Beijing Day Tour: Summer Palace & Ming Tombs
About this activity
Highlights
- Explore the Summer Palace's imperial gardens
- Walk the Sacred Path lined with stone animals
- Discover the Underground Palace of Ming Tombs
- Enjoy a traditional Chinese lunch
- Learn about China's imperial history
Full description
Included / Excluded
- Guided tour of Summer Palace
- Visit to Ming Tombs and Sacred Path
- Lunch at a local restaurant
- Personal expenses
Itinerary
Be picked up from your hotel by English speaking tour guide and private vehicle around 08:00am. Drive to visit the Scared Path and Underground Palace of Ming Tomb for about 1 hour. The Scared Path is the best preserved and complete one. The Sacred Way (or Divine Road) which means the road leading to heaven. The Emperor, known as the Son of the Heaven, who came from Heaven to his country through the Sacred Way, also deservedly would return to Heaven through this road. The road is lined with stone statues which are important decorations of the mausoleum. These marble statues are 12 human figures and 24 animals.
Followed visit Underground Palace of Dingling Tomb. Ming Tomb is the final resting place of 13 Ming Dynasty emperors, along with 23 empresses and a number of concubines. It has a history of over 600 years. Surrounded by mountains on three sides, Ming Tomb features splendid landscape. The Underground Palace with five chambers, the underground palace of Dingling is 27 meters deep with a total floor space of 1,195 square meters. All chambers were built of stone without using a single beam or column. Dingling is the only excavated tomb for archaeological exploration. Tourists can see precious antiques in the exhibition halls. You will enter to the underground palace to see the emperor's coffins, marble thrones and treasures. Be transferred back to your hotel after the tour is finished.
After the authentic food lunch. Proceed to the Summer Palace, one of China's largest imperial garden. Summer Palace was originally a royal garden and a temporary dwelling palace for emperors of Qing Dynasty. Stroll around the garden for couple of hours to enjoy the beautiful scenery. At the end, you will transferred back to your hotel.
Visit
Visit
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Important information
Know before you book
- Tour operates in English; ensure language compatibility
- Confirm pickup details upon booking
- Check the weather forecast and dress accordingly
Know before you go
- Wear comfortable walking shoes for the tour
- Bring a camera to capture the scenic beauty
- Carry a bottle of water to stay hydrated
Cancellation policy
For a full refund, cancel at least 24 hours before the scheduled departure time.
Accessibility
- Infants Required On Laps
- Infant Seats Available
Good to know
- Children must be accompanied by an adult
- Operates in all weather conditions, please dress appropriately
- Please advise any specific dietary requirements at time of booking
- Please wear comfortable walking shoes
- Vegetarian option is available, please advise at time of booking if required
Traveler reviews
Uncovering the best in Beijing culture
I had an excellent tour with Rita, discovering the summer palace, unfortunately the Ming Tombs were closed due to the weather conditions, but Rita quickly found alternatives and we went to the Lama Temple and the temple of Confucius, which were fascinating alternatives. Another day of wonderful tours in Beijing!
Fun, History, Local Food.. all in one single tour . Must try!!
It worth every single hour we spent with the Guide and I will do it again ! Lucy was amazing and super prepared about overall China culture , history and traditions and she allowed us to truly experience this tour and embrace the China history. We started around 8 to avoid traffic jam and reach out the first destination which took almost 1 hour . During the drive Lucy explained a lot of the Ming and Ching dynasties but you can ask her anything about China (she can also provide good tips for night life in Beijing and during the tour she was also able to book an acrobatics show for the same day) . The tomb may not be so scenic loke forbidden city or summer palace or temple of heaven but it will allow you to fully embrace China history so for us totally worth the time. After Lucy brought us to have local lunch close to the summer palace. You have no idea how much we eat and everything was super delicious and local (again we were the only foreigners there ). After lunch we headed to the summer palace for a nice walk around. You immediately understand the place is more popular due to the crowds, but no matter that we were able to walk around for an 1 hour and half around the park , make pictures and learn about the history of the palace. My suggestion is to take a guide because without you will definitely lose a lot of key fact that will let you understand what you are experiencing. After the palace we took a coffee break and they brought to the acrobatics show where the driver wait for us and bring back to our hotel but you can ask for any other destination!
Amazing Day Tour
Really amazing places, the lunch in local restaurant was very good, also the guide was very good, Lucy, provided us a lot of historical information about this places