmen flag-raising, a hands-on mortise-and-tenon palace workshop and a group photo
• 30 percent spare seats on the coach and buffet breakfasts at the hotel

Itinerary Overview (5 Days)

Day	Attractions	Overnight
Day 1	Private airport or rail transfer, hotel check-in along the Fourth Ring Road	Beijing
Day 2	Tiananmen Square flag-raising, Chairman Mao Memorial Hall exterior, Forbidden City, Hall of Prayer for Good Harvest, Echo Wall	Beijing
Day 3	Badaling Great Wall, Olympic Park, Bird’s Nest and Water Cube exteriors, Ice Ribbon exterior	Beijing
Day 4	Summer Palace, Long Corridor, Old Summer Palace ruins, Tsinghua or Peking University exterior	Beijing
Day 5	Free morning, optional museum visit, private transfer to airport or station	–

Detailed Daily Itinerary

Day 1: Arrival in Beijing

Guests arrive in Beijing by air or high-speed rail. A guide or driver meets each arrival, signs the travel contract and transfers you to one of the selected hotels along the Fourth Ring Road. There is no sightseeing scheduled on day one, so long-haul travellers can rest or take an evening walk on their own.

Meals: on your own. Overnight: Beijing.

Day 2: Flag ceremony, Tiananmen, Forbidden City and Temple of Heaven

An early start for the flag-raising ceremony on Tiananmen Square, followed by the square itself, the Monument to the People’s Heroes and the exterior of the Great Hall. The Chairman Mao Memorial Hall is visited when its daily quota allows; when it is closed or fully booked, the group views it from outside. Inside the Forbidden City, at least two hours are set aside for the great ceremonial halls and a hands-on look at the mortise-and-tenon timber joints that hold the palace together without a single nail. The day ends at the Temple of Heaven with a through ticket: the Hall of Prayer for Good Harvest, the Echo Wall and the Circular Mound Altar. Because several Beijing sights now release tickets on a lottery, the order may change; lunch is late, so a snack in your daypack helps.

Meals: breakfast, lunch. Overnight: Beijing.

Day 3: Badaling Great Wall and Olympic Park

Leave early for Badaling, the best-preserved and most accessible section of the Great Wall, with around two hours on the wall above the mountain ridges. After lunch, return to the Olympic Park for the exteriors of the Bird’s Nest, the Water Cube and the Ice Ribbon, the speed-skating oval from the 2022 Winter Games.

Meals: breakfast, lunch. Overnight: Beijing.

Day 4: Summer Palace and Old Summer Palace

Spend the morning at the Summer Palace, the best-preserved imperial garden in China, with Kunming Lake, Longevity Hill and the painted Long Corridor. After lunch, the through ticket to the Old Summer Palace covers the European-style ruins and its lakes, followed by a photo stop outside Tsinghua or Peking University, both built on former imperial gardens.

Meals: breakfast, lunch. Overnight: Beijing.

Day 5: Departure from Beijing

Breakfast at the hotel, then check out before noon. If your departure is late enough, the group can arrange a complimentary museum ticket from a surprise selection; museum places require advance reservation, are closed on Mondays, and are visited independently. Otherwise enjoy a slow morning before the transfer to the airport or rail station.

Meals: breakfast. Overnight: -.

What’s Included

• Four nights at selected two-, three- or four-diamond hotels along the Fourth Ring Road
• Four buffet hotel breakfasts and three main meals, including Peking duck and Beijing home-style dishes
• An air-conditioned coach with at least 30 percent spare seats for the whole itinerary
• First-entry tickets to the Forbidden City, Badaling, the Summer Palace, Old Summer Palace and Temple of Heaven through tickets
• A licensed local guide, the flag-raising arrangement and a complimentary Tiananmen group photo
• A written cap of 18 travellers per departure

Good to Know

• This is an 18-person small-group departure, not a private tour; the group size is capped in writing.
• Forbidden City and Chairman Mao Memorial Hall tickets are released on a quota six to seven days ahead; if they sell out, the palace visit is refunded or replaced and the memorial is viewed from outside.
• The flag ceremony depends on daily square reservations; when unavailable it becomes the lowering ceremony.
• Day two involves a lot of walking on one-way streets; the palace route does not double back and lunch is late.
• Bring valid photo ID for every traveller.