This full day trip visits the Mutianyu section of the Great Wall followed by a visit to the Ming Tombs. Also visit the National Stadium known as the 'Bird's Nest' and the National Aquatics Centre for a real contrast between ancient and modern Beijing.

Mutianyu is one of best preserved parts of the Great Wall. Located approximately 70 kilometres from the city, it was built as part of the defense for the Capital and the imperial tombs. The section of the wall that can be seen today was built during the Ming Dynasty.

This is followed by a visit to the Ming Tombs. Located at the foot of Tianshou Mountain and covering an area of 80 square metres, the Ming Tombs is the site of the mausoleums of thirteen of the Emperors of the Ming Dynasty.

Beijing was the host of the 2008 Summer Olympics and Paralympics. The Beijing National Stadium was the venue for the games and is affectionately called the ‘Bird’s Nest’ because of its appearance. The National Aquatics Center was the venue for the swimming events at the games. More commonly known as the “Water Cube” because the exterior appears to be covered by bubbles.

This shared excursion departs around 8 am, returning around 4 pm includng pick up and drop off at central Beijing hotels. Private excursions are also available.

This full day excursion utilises public transport and visits the Temple of Heaven, the Forbidden City, Tiananmen Square and Jingshan Park. Combine this trip with a Great Wall and Summer Palace Tour to see the best of Beijing in 2 days.

Begin the day from the meeting point and join the group for a short subway journey to the Temple of Heaven, one of Beijing's iconic sights and a popular park with Beijingers. The park is often full of people of all ages taking part in traditional pastimes such as tai chi, fan dancing, diablo, kite flying or water calligraphy.

Join in some of the activities or just wander around the park, soaking up its relaxed atmosphere. Visit the Temple of Heaven, a Taoist temple where emperors of the Ming and Qing dynasties would offer sacrifices to heaven and pray for good harvests.

Enjoy an early lunch of dumplings or noodles from a local eatery before jumping on Beijing's subway to travel to Tiananmen Square. Discover why Tiananmen is so special to the Chinese as you wander through this immense square.

Enter the Forbidden City through the Gate of Heavenly Peace, which is adorned with its famous Mao portrait. Off-limits to most of the world for 500 years, this ‘city’ houses the best preserved cluster of ancient buildings in China and is a must-see destination in Beijing. Discover some of its secrets and learn about some of the legends while enjoying a tour through its many buildings.

After leaving the Forbidden City, get a new perspective over this immense structure from the top of the pagoda in Jingshan Park. High on a hill overlooking the city, this is the best place to take in stunning views of not only the Forbidden City, but the ancient heart of Beijing.

End the tour in Jingshan Park, where you are free to spend more time exploring or head back into the heart of Beijing to take in more of the city’s sights.

This excursion is on a group basis and utilised public transport (to avoid Beijing's traffic). The tour begins at 8 am and lasts 7-8 hours.

The Chinese enjoy spending time outdoors in the city, so why not join the locals to enjoy the sights and sounds of Beijing on this full day tour, revealing both old and modern Beijing.

The day begins with tea, hot soymilk, steamed stuffed buns or bread (baozi or mantou), and fried dumplings for breakfast. 

After breakfast, take the subway. With its 13 lines (with an additional Olympic line) and many more under construction, the subway provides a cheap and convenient way to cross the city. Tickets cost RMB2 for each voyage and the subway stations and subways themselves are clean, safe and easy to use.  As in any large city, the subways can become crowded during rush hours, but are not so bad during the day. 

Visit the Temple of Heaven, the best place to watch the morning exercises such as Tai Qi, Kung Fu, sabre practice, meditation, tango, and gymnastics. The Chinese like to prepare for their day with physical exercises that they consider essential for health. In addition, some Chinese practice calligraphy with giant brushes and water on the park’s flagstones.

Enjoy a cup of tea in one of Beijing’s teahouses and learn a little more about the role of tea in Chinese daily life.

Enjoy lunch in a local restaurant and try a taste of “yang xiezi”, a mutton stew.

After lunch, take to two wheels and cycle through the hutongs, the famous narrow alleys and streets of Beijing, outside Houhai and Shishahai Lakes. Cycling is still a popular ways to get around Beijing.

Meet a bicycle repairman, in the Hutongs and learn a bit more about not only the role of bicycles in Beijing but also a little bit about how the city has changed so much over recent years.

Stop near the Lakes to watch street games such as Mahjong or chess. Your guide will explain the rules and maybe point out a local champion. 

Afterwards, visit Wangfujing, home to the famous Wangfujing Road, the most commercial area Beijing. Next door, the Donghuamen Market offers a delightful taste of the night markets in the city.

You’ll need to get up early for this trip, but this sacrifice will soon be forgotten when you visit the Temple of Heaven’s park to witness a uniquely Chinese morning ritual – public exercise. Beijingers, who believe that morning exercise is essential for their well-being, prepare for the day ahead with a mixture of Taiji, kung-fu, sword-dancing, meditation, tango and gymnastics. Others practice calligraphy, using large specialist brushes to write beautiful Chinese characters in water on the flagstones of the park. However, because of the intense Beijing heat the characters evaporate more or less straight away. It’s a truly artistic spectacle and adds a certain mystique to the park. 

After this you’ll be able to discover the Temple itself, which is notable for its architectural simplicity and its symbolism reflecting early Buddhist and Taoist beliefs. Here, emperors would forge the link between the round sky and the square earth through sacrificial rituals based on the founding principles of this ancient civilisation.  

Your itinerary will then take you to the lesser known White Cloud Temple where Taoist monks still wear their hair in a traditional style. Visitors come here to rub sculptures representing the 12 signs of the Chinese zodiac. 

If time allows you’ll also be able to visit Beijing Mosque, a symbol of the expansion of Muslim merchants from Central Asia throughout China. 

The afternoon will be dedicated to a visit to the Yong He Gong Lama Temple, more visited than the other temples and is key to understanding Tibetan and Inner-Mongolian Buddhism. The temple is known for its 18 metre high Buddha statue carved out of a single block of wood. Your day will finish with a visit to the Temple of Confucius. Confucius, his teachings and moral codes are a cornerstone of Chinese culture, dictating nearly all social interactions in Imperial China. Confucianism is once again becoming an important part of modern Chinese society.

Modern China has so much to offer and its jewel in the crown is Beijing, easily justifying its status as a major economic power. Beijing became a major centre for architectural firms from all over the world, with the Olympic Games in 2008.

Start the day with an excursion to the National Stadium, or “Bird’s Nest” as it is commonly known. Resembling a nest and with a structure made of steel, the challenge in its construction was immense, but the result is spectacular, and is in part the work of Ai Weiwei who was the artistic consultant for the project.

The stadium was host to the unforgettable opening ceremony of the 2008 Olympic Games as well as several of the major athletics events and is considered to be one of the most beautiful in the world.

If the National Aquatics Centre (which also played host to major Olympic events), or the “Water Cube”, does not match the beauty of the neighbouring Olympic Stadium, it is nevertheless enjoyed by architecture buffs as a technical and ecological feat.

The structure resembles a giant mattress made of 3000 “air bubbles”, and it is made of a type of transparent plastic which allows for the absorption and passage of natural light, reducing the amount of energy consumed by one third, including by heating the pool. The Cube is also equipped with a system for recycling and sanitisation rainwater. 

It seems that the bird also made another nest in Beijing in the form of the Phoenix International Media Centre, an immense structure of steel and glass that is somewhat reminiscent of the Olympic Stadium. The structure is the headquarters of the TV network Phoenix TV.

Pass the building before arriving at the rival network CCTV, a national station that is based in the famous CCTV Building, to which Beijingers give the nickname “big pants” after its unique design. The asymmetry of the structure is its main feature, and has earned the respect of specialists in the field. 

Finish the day with a visit to the China National Grand Theatre, conceptualised by Paul Andreu. Even though the site wasn’t to the taste of some of the more conservative locals, it seduces many foreign visitors who are draw in by the feeling of lightness given off by this French architect’s work. Its eggshell-like appearance somehow seems to float on an artificial pool of water below. The titanium and glass shell contains an opera house, a theatre and a concert hall whose acoustics are a match to the best in the world. 

Depending on your departure point on the last day, you can complete your tour of Beijing’s modern architecture by admiring terminal 3 at Beijing Capital International Airport, an incredible structure made of glass and aluminium that is said to look like a dragon and was designed by the Sir Norman Foster

Mutianyu, situated just 90km northeast of Beijing, is a well-restored section of the Great Wall and this trip is ideal for those only staying a short time in Beijing. Also visit the Summer Palace, the ancient summer residence of China’s emperors. 

The first traces of the defensive walls date back over 2000 years to the Qin Dynasty. During the Ming Dynasty, workers restored and expanded the wall to its height, width and length we recognize today.

Placed on the highest ridges, the wall offered an excellent view to the north and permitted guards to watch out for alarm fires down the wall in case of barbarian intruders. The Wall forced invading Mongolian Cavalry to dismount from their horses before attacking.

At its peak of condition, the Wall extended over more than 6000 km of ancient Manchuria until the fort of Jiayuguan (where the Gobi desert begins to the west).

Depart from your hotel bright and early in the morning to beat the traffic and to benefit from the early morning light.

If you feel like the long walk up to the Wall is too much, you can take the cable car and coming back down children can enjoy the toboggan ride to the bottom.

Depending on time, also enjoy a picnic on the Great Wall whilst admiring the stunning scenery all around. 

Once back in Beijing, visit the Summer Palace. At one time a simple imperial garden, the site was totally redesigned by Emperor Qianlong in the 18th Century becoming one of the capital’s major sites.

The Imperial Court used to relocate to the Summer Palace during the summer months to escape the stifling heat of the Forbidden City. A mix of temples pavilions, lakes, pagodas and gardens make up this harmonious representation of Chinese culture and architecture.

The Long Corridor, the Marble Boat, Seventeen-Arch Bridge, Kunming Lake and Longevity Hill are the key landscape features of the Summer Palace gardens.

Many sections of the Great Wall are open to the public and can be found in very good condition. The Jiankou section is one of the most authentic portions of the Wall, far away from tourist crowds, with spectacular views of the surrounding countryside.

The first traces of the defensive walls date back over 2000 years to the Qin Dynasty. During the Ming Dynasty, workers restored and expanded the wall to its height, width and length we recognize today.

Placed on the highest ridges, the wall offered an excellent view to the north and permitted guards to watch out for alarm fires down the wall in case of barbarian intruders. The Wall forced invading Mongolian Cavalry to dismount from their horses before attacking.

At its peak of condition, the Wall extended over more than 6000 kilometers of ancient Manchuria until the fort of Jiayuguan (where the Gobi desert begins to the west).

Depart from your hotel bright and early in the morning to beat the traffic and to benefit from the early morning light. Depending on the traffic, it will take at least two hours to get to Jiankou. 

Because the Jiankou section of the wall is a lot less touristic than the Badaling or Mutianyu sections, the section is not in as good condition. Narrow walkways, steep stairs, broken bricks and ruined lookout tours are part of the tour and the price for such an unforgettable view. As such, this tour is recommended for seasoned hikers, and a decent pair of walking shoes is essential.

The return hike will take about two hours depending on your natural pace.

Finish up with a foot massage, helping you relax after the day’s efforts.