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Offered languages
- English
Special Lunch: Dumpling Making during Family Visit.
A private certified English Tour Guide
Gathered at East Gate of Forbidden City at 8:30, and then walk another 10 minutes to Meridian Gate (entrance). Stay about 3 hours there, focusing on central axis buildings.
Then go for family visit at around 12:00. To make dumplings for lunch. Step into a Beijing family's home. Flour on the table, filling in the bowl, hands in dough. You roll, fold, and boil dumplings side by side with people who actually live there — then sit down and eat what you made, with tea and conversation.
After lunch, at around 15:00, it's the Temple of Heaven: the Echo Wall, the nine-everywhere altar, and the blue-roofed prayer hall that defines Beijing's skyline.
Two UNESCO landmarks, one kitchen table, zero long bus seats — all in one private day.
What's Included
Meeting and pickup
East gate of Forbidden City (also called Donghua Gate)
East Gate
Itinerary
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1Forbidden City Tour
1. Meridian Gate (Wu Men) – the only entrance, ceremony & architecture 2. Gate of Supreme Harmony & Inner Golden Water River 3. Hall of Supreme Harmony (Taihe Dian) – the Golden Throne Hall, 10 roof beasts 4. Hall of Central Harmony & Hall of Preserving Harmony – exam hall & stone carving 5. Gate of Heavenly Purity – the line between office and bedroom 6. Palace of Heavenly Purity – “Rectitude and Brightness” plaque, secret heir box 7. Hall of Union & Palace of Earthly Tranquility – empress rituals, Qing wedding room 8. Imperial Garden – old cypresses, rockery, pavilions 9. Gate of Divine Prowess – exit, free to explore Jingshan after. Or exit from Donghua Gate
3 hours • Admission ticket not included -
2Temple of Heaven
• Hall of Prayer for Good Harvests – the icon of Beijing. A 38-meter circular wooden hall with three blue-tile roofs, built entirely with mortise-and-tenon joints and not a single nail. Emperors came here every spring to ask for a fruitful year. • Imperial Vault of Heaven – a smaller circular pavilion once used to store the ceremonial tablets of Heaven and ancestors. It sits inside the famous Echo Wall: whisper on one side, and someone 60 meters away on the curve hears you clearly. Great photo and "wait, how?" moment. • Circular Mound Altar (Huanqiu) – a three-tier open-air white-marble platform where the emperor held the grand Winter Solstice sacrifice. Count the slabs and rails: everything is nine or a multiple of nine, because nine was the highest yang number and belonged to Heaven. Stand on the central "Heart of Heaven" stone and say something — your own voice comes back louder.
2 hours • Admission ticket not included
Additional info
- Public transportation options are available nearby
- Travelers should have at least a moderate level of physical fitness
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Cancellation Policy
For a full refund, cancel at least 24 hours before the scheduled departure time.
Cancellation Policy
- For a full refund, you must cancel at least 24 hours before the experience’s start time.
- If you cancel less than 24 hours before the experience’s start time, the amount you paid will not be refunded.
- Any changes made less than 24 hours before the experience’s start time will not be accepted.
- This experience requires a minimum number of travelers. If it’s canceled because the minimum isn’t met, you’ll be offered a different date/experience or a full refund.
- This experience requires good weather. If it’s canceled due to poor weather, you’ll be offered a different date or a full refund.
You can cancel up to 24 hours in advance of the experience for a full refund.
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