Hot China Tour 2010: Beijing New Year Celebration Tour

If you come to Beijing on New Year’s Eve, you can experience the festival atmosphere; join in decorating a house with the owners by making Chinese paper cuts or writing paper couplets to hang on the doors for good luck. Learn how to make dumplings and enjoy the New Year banquet. Fireworks celebrate the coming of the New Year after the dinner and you will be part of the whole event.

Day by Day Itinerary

Day 1

Place & Transport: Arrive in Beijing, Flight not included
Today’s Activities: Airport to Hotel Transfer (Beijing)

Day 2

Place & Transport: Beijing
Today’s Activities: Mutianyu Great Wall(with round way cable car)
Meals: Breakfast, Chinese Lunch at Xin Shuang Quan Restaurant, Chinese Dinner at Roasted Duck at Fangzhuang

– Mutianyu Great Wall(with round way cable car): This less-crowded section of the Great Wall is a about 2.5 hours’ drive from downtown Beijing. A cable car takes you to a good section (avoiding a very steep climb), where you can walk along the wall, through the watch towers and enjoy superb views as it snakes across the hills and mountains. You can return by cable car, walk down or walk along the wall for about an hour to descend by chairlift. Wear good walking shoes and protection from the weather.

– Xin Shuang Quan Restaurant: Xin Shuang Quan Restaurant is near Great Wall of Mutianyu section. This garden style restaurant serves farmhouse dishes, specializing in rainbow trout, sturgeon and salmon. Its use of natural ingredients and fabulous taste will leave you with great memories.

– Roasted Duck at Fangzhuang: Quanjude Restaurant enjoys a high reputation among domestic and overseas customers for its Beijing roast duck. They have developed their own technique and are famous for outstanding quality. Fangzhuang branch is located beside the Temple of Heaven.The Wangfujing branch was established in 1959.The well-known All-Duck Banquet is headed by QUANJUDE roast duck and supported by over 400 dishes with QUANJUDE characteristic flavor.

Day 3

Place & Transport: Beijing
Today’s Activities: Temple of Heaven, Tiananmen Square, The Forbidden City, Li Heng Tang pearl store
Meals: Breakfast, Chinese Lunch at Traditional Mongolia Restaurant

– Temple of Heaven: Situated in the southern part of the city, the temple of heaven covers the total area of 2,700,000 square meters. The temple was built in 1420A.D. It is the place where emperors of the Ming and Qing dynasties would offer sacrifice to heaven and pray for good harvests. The main buildings of the temple including the Circular Mound Altar, Imperial Vault of Heaven and Hall of Prayer for Good Harvest.The surrounding gardens are full of interesting activities, particularly weekend mornings.

– Tiananmen Square: The world’s largest city square and enduring symbol of China’s national pride, surrounded by many imposing buildings including the Heavenly Gate (entry to the Forbidden City), Museums, government buildings and Chairman Mao’s Mausoleum.

– The Forbidden City: The Imperial Palace, home to 24 Emperors between 1420 and 1911. Great squares, halls and gates contrast with the intricate networks of side halls, gardens, courtyards and quarters for those who lived in this ‘city within a city’. The exhibitions, both permanent and temporary, are also absolutely fascinating. Expect to spend at least 2-3 hours, wear good walking shoes and protection from the weather.

– Traditional Mongolia Restaurant: Traditional Mongolia Restaurant is located near the Forbidden City. It serves northern Chinese food based on Mongolia cuisine. It brings Mongolia’s long and distinguished cultural and literary history. A traditional Mongolian yurt (tent) is available on the third floor but a reservation is needed and a surcharge applies. Live performances of Mongolian music are sometimes preformed in the restaurant.

– Li Heng Tang pearl store: Lihengtang Pearl Store is a state-run enterprise that cultivates, processes, manufactures and sells all type of fresh water and sea pearl jewelry and products. China is the largest fresh water pearl producer in the world with the main base being Jiangsu and Zhejing province. Famous varieties of seawater pearls include: The Tahitian Black Pearl and Nanyang Golden pearl. Lihengtang Pearl Store offer pearls of all types and quality pearls and cater to all price ranges.

Day 4

Place & Transport: Beijing
Today’s Activities: New Year’s Eve(morning), Short Hutong Tour in Xicheng District, New Year’s Eve(Afternoon), New Year’s Eve(Evening)
Meals: Breakfast, Chinese Lunch, Chinese Dinner

– New Year’s Eve(morning): After breakfast New Year’Eve Morning you will head to the local markets for shopping just as locals do to buy some New Year souvenirs or gifts.

– Short Hutong Tour in Xicheng District: Hutong is a maze of historic alleyways with old single storey traditional courtyard houses, which are now fast disappearing. In this one hour tour, you can hop on a rickshaw to ride through the narrow alleys as well as visit a local family then walk on the Silver Ingot Bridge (Yinding Bridge) and find out about the different thresholds of the courtyards.

– New Year’s Eve(Afternoon): After touring the Hutong by rickshaw, you will join your host family to prepare the coming of the New Year by decorating the room with Chinese paper cuts or writing couplets with Chinese lucky expressions. You can also join them to prepare the New Year’s Eve dinner – dumplings and enjoy your fruit of labor.

– New Year’s Eve(Evening): At midnight bells from the local bell tower sound out the New Year and the deafening sound of thousands of firecrackers will erupt from every household and go on for ever to welcome in the New Year. You can also join in burning fireworks with locals. Around midnight, you will return to the hotel as celebrations continue through the night.

Day 5

Place & Transport: Beijing
Today’s Activities: Temple Fair(Ditan Park Fair)
Meals: Breakfast, Chinese Lunch

– Temple Fair(Ditan Park Fair): One of the city’s busiest temple fairs, Ditan Park is the site of the altar where sacrifices were formerly offered to the earth god, and now it has become the gathering place where people celebrate the beginning of a new year and various kinds of activities are held here. Folk performances, snacks of different flavors, all kinds of decorations… the atmosphere is typical – noisy, crowded but always fun!

Day 6

Place & Transport: Depart Beijing, Flight not included
Today’s Activities: Hotel to airport Transfer (Beijing)
Meals: Breakfast