Mutianyu & Jiankou Great Wall Adventure Tour

Located in the center of Beijing, Tian’anmen Square is 880 meters long and 500 meters wide. Covering an area of 440,000 square meters, the square is so large that it can accommodate 1 million people to hold a grand gathering. During the Ming and Qing Dynasties, Tiananmen Square was a palace square outside the main gate of the imperial palace. It was surrounded by walls on three sides and was inaccessible to ordinary people. In the middle of the square stands the Monument to the People’s Heroes and the Memorial Hall of Chairman Mao. And on the west side of the square is the Great Hall of the People.

Then we will head to the Forbidden City (closed each Monday), which used to be the imperial palace of the Ming dynasty (1368-1644) and Qing dynasty (1636-1912). Hall of Supreme Harmony, Hall of Central Harmony, and Hall of Preserving Harmony are the landmark buildings of the Forbidden City, which used to be the place where great ceremonies were held. Covering an area of about 720,000 square meters, it has been built by 1 million workers for 14 years, with more than 90 courtyards and 980 houses, 8,707 rooms altogether (the room here refers to the space formed by four room columns). You will be impressed by this majestic palace. And if you want to take photos, our guide will recommend good angles for you.

After lunch, you will be transferred to Hutong near Shichahai. Here you can experience the air of old Beijing. Hutong is a general name for streets and lanes. It usually refers to smaller streets that will lead directly to the interior of residential areas. And the houses on both sides of Hutong are Siheyuan, Chinese quadrangles, which means a courtyard surrounded by buildings on four sides. You will take a rickshaw to appreciate Hutong and then visit a local family, where you can learn how to make dumplings, and paper-cutting. When you return home, you can teach such skills to your relatives and friends.

The Forbidden City

Tian'anmen Square

After breakfast, we will drive northwest for about one hour and twenty minutes to take an adventure tour in Ming Tombs. It is located at the foot of Tianshou Mountain, covering a total area of more than 120 square kilometers and surrounded by mountains on three sides. Its middle part is a plain, and there is a river in front of it. For more than 230 years since 1409, thirteen emperors, twenty-three queens, two princes, more than thirty concubines, and two eunuchs were buried here. There is a road in the mausoleum, called the Sacred Way, which is a part of Chang Tomb, one of the Ming Tombs, with a total length of about 7.3 kilometers. Many ancient buildings are waiting for you to start your adventure tour, such as Stone Archway, and Three-hole Bridge. Then you will continue to visit Chang Tomb. Built in 1409, it is the joint burial tomb of Zhu Di, the founder of the Ming Dynasty, and the empress Xu. It covers an area of about 120,000 square meters. Among the Ming Tombs, it has the largest construction scale, and the best-preserved ground buildings, including observation posts, side halls, and stele pavilions.

Later, we will drive northeast for nearly one hour to Mutianyu Great Wall, about 45 kilometers away from Ming Tombs. With a total length of 5,400 meters, it is the longest section of the Great Wall. You will take the chairlift to mount Mutianyu Great Wall so as to have a better angle to appreciate the scenery around here. This section connects Gubeikou in the East and Juyong Pass in the West. It used to be a military fortress, with famous scenic spots such as Mutianyu Pass, Dajiaolou (a building which looks like a corner of the city). After visiting you will take a toboggan down the Mutianyu Great Wall and then you will be transferred to the hotel to rest.

 Chang Tomb

Mutianyu Great Wall

This morning, we will drive northwards for nearly one hour and thirty minutes to visit Jiankou Great Wall, which is about 75 kilometers away from downtown Beijing. It is 1,141 meters above sea level and the mountains here are very steep and dangerous, so it is really an adventurous attraction. Yingfeidaoyang, which means when the goshawks come here, they will fly on their backs, is one of the most dangerous scenic spots here. And it has always been welcomed by photography lovers and adventurers. Legend has it that this section of the Great Wall didn’t have a name at first. Once, a local official came here to inspect and found this section was very magnificent, and it looked like a mouth of mountain streams, so it was named Jiankou Great Wall (Jiankou refers to the mouth of mountain streams here). However, when he returned to the imperial court, he felt that the name was inappropriate. He replaced it with the Jiankou (Jian refers to arrows and kou refers to shooting or catching here) in the old saying Yijiankoushuangdiao, (shoot two hawks with one arrow). Later this section of the Great Wall was named Jiankou Great Wall. Your Great Wall adventure will come to an end here. And you will be transferred to the airport to take the flight home. And we expect to see you in other tours.

Jiankou Great Wall

Jiankou Great Wall

Author: Zhang Xuelei