Beijing & Ulaanbaatar Essense

Welcome to your first destination - Beijing! Our professional guide and private driver will pick you up at the airport and escort you to the well-chosen hotel. After check-in, the rest of the day is free for you. You can rest at the hotel to recover from the jetlag or get the first impression of the city on your own.

 Free Time Suggestion: Enjoy Panoramic Forbidden City at Jingshan Park
As an imperial garden, Jingshan Park is located north of the Forbidden City. Spanning 23 hectares (57 acres), the park is named after Jingshan Hill, once the highest point of old Beijing. Ascending to its top, you will get the best panoramic view of the Forbidden City, especially at sunset when the jaw-dropping red walls and tiles of the whole palace are blazed in the twilight. You can hail a car on Di-di, aka Chinese Uber, to the park. The ticket is priced at CNY 2 (about USD 0.27). Although the Forbidden City is very close to the park, you are not advised to visit on your own due to its vastness and rich history. Our guide will decode its secrets for you on the next day!

 Essential Information for China Travel
1. Visa Requirement: China has implemented a 240-Hour Visa Free Transit Policy to 54 countries, including the UK, the US, and Canada. Please check the official government website and verify whether you are eligible for the visa exemption, and if not, please apply for an L-visa 1-2 months before departure.
2. Payment Method: Online payment is king in China, which can even be used without the internet! You can register Alipay or WeChat Pay with an overseas phone number and link your bank cards. Chinese cash is also acceptable. Exchange some at banks downtown (USD 1≈CNY 7) , which have a better rate than airports.

Accommodation: Beijing New World Centre Tongpai Hotel (4 stars) or similar

Today, our guide and the driver will first escort you to Tiananmen Square. It is not only the geographical center of the city but also the “heart” of China, where the founding ceremony of the People's Republic of China was held on October 1, 1949. The Memorial Hall of Chairman Mao, the grand Monument to the People’s Heroes, and the National Museum of China stand solemnly on the square. At its north side, you could see the majestic Tiananmen Tower, where many tourists take photos with the huge portrait of Chairman Mao.

Strolling across the Outer Golden Water Bridge, you will pass the Tiananmen Gate and enter the Forbidden City. Spanning 72 hectares (178 acres), it is the world’s largest imperial palace complex. Besides admiring the grand main halls where emperors lived and conducted their everyday affairs, the green gem-like Imperial Garden hidden at the north tip of the palace is also worth visiting. Stepping among the ancient pines and sculpted rockeries, you will be wowed by the pebble paths adorned with intricate mosaics such as Chinese dragons, phoenixes, and floral motifs. Please pack sun-protective gear and drinking water if you visit from June to August when the temperatures can soar to 41°C (105.8°F), as there is no shade at the three front main halls. Besides, it takes around 3-4 hours to visit the palace, so please wear comfortable shoes.

Around noon, the guide will be glad to recommend some restaurants and yummy dishes for you to taste authentic Chinese food at your own expense. In the afternoon, continue to visit the Temple of Heaven, an aesthetic UNESCO World Heritage Site, to learn about the heaven worship culture in ancient China. Originally built in 1420, it covers 273 hectares (about 675 acres), quadrupling the size of the Forbidden City. The main building, the Hall of Prayer for Good Harvests, is a triple-tiered structure with a glazed blue roof. Emperors once performed rituals here to pray for a good harvest. If you are a shutterbug, don’t miss the night view of the hall: the tiles glow azure blue under spotlights with the moon and velvet-dark sky as the backdrop.
➤ Photography Tips:
1. The Hall of Prayer for Good Harvests will only be illuminated on Fridays, Saturdays, and holidays. The lights are usually on 10 minutes after sunset and off at 21:00.
2. Along the outer walls, you can catch different night views of the hall, but the northeast corner offers the most classic one.

Meals: Western buffet breakfast
Accommodation: Beijing New World Centre Tongpai Hotel (4 stars) or similar

Today, we will escape from the city and drive 2 hours to the suburbs to admire one of the best-preserved sections of the Great Wall, Mutianyu. We will arrange the round-way cable car to save you energy. If interested, we can also arrange a chairlift to ascend and a toboggan to slide down via a 1.5-kilometer (1-mile) mountain slide. Constructed in 1386, the Mutianyu Great Wall stretches 5.4 kilometers (3.4 miles) across jagged peaks, creating various iconic vistas, such as “Eagle Flies Facing Upward”: the ramparts nestle on cliffs with slopes up to 50 degrees, which is so steep that even eagles can only reach its top flying facing upward.
 Best Time to Visit: Autumn (September - October) is the best time when the temperature ranges from 15 to 25°C (59-77°F), and the view is stunning as red leaves blanket the mountains. It is advised to avoid scorching summer (June-August), bitterly cold winter (December-March), and Chinese holidays such as National Day and May Day when the spot is usually crowded.

After appreciating the Great Wall, return to downtown Beijing. On the way, we will drive by the Bird's Nest (Olympic National Stadium) and see its appearance at a distance. Then, stop at Hutong area, Beijing’s traditional residential alleys that connect courtyards, to experience local life. Take a rickshaw ride across capillary-like alleys, during which we will drop by a local family. Stepping into their settlement, Siheyuan, a quadrangle residential compound, you will see an open yard surrounded by several single-stored rooms. Usually, one quadrangle is shared by two or more families. You can talk to the hosts and learn about some authentic Beijing customs. A hotel transfer is offered after visiting.

Beyond folk houses, Hutong area also has some creative and leisure spaces, such as Houhai Bar Street and Tobacco Pipe Lane, which are good to experience vibrant nightlife. If interested, we can drop you there; relax for a few hours and return to the hotel on your own. When night comes, the flashing neon lights will bring a piquant modern touch to the traditional dwellings. You can sip cocktails while listening to Beijing ballads in pubs or wander around to discover gourmet Beijing street food. Try candied haws, a sour-sweet dessert made of skewered haws coated in crackling caramelized sugar. For more savory bites, crispy fried dough rings, fermented mung bean juice, and chewy glutinous rice rolls dusted with soybean flour are all worth a taste.

Meals: Western buffet breakfast
Accommodation: Beijing New World Centre Tongpai Hotel (4 stars) or similar

After breakfast, you will be escorted to board the train bound for Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia, which takes more than 1 day on the way. The rail journey will be long but not boring because of the changing scenery outside the window. As the train glides forward, the city’s skyline is gradually replaced by the rugged mountains and then soft patchwork farmlands. The train will arrive at Erlian Station at the border of China and will stop for about 5-6 hours for the bogie exchange, during which the toilets will be locked. You can stay onboard to watch the exchange progress or get off the train to wander at the station, stretch your body, and use the station toilets. But please note that you can only reboard until the wheel change is finished. When the train exits China and enters Mongolia, the officials will come to help you complete the customs and immigration procedures.
➤ Tips:
1. It is advised that you prepare something to kill time, such as books or single games, since there is almost no internet signal on the train.
2. It is better to bring some toilet paper. Although it is provided on the train, it runs out quickly, and is hardly replaced. 
3. Free hot drinking water is served on the train. The restaurant provides Mongolian and Chinese traditional food at reasonable prices.

Meals: Breakfast
Accommodation: on the train

The train will pull into Ulaanbaatar train station in the afternoon. You will be picked up and escorted to the selected hotel by our local guide and the private driver. After check-in, you can relax in the hotel or hang out on your own to glimpse the city that cradles the legend of Genghis Khan. As the founder of the Great Mongol Empire, this intrepid leader breached the Great Wall in 1214 and sacked Beijing, then the capital of the Jin Empire. This pivotal campaign ignited Mongolia’s expansion into China, reshaping Eurasian history.

 Free-time Exploration in Ulaanbaatar: Choijin Lama Temple Museum
As a masterpiece built during the 19th and 20th centuries and surviving the religious purge, it is considered one of the most beautiful and best-preserved Buddhist temples in Mongolia, which is now a museum housing various Buddhist ritual instruments. Entering its main hall, you will be staggered by exquisite silk Tangkas depicting deities, Tsam Dance masks used in religious rituals, and a Tibetan stupa. The temple opens 9:00-18:00 from June to September and 10:00-17:00 from October to May. You need to pay MNT 15,000 (USD 4) for the ticket, while an extra MNT 50,000 (USD 14.5) for taking photos.
➤ Transportation Tip: You can hail a car on the Mongolian car-hailing app UBcab, and one needs to register with a local SIM card. Only cash is accepted, so please exchange some ahead of time.

 Recommended Restaurant: Modern Nomads (at your own expense)
Modern Nomads is a chain restaurant in Ulaanbaatar boasting Khorkhog - Mongolian traditional roasted lamb! The tender lamb is cooked with hot stones in a sealed metal barrel, accompanied by potatoes, onions, and carrots. Beer is added to enrich its flavor, which makes it taste juicier than the lamb roast directly on the fire. Its lamb ribs served with hand-pulled noodles are also popular.
Average Cost per Person: USD 15-20 (MNT cash and credit cards are acceptable)
Address: In Front of Metro Mall, Baga Toiruu Street

Accommodation: Grand Hill Hotel Ulaanbaatar (4 stars) or similar

Today’s escorted tour will start with a brief introduction to Mongolia’s biggest Tibetan Buddhist temple, Gandan Monastery. Standing at its entrance, you will see a white hall at the end of its avenue, where a 26.5-meter-high (87-foot) gilded bronze statue of Buddha is housed. It is said the statue is a replica, while the original one was melted to make bullets during WWII. Surrounding the statue are 108 silver-engraved prayer wheels. Locals say that rotating them three times in a clockwise direction could help cleanse the body and the mind. On the square in front of the monastery, you may see flocks of pigeons. Locals believe that these birds can carry wishes to heaven. You can feed them and let them alight on your hands.

Then, we will head to the Bogda Khan Palace Museum, where the last Mongolian Tibetan Buddhism leader once lived. It houses more than 8,000 valuable artifacts, such as shoes embroidered with golden strings, an elephant specimen, and a yurt made of 150 snow leopard hides. After lunch, we'll drive to Zaishan Hill Memorial, where you can overlook the whole of Ulaanbaatar City. Getting down the hill, wander around Sukhbaatar Square to take photos with the statue of Genghis Khan.

★ Immerse in Fascinating Mongolian Music and Dance Show

A Mongolian folk music and dance show will be arranged as a conclusion in the evening, during which you could admire the Mongolian traditional music art, Khöömei (throat singing), originating from the religious ritual of Shamanism about 2,000 years ago. Ancient Mongolians simulated the sound of wind, forests, rivers, and even animals and thought it was a way to connect with nature. After thousands of years of evolution, Khöömei has become a major daily entertainment of nomads. A singer can produce low and high-pitched voices simultaneously, whose metallic vocal sound creates an ethereal quality. After the performance, we will transfer you back to the hotel.

Meals: Breakfast, Lunch
Accommodation: Grand Hill Hotel Ulaanbaatar (4 stars) or similar

At the end of your China and Mongolia tour, we will escort you to the airport or the train station. If you want to explore Mongolia deeply, we can expand your itinerary to Western Mongolia, where you can climb up the Malchin Peak of the Altai Tavan Bogd Mountains or to the south part to admire the golden Bayan Gobi on camelback. Consultation is welcome anytime!

Meals: Breakfast