Beijing In-depth Tour: Explore More in Forbidden City, Hutong and Cricket Show

Highlights

Inclusions

Itinerary

1. Your tour guide will meet you at your hotel at 09:00 a.m.. Then, we will transfer to Forbidden City and start the in-depth tour. Forbidden City(故宫), also known as the Palace Museum, is recognized as the largest wooden architectural complex in the world. Once served as the imperial palace for 24 emperors during the Ming and Qing Dynasties, it has 9,999 rooms in flourishing period. For five centuries, this palace functioned as the administrative center of the country. The Treasure Gallery(珍宝馆) consists of six gallery rooms displaying pieces from the imperial collection and extant accoutrements for palace life. All of these exquisite items are made of precious materials, such as jade, jadeite, gold, silver, pearls, and other precious and semi-precious stones. The superb craftsmanship and inestimable value of each piece is aptly summarized in the title of the gallery.

   4 hAdmission included

2. After lunch, we will walk into Hutong to visit a local home and gain insight into ancient Chinese customs, enjoy a cricket show and learn paper-cutting. Hutong(胡同) is the name given to a narrow lane, alley, or small street between rows of single-storey Siheyuan(四合院) dwelled by Beijingers in the past. People say that the real culture of Beijing lies in the culture of Hutong and Siheyuan. They give an insight to the old lifestyle of ordinary Beijingers and have special appeal to tourists. Cricket Show 蟋蟀表演 In Beijing, cricket refers to a kind of insect and its Chinese name is Qu Qu(蛐蛐). Keeping cricket has a history of more than 1500 years in China. People like to keep the cricket and watch the cricket fighting. The lifetime of the cricket is only 100 days. It may seem strange that such a little insect could bring great popularity to a place, but the crickets are indeed an extraordinary and indispensable feature. Paper-Cutting 中国剪纸 Paper-cutting(剪纸) is a very distinctive visual art of Chinese handicrafts. It originated from the 6th century when women used to paste golden and silver foil cuttings onto their hair at the temples, and men used them in sacred rituals. Today, paper-cuttings are chiefly decorative. They are pasted on the walls, windows, doors, columns and lanterns to express people’s hopes, gratitude and other emotions. Afterwards, enjoy comfortable transfer back to your hotel, Wrap your memories and say good-bye in your hotel.

   3 hAdmission included

Cancellation

Free cancellation up to 24 hours before the experience starts, for a full refund.

Know before you go

How it compares in Beijing

• Its from-price is 89% above the median of the 521 city tours we list in Beijing.
• Its length is typical for the group.
• The operator lists free cancellation on it.

About Beijing

Beijing, China's capital for centuries, holds imperial palaces, sacred temples and stretches of the Great Wall within reach of its modern boulevards.

At the city's heart, the Forbidden City spreads behind vermilion walls, a labyrinth of halls and courtyards that housed the emperors of the Ming and Qing dynasties. Tiananmen Square lies to its south, and the hill of Jingshan Park to its north gives the finest view over its golden roofs. The Temple of Heaven, set in a park where locals practise tai chi and dance, is a masterpiece of imperial design.

Top-ranked sights in Beijing: Mutianyu Great Wall, Forbidden City (Palace Museum), Tiananmen Square (Tiananmen Guangchang).

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