Summer palace or Forbidden city & Mutianyu Great Wall(WITH LUNCH)

The Great Wall of China is the longest man-made structure in the world. In fact, the length of all Chinese defense walls built over the last 2000 years is approximately 50,000 kilometres, while the Earth’s circumference is only 40,000 kilometres! Explore the much quieter Mutianyu section of the Great Wall, which was first begun in the Northern Qi Dynasty (550-557) and finished in the 17th century. The 2.5kilometer stretch of the Wall allows you to walk along its storied length for over an hour and visit twenty-two watchtowers, should you so choose. Not only will you walk along this wonder of the world yourself.

The Summer Palace is one of the largest and best-preserved imperial gardens in the world. In the 18th century, Emperor Qianlong enlarged and embellished it, only to abandon it a few years later. The grounds today are stunning, as is the lovely Kunming Lake, which occupies more than three quarters of the total area. Enjoy a boat ride before walking the Long Corridor, a 728-metre (well over 2000foot) hall featuring 8000 paintings collected by the Emperor during his travels around the country.

or guide will take you to The Forbidden City was home to the Chinese imperial palace from the Ming Dynasty (1368 – 1644) to the end of the Qing Dynasty (1644 – 1912). Begun in 1406, construction lasted 15 years, and required more than a million workers. It’s the world’s largest surviving palace complex and covers 178 acres, consisting of 980 surviving buildings with 9,999 bays of rooms. Word on the street is that in Imperial times, unauthorized entry by common people would be punishable by death.

The Three Great Halls are definitely the highlight of the tour. Each with a different function, they were used for ceremonial occasions, as the Emperors personal prep areas, official meeting areas, and imperial examinations. All three Great Halls line up in sequence on a marble terrace. Some of the halls and palaces have been restored and repainted, some haven’t. This way, you can still enjoy their authenticity while seeing what they would’ve looked like hundreds of years ago. Be on your toes when trying to get a look inside, it gets a little rowdy.