Tiananmen Square, Forbidden City, Temple of Heaven, Summer Palace
Description
This private full-day tour covers four major UNESCO World Heritage Sites in Beijing. It includes a tour of Tiananmen Square, plus visits to the Forbidden City, Temple of Heaven and Summer Palace. The Forbidden City is closed every Monday. In that case, we will visit Tiananmen Square, Lama Temple, Summer Palace and the Temple of Heaven instead. All entrance fees, delicious local lunch, private tour guide and private transfer service are fully included.
Tour Options
Itinerary
Your friendly guide will meet you at your Beijing hotel in the morning. During peak periods: April spring break, July–August summer vacation, Chinese Labor Day (May 1–7), National Day (October 1–7) and Spring Festival (mid-February), we will enjoy a hassle-free drive-by view of Tiananmen Square to avoid long security lines that often take 1–3 hours to enter. You’ll still get great views of all landmarks: the Chairman Mao Zedong Memorial Hall, Monument to the People’s Heroes, Tiananmen Rostrum, Great Hall of the People, and National Museum of China. We provide free reservation codes for the evening session at Tiananmen Square. Simply ask your guide for the code to visit independently after the tour. On all other off-peak dates, we will enter Tiananmen Square for a walking tour.
Then we will proceed to the Imperial Palace (Forbidden City) — the world’s largest and best-preserved ancient imperial complex, with over 500 years of history. Constructed between 1406 and 1420, the palace has been damaged, looted, rebuilt and restored numerous times. As a result, most of the existing architecture dates from the 18th century onward.
After lunch, we will proceed to the Summer Palace — one of China’s largest imperial gardens. Originally built as a royal retreat and temporary residence for Qing Dynasty emperors, you will stroll through the garden to admire its stunning scenery.
Lastly, we will visit the **Temple of Heaven** — where ancient emperors prayed for national peace and abundant harvests. Located in southern Beijing, it has been one of China’s most sacred sites for over five centuries. This magnificent complex served as the main sacrificial altar for the Ming and Qing emperors.
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Highlights
What's included
Pickup Locations & Times
This tour only provides hotel pick-up and drop-off services in the downtown city. If your hotel is not listed, please provide full details in the special requirements section.
Traveller Ratings
Important Information
- Not recommended for travelers with spinal injuries
- Not recommended for travelers with poor cardiovascular health
- Travelers should have at least a moderate level of physical fitness
- The Forbidden City is closed every Monday. In that case, we will visit Tiananmen Square, Lama Temple , Summer Palace and the Templer of Heaven instead.
- Forbidden City tickets require real-name reservation 168 hours (7 days) in advance and often sell out quickly. We highly recommend you book your tour as early as possible. Otherwise, international visitors may need to queue at the entrance to purchase tickets on site.
- Please wear comfortable shoes
- Vegetarian option is available, please advise at time of booking if required
- Passport name and number is required at time of booking for all participants for getting your Skip The Line Forbidden City entrance ticket
- This experience is weather-dependent. If canceled due to severe weather conditions, you may choose an alternative travel date or tour, or receive a full refund.
- Children must be accompanied by an adult
Reviews(290)
Wendy is a great guide, very energetic and with a great attitude. She explains things very well and knows how to guide you through the whole crowd. Highly recommended
Dear Guest Thank you for your wonderful review! We’re delighted Wendy gave you a fantastic tour. It’s great to hear she’s energetic with a lovely attitude, explains everything clearly and skillfully navigates crowds. We will pass all your kind compliments to her right away. Thank you for your recommendation, and hope to welcome you back to Beijing soon. Best regards, Lily's Beijing Tours Team
It is a very complete tour that allows you to see the main attractions of the city at a moderate pace. We spent a very pleasant day with Wendy, our guide, who was very attentive to our requests and explained every place we visited in detail; it is an excellent option
Dear Guest Thank you for your detailed and positive review! We are glad our comprehensive tour let you explore Beijing’s top attractions at a relaxed pace. It’s wonderful to hear you had a lovely day with guide Wendy, who paid close attention to all your requests and offered thorough introductions at every spot. We will pass all your kind compliments to her right away. Thanks for your recommendation and we hope to serve you again next time! Best regards, Lily's Beijing Tours Team
Our guide, Nancy, was very friendly, took many pictures and spoke excellent English. The day was planned well and was very enjoyable. Our driver, Mr Sun, was also very pleasant and had bottled water for us. I would highly recommend them both.
Dear Guest Thank you for your lovely review! We’re glad you had a pleasant well-planned tour with guide Nancy and driver Mr. Sun. Nancy is warm, takes beautiful photos for guests and communicates flawlessly in fluent English. Mr. Sun was courteous and thoughtfully prepared bottled water for you throughout the trip. We will pass all your kind compliments to them both. Hope to welcome you back to Beijing again! Best regards, Lily's Beijing Tours Team
Great all inclusive tour. Lucy was an excellent tour guide. She was very knowledgeable about the history of China. Her English was excellent. She kept us entertained throughout the tour with very interesting stories about Chinese history. She really took good care of us and kept the group together in the very crowded areas. She ensured that we were able to see and do everything as advertised. I would highly recommend this tour.
Dear Guest Thank you for your fantastic review! We’re thrilled you loved our all-inclusive tour and were impressed by Lucy’s outstanding service. She possesses profound knowledge of Chinese history and communicates effortlessly with fluent English, sharing fascinating historical stories to keep your whole group engaged. Lucy took great care of everyone, kept the group well-organized amid crowded scenic spots, and made sure you experienced every included activity listed in our itinerary. We will pass all your warm praise to Lucy immediately. We sincerely hope to welcome you back to Beijing for another memorable tour! Best regards, Lily's Beijing Tours Team
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ Exceptional Guide for a Large Family Group!Our group of 14 (7 adults and 7 teenagers) had an absolutely incredible time exploring Beijing, all thanks to our amazing guide, Lucy! Managing a large group with such a wide age gap is no easy task, but Lucy handled it flawlessly with her high energy, patience, and perfect organization.She took us to Tiananmen Square, the Forbidden City, the Summer Palace, and the Temple of Heaven. At every single stop, Lucy brought the history to life with fascinating stories that kept both the adults deeply engaged and the teenagers genuinely interested the entire time. She navigated the crowds smoothly, kept us all together, and ensured we didn't miss a thing.If you are visiting Beijing—especially with a large group or family—we cannot recommend Lucy highly enough. She truly made our trip unforgettable!
Dear Guest Thank you for this wonderful detailed review! We are absolutely thrilled to hear your large family group of 14 had such an unforgettable Beijing tour with Lucy. Managing a mixed-age group with adults and teenagers is quite challenging, yet Lucy handled everything perfectly with great energy, patience and outstanding organisation. She brought vivid history to life with captivating stories at Tiananmen Square, the Forbidden City, the Summer Palace and the Temple of Heaven, holding the interest of both grown-ups and young teens. Lucy skillfully navigated crowded scenic spots, kept the whole group gathered and made sure you did not miss any highlights. We will share all your glowing compliments with Lucy immediately. If you ever come back to Beijing with your family or friends, feel free to request her as your guide without hesitation. We sincerely look forward to welcoming you again! Best regards, Lily's Beijing Tours Team
Rita is the best guide for Beijing ever! She has great professionalism and a wonderful heart! She took us on a wonderful tour of the entire city and not only gave us the history of each place, but interesting stories of the events and people that made each sight memorable. She loves children, and found a pharmacy and medicine for our son on her own time, after her tour already ended. You will love Beijing even better than ever after hiring Lily’s Tours and experiencing the wonder of Beijing with Rita! Thank you so much!
Dear Guest Thank you for this touching, wonderful review about Rita! We are so touched to hear how professional and warm-hearted Rita is. She vividly shared profound history and vivid stories to make every scenic spot unforgettable for you. It truly warms our hearts that she took extra time after the tour to find medicine for your son and is so gentle with kids. We will pass all your sincere gratitude and high praise to Rita immediately. We can’t wait to welcome you back to Beijing for another lovely tour with us! Best regards, Lily's Beijing Tours Team
We are a youth choir group that travelled to China. We had 39 people and Vader was able to provide us with a very nice Bus Driver and guide for the tours. Lucy was our guide and she was truly phenomenal! Her knowledge of the history of the places we visited was incredible. Her English was outstanding, and she even taught us some Chinese words.! She arranged an impromptu dinner for us for Pecking Duck! Definitely recommend Lucy and the bus driver Hao, and will request them again if we have the need!
Dear Guest Thank you so much for your amazing review from your youth choir group! We’re so glad we could accommodate your large group of 39 members and arrange a reliable bus driver alongside your dedicated guide Lucy. It’s fantastic to hear Lucy was absolutely phenomenal throughout your trip. We love that she brought vivid historical insights to every site, communicated smoothly with her excellent English, and even shared fun Chinese vocabulary with your choir. We’re especially delighted she thoughtfully arranged an impromptu Peking duck dinner for your whole team, which must have been such a memorable highlight of your China trip. We will pass all your sincere praise to Lucy and driver Hao right away. We truly appreciate your strong recommendation and that you plan to request them again should your group visit China in the future. We can’t wait to welcome your choir back for another wonderful tour experience! Best regards, Lily's Beijing Tours Team
We had a great time exploring the Forbidden City, Summer Palace and the Temple of Heaven with our guide, Sally. She was very knowledgeable and shared many interesting stories and historical facts throughout the tour. That being said, what set her apart from other guides is that she knows the best route to keep us in the shade (I’d give her 10 stars if possible! Really appreciate this thoughtfulness!!) on a hot day and took us to some of the best photo spots, which made the experience super enjoyable. Highly recommended!
Dear Guest Thank you for your wholehearted recommendation, and we hope to welcome you back for another unforgettable tour sometime soon! Best regards, Lily's Beijing Tours Team
Ms Bobo was excellent. She knew her history and provided great information. She kept us from long lines and made sure we were always comfortable. Highly encourage this adventure.
Dear Guest Thank you so much for your glowing review! We’re thrilled to hear Ms Bobo delivered such an outstanding tour experience for you. It’s wonderful that she has profound historical knowledge to share vivid background information, skillfully helped you skip lengthy queues, and took great care to keep you comfortable the whole day. We will pass all your sincere praise to Bobo immediately, and we really appreciate your strong recommendation of our tour! Best regards, Lily's Beijing Tours Team
It was an amaizing experience, they had everything planned and the access were quick, I would totally recommend the experience to anyone in my family. Thank you so much Jeffrey.
Dear Guest Thank you so much for your lovely review! We’re delighted you had such an amazing experience with our well-planned arrangements and fast access to attractions. It warms our hearts that you’re happy to recommend this tour to your family. We will pass all your gratitude to Jeffrey right away. Best regards, Lily's Beijing Tours Team
