All meals listed as breakfast as B, lunch as L, and dinner as D

Day 1 Arrive at Beijing

Arrive at Beijing airport. You will be greeted by our English-speaking tour guide at the airport and transfer to the hotel on a nice private vehicle.

Time before dinner is for relax and rest, especially after the long journey with jet lag. If you prefer to walk around, the guide will be happy to assist and offer suggestions upon your request.

Tonight the whole group gathers at hotel lobby and departs for a Peking duck welcome dinner at a local restaurant. The guide will do a brief presentation on some nitty-gritty details on travel in China.

After dinner, for those with plenty of energy, a leisure walk around the busy Wangfujing commercial street may help set a tone for modern Beijing.

Overnight atmospheric Bamboo Garden Hotel (D) or Crowne Plaza Hotel 5* (D)

Day 2 Beijing Planning Exhibition Hall, Temple of Heaven

This morning we visit Beijing Planning Exhibition Hall, for a general picture of Beijing's past and future during the urban development process. The huge model of current Beijing city is the highlight. After lunch at a local restaurant featuring local cuisine, we transfer to Temple of Heaven, where we see landmark of old-line Beijing - the Hall of Prayer for Good Harvest. As the biggest park in Beijing, Temple of Heaven is also an activity center for the retired, who usually gather within the park doing variety of exercise and entertainments. We may mingle with them and have a glimpse of their leisure life on the way, with a singing of Peking Opera flowing into our ears at times. Late afternoon we transfer to enjoy a Kongfu show, a first-hand touch with traditional Chinese Martial Arts.

Note: Beijing Planning Exhibition Hall is closed on Mondays.

Overnight atmospheric Bamboo Garden Hotel (B,L,D) or Crowne Plaza Hotel 5* (B,L,D)

Day 3 Forbidden City, Hutong and National Center of Performing Arts

After breakfast we take a short drive to Tiananmen Square, the largest public square in the world and the symbolic center for China. At the south end of the Square is the late Chairman Mao's mausoleum, on the east side is the Museum of Chinese Revolution and History, and to the west is the Great Hall of the People. We take a look at the buildings on the square, then enter Forbidden City from the south gate. We spend the whole morning on a guided tour through this vast and magnificent seat of the emperors' power. Out of the north gate, we head for a lunch at a local restaurant. We start our hutong tour after lunch. Sitting on Old-Beijing style pedicabs, we have a glimpse of local commoners' life among the narrow hutong valleys, with a stop en route to pay a visit to a local family. Time permitting, we could stroll along the restored hutong bar area to feel the development and transformation of the old residence. Late this afternoon, we visit the newly-built National Center for the Performing Arts. Landmark of modern Beijing and designed by French architect Paul Andreu, the giant silver dome to the west of Tiananmen Square hosts Chinese and international art performances of the highest standards. The theater complex houses an opera house, a music hall and a drama Hall with a total number of 6,200 seats and is the flagship performance space in China.

Note: National Center of Performing Arts (NCPA) is yet not open for public visit. This visit is made through a special arrangement and is available on weekends only.

Overnight atmospheric Bamboo Garden Hotel (B,L,D) or Crowne Plaza Hotel 5* (B,L,D)

Day 4 Mutianyu Great Wall, 798 Art Zone

This morning, we drive 2 hours to Mutianyu Great Wall, taking cable car up to the Great Wall on the top of the mountain or hike 1,000 steps up. On the Great Wall, we can spend 1-4 hours for hiking around and take toboggan down the hill after our picnic lunch on the Great Wall. On our way back to down town, we can take a quick look at the Olympic venues from the outside. In the afternoon, we visit the 798 Art Zone, the unique combination of former industrial factories and contemporary arts of avant-garde. Located to the northeast of central Beijing, it was formerly a large state-owned enterprise built by the Russians in early 1959 as part of a war-reparations deal with Germany. In 2002, artists and cultural organizations began using the space for design, photography, publishing, exhibitions, performance and art. We leisurely tour the rented space in the factory and the independent studios for art, architecture, music and fashion, which were converted into individual workshops.

Overnight atmospheric Bamboo Garden Hotel (B,L,D) or Crowne Plaza Hotel 5* (B,L,D)

Day 5 Lama Temple

This morning we visit the largest Tibetan Buddhist Temple in Beijing, Lama Temple. It features a treasury of Buddhist art, including sculptured images of gods, demons and Buddha, as well as Tibetan-style murals. If interested, we also tour the nearby Ancient National Academy, with an exhibition on ancient imperial examinations. After a vegetarian lunch, we enjoy free time for the rest of the day.

Overnight atmospheric Bamboo Garden Hotel (B,L,D) or Crowne Plaza Hotel 5* (B,L,D)

Day 6 Fly back

We transfer to the airport for flight back home. Trip ends