BJ-T04: Beijing 1-Day Exploration of Royal Cultural Sites

Route: Yonghe Temple - Guozijian Street - Temple of Confucius - Imperial Academy - Prince Gong's Mansion - Shichahai Hutongs

 This is a guided tour by eco-friendly public transport. If you need a private car, feel free to contact our travel consultants to arrange it for you.

Today’s sightseeing will involve a lot of walk, so wear a pair of comfortable shoes. At the agreed time in the morning, our guide who speak English will greet you at your hotel lobby on time. After self-introduction, this guided tour will officially start. 

The first stop will be Yonghe Temple, also known as Yonghe Lamasery or Lama Temple. There are both subway trains and city buses going there and the guide will choose the most convenient one to reach it. 

It was a royal Tibetan Buddhist temple built during the Qing Dynasty (1644 - 1911). Before being rebuilt into the royal temple, it used to be the residence of Emperor Yongzheng (1678 - 1735) when he was still a prince. In addition to sightseeing, the guide will assist you to make a wish, if you like, in this imperial temple in traditional Chinese way of offering a buddle of incense.

 Admission fee: CNY25
 Open time: April – October: 09:00 – 17:00; November – March: 09:00 – 16:30

Public Transport to Yonghe Temple

 Subway: Subway line 2 and line 5 have a station there named Yonghegong and you should get out from Exit C.
 Bus: City bus no. 13, 84, 116 and 117 stop by. After getting off at Yonghegong bus stop, walk southwards for no more than 65 meters (70 yards) to find the entrance. 

After, the guide will lead you to get out of the Yonghe Temple from its south gate, walk through the arch on the west side, go cross Yonghegong Street and turn northward to find the eastern end of the Guozijian Street. You’ll walk for totally 110 meters (120 yards).

This 700-year-old hutong used to be the academic center of Beijing, housing the Temple of Confucius and the Imperial Academy.

Follow the guide to walk westward for about 180 meters’ (200 yards') on Guozijian Street, you will be at the Xianshi Gate (Gate of the First Teacher) of the Temple of Confucius.
 
Since the Yuan Dynasty (1271 - 1368), people often gathered in Temple of Confucius to fete the Confucius, a renowned ideologist and the founder of Confucianism. Especially for scholars who desired to gain official titles in the court, most of them would go there to pray for blessings before attending the imperial examination. Even emperors would hold grand ceremonies there to pay homage to this great scholar.

 Admission fee: CNY30, combo ticket with Imperial Academy
 Open time: May – October: 8:30 – 18:00; November – April: 8:30 – 17:00

Imperial Academy (Guozijian) is right to the west of the Temple of Confucius. 

It used to be the national administrative headquarter of educational organization and also the top state-run academic institute throughout the Yuan, Ming, and Qing Dynasties (1271 - 1911).

The guide will accompany you to tour along the central axis, passing by the major buildings one after another. Along a gallery, you will find 189 stone steles carved with Thirteen Classics of the Confucianism, which were largely popularized and taught in institutes throughout the country.

 Open time: May – October: 8:30 – 18:00; November – April: 8:30 – 17:00

While strolling along the Guozijian Street, also called Guozijian Hutong, you will find many restaurants and even small booths selling local food and snacks. It’s highly advised you have a try, especially those snacks like Glutinous Rice Roll with Sweet Bean Flour (Lv Da Gun), Almond Junket (xing ren dou fu), and Dark Plum Soup (suan mei tang). If you prefer to have a big lunch, the guide will also be glad to give you some recommendations.

After lunch break, the guide will then escort you to Prince Gong’s Mansion by subway. You will at first walk for about 650 meters (710 yards) to Yonghegong subway station to take subway line 5 to Dongsi, then change to line 6 to Beihai North and finally walk for about 550 meters (600 yards) northward to reach its entrance. 

It is the best-preserved princely residence all over China, grand, luxury and delicate. In the cave of its back garden, you will find a stele carved with Chinese character “Fu” which was written by Emperor Kangxi (1622-1723). It’s said it can bring people good luck by touching it. You may give it a try.  

 Admission fee: CNY40
 Open time: 8:30 – 17:00

Surrounding the Prince Gong’s Mansion, there are many hutongs lined with traditional Chinese style courtyards called Siheyuan. Before sending you back to the hotel, the guide will accompany you to have a leisurely stroll there to trace the life of old Beijingers. The area is well known as Shichahai. 

Per your request, the guide can also send you to the nearby Shichahai Bar Street and then say goodbye, where you can have a cup of drink and some fun. The guide will inform you how to get back to your hotel before leaving. 

Public Transport around Shichahai

 Subway: Line 8 and the station is named Shichahai; Line 6 and the nearest station is Beihai North.
 Bus: Buses 3, 4, 13, 42, 107, 111, 118, 612, Sightseeing Line 3, Night Line 3, Night Line 10, and Night Line 21 have a stop at nearby Beihai Beimen (north gate of Beihai Park); 5, 60, 82, 107, 124, 135, Sightseeing Line 3, and Night Line 2 stop by Gu Lou (Drum Tower)…