Classic China Bike Tour

Welcome to Beijing, the capital of China! Don’t be worried that you are not familiar with this city. Your local guide will pick you up at the airport and take you to your hotel.

Beijing is a very big, important, and historical city in China. It covers an area of 16,410.54 square meters. More than 20 million people live in this city. Besides, Beijing is the political center of China. The Great Hall of the People is situated in Beijing. The National People's Congress and the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference will be held every year in this hall. What’s more, Beijing is a historical city with many cultural heritages, such as the Forbidden City, Ming Tombs, and the Summer Palace. During this tour in China, you will visit these attractions in Beijing one by one and realize the history of this city.

After breakfast, you will go to Tian’anmen Square that is located in the center of Beijing. It is 880 meters long and 500 meters wide. It was built in 1417 in the Ming Dynasty (1368-1644). There are five different Golden Water Bridges in the north of Tian’anmen Square. The middle Golden Water Bridge is the largest one, which is 23.15 meters in length and 8.55 meters in width. Dragons are carved on its stone balustrades. But if you look at the stone balustrades of other four Golden Water Bridges closely, you will find they are carved lotus flowers. In ancient times, only the emperor was able to pass through this middle bridge. On both sides of this bridge, you will see two bridges that are 5.78 meters wide, and only the nobles were allowed to walk through them. What’s more, the other two bridges are just 4.55 meters wide. High-ranking officials could pass through them. Anyone who passes through the wrong bridge would be punished severely.

Then you will visit the Forbidden City (closed each Monday) that was built in 1420. It used to be the imperial palace in the Ming Dynasty and the Qing Dynasty (1636-1912). There are 24 emperors once living in the Forbidden City. Kangxi, the emperor of the Qing Dynasty, is one of them. He acceded to the throne at the age of eight and occupied it for 61 years. When he was 14, Kangxi took over the reins of government. During his reign, he resorted to arms to uphold national unity and territorial integrity. For example, in 1681, he put down the Revolt of the Three Feudatories who wanted to set up independent regimes by force of arms and to rip the country apart. When Russia tried to invade and occupy Heilongjiang, the northeastern region of the country, Kangxi won the war against Russia and signed a Treaty of Nerchinsk in 1689. The treat shows that Heilongjiang is a part of China.

After lunch, we will take you to the Temple of Heaven. It was built in 1420 in the Ming Dynasty and covers an area of 2,730,000 square meters. Only ancient Chinese Emperors could hold ceremonies to worship Heaven in this place every year. Yuan Shikai, however, is an exception. He was the president of the republic at that time. But he wanted to become the emperor. So on December 23, 1914, Yuan Shikai held a ceremony in the Temple of Heaven as each emperor had done. Everyone was wearing traditional clothes in this ceremony. Strains of music accompanied by drumbeats kept sound all over the Temple of Heaven and soldiers were holding leathers in this place. Yuan Shikai stood on the Circular Mound Altar, and other officials were standing under the altar. Then they made four deep bows together. However, the people didn’t want an emperor anymore. Though Yuan Shikai proclaimed himself emperor and restored the monarchy one year later, he had to abolish the monarchy 83 days later.

After visiting the Temple of Heaven, you will have a Beijing Bike tour. Let’s go to the east of Beijing and enjoy Biking on the Wangfujing Street. This commercial street has a total length of about 1,818 meters and has a very long history. In the Liao Dynasty (907-1125), it was only located in a little village. But when in the Ming Dynasty, there were ten prince’s residences in this place. So local people called it Wangfu Street (Wangfu means prince’s residence in Chinese). As time went on, the prince’s residences gradually disappeared and local people forgot the existence of them. In the last years of the Qing Dynasty, the water in the wells of this street was sweet. So it’s called Wangfujing Street (jing means wells in Chinese). Nowadays, it becomes a very famous commercial street in Beijing. You can go shopping in this place.

Forbidden City

Temple of Heaven

This morning, you will visit the Ming Tombs. The area of this place is more than 120 square meters and was built in the Ming Dynasty. Emperors of the Ming Dynasty, as well as their wives, sons, concubines, and servants, were buried in the Ming Tombs. After the downfall of the Ming Dynasty, the emperors of the Qing Dynasty repaired the Ming Tombs instead of destroying them. However, there is a legend about it. It’s said that the buildings of the Ming Tombs were built by some precious logs. Qianlong, the emperor of the Qing Dynasty, wanted to use them to build his imperial garden. So he decided to tear down the tombs to get these logs. Luckily, his officials persuaded him not to do that. As a result, Qianlong listened to his officials and didn’t pull down the whole Ming Tombs. But he still took down a main hall of the Ming Tombs to get a little logs.

Next, you will visit the Chang Tomb in the Ming Tombs. It is the largest tomb in this place with an area of about 120,000 square meters. As the earliest tomb in the Ming Tombs, it was first built in 1409. The third emperor of the Ming Dynasty, Zhu Di, and his empress were buried there. Zhu Di is the fourth son of his father. However, his father regarded Zhu Di’s nephew as the successor to the throne. After ascending the throne, his nephew tried to weaken the position of Zhu Di. So Zhu Di rose in rebellion in 1399 and won the war in 1402. But when Zhu Di took his army to the imperial palace, he couldn’t find his nephew. As a result, his nephew’s whereabouts became a mystery. Zhu Di is a very capable emperor. Nanjing used to be the capital of the Ming Dynasty. But it’s located in the south of China. So Zu Di moved the capital to Beijing to tighten the grip on the northern part of the country. Then he built the Forbidden City as the imperial palace in Beijing. Besides, Zhu Di asked more than 2000 scholars to write the Yongle Canon that is the world's earliest and biggest encyclopedia. What’s more, Zhu Di even went out to battle by himself five times to defend his country.

After lunch, we will drive you to the Badaling Great Wall. It was built in 1505 in the Ming Dynasty and is more than 650 kilometers long. In 1987, the Badaling Great Wall was included in the World Heritage List. There are more than 450 heads of government and leaders of the ruling party who once came here, such as George W Bush, King Abdullah, and so on. There is a kind of grass called Xima in this place. Xima is poisonous, and everyone who touches it will let out anguished cries. It’s said that in ancient times, soldiers of the Badaling Great Wall would be killed if they were asleep and didn’t find that their enemy climbed up the wall secretly. So the soldiers prayed, “Please God, let me be awake and tell me if the enemy come.” As a result, God heard their words and made Xima grow around the Badaling Great Wall. The enemy would shout as soon as they touched Xima. From then on, soldiers would find their enemy soon if they came. Xima became their best friends and soldiers would like to protect this kind of grass.

Chang Tomb

Badaling Great Wall

Today, your local guide will take you to visit the Summer Palace. It used to be the imperial garden of the Qing Dynasty and covers an area of 3.009 square kilometers. In 1998, the Summer Palace joined the World Heritage List. The emperors of the Qing Dynasty once handled state affairs in the Hall of Benevolence & Longevity that is in the east of the Summer Palace. You will see the bronze statues of the dragon and the phoenix in this hall. According to the ancient Chinese formality, the dragon symbolizes the emperor and the phoenix symbolizes the empress. So the statue of the dragon is always put in the middle and the phoenixes are put on both sides of the dragon. However, in the front of the Hall of Benevolence & Longevity, you will find that the dragons are put on both sides of the phoenix. That’s because, at the end of the Qing Dynasty, the whole country was under Empress Dowager Ci Xi’s sole dominion. The emperor was only her instrument. So the phoenix is put in the middle to show the position between Ci Xi and the emperor.

After lunch, you will take an estimated train G349 15:13/19:42 to Xi’an. Your local guide will meet you at the station and take you to your hotel.

Summer Palace

Summer Palace

In the morning, we will drive you for about 50 minutes to the Terra Cotta Warriors and Horses Museum, which is located 41 kilometers northeast of Xi’an. The terra cotta warriors and horses are the funerary objects of the First Emperor of the Qin Dynasty (259 BC-210 BC). In the Shang Dynasty (1600 BC-1046 BC), the nobles often killed their slaves and made them be funerary objects. But it was so cruel and was abolished gradually. At the end of the Spring and Autumn Period (770 BC-476 BC), terracotta figurines became the popular funerary objects instead of slaves. So the First Emperor of the Qin Dynasty put tens of thousands of terra cotta warriors and horses in his tomb. He wanted to have a strong army even after he died. However, according to historical records, Xiang Yu, a great general, burned some of them. Xiang Yu is one of the leaders of the rebel forces that overthrew the rule of the Qin Dynasty. It’s said that Xiang Yu even took the weapons in the terra cotta warriors’ hands and gave them to his army.

After lunch, you will visit the Big Wild Goose Pagoda. It was built in 652 in the Tang Dynasty (618-907). It has 7 floors now and the height of it is 64.517 meters. But when it was first built in 652, it only had 5 floors because it was built after an Indian Model. Later, the emperor of the Tang Dynasty thought the style of the pagoda clashed with the capital’s style. So it was converted into a nine-floor pagoda. At the beginning of the 7th century, the Big Wild Goose Pagoda was rebuilt and it had ten floors at that time. In 931, the number of its floors became seven again. However, the top of the pagoda was fallen after several earthquakes in Xi’an. So in 1604 in the Ming Dynasty, it was repaired again and had 7 floors. From then on, the number of its floors isn’t changed anymore.

Then you will go to the Great Mosque. It was built in 742 in the Tang Dynasty. Since then, it has been maintained properly and is one of the oldest mosques in China now. There are many buildings in the Great Mosque. The House of Worship, for example, is the largest building in this place. It covers an area of 1,300 square meters and can hold about one thousand people to worship together. If you look at its ceiling, you will find more than 600 colorful paintings of Islamic style. Around the hall, you will see 30 large boards that are about 4 meters high. Both the Arabic version and the Chinese version of the Koran are carved on these boards. It is well received by Muslims at home and abroad.

Big Wild Goose Pagoda

Terra Cotta Warriors and Horses Museum

In the morning, you will go to the Old City Wall that is located in the center of Xi’an. Standing on the old City Wall, you will see the ancient wall, city moat, and the modern buildings on both sides of the wall. We will arrange a Xi’an Bike tour for you to enjoy your Biking on the Old City Wall. It will be a unique experience for you because only in the old City Wall of Xi’an can visitors take a bike. The old City Wall is 12 meters high and about 13.74 kilometers in circumference. There are four corners of the wall. But only the corner in the southwest is a curve, and other three corners have a shape of angle. Why is that? In the Sui Dynasty (581-618), the corners of the city wall were all arc-shaped, while in the Ming Dynasty, the corners were square. Perhaps the old City Wall was first built in the Sui Dynasty. Later, the City Wall became shabby. The craftsmen of the Ming Dynasty repaired them and turned three arc-shaped corners into square corners.

Then we will take you to the airport and you will take an estimated flight 3U3269 15:45/18:10 to Guilin. Your local guide will wait for you at the airport. When you arrived there, your guide will send you to your hotel.

Old City Wall

Old City Wall

After breakfast, you will go to the Mopanshan Pier and take the Li River Cruise to Yangshuo. It will take you about 4 hours to get there, and you will have lunch on board. When you’re in Yang Shuo, your local guide will take you to the Ten Miles Galley. It is about 10 kilometers long. You can have a Yangshuo Bike tour here to enjoy the beautiful scenery. You will see steep peaks, wide fields, gardens, and clear lakes in this place. Whatever you see will be a wonderful painting. The local government also sets up many viewing platforms and pavilions for visitors. You can have a rest and admire the scenery quietly in these places. If you feel it is boring, there are many scenic areas you can choose to visit, such as Julongtan Scenic Area, Tuteng Gudao Scenic Area, Butterfly Spring, and Big Banyan Tree Scenic Area. Please make extra payments by yourself if these scenic areas need admission tickets. The Butterfly Spring, for instance, has a stalactite that looks like a butterfly, from which it got its name. You will see thousands of types of butterflies and more than ten thousand butterflies living in this place. Why not take some photos and post them on your Facebook. You may get many likes!

Li River

Ten Miles Galley

After breakfast, we will drive you back to Guilin. Then you will take an estimated flight FM9350 13:35/16:05 to Shanghai. Your local guide will pick you up at the airport and take you to your hotel.

You will visit the Jing’an Temple this morning. It was built in 247 and is the oldest temple in Shanghai. It covers an area of about 22,000 square meters. There are many famous abbots here. Zhi Yan used to be the abbot of the Jing’an Temple in the Song Dynasty (960-1279). He was nicknamed Shrimp Monk because there is a story about him. In front of Jing’an Temple, there was a Shrimp Pond. Zhi Yan bought some shrimps to eat from a fisherman. But he was so poor when the fisherman asked for money from him. So he spat shrimps out into the pond. However, these shrimps were still alive, though they didn’t have feelers. From then on, all shrimps in this pond didn’t have feelers, and the pond was called the Shrimp Pond. But the shrimps disappear after the Shrimp Pond was filled and leveled up in 1919.

Next, you will go to the Yu Garden (Closed on Mondays). It is a classical garden built in the Ming Dynasty. There are many beautiful plants and buildings in the garden. You will see a building called Wanhua Hall in the north of the Yu Garden. In the Ming Dynasty, this building was dedicated to the God of Flowers. While in the last years of the Qing Dynasty, the statue of the Town God was put in it. After the establishment of the People’s Republic of China, it starts to be called the Wanhua Hall (Wanhua means various flowers in Chinese). There is a yard in front of the building. You will see fragrant thoroughwort, winter jasmine, Chinese littleleaf box, azalea, bamboos, and other kinds of flowers in the yard. It looks like a large potted landscape, hence its name.

After lunch, you will visit the Oriental Pearl TV Tower that is on the east bank of the Huangpu River. The tower was built in 1994. It is 468 meters high, which makes it become the highest tower in Asia and the third highest tower in the world. The Oriental Pearl TV Tower isn’t only a landmark building of Shanghai, it also holds public benefit activities every year. When it’s International Women’s Day on March 8th, it will show pink light to appeal to the whole society to care for women. When it’s World Autism Day on April 4th, the Oriental Pearl TV Tower will show blue light to call for people to pay attention to autistic persons. On World Blood Donor Day, 14 June, the tower will show red light to thank blood donors for their selfless dedication.

Then you will go to the west bank of the Huangpu River to see the Bund. The total length of it is about 1.5 kilometers. You will see many old buildings that were built by foreigners from different countries. The Shanghai customs house is a special one. It was designed by a British man. On the top of this building, you will see a bell that is the largest bell in Asia. It was made in 1927 and was carried to Shanghai from London in August of the same year. On New Year’s Day in 1928, it started to ring out and played Westminster Quarters. The song it played was never changed until it was 1966, and the bell began to play a Chinese song called Dong Fang Hong. However, when Queen Elizabeth II visited Shanghai in 1986, the bell played Westminster Quarters again. But one year later, some people thought it was not proper to play this song. So the local government decided to make the bell play Dong Fang Hong again.

After visiting the Bund, you will go to Nanjing Road. This popular commercial street is about 5.5 kilometers long. You will find many interesting stores here. The LEGO Shanghai Flagship Store in Nanjing Road, for example, is very popular. It’s the second store in Asia. Different from other stores, it has many Chinese elements, such as the model of the red Chinese dragon and the Oriental Pearl TV Tower. Both of them are made by LEGO. There is also a big rickshaw made by LEGO and you can even sit on it. What’s more, you will find a high-tech machine in this store. It will make a jigsaw for you immediately according to your picture.

Yu Garden

Oriental Pearl TV Tower

Today, Your local guide will take you to your airport, and you will leave China soon and go back to your home. Welcome to contact us again if you still want to visit more places in China!

Author: Zhang Xinli