Beijing and Shanxi Tour

• The Great Wall--Bird Nest

• 4+ star hotels

• Breakfast

We will drive about 70 kilometers to the Mutianyu section of the world-famous Great Wall. This section of the Great Wall is well-preserved and relatively unvisited, and it will surely live up to your expectations. The Mutianyu section of the Great Wall is one of the "longest Great Walls in China" and impresses visitors with its rich vegetation and magnificent natural scenery.

You will take an easy cable car up to the Great Wall. Next you will climb up to the city tower overlooking the majestic Great Wall, which will surely make your stay unforgettable. After the Great Wall tour, we will take the cable car down the mountain.

(Note: If you are physically fit, you can also choose to hike up and down the mountain to feel the sense of accomplishment of climbing to the top).

Afterwards, we will return to Beijing, stopping on the way to visit the Bird's Nest and the Water Cube from the outside in the Olympic Village.

Recommended Dinner

You can go to Quanjude and enjoy a meal of the famous Peking duck.

• Temple of Heaven--Hutongs--Yonghegong Temple--National Centre for the Performing Arts

• 4+ stars hotels

• Breakfast&Lunch

After Breakfast, we will visit the Temple of Heaven, a sacred site used in ancient times to worship the heavens and offer prayers for a bountiful harvest. Nowadays, it has become a lively place where locals perform traditional activities such as Tai Chi, dancing, kite flying and calligraphy. Stroll among the halls of the Temple of Heaven and feel the solemnity and mystery of ancient royalty.

Next, we will visit the Hutongs and take a rickshaw ride through Beijing's hutongs. These alleys, made up of courtyards, epitomize life in old Beijing. During lunch, you will learn to make and eat dumplings in the hutongs for an in-depth experience of the old Beijing way of life.

After the tour, we will take a high speed train to Datong, Shanxi.

• Yungang Grottoes-Jiulong Wall-Huayan Temple-Beijing

• 4+ star hotels

• Breakfast

Today, you will explore the Yungang Grottoes, one of the Four Great Caves of China and a World Heritage Site. Preserved to the present in the Grottoes are 53 caves and over 51 000 statues. It not only shows the exquisite carving skills of ancient craftsmen, but also contains rich Buddhist culture and historical value.

We will visit Cave 5, the largest of the Yungang Grottoes and the most representative. The central seated statue of the Third Buddha in the cave is 17 meters high, which is the tallest statue of Buddha in the Yungang Grottoes.

In the afternoon, you will visit an amazing structure, Jiulong Wall. Nine lifelike dragons are depicted on it. The Nine Dragon Wall symbolizes suppressing evil spirits and blessing peace.

Next, you will visit Huayan Temple - the largest and best preserved temple built by the Khitan during the Liao Dynasty. The temple's architecture is unique from most traditional Chinese buildings in that it faces east rather than south, due to the fact that the Khitan people were sun worshippers.

At the end of the tour, you will take the high speed train back to Beijing.