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| Beijing Day Tour & Great Wall Day Hiking |
| If you are booked on the "Adventuring on the Silk Road" tour and plan to visit Beijing before or after the tour, we can arrange the following pre- or post-trip programs for you: |
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Enjoy a guided tour of the principal monuments
of Beijing including Tian'anmen Square, the Forbidden City, the Temple of
Heaven, and the Summer Palace. Tian’anmen is one of the largest central squares in the world and is located in the center of Beijing city south of the Forbidden City. On Tian’anmen Square you can see the Monument to the People’s Heroes, the Great Hall of the People, and the Mao Zedong Mausoleum. The Forbidden City was the imperial palace during the Ming and Qing dynasties. It now house the Palace Museum. Built from 1406 to 1420, the Forbidden City complex consists of 980 buildings covering 7,800,000 square feet. The palace complex exemplifies traditional Chinese palatial architecture and was declared a World Heritage Site in 1987. It’s listed by UNESCO as the largest collection of preserved ancient wooden structures in the world. The Temple of Heaven is a complex of Taoist buildings situated in the southeastern part of central Beijing. The complex was visited by the emperors of the Ming and Qing dynasties for annual ceremonies intended to insure good harvests. The temple complex was constructed from 1406 to 1420 during the reign of the Yongle Emperor (who was also responsible for the construction of the Forbidden City). The Temple grounds cover almost three square kilometers. The main features on the temple grounds include the the Hall of Prayer for Good Harvests, a magnificent triple-gabled circular building; the Imperial Vault of Heaven, a single-gabled circular building surrounded by a smooth circular wall known as the Echo Wall; and the Circular Mound Altar, a three-tiered circular marble platform. The Temple of Heaven was inscribed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1998. To the northwest of Beijing center is the Summer Palace which was used as a summer residence by the Empress Dowager Cixi. Known in Chinese as Yihe Yuan meaning "Gardens of Nurtured Harmony," the Summer Palace gardens were laid out in the mid-eighteenth century. The area covers three square kilometers, three quarters of which is water (the Kunming Lake). UNESCO called the Summer Palace "a masterpiece of Chinese landscape garden design" where natural features combine with pavilions, halls, temples and bridges to create "a harmonious ensemble of outstanding aesthetic value." This full-day private tour of Beijing's highlights includes an English-speaking guide, transportation in an air-conditioned vehicle, a Chinese lunch, two bottles of water and entrance fees to the sites listed above. Pick-up and drop-off at your hotel is included. Pricing for a minimum group of two persons starts at $120 USD/person in 2011. (Prices for the 2013 trip may vary.) |
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Depart from your Beijing hotel at about 8:00
AM and travel to the Great Wall at Jinshanling. From Jinshanling, you'll
hike along a well-preserved section of the Great Wall over undulating
terrain heading west to the Gubeikou Pass. For part of the hike, you'll
leave the wall itself to follow country paths through a rural
landscape of fields and farms. Return to your hotel in Beijing at about 5:30 PM. This full-day private hiking tour of the Great Wall includes an experienced English-speaking guide, transportation by private vehicle to/from your hotel in Beijing, a simple picnic lunch, and admission fees to the Great Wall as needed. Please bring your preferred snacks and water for the hike. Pricing for a minimum group of two persons starts at $145 USD/person in 2011. (Prices for the 2013 trip may vary.) |
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