Beijing Food 5-Day Tour: Classic Attractions (Forbidden City + Great Wall) + Signature Cuisine (Roast Duck + Copper Pot) + Cooking Class

Welcome to Beijing, the capital of China. Our driver will meet you at the exit of the airport/train station and escort you to a downtown Beijing hotel for check-in and rest. After that, you will have free time. You can rest at the hotel to relieve jet lag, or take a stroll around the area. Good places to go in your free time You are welcome to ask the guide for some practical travel suggestions, depending on your time or interests. Suggested ways to arrive 1. By plane: Beijing has two airports, namely Beijing Daxing International Airport and Beijing Capital International Airport. Both airports have numerous international and domestic routes. You can fly to Beijing from countries such as Malaysia, Singapore, the United States, Australia, Canada, Japan, and Cambodia, and also from most cities in China, such as Hong Kong, Shanghai, Guangzhou, Chengdu, Xi'an, Guilin, Hangzhou, Kunming, and Wuhan. 2. By train: Beijing's rail transit is extremely developed. You can take high-speed rail to Beijing from cities such as Xi'an (about 4–5 hours), Shanghai (about 4.5–6 hours), Wuhan (about 4–5 hours), and Harbin (about 5–5.5 hours).

After breakfast, you will head to visit the world-renowned Tiananmen Square. [Tiananmen Square] is located on Beijing's central axis and is the largest city-center square in the world. It holds an important place in Chinese history and has witnessed countless major historical events. Here you can view the majestic and solemn Tiananmen Gate Tower and learn about China's long-standing culture. Afterwards, cross the square and proceed to visit the Beijing Palace Museum. [The Forbidden City], also known as the Purple Forbidden City, is located at the center of Beijing's central axis. It was the imperial palace of the Ming and Qing dynasties and is the world's largest and best-preserved wooden-structure palace complex of the Forbidden City. Here you can visit the important halls one by one along the central axis, admiring the splendid and exquisite ancient palace architecture while following the guide's commentary to further understand the historical stories of the Forbidden City. After finishing, you can also go to the nearby Jingshan Park (about a 15-minute walk) to overlook the panoramic view of the Forbidden City and the magnificent scenery of Beijing. At lunchtime, you might as well go to a well-known time-honored roast duck restaurant not far from the Forbidden City and taste a famous Beijing dish passed down for 600 years: Beijing Roast Duck. The duck meat is carefully sliced into thin pieces by the chef. Wrap the sweet bean sauce, duck slices, and fresh cucumber and scallion strips in a chewy thin pancake. With one bite, the crispy duck skin, tender duck meat, and rich aroma blend in your mouth, leaving an endless aftertaste. In the afternoon, you will take a car to visit the famous imperial garden, the Summer Palace. [The Summer Palace] is the largest and best-preserved imperial garden existing in China, and one of China's four great gardens. It is known as the Museum of Imperial Gardens, with beautiful scenery inside, and its pavilions, towers, lakes, bridges, and other views are simply breathtaking.

After breakfast, you will take a car 73 kilometers (about 1.5–2 hours) to visit the Mutianyu Great Wall, part of the Great Wall of China, one of the Seven Wonders of the World. [Mutianyu Great Wall] is the longest and best-restored section of China's Great Wall, and enjoys the reputation of being "the most outstanding section of the Great Wall at Mutianyu." You can first take the cable car to Watchtower No. 14, then hike westward, enjoying the magnificent mountain scenery and the winding, majestic views of the Great Wall along the way, and finally reach the highest point at Watchtower No. 20 to complete your Great Wall journey. Remember to take photos as souvenirs! After touring the Great Wall, return to downtown Beijing and, along the way, view the exteriors of the [Bird's Nest] (Beijing National Stadium) and the [Water Cube] (Beijing National Aquatics Center), and take photos with them. After this exciting Great Wall journey, let's sit around together and enjoy a delicious, authentic old Beijing copper pot instant-boiled mutton! This is a specialty hot pot that has been passed down in Beijing for more than 700 years. In the purple copper pot with burning charcoal in the middle, the clear broth is gently simmering. Swish the tender mutton slices in the pot a few times, dip them in the rich, mellow secret sesame sauce, and the tenderness of the mutton, the savory saltiness of the sauce, and the crispness of the side dishes interweave in your mouth, bringing a rich and satisfying taste experience. Everyone sits around the pot and enjoys this meal full of Beijing flavor in warm comfort!

This morning, you will attend an authentic Chinese cooking class in a traditional courtyard house in a hutong. Over about 2.5 hours, you will personally make home-style dishes such as dumplings and noodles, experiencing the daily life of the locals. After the class, enjoy the lunch you made yourself in this courtyard full of Beijing flavor. After lunch, you can also take a leisurely stroll through Beijing's most charming hutong neighborhoods and immersively feel the local people's bustling everyday life. First, visit the Wudaoying Hutong near the museum, which has a strong artistic atmosphere. Wander among the specialty shops, feel the local people's way of life, and you can also roam the hutong alleys and chat with old Beijingers who grew up here. Listening to them tell stories about the changes in the hutongs is also a great experience. Afterwards, climb the ancient Drum Tower and overlook the continuous gray roof tiles and the city's central axis. If the timing is right, you can also enjoy a stunning drum performance. Next, you can take part in about 30 minutes of traditional Chinese handicraft experience, choosing one of calligraphy, Peking opera mask painting, or paper-cutting, and create a unique souvenir with your own hands. Next, you can stroll through Yandai Xiejie, which has a history of more than 800 years. This is one of Beijing's oldest and most popular hutongs. This short diagonal street was once lined with shops selling smoking utensils, and now you can still see all kinds of pipes made of porcelain, jade, and wood. In addition, Yandai Xiejie is adjacent to Shichahai and Nanluoguxiang. You can also take a rickshaw through the hutong alleys by the lake, passing Yinding Bridge, and see the Beijing scene painted by blue waves, weeping willows, and old houses. Warm reminder: Today's itinerary is rich, and the hutong styles in the eastern and western districts each have their own merits. If time is limited, you can choose, according to your personal interests, to deeply experience the cultural classes and family visits of the eastern-district hutongs, or focus on the historic neighborhoods and Shichahai scenery of the western-district hutongs. For the rest of today, you will visit the Temple of Heaven. [The Temple of Heaven], originally named the Altar of Heaven and Earth, was the place where ancient emperors worshipped heaven, prayed for good harvests, and prayed for rain. It is also the largest existing ancient sacrificial architectural complex in China, famous for its peculiar and magnificent architecture and its long, fascinating culture. Here you can learn about the ancient sacrificial rituals and visit structures such as the Hall of Prayer for Good Harvests, the Echo Wall, and the Three Echo Stones.

After breakfast, this unforgettable 5-day Beijing food tour will come to an end. You will still have some time to explore Beijing freely until our driver takes you to the airport/train station to board a plane or high-speed train to your next destination.