Beijing Private Day Tour: Tiananmen Square, Forbidden City, Mutianyu Great Wall

Begin your tour with pick up at 8:30 a.m. from you hotel and then head to the first attraction: Tiananmen Square, a large city-center square with great cultural significance as the site of several key events in Chinese history. The square is 2,890 feet (880 meters) from south to north and 1,640 feet (500 meters) from west to east, covering an area of 44 hectares. You will see some of the iconic buildings in Beijing, like the Front Gate, Chairman Mao's Mausoleum, Monument to the People's Heroes, Great Hall of the People, Tiananmen Gate, and the National Museum of China.

Then walk north to the Forbidden City, the place where the Ming and Qing Emperors resided for more than 500 years. It is the largest and best-preserved Imperial Palace in the world. The Forbidden City covers an area of 72 hectares with a total floor space of 163,000 square meters and surrounded with a 32-foot (10 meter) high wall and wide moat.

Driving 1.5 hours to have lunch in a nice non-tourist restaurant near the Great Wall. Then start the 1.5-2 hours hiking at Mutianyu, the most beautiful section of the Great Wall and less touristy. The Great Wall at Mutianyu was built and restored in the early Ming Dynasty (1368–1644), on the remnants of a wall originally built in the Northern Qi Dynasty (550–577). Cars have to stop at the foot of the mountain and visitors need to take the shuttle bus both ways to and from the parking lot. From the parking lot, it takes about 10 minutes to get on the cable car station and another 5 minutes to get on the actual wall.

Afterward, you will be dropped off at your hotel.