Beijing Extension to Datong, Mt. Wutaishan & Pingyao

When you arrive in Beijing, your English-speaking guide will hold a welcome sign waiting for you outside the customs of the airport and then transfer you to the 4-star Holiday Inn Central Plaza, the best Holiday Inn Hotel in Beijing. Relax during the remainder of the day.

You will stroll around on the famous Tiananmen Square, the largest city square in the world, and then reach the Forbidden City. As the largest complete complex of imperial palace in China, Forbidden City covers an area of 725,000 square meters (179 acres), holding 8,704 houses and vast historical items. Walking among the majestic imperial buildings, you will be taken back to the prosperous Ming and Qing dynasties (14th to the 20th century). To avoid the low-quality tourist food arranged by most agencies, we will offer you an a la carte lunch of authentic Chinese food at a noted local restaurant. Then you will take a soft sleeper train to Datong, where your local guide will pick you up at the railway station and transfer you to the hotel for a one-night stay. (B+L)

Driving out southwest from Pingyao, you will reach Shuanglin Temple this morning. Praised as the ‘ancient painted sculptures museum’, it is one of the three treasures of Pingyao, having been included in the World Heritage List by UNESCO in 1997. Later, the car will drive you to visit the Qiao’s Compound in Qixian County. It is a castellar ancient residence complex in north China constructed by the local Qiao’s family from 1756. The compound covering an area of 4,175 square meters was built with 313 rooms and blocked from outside world. Nowadays, it is treasure house to research the local residence, various kinds of brick and wood carvings as well as delicate murals. On the way driving to Taiyuan City, you will drop off at the Jinci Temple. Consisting of tens of splendid ancient halls, this temple also boasts charming natural scenery and superior painted sculptures. While the tour ends, you will take a late afternoon train to Beijing and check in the hotel again. (B+L)

You will take a morning excursion to the Summer Palace which is the existing largest and best-preserved royal garden in China. Constructed some 200 years ago during the Qing Dynasty, the Summer Palace was built on the basis of Wanshou Mountain and Kunming Lake, where the imperial palaces, halls, pavilions are connected by bridges and zigzagging corridors. Afterwards, a private transfer will take you to the airport for your homebound flight. Farewell and have a pleasant journey home! (B)