Serica Journeys Day journeys in China
North China · 北京

Beijing

The imperial capital, at the hour it is still quiet.

Typical day
8–11 hours
Party size
1–6 guests
Guiding
English
Pick-up
Central Beijing hotels

Beijing rewards early starts more than any city in China. The Great Wall sections within reach of the city fill from mid-morning; the Forbidden City moves tens of thousands of people along a single north-south axis every day. The difference between a crowded day and a spacious one is usually ninety minutes of scheduling.

Our Beijing days are built around that margin. We hold early entry where entry is timed, we walk the axis in the direction the crowd is not moving, and we plan the middle of the day indoors or over a long lunch rather than in a queue.

Journeys

3 private day journeys in Beijing.

Prices are quoted per party once we know your dates and numbers. Every itinerary below can be adjusted — they are how we run the day by default, not a fixed menu.

The Great Wall at first light
The Great Wall at first light
10 hours Private departureEnglish guide

Mutianyu Great Wall, Before the Coaches

Great Wall · Watchtowers 6–20 · Cable car both ways

Itinerary
07:00
Hotel pick-up in central Beijing. Roughly 90 minutes north, traffic depending.
08:30
Arrive Mutianyu. Shuttle to the cable car base; we hold your tickets already.
09:00
On the Wall. We walk away from the arrival tower first, which is where the space is.
11:30
Descend by cable car, or by toboggan if the weather allows it.
12:30
Lunch in a village restaurant below the Wall.
14:00
Return to Beijing; optional stop at the Olympic Green on the way in.
16:30
Back at your hotel.
Highlights
  • First cable car of the day onto a restored but lightly walked stretch of Wall
  • Watchtowers 6 to 20 — the section most people never reach
  • Return by cable car or toboggan, your choice on the day
  • Village lunch on the way back, not a designated tourist restaurant
Included
  • Private vehicle and driver
  • English-speaking guide for the full day
  • Great Wall entry and shuttle
  • Cable car up and down
  • Lunch
  • Bottled water
Not included
  • Toboggan supplement, if you choose it over the cable car
  • Personal spending
  • Gratuities

Know before you go. Mutianyu involves sustained stair climbing between towers. The cable car removes the climb to the Wall itself but not the walking along it.

8 hours Private departureEnglish guide

The Forbidden City and the Hutongs Behind It

Palace Museum · Jingshan · Nanluoguxiang hutongs

Itinerary
08:30
Pick-up. Tiananmen Square approach and security on foot.
09:15
Enter the Palace Museum through the Meridian Gate on our reserved slot.
11:30
Leave by the north gate; climb Jingshan for the axis view.
12:30
Lunch near Houhai.
14:00
Hutong walk: Nanluoguxiang's side lanes, a courtyard house, the Drum and Bell Towers.
16:00
Return to your hotel.
Highlights
  • Timed palace entry held in advance against your passport
  • Jingshan Hill for the one view that makes the palace's scale legible
  • Hutong lanes on foot, not by pedicab convoy
  • A courtyard house still lived in, not a reconstruction
Included
  • Private vehicle and driver
  • English-speaking guide
  • Palace Museum reservation and entry
  • Jingshan Park entry
  • Lunch
  • Bottled water
Not included
  • Treasure Gallery and Clock Gallery supplements
  • Personal spending
  • Gratuities

Know before you go. The Palace Museum closes on Mondays outside public holidays, and its daily capacity is capped. We need your passport details to hold entry.

7 hours Private departureEnglish guide

Temple of Heaven and a Peking Duck Kitchen

Temple of Heaven · Park life · Duck kitchen visit

Itinerary
08:00
Pick-up. Enter the Temple of Heaven park by the east gate.
08:30
The park in use, then the temple complex along the raised causeway.
11:00
Cross town to a duck restaurant with an open kitchen.
11:45
Kitchen visit, then the carve and lunch.
13:30
Optional Qianmen and Dashilan walk, or straight back.
15:00
Back at your hotel.
Highlights
  • The park at the hour Beijingers use it — calligraphy, chess, choirs, exercise
  • The Hall of Prayer for Good Harvests without a scrum at the rail
  • Behind the pass in a duck kitchen: the hang, the oven, the carve
  • Lunch is the duck you watched being carved
Included
  • Private vehicle and driver
  • English-speaking guide
  • Park and temple entry
  • Duck lunch
  • Bottled water
Not included
  • Alcohol
  • Personal spending
  • Gratuities

Know before you go. Kitchen access depends on the restaurant's service on the day. If it is not possible we will tell you before you sit down, not after.

Other cities
Shanghai
Xi'an
Chengdu
Hangzhou
Guilin & Yangshuo
Chongqing