Beijing on a shoestring

Travelling in Beijing has never been easier! We've crafted this great value offer to provide travellers with an exceptional Beijing experience.

Beijing street scene This tour covers classic Beijing highlights such as Tiananmen Square, the magnificent Forbidden City, the peaceful Lama Temple and the Great Wall of China. We also explore the beautiful alleyways of Old Beijing, known as hutongs, while we sample local delicacies and specialities. We catch a glimpse of everyday life at the various food markets we visit and soak in the sights and sounds of a bird and flower market.

This special offer is fantastic value for money and you are guaranteed a wonderful holiday that won't break the bank. So don't wait too long. Join us!

Itinerary

Day 1: Welcome to Beijing

Meals:

Arrival in Beijing. Make your own way to Far East hotel for check in. It will take approximately 35min by taxi from the airport.

Spend the rest of the afternoon exploring Beijing! The hotel is situated in a lovely neighbourhood in the Xuanwu district with lots of little shops and only 2.5km from Tiananmen Square. Check out Liulichang, one of Beijing's arts and crafts street, which offers some great bargains on paintings, books and art work. It also makes for a lovely walk through one of Beijing's old quarters.

Accommodation: Far East Hotel or similar budget accomodation

Day 2: Lama Temple - The hutongs - Drum Tower - Local food market - Nanluoguxiang Hutong

Meals: B L D

After breakfast, another day of Beijing exploration awaits! An Albatros Travel guide will meet you at the hotel and take you to the Lama Temple, the first visit of the day. This is the largest Tibetan Buddhist temple in Beijing and a magnificent display of stunning frescoes and beautiful architecture.

We continue our tour with a walk through the heart of old Beijing, the charming alleyways and narrow lanes that make up a large part of old Beijing. During our walk, we'll pass by the Drum Tower. The tower was originally built in 1272 and houses the world’s largest drum, weighing 625kg with a diameter of 285cm.

The local food market which we will soon arrive at is a true mecca for foodies! Filled to the brim with stalls selling vegetables, spices and local delicacies, we'll have a wander around this market before heading to Nanluoguxiang Lane, a renovated hutong replete with shops, bars, restaurants and a myriad snack stalls. If there's a very long line of people snaking its way through the narrow lane, it's probably the queue for the very popular Beijing yoghurt. This is a must while in Beijing! Trust us, it's worth queuing for.

And while we're in a delicious food trance, we make our way to one of the most famous dumpling eateries in Beijing. Don't let this modest-looking establishment's appearance fool you. Inside the confines of these four walls, a dumpling feast awaits. Mr Shi's dumplings in Baochao Hutong are reknowned for their great taste and variety. In fact, he's got quite a few prizes under his belt too. So you are definitely in for a treat!

Accommodation: Far East Hotel or similar budget accomodation

Day 3: The Egg - 798 Art District - Bird and flower market - Traditional tea house

Meals: B L

After breakfast, we start the day with a visit to the National Centre for the Performing Arts, known colloquially as the Egg.

We'll continue to the Shilihe bird and flower market and soak up the lively atmosphere among the stalls selling birds of all species while breathing in the heady scent of the flowers and plants.

From the market, we'll head to our lunch restaurant where we'll enjoy another delicious Chinese meal. This afternoon, we'll sample some exquisite teas at a traditional tea house nearby. By the end of the visit, you should be well-versed enough in Chinese teas to know your Oolong from your white tea!

We'll spend the rest of the day wandering about the very enjoyable 798 art district located in the eastern part of Beijing. The area was originally part of the great industrialisation of the larger Chinese urban areas and an innovative and creative art culture arose in the early 1980s. A myriad of art shops, studios and galleries have emerged in the abandoned factory buildings.

Accommodation: Far East Hotel or similar budget accomodation

Day 4: Tian'anmen Square - The Forbidden City - Coal Hill - Night Market - Wangfujing Road

Meals: B L

The morning begins at the Beijing Urban Planning Museum where a great model of the inner city of Beijing is on display. A visit here shows visitors the changes that China and Beijing have undergone in the last 30 years.

Across from the museum is one the greatest symbols of new China: Tiananmen Square. The 440,000m² square is home to the Memorial Hall of Mao Zedong. Entry requires a valid ID, so please bring your passport if you wish to see Mao Zedong. To the north of the square, lies the Forbidden City of the Ming and Qing dynasties. We cross over the five famous bridges and Mao Zedong’s picture to enter through the city’s south gate.

We will enjoy a local favourite for lunch, Guo Qiao Mi Xian or Crossing the Bridge Noodles, a southern speciality There are many stories about the origin of this dish but one of the most popular is that a Chinese scholar sent his wife to the other side of the river to buy noodles for dinner. When he later asked for the name of the dish she had prepared, she answered Guo Qiao Mi Xian - Crossing the Bridge Noodles, because she had crossed the bridge to get the noodles.

Entering the Forbidden City and seeing the largest courtyard (Siheyuan) in all of Beijing, is a stunning sight that instantly transports you back to Beijing before 1910. Leaving the Forbidden City, we climb the Coal Hill or Jingshan which means the 'Hill of Scenery’ and the character Jing (景) holds the characters for both sun and capital city inside it, meaning the hill from where one can see the sun rise and set over the capital.

On our way back to the hotel we walk through the boisterous Donghuamen Night Market at Wangfujing road where you can whet your appetite with skewered cricket or roasted silk worm if you are feeling adventurous.

Accommodation: Far East Hotel or similar budget accomodation

Day 5: The Great Wall - Cloisonne factory - Bird's Nest Olympic Stadium - Peking Duck

Meals: B L D

This morning, we'll begin the day with a visit to a cloisonné factory where we'll be introduced to the intricate art of pottery glazing and painting - an ancient method for decorating metal objects.

We'll make our way by bus to the Shuiguan (Water Pass) section of the Great Wall after the factory visit. Built during the Ming dynasty, this section was one of the most fortified and strongest parts of the wall. The water system was used as a part of the military defence network and formed a pass. We will have lunch at a nearby restaurant.

On the way back to the city, we'll stop at a jade shop so you can stock up on souvenirs to bring home.

Driving back on the new highway, the tall buildings of Beijing’s inner city slowly reappear showing how great construction projects have been always been embedded in Chinese history. The day will end at the Bird's Nest Olympic Stadium in the northern part of Beijing. Outside the Bird's Nest you will be able to see the extension of the north – south axis that runs through Beijing.

This evening, we'll enjoy a lavish dinner of Peking Duck, Beijing's signature dish. The duck is prepared by a Peking Duck Chef to ensure that the skin is crisp and the meat is succulent. The duck is traditionally wrapped in a thin pancake with sauce, cucumber and onion.

Accommodation: Far East Hotel or similar budget accomodation

Day 6: Departure

Meals: B

After breakfast, check out of the hotel and you're free to continue your China journey!

Additional information

Want to travel on another day? Contact us for a quote

Included

Professional local English-speaking guide
Hotel accommodation
Transportation according to the programme with car, coach or bus depending on group size
Meals as stated in the itinerary B = Breakfast. L = Lunch D = Dinner. Breakfast is usually international breakfast buffet combined with local Chinese breakfast. Lunch consists of local Chinese dishes including meat and vegetables. Sometimes lunch is a western-style sandwich if the weather or programme so requires. Dinner is specialised Chinese meals from many different regions in China.
Beverages (soft drinks or local beer - 1 glass per meal)
All entrance fees to the sites mentioned in the itinerary
English map of Beijing
24hr on-call service in case of emergencies

Excluded

Anything not in “Included” list above
Any flights or transportation besides those mentioned in the "Included" list above
Phone calls or other personal expenses
Tips - We recommend that the guide receives 2 USD per person per day and 1 USD per person per day for the driver

Tour starts/ends:

This tour starts and ends in Beijing.

Expected group size:

10-16 people.

Type of vehicles used:

For transfers between destinations we use modern and comfortable vehicles that have air conditioning.

Level of ability required:

This tour includes fairly strenuous activity on uneven surfaces. A reasonable level of ability is required.

If you have any concerns or questions, please contact us in advance.

Food and dietary information:

If you have any particular dietary preferences or requirements, please make these clear when you make your booking. Most types of diet can be catered for. We will eat at local restaurants. It’s not a problem to maintain a vegetarian diet in China.

Health and vaccinations:

In general, tourists do not need any vaccinations. Malaria vaccinations are not necessary in most parts of China. However, we advise you to consult with your doctor before travelling. For more information about health and vaccinations, please look at this website.

What to wear:

Long trousers are recommended on some of the days on the wall. We will walk through sections where trees and bushes with thorns grow on the wall.

Baggage and what to bring:

Baggage
For domestic travel by air, the baggage allowance is 20kg (44lbs) per person. Since we do not provide tours with international air travel, please check your airline's website for luggage weight limits.

Adaptors
Flat two pin outlets are used in China. European round two pin outlets can also be used but don't fit perfectly. A plug adaptor can be purchased in most electronic stores.

Visa requirements:

Most tourists need a visa to China. For more information regarding visa applications, look at this website.

Cancellations:

If you need to cancel
We understand that your travel plans sometimes change and we try to be as flexible as possible. However as we have to book accommodation at hotels we are also bound by their cancellation policies. In general, the following rules will apply when cancelling a tour you have booked:

- If cancelling more than 45 days before commencement of our services there is no cancellation fee and we will refund 100% of your money

- If cancelling within 45 to 31 days before commencement of our services: 20 % of the total booking value will be levied

- If cancelling within 30 to 15 days before commencement of our services: 60 % of the total booking value will be levied

- We are unable to offer a refund if cancelling less than two weeks before commencement of our services

For full details of our cancellation terms, please see our general Terms and Conditions.