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Beijing Culture & history

Our most recommended Beijing Culture & history

Mutianyu Great Wall Bus Transfer with Options

1. Mutianyu Great Wall Bus Transfer with Options

Save time and money taking this dedicated bus direct to the Mutianyu section of the Great Wall, one of the most famous sites in the world. Climb aboard the bus departing from downtown Beijing City and arrive at Mutianyu. Follow your guide from the parking lot to take a shuttle to the admission gate. Have the option to buy the ticket combination for the wall and cable car and save time when you arrive. Enjoy 4–5 hours of free time to climb up to the 20th Watchtower to take in the scenic view. Marvel at this amazing structure you have seen in so many pictures. If you choose, take the scenic cable car and see one for the most famous attractions in the world from another point of view. Upon exiting the Great Wall, take the shuttle back to the parking lot. From there a bus will take you back to Beijing City.

Beijing: Mutianyu Great Wall and Summer Palace Private Tour

2. Beijing: Mutianyu Great Wall and Summer Palace Private Tour

Meet your private guide in your hotel's lobby at your preferred time in Beijing. Then heading directly to Mutianyu Great Wall which will take about 1.5 hours, your tour guide will explain the related histories and stories on the way, sit back and enjoy the countryside sceneries along the way. Once arrive at the The Mutianyu Great Wall, you’ll take the cable car or ski lift up to the Wall, spend some time to hike up and down for about 1.5 hours at the various sections of the Wall, exploring the watch and beacon towers. Afterwards, stop at a local restaurant for lunch. In the afternoon, continue to explore a well-preserved royal garden: the Summer Palace. Follow your tour guide to stroll around the garden, learn the stories and histories behind the buildings. Get to know the famous " Dragon Lady" and her life in the Summer Palace. After the tour finished, you will be transferred back to your hotel or other sites you want to go in Beijing city.

Beijing: Private Transfer to Jinshanling & the Great Wall

3. Beijing: Private Transfer to Jinshanling & the Great Wall

Meet up with your friendly, expert driver at your centrally located hotel at a prearranged time. Then, board your private, air-conditioned vehicle and enjoy your comfortable road journey to Jinshanling Great Wall which will take 2.5 hours. Admire the beautiful views over Beijing city as well as the countryside, once arrive, your driver will help you to get the entrance tickets, and you will enjoy this hike at the Great Wall, afterwards, dropping you off at your centrally located hotel. Jinshanling Great Wall is about a 2.5 hours drive away from Beijing. It has been listed as one of the most beautiful sections of the Great Wall. Highly recommended by photographers, it is also a good section for experienced hikers. The transfer service is for 8-9 hours, you will have plenty time to explore the wall at your own pace.

Beijing: Longqing Gorge, Ming Tombs & Lunch Private Day Tour

4. Beijing: Longqing Gorge, Ming Tombs & Lunch Private Day Tour

Your English speaking guide and private car will pick you up at in your hotel's lobby.  Heading directly to Longqing Gorge, on the way you will driving pass by Juyongguan Great Wall and Badaling Great Wall, your tour guide will explain the related histories and stories, sit back enjoy the sceneries along the way. Upon arrival. Follow your tour guide to explore the Longqing Gorge. You will take the fun dragon escalator up then experience a cruise along the beautiful lake which will give you a nice memory, enjoy amazing view of the area and be amazed by the beauty of the nature. Explore the temples and island with your tour guide and spend about 2 hours inside the Long Qing Gorge Stop at a local restaurant  for a delicious Chinese countryside style lunch. Then heading directly to Dingling at the Ming Tombs. Once arrive at Dingling Tomb, your guide will give a detailed stories about the Ming dynasties history and tell the life story of the owner of this tomb. Be amazed by the complicated burial culture in the Ming Dynasty, feel free to ask questions if you have. After the Dingling visit, you will be transferred back to your hotel in Beijing.

Beijing: 2-Hour Temple of Heaven Private Walking Tour

5. Beijing: 2-Hour Temple of Heaven Private Walking Tour

Meet your tour guide in the lobby of your hotel, then heading directly to the UNESCO site of Temple of Heaven. (If you want a different start time please let us know we will try our best to arrange) Once arrive, stroll around the park, and see the locals enjoying their exercises, dances, and martial arts. Feel free to join them if you want. Then, move on to the Hall of Prayer for Good Harvest. The building was built in 1420, constructed without a single nail, this magnificent circular wooden building boasts three blue-tile roofs and an ornate interior. Get to know the rich histories and stories of this building and it's surroundings including a museum in the compound. Next walk along the Danbi Bridge to reach the south part of the temple. Follow your tour guide to learn the stories of the 9-Dragon Juniper, a 500-year-old tree resembling climbing dragons; then, try how echo works at the Echo Wall, and visit the Circular Mount Altar, where Ming- and Qing-era emperors worshipped heaven during the winter solstice Your tour will ends at the temple’s South Gate. Your tour guide will help you find a taxi to your next destination (at your own cost).

Beijing: Tian'anmen Square and Forbidden City Private Tour

6. Beijing: Tian'anmen Square and Forbidden City Private Tour

Meet your private guide in your Beijing City hotel's lobby and head directly to the Tienanmen Square. If there is anything you particularly want to see, feel free to let your guide know. The best thing about having a private guide is that the tour can be tailored to the things that interest you the most. Start from Qianmen (Front Gate), follow your tour guide to walk through Tiananmen Square and get to know the the stories of the surrounding buildings. Follow your tour guide to pass through the south gate to the magnificent Forbidden City, a 250-acre complex of courtyards, palaces, pavilions and gardens, which served as the imperial palace for emperors and their households for more than 500 years. In the Forbidden City you will explore the most important buildings and courtyards. Your tour of the Forbidden city will end at the Imperial Garden, then you can choose to explore more of the Palace on your own, or your tour guide will help you to get taxi to your next destination. (at your own cost)

Beijing: Summer Palace with Public Transport & Private Guide

7. Beijing: Summer Palace with Public Transport & Private Guide

Meet your guide outside of your hotel lobby at you preferred time. Then travel to the nearest metro station for the short and easy journey to the Summer Palace, a UNESCO World Heritage site. (If you want a different start time please let us know we will try our best to arrange) During your journey, your guide provides a historical overview of the landmark, which was built in 1750 as a royal residence and is widely considered a masterpiece of Chinese landscape design. Once you arrive at the Summer Palace, follow your guide to enter from the East Gate of the palace and visit some of the most important buildings, such as the Hall of Benevolence and Longevity, the Long corridor, the marble boat, the hall of Happiness and Longevity and more. Then you will travel back to the middle of the Summer Palace, continue with a visit to the Hall of Dispelling Clouds, which is situated on the central axis of Longevity Hill and is the heart of a succession of buildings used for celebrations. Admire the Tower of Buddhist Incense and other buddhist buildings. Your tour will ends at the north gate of the Summer Palace, after the tour you can choose to explore the Summer Palace on your own or travel back to your hotel by subway.

Beijing: Mutianyu Great Wall and Ming Tombs Private Tour

8. Beijing: Mutianyu Great Wall and Ming Tombs Private Tour

Your guide and driver will meet you in your hotel's lobby in Beijing, then drive to the famous Mutianyu Great Wall which will take about 1.5 hours. Once arrive at the The Mutianyu Great Wall, you’ll take the cable car/ ski lift up to the Wall, then enjoy a less hurried experience and take time to marvel at this wondrous structure and the surrounding hillsides. The Great Wall at Mutianyu was built and restored in the early Ming Dynasty (1368 – 1644), on the remnants of a wall originally built in the Northern Qi Dynasty (550-577). Reconstruction took place under the supervision of Xu Da, one of the founding generals of the Ming Dynasty, who was responsible for building a Wall from Shanhaiguan in the east to as far as Mutianyu. Follow your tour guide to hike up and down to explore different towers. Enjoy a delicious local lunch, then heading directly to Ming Tombs. You will visit Dingling at the Ming Tombs. Ming Tombs mainly means thirteen tombs of Ming Dynasty which are scattered at the foot of Tianshou Mountain. Listed in World Cultural Heritages by UNESCO, Ming Tombs shows impressive natural landscape and historical significance. Dingling was built in 1590. Emperor Shen Zong and the empress were buried there in 1620. Now, Dingling Tomb is the hottest among the thirteen for it is the only Ming imperial tomb excavated so far. Stroll around the area with your tour guide, admire the antiques in the the museums and discover the secrets of the Underground Palace. After the tour, you will be transferred back to your hotel in Beijing City.

Great Wall Hiking: Small Group

9. Great Wall Hiking: Small Group

your guide will meet you at 8am and then drive to Simatai West. You will start the hiking around 10:30am, and it will take about 3 hours to complete. A lunch at a local farmer’s restaurant will be organized after the hiking before returning to the city. This section offers arguably the finest hiking anywhere on the Great Wall. It is extremely photogenic, with over 15 watch-towers, and steep gradients that give constantly changing perspectives and wide, open views. There is fascinating variety in the watch-towers here. Some have two storeys, others three. Some have flat roofs, others rounded and others again are pitched with upturned eaves. This section of the wall is wild, ruined, preserved and original. On a clear day, it is difficult to fail to take good photographs here. 

From Beijing: Badaling Great Wall & Ming Tomb Full-Day Tour

10. From Beijing: Badaling Great Wall & Ming Tomb Full-Day Tour

You will be picked up from your hotel, located within the second ring road of Beijing, between 6:30 and 7:00 AM. On your way to the Great Wall, travel to the Ming Tombs 55 miles away from downtown requiring about an hour of driving. The thirteen Ming Tombs are the best-preserved Chinese imperial tombs with a 600-year history. The tour of the Ming Tombs takes about an hour and finishes up at 10:45. Before lunch at 11:30, you will have 45 minutes for a short visit to the Jade Gallery. Jade carving is an important and famous blend of the excellent skills in carving and Chinese traditional cultures. Have a traditional Chinese lunch at the restaurant inside the Jade Gallery. After lunch, travel to the entrance at Juyonguan of the Badaling Great Wall. There you will have 1.5-hours to hike and take in the appeal of this ancient location which is also where the first emperor of Beijing, Emperor Yongle, and his Empress Xu are buried. On the way back to your hotel, experience the Chinese tea ceremony and culture at a tea house and then transfer back to your hotel within Second Ring Road of Beijing.

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What people are saying about Beijing

Overall rating

4.5 / 5

based on 1,601 reviews

What an amazing day! We had wonderfully blue skies and very little wind on our hike from Simatai to Jinshanling. Tau was a fantastic guide. He provided great insight to the wall, region, history, and peoples. He made sure everyone was comfortable with the pace and had plenty of time for photos whenever we liked. Mind you, there are a lot of stairs to climb on this 15 tower trek, but they are doable and so worth it. ADDED BONUS: I didn’t expect too much from the included lunch after reading previous reviews, but it was one of our favorite meals during our stay in China! Highly recommended!

The transport and meeting location was easy and convenient. The instructions were clear and easy to follow. The one difficulty was that our tour bus guide did not speak English and gave the group a long introduction to the history of the Great Wall in Chinese before we arrived. In the end, we made it to the wall, really enjoyed the hike and had a wonderful day.

We visited the Great Wall with Mubus on 14/01/2020, our tour guide 王丹 was very helpful and knowledgable about the Wall and informing our decisions about climbing it. She made sure everyone knew where to go and when, and looked after the group well. We would definitely recommend this tour to others, it makes the experience much simpler and more enjoyable.

Claire was fantastic! She went out of her way to make sure everyone’s questions were answered. She was above and beyond helpful and informative. Made the tour very enjoyable.

It was a fantastic experience! Our tour guide, Leo from Mubus was excellent.