Five days

Main Attractions: Tiananmen Square, Chairman Mao Memorial Hall, Forbidden City, Treasure Gallery, Cining Palace, Yanxi Palace, Temple of Heaven, Badaling Great Wall, Bird’s Nest, Water Cube, Summer Palace, Old Summer Palace, Tsinghua University

Route Highlights

A private Beijing journey built for two to eight travellers who want the city properly explained. Your guide works only for your party and talks about history, folklore and daily life. The Forbidden City gets more than three hours with audio headsets and the smaller palaces, Badaling gets a full morning, and 24-hour private transfers mean no waiting for other guests. Choose from four hotel standards along the Fourth Ring Road, start late except on flag-ceremony day, and, if you wish, add a sixth day at Universal Beijing, Gubei Water Town or Tianjin.

• A genuinely private party of 2-8, with no other guests in the vehicle
• A flexible daily pace set entirely by your party
• More than three hours in the Forbidden City with audio headsets and a dedicated guide
• 24-hour private airport and rail transfers, plus stroller and wheelchair rental on request

Itinerary Overview (5 Days)

Day	Attractions	Overnight
Day 1	24-hour private airport or rail transfer, hotel check-in, Wangfujing or Sanlitun at leisure	Beijing
Day 2	Tiananmen Square, Chairman Mao Memorial Hall exterior, Forbidden City, Treasure Gallery, Cining Palace, Yanxi Palace, Temple of Heaven through ticket	Beijing
Day 3	Tiananmen flag-raising, Badaling Great Wall, Olympic Park, Bird’s Nest and Water Cube exteriors	Beijing
Day 4	Summer Palace, Painting-in-the-Garden, Kunming Lake, Old Summer Palace ruins, Tsinghua University exterior	Beijing
Day 5	Private station transfer, optional Universal Beijing Resort, Gubei Water Town or Tianjin day trip	–

Detailed Daily Itinerary

Day 1: Private arrival in Beijing

A dedicated car and driver meet your flight or train at any hour and take you straight to your hotel, with no waiting for other guests and no shared luggage. If you arrive with time to spare, we suggest an independent evening on Wangfujing, Xidan, Dongdan, Guomao or Sanlitun for a first taste of modern Beijing.

Meals: on your own. Overnight: Beijing.

Day 2: Tiananmen Square, Forbidden City in depth and Temple of Heaven

Begin with forty minutes on Tiananmen Square and, when its quota allows, the Chairman Mao Memorial Hall; policy closures or a full booking mean an exterior view. The heart of the day is more than three hours inside the Forbidden City with your own guide: the great halls, the Treasure Gallery, Cining Palace and Yanxi Palace, with a free audio headset so the stories of six centuries stay clear even in a crowd. Because the palace releases only a limited number of tickets seven days ahead, early booking matters. After lunch, the Temple of Heaven through ticket covers the Hall of Prayer for Good Harvest, the Echo Wall and the Circular Mound Altar. Dinner is on your own at one of our recommended old-Beijing restaurants.

Meals: breakfast. Overnight: Beijing.

Day 3: Flag ceremony, Badaling Great Wall and Olympic icons

A packed breakfast and an early drive to Tiananmen for the flag-raising ceremony, one of the few early starts on this itinerary. Continue to Badaling for about two and a half hours on the Great Wall, walking the watchtowers above the ridges at your own pace. After lunch, spend an hour at the Olympic Park with the exteriors of the Bird’s Nest and the Water Cube, the two landmarks that still define Beijing’s 2008 skyline. Dinner is independent.

Meals: breakfast. Overnight: Beijing.

Day 4: Summer Palace, Old Summer Palace and Tsinghua University

Spend around two hours in the Summer Palace, including the newly reopened Painting-in-the-Garden scenery above Kunming Lake and the Long Corridor; once the summer retreat of the Qing court, it remains the most complete imperial garden in China. After a break, continue to the Old Summer Palace for its lakes and the European-style ruins, then pass the exterior of Tsinghua University, whose campus grew out of an imperial garden.

Meals: breakfast. Overnight: Beijing.

Day 5: Private departure, or one more day

A private car takes you to the station or airport with no other passengers, no extra stops and no shared luggage. If you would rather extend by a night, choose one of three add-ons: a full day at Universal Beijing Resort with transfers, a slow day and night at Gubei Water Town, or a day trip to Tianjin for the Italian-style quarter, the Old Culture Street and the Porcelain House.

Meals: breakfast. Overnight: -.

What’s Included

• Four nights at a selected three-, four- or five-diamond hotel along the Fourth Ring Road
• Daily buffet breakfast at the hotel; main meals are independent at recommended old-Beijing restaurants
• A private vehicle sized to your party: a 5-seat car for 2-4 guests, 7 seats for 5-6, or a 9-seat Mercedes for 7-8
• A dedicated guide for the full itinerary, with a driver-guide for parties of 2-6
• First-entry tickets, Forbidden City audio headsets, and a guaranteed palace entry when booked in time
• 24-hour private airport and rail transfers, with no waiting for other travellers

Good to Know

• A minimum of two travellers is required; the party never exceeds eight and no other guests join your vehicle.
• Forbidden City, memorial hall and flag-ceremony places are quota-controlled; when a booking fails, an equivalent sight or an exterior view is arranged.
• Book at least seven days ahead for the Forbidden City, and tell us about children, seniors or mobility needs early.
• Strollers, wheelchairs, Universal Beijing tickets, museum bookings and Hanfu photo sessions can be arranged in advance.
• An extra night makes room for Universal Beijing, Gubei Water Town or Tianjin.