How to book a tour
North China Train Voyage
Tour code: BJ007
Duration: 8 days
Route: Beijing, Datong, Taiyuan, Pingyao
Attractions: Yungang Grottoes, Nine-Dragon Screen, Steam Locomotive Factory, huayan Temple, Jin Ancestral Temple, Double-Pagoda Temple, Qiao's Grand Courtyard, Shuanglin Temple, Pingyao ancient town
Itinerary:
Day 1
Arrival / Beijing
On arrival at Beijing airport, railway station or long distance bus terminal, the local representative will meet you for your transfer to the hotel. Leisure on your own for the rest of the day.
Day 2 (B, L)
Beijing (Join-in Tour)
Forbidden City, Tiananmen Square, Temple of Heaven
Depart from your hotel in the morning to have city tours to visit the TianAnMen Square, the symbolical heart of China and gathering place for the masses. It is the biggest public square in the world, which can hold one million people. Having a free walk there, imagining the great historic events of the 20th century took place there. You will also see legendary landmarks including the Great Hall of the People and the towering 125 foot granite obelisk, Monument to the Peoples Heroes, honoring those who died in revolution.
Walking across the Golden River Bridge, enter the Forbidden City, the inner sanctum and palace where for centuries Chinese emperors ruled their world. It has 9000-room maze of courtyards, places, and ceremonial halls, where 24 emperors used to live. Forbidden City was indeed a forbidden place, where commoners were kept out for nearly 500 years in the past. Tour the palace and imagine the mystery, intrigue and incredible power that reigned here.
After having lunch at the local restaurant, visit the Temple of Heaven. It was built in the 15th century, a sacred site for ancient Beijing, where the emperor and his 1000 member entourage would retreat twice a year for religious ritual. Surrounded by enormous grounds designed in accordance with fengshshui, the Temple complex consists of the Celebrated Hall of Prayer for Good Harvests, a unique wooden and blue-tiled structure built without a nail. It is considered the supreme achievement of traditional Chinese architecture.
Day 3 (B, L, D)
Beijing (Join-in Tour)
Badaling Great Wall, Ming Tomb
The Badaling Great Wall is situated in the northwestern Beijing. It has been a communication center of strategic importance since ancient times. It was built in 1378 and was named by the 8 mountains where the Wall was buit. The surrounding wall runs over 2 kilometres with one gate on each of its three sides-east,north and south. It has been a strategic place contested by militarists since ancient times.
The 25-kilometer-long Badaling Ridge section has as many as 120 watchtowers and battlements,terraces and turrets. Architecturally, there are towers of various shapes--square, circular, oblate and cornered, and roofs of different strctures --flat and vaulted.
In the afternoon you will visited Ming Tombs where the Chinese Emperor dreamed to continue there eternal life after death. Optional activities at night: recommend you to enjoy Beijing Opera. The cost is USD 30 per person, inclusive of round trip transfers hotel / theatre.
Day 4 (B, L, D)
Beijing / Datong
Transfer via: PM Train (about 5hrs)
Visit Hutongs by rickshaw. Take afternoon Train to Datong.
Hutongs: The old narrow paths where common people lived. All the Hutongs crisscross with each other, dotted with the Kindergarten, the Bell Tower, the Drum Tower, the Tea House, and the lake, House of Gong Infante and local people's houses among them.
You will be taken by pedicab (a tricycle cab), which was very popular in the old days to visit the Bell and Drum Towers, Prince Gong's Mansion and even to pay a visit to an ordinary Beijing family in the compound houses. You will visit a Chinese family to learn how to make Jiaozi - Chinese Dumplin.
Jiaozi looks like shoe-shaped gold and silver ingots so when people eat it during festivals they really hope it could bring fortune and good luck to them, and this, of course, is their best wishes. Sometimes people will add some sweets, Chinese dates and chestnuts in fillings of some dumplings to express their wishes...
Once upon you get to Datong,be met and transferred to your hotel in Datong.
Day 5 (B, L)
Datong
Have city tours to the Yungang Grottoes, the Nine-Dragon Screen, the Steam Locomotive Factory and the Huayan Temple.
The Yungang Grottoes: With their 252 caves and 51,000 statues, the grottoes represent the outstanding achievement of Buddhist cave art in China in the 5th and 6th centuries. The Five Caves created by Tan Yao, with their strict unity of layout and design, constitute a classical masterpiece of the first peak of Chinese Buddhist art.
The Nine-Dragon Screen: It was built in 1392 to conceal the palace of a Ming dynasty (1368-1644) prince.
The Steam Locomotive Factory: 2.5km southwest of the city, it was the last steam locomotive factory in the world until it switched from steam to diesel production in 1988.
The Huayan Temple: Named after the Huayan sect of Buddhism, was established in the 11th Century and was one of the eight most important temples in the Tang Dynasty.
Day 6 (B, L)
Datong / Taiyuan
Transfer via: AM Train (about 6hrs)
Take morning train wiht soft seats to Taiyuan. Arrive at Taiyuan. Be met & transferred to your hotel. Have tours to Jin Ancestral Temple and Double-Pagoda Temple.
The Jin Ancestral Temple: It was originally started in the Northern Wei Dynasty (386 - 532 AD) to commemorate the memory of Shu Yu (Zhou Wu), the founder of the state of Jin.
The Double-Pagoda Temple: It was originally called Yongzuo Temple, built in the 36th year of Wanli in the Ming Dynasty (1608). The two pagodas in the temple are considered the symbol of Taiyuan city.
Day 7 (B, L)
Taiyuan / Pingyao/train
Transfer via: PM Train (about 10hrs)
Full day trip to the Qiao's Grand Courtyard, the Shuanglin Temple, Pingyao ancient town, including the Ancient City Wall, the Rishengchang Draft Bank and the Mingqing Street. Take evening train with soft sleepers to Beijing.
The Qiao's Grand Courtyard: With the area of 8724 square meters, the courtyard was the house of the richest family Qiao in Qing Dynasty in China. Though 2 centuries have been passed, it still keeps its original splendor in architectural style.
The Shuanglin Temple: Standing for more than 1500 years, the temple is famous for more than 2,000 painted sculptures of precious value, representing Ming and Qing Dynasties' best. They are reputed as a "treasure reserve of the oriental painted sculptures".
Pingyao ancient town: In the middle of Shanxi Province, it is the best-preserved among the four ancient towns in China. It is the assembly place of folk houses in north China where rows upon rows of buildings in the Ming and Qing Dynasties stand in well-preserved conditions.
Day 8 (B)
Beijing/Departure
Arrive at Beijing. Be met at the railway station & transferred to the airport for your flight to your next destination.