Comprehensive Beijing Sightseeing Tour - Tienanmen Square, Forbidden City and more

You will be picked up from your hotel and taken in an air-conditioned coach for a sightseeing tour of Beijing. An English-speaking tour guide will accompany you on this tour.

Both, the Classic Beijing tour and the Historical Beijing tour, are identical except that the Classic Beijing tour also includes the Summer Palace.

The highlights of your tour are:

Tiananmen Square: Located at the centre of Beijing city is Tiananmen Square, where you can visit Tiananmen Tower, Monument to the People's Heroes, Great Hall of the People, Mao Zedong Memorial Hall and see the national flag raising ceremony. At the north end of the Square is Tiananmen Tower. Initially built in 1417 during the Ming Dynasty, the Square was the front door of the Forbidden City. The granite Monument to the People's Heroes is just at the centre of the Tiananmen Square.

Forbidden City: The legendary Forbidden City was the Chinese imperial palace from the mid-Ming Dynasty to the end of the Qing Dynasty. Today it is known as the Imperial Palace Museum. The buildings of the Forbidden City embody the artistic features and style of ancient Chinese palace architecture, and are called a masterpiece in Chinese architectural history. The Palace Museum has some one million precious historical relics from the Shang Dynasty through to the Qing Dynasty.

Stop for a substantial lunch in a local restaurant.

The Temple of Heaven: The Temple of Heaven (Tian Tan) in the southern part of Beijing is China's largest existing complex of ancient sacrificial buildings. Built in the Ming and Qing dynasties, the Temple Of Heaven was the center of prayer, traditional ceremonies and sacrificial rites. The architecture and layout of the Temple of Heaven is based on elaborate symbolism and numerology.

Summer Palace: Explore the largest and most impressive royal garden in China and the former retreat of emperors for 800 years. The Summer Palace is virtually a museum of traditional Chinese gardening that uses rocks, plants, pavilions, ponds, cobble paths and other styles to create a poetic effect between different scenes.

End the tour with a scenic coach ride plus an unbeatable shopping experience at the Pearl Market.

At the end of the tour, you will be dropped back at your hotel in Beijing.