Beijing & Xi’an: Great Wall and Ancient Capitals | 7-Day Tailor-Made Tour

Meet your guide at the agreed arrival point in Beijing, then travel to your hotel in a vehicle reserved for your party. The first day is kept light so you can check in, rest and get your bearings rather than hurry straight into sightseeing.

Your bilingual contact and travel-assistance information is useful during free time. The meeting arrangements are confirmed around your actual flight or train arrival.

After breakfast, begin at Tian’anmen Square and enter the Forbidden City through the Meridian Gate at the reserved time. Allow around 2.5–3 hours among the palace halls and courtyards, with your guide explaining court ceremony and the organisation of the imperial household. Square and palace reservations, queues and security are planned separately.

In the afternoon, pause around the Drum and Bell Towers before continuing into the hutongs near Shichahai. A neighbourhood and lakeside walk of roughly 1.5–2 hours brings the day down to the scale of homes, lanes and local food traditions. Choose your own meal stops; entry into a private courtyard home is not assumed.

Tian’anmen Square · Forbidden City · Drum and Bell Towers — exterior · Shichahai · Beijing hutongs

Make an early start at the Temple of Heaven, allowing about 1.5 hours for its principal buildings and surrounding park while your guide explains the rituals once held here. Continue north to Mutianyu, allowing roughly 1.5–2.5 hours on the road from central Beijing, and longer in heavy traffic.

Keep around 2–3 hours for the wall visit, choosing a stretch between watchtowers that suits your pace and the areas open that day. Confirm the lift and descent arrangement in your proposal: the enclosed cable car, chairlift and toboggan are not interchangeable return services. Steps and slopes remain on the wall even with a lift. Return to your Beijing hotel after this longer sightseeing day.

Temple of Heaven · Mutianyu Great Wall

After breakfast, spend around 2–2.5 hours at the Summer Palace, following a route that fits the station transfer while taking in Kunming Lake, covered corridors and the garden’s carefully framed views. A lake cruise is an additional choice when operating, rather than a fixed condition of the morning. Continue to Beijing West station with time for luggage, security and boarding.

Take an afternoon high-speed train to Xi’an North, with second-class seating as the planning basis. Allow roughly 4.5–6 hours aboard the train when selecting a suitable service; the actual train and journey time depend on your travel date. Your local arrival team transfers you to the Xi’an hotel. Station transfers and waiting add to this long travel day, so no further sightseeing is scheduled after arrival.

Summer Palace

Travel to the Terracotta Army in Lintong, allowing roughly 1–1.5 hours from the city and around 2.5–3 hours in the exhibition areas open during your visit. Your guide connects the formations and individual figures with the scale of the imperial burial project, the original painted surfaces and the work of excavation and conservation. Any scenic electric-cart connection is checked against the site’s actual operation.

Return to Xi’an for a walk through the Muslim Quarter’s food streets and neighbourhood lanes, choosing meals to suit your interests. If a tea-house opera visit or conservation-focused programme matters to you, ask before booking so the venue, access and charges can be checked. Entry into a conservation laboratory or handling ancient objects is not a guaranteed part of this itinerary.

Terracotta Army · Muslim Quarter

Begin with Anrenfang Heritage Museum for an introduction to the neighbourhood layout and everyday life of Tang Chang’an. Continue to Xi’an City Wall for a chosen walking section overlooking gates, the moat and the modern city. Allow around 3–4 hours of visits and walking spread through the day, with transfers and rest between them. A Tang-style costume portrait session can be specified in your proposal, including clothing, photography and image delivery.

Later, explore the historic Jianfu Temple precinct around Small Wild Goose Pagoda, where the brick tower and old trees offer a quieter finish. The focus is the heritage setting and grounds; tower climbing or bell-ringing is not assumed to be operating. Museum opening days are checked when the dates are set, with the order adjusted where needed.

Anrenfang Heritage Museum · Xi’an City Wall · Small Wild Goose Pagoda

After breakfast, check out and transfer according to your onward flight or train. If time permits, enjoy free time near the hotel; there is no compulsory final sightseeing stop competing with the road journey, security or check-in.

Your guide and chauffeur assist with the departure connection as confirmed in your plan. Keep the bilingual travel-assistance and hotel information for the next stage of your journey. Breakfast arrangements for an early departure should be checked with the hotel in advance.