Beijing & Shanghai Express

Upon landing at Beijing Airport, please retrieve your luggage and clear Customs. Our guide will greet you outside Customs. After warm welcoming, he or she will escort you to the hotel in downtown we have carefully selected for you by a private car. Check in with the help of our guide and have a short rest.

After, the guide will accompany with you to Shichahai, an antique area in Beijing with traditional Hutong alleys and courtyard houses. It is also a scenic place thanks to the shimmering lake.

★ Interesting Rickshaw Ride and Family Visit in Shichahai
► Specially, we will arrange a rickshaw ride in these Hutongs. Rickshaw was very popular in early 20th century in old Beijing. Previously, they had two wheels in the back and were pulled by man on foot. The present ones have been transformed to three wheels, two in the back and one in the front and the drivers ride it, saving lots of energy. It is joyful to travel among the narrow Hutong alleys by the old transport tool.

► After, follow the guide to visit a local family. You may find it strange that several generations live together in one courtyard. That’s common and a long-lasting tradition in China. To pay respect, the best rooms are usually for the elders in the family. You can also talk with the hosts to learn more manners and customs.

► Dinner Suggestion:
This evening, perhaps take a taxi to try local cuisine at Hai Wan Ju (Wangfujing branch). Noodles with Soybean Paste (Zha Jiang Mian), the restaurant’s flagship dish, can date back centuries and is arguably the representative of Beijing noodle dishes. There are as many as eight accompanying ingredients such as cucumber, carrot, scallion, and bean sprouts to add to the flavor, so a serving can be generous. Anyway, it is worth a try! The environment also has many details you would like to praise, like the interior décor designed in a traditional Beijing style, servers dressed in traditional clothing, and large blue-and-white-porcelain bowls for the noodles, all reminiscent of past China. Average cost per person: CNY 70 / USD 10.

After one night’s rest, start energetically with a visit to Tian’anmen Square, the world's largest central city square. Then, the guide will lead you to walk for about 10 minutes to reach the Forbidden City, the one-time imperial palace of Ming and Qing dynasties (1368 to 1911), where twenty-four emperors once worked and lived. Equally big to 100 football fields, it’s not possible to cover every corner of the giant palace in just one visit. But your experienced guide will lead you to stroll along the best visiting route, so as to cover all important palaces. The visit time will be at least 2 hours.

Your local expert guide will also lead you to discover some outrageous anecdotes behind the glorious and resplendent constructions. As you may know, in Qing Dynasty (1644 – 1911 AD), men shaved the front half of their head and braided at the back. The emperor was no exception, but there were rules for the shaver, who would be executed if he violated the rules. The shaver, with great care, couldn’t take anything when he came to the emperor. After the emperor agreed to give him a straight razor, he could begin his work. But the shaver should only shave in the direction that the hair grew using his right hand, with the left arm drooping down. Also, he should hold his breath, and could not breathe out to the emperor’s skin anyway. Besides, the emperor rinsed his mouth with the mouthwash made from best tea, and the filtered tea leaves, pretty good second-hand commodity after being dried, were picked up by the maid served him implicitly.

★ Enjoy a Superb Panorama of Forbidden City in Jingshan Park
Then, proceed to Jingshan Park to the north and climb up to top of Jingshan Hill inside, whichis the best spot to take in a panoramic view of the whole Forbidden City. It takes about 20 minutes to get to the hill top. If you feel tired, the guide will stop anytime. There are chairs in midway for you to take a short break.

Today’s last stop will be Yonghe Temple. It was initially a prince’s mansion and later used as a Buddhist temple. You will get some burning incenses for free there. If interested, follow the guide to make some wishes in Buddhism traditions and then offer the incenses to the Buddha.

► Dinner Suggestion:
This evening, enjoy some dumplings at Bao Yuan Jiao Zi (Maizidian Street branch), a Michelin-praised restaurant specializing in the dish. Offering a quintessential Chinese dining experience, it is attracting a great number of international visitors. You will immerse in a Chinese-style atmosphere on stepping in as the interior is adorned with elements like lanterns and New Year couplets. Dumplings here are freshly made to order and sold in sets of at least six. One of the most attractive features would be their colorful wrappers, dyed using vegetable and fruit juices such as carrot and spinach without artificial coloring. Another is the extensive variety of fillings, ranging from traditional ingredients to experimental ones like cheese and pineapple. Having been featured on not only Michelin Guide but various travel publications, especially international ones, for years in a row, Bao Yuan Jiao Zi with an innovative take on this classic Chinese dish is worth a try! Average cost per person: CNY 70 / USD 9.

Meals: Western buffet breakfast

In the morning, we will drive out of the city to visit a popular and magnificent section of the Great Wall - Mutianyu. You will be deeply impressed by the majestic views of the Great Wall winding on the mountain ridges, as well as the abundant vegetation in its surroundings. To save your energy and leave you with plenty of time to hike on the Wall, a round-trip cable car ride is included. 

Lunch will be on your own side. But the guide will be glad to offer some advice.

After, drive back to the downtown area and explore the picturesque Summer Palace. On the way, the driver will stop over at the Bird's Nest (Olympic National Stadium), for you to appreciate the featured architecture by roadside. Summer Palace is the largest and best-preserved royal garden in China. There, you will be amazed by the perfect combination of natural scenery and manmade architecture, including bridges, pavilions, palaces, long corridors and more, over the lake, on the mountain, by lakeside…

When today’s sightseeing ends here, the guide will send you back to the hotel.

Meals: Western buffet breakfast

After breakfast, our guide will pick you up from the hotel and assist you with the check-out procedure. Then go to visit the Temple of Heaven. It is a grand temple complex where emperors of the Ming and Qing Dynasties offered sacrifice to the God of Heaven and pray for good harvest. Nowadays, it is not only a rare historical site, but also a park for locals to do various exercises and other entertainment activities. It will be a lot of fun to join them to play Tai Chi or try various exercising equipment.

★ Ride a High Speed Train to Shanghai
After that, our guide will see you off at the railway station for a high speed train to Shanghai. There are several reasons why we haven’t chosen flight for this trip. First of all, China’s high speed train is one of the world’s fastest, so on the must-do lists of most overseas tourists. Also, the travel time from Beijing to Shanghai is around 4.5-6 hours, neither boringly long nor unsatisfying short. We will reserve a seat for you on those with shortest duration, to save you time. While, if you prefer to take flight, your travel consultant is happy to tailor this trip for you.

After arriving in the metropolitan Shanghai, our local guide and driver will meet you at the exit of the railway station and transfer you to the hotel.

Meals: Western buffet breakfast

The morning excursion will begin from Shanghai Museum. It is one of the four biggest museums in China, famous for art collections. You will see many delicate bronzes, pottery figures, calligraphy, and paintings inside. A visit to the classical Yu Garden will follow. It is well laid out and delicately built to every single detail. Looking around carefully and you will find even the eaves are beautifully decorated with stone carvings and clay figures. Our knowledgeable guide will tell some interesting stories behind the figures, to add more fun to this trip.

► Lunch Suggestion:
Out of Yu Garden, you can visit Nan Xiang Man Tou Dian (Yuyuan branch) and splash out about CNY 100 (about USD 14) to get your fill of authentic Soup Dumplings (Xiao Long Bao). Aged over 100, this eatery is a classic and time-honored brand and has been included into intangible cultural heritage. It is also a Michelin Bib Gourmand restaurant for delicious dishes at reasonable prices. Every time you pass by it you would find there is a long queue outside waiting to buy Soup Dumplings, which are wrapped and steamed on spot. Try the dumplings filled with crab roe, which are interesting as they need you to suck the soup via a straw. And remember to eat while they are still warm and give off their best taste!

Then the guide will lead you to an ancient cultural street, Tianzifang, which has been developed from a residential area to a new art zone combining artistic centers, exotic restaurants and bars.

The next stop will be Duoyun Bookstore on 52nd floor of Shanghai Tower, to have a bird’s eye view of Huangpu River, the Bund and the surrounding city views. Then, go down to enjoy Huangpu River Cruise. During the cruise, you will admire buildings of western architectural styles along the bustling Bund on west bank and modern skyscrapers of Lujiazui on east bank. Afterwards, explore the Bund at a leisurely pace.

Finally, transfer you back to the hotel.

► Dinner Suggestion:
Pan-fried Pork Buns (Sheng Jian Bao) is to Shanghai what dumplings to China! Try some at the restaurant Feng Yu Sheng Jian (the Bund branch), popular not only for the buns, but for their affordability and generous portions. Serving as both a main dish and a snack, Pan-fried Pork Buns can be usually found in such fast-food eateries, which just correspond to the metropolis’ fast-paced life, and are beloved by locals and tourists alike. And this is why you can often see long queues waiting to buy these savory treats. This eatery is a well-established chain with multiple locations and the Bund branch is a 20-minute walk from the Bund scenic area. After enjoying your meal, take a leisurely stroll to admire the Bund's night views. A taxi ride back to your hotel would take only 10-15 minutes, making it a convenient dining option. Average cost per person: CNY 20 / USD 3.

Meals: Western buffet breakfast

After breakfast, please check out of the hotel. Our guide and driver will transfer you to the airport according to your flight schedule. We wish you a pleasant onward journey!

If you have more time to travel around, we recommend water towns, Hangzhou, Suzhou or Yellow Mountain around Shanghai, which can all be reached by high speed train from the city. We will also be glad to serve you in more destinations.

Meals: Western buffet breakfast