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Includes airfare, fuel surcharges, great hotel, transfers, meals and more!

Beijing Express

Who says you can't afford to visit Beijing, China's most exciting city and host of the 2008 Summer Olympics? Considered one of the best and most fascinating travel destinations of the new millennium, our Beijing Express includes airfare from Los Angeles (including fuel surcharges), transfers, 5-star hotel accommodations, lavish American breakast daily, 2 lunches, and included touring to the Forbidden City, Beijing's most visited tourist site, and a full day visit to the Great Wall of China, the only man-made structure seen from space. Additional inexpensive optional tours are also available. All of this is yours for less than the price of airfare alone, making this one travel opportunity you really can't afford to miss! But don't wait long, because space is definitely limited, and at these prices, it will surely sell out quickly!

Want to see the 3 major cities in just 10 days? Check out our Taste of China tour from $1099.

Our Touring Program

Day 1: Depart USA. Your exotic journey to China begins today as you check in for your wide-body jet flight bound for Beijing, China.

Day 2: En route. Cross the international dateline and lose one day in transit.

Day 3: Arrive Beijing. Midday arrival in Beijing, China's historic and cultural capital. You'll be met by your guide and then escorted to your hotel in the center of Beijing, within short distance of Tiananmen Square and the Forbidden City. Meet your fellow travelers at a special orientation meeting hosted by your local guide. The balance of the afternoon is yours to unpack, rest from your international flight, or explore on your own. Beijing International Hotel

Day 4: Tiananmen Square/Forbidden City. Start your day with a visit to the famous Tiananmen Square, visit the Forbidden City, located at the exact center of the ancient city of Beijing where it served as the imperial palace during the mid-Ming and Qing Dynasties. Known as the Palace Museum today, its extensive grounds cover 720,000 square meters, 800 buildings and more than 8,000 rooms. The Forbidden City is listed by UNESCO as the largest collection of preserved ancient wooden structures in the world and was declared a World Heritage site in 1987.

After lunch, the rest of the day is yours to explore Beijing on your own. Or, take advantage of a very special and unique optional tour to Gaobeidian Village, a picturesque community where you will find talented craftsmen practicing the ancient art of furniture making as well as other Chinese arts and crafts.  You will enjoy demonstrations by various artists and artisans, and you'll even have an opportunity to try your own hand at making an original piece while being tutored by masters.

Later, visit a typical Chinese school or kindergarten to see for yourself how children are taught in China. The highlight of this very special tour is an opportunity to join a village family in preparing and sharing a traditional Chinese dinner. $40 including dinner.** (B,L)

Day 5: Great Wall of China & Ming Tombs. Depart after breakfast on a full day included excursion to the only man-made structure visible from the moon, the Great Wall of China, which follows a ridge of barren hills stretching at least 3,750 miles (6,000 km). Construction of the Great Wall, which spanned more than two thousand years, began between the 7th and 6th century BC and continued through the Ming Dynasty. The wall was originally built of stone, wood, grass and earth, but during the Ming Dynasty, bricks were produced in kilns set up along the wall. The bricks were transported by men carrying them on their backs or by donkeys, mules and even goats, which had bricks tied to their heads before being driven up a mountain.

Enjoy an opportunity to mount the ramparts of this ancient wonder before proceeding to the Ming Tombs, burial site of 13 emperors of the Ming Dynasty. In over 200 years, between 1409 and 1644, tombs were built over an area of 40 square kilometers. Each tomb is located at the foot of a separate hill and is linked with the other tombs by a road called the Sacred Way. A massive stone archway, built in 1540 at the southern end of the Sacred Way, is decorated with designs of clouds, waves and divine animals. (B,L)

Day 6: Beijing. Enjoy a day to explore Beijing on your own. Your hotel is centrally located in the heart of Beijing, close to major attractions, restaurants and shopping. Take an optional full day to the Hutongs of Beijing followed by the Temple of Heaven, with lunch included. For those who want to explore the way the Chinese live and have lived for centuries, a jaunt down the intricate maze of Beijing's Hutongs is essential. These ancient, labyrinthine alleys or lanes are still an important feature in the urban landscape of Beijing, where houses along Hutongs still occupy one third of the total area, providing housing for half the population and providing yet another example of Beijing as an ancient yet modern city.

The Temple of Heaven, the most holy of Beijing's Imperial temples, is the place where Chinese Emperors came to worship heaven and to pray for a good harvest, since a bad harvest could be interpreted as the Emperor's fall from heavenly favor and threaten the stability of his reign. The 6-meter-high walls surrounding the temple take a square shape to the south and a semi-circular one to the north. The main buildings in the temple are circularly shaped. This pattern represents an ancient belief that heaven was round while earth square, and this pattern is quite architecturally unique. The whole complex, gorgeously painted and set off by thousands of pine and cypress trees, expressing a harmonious atmosphere as if heaven and earth are integrated into one. $55 per person. Tonight an Optional Peking Duck dinner followed by a special Shaolin Kung Fu Martial Arts demonstration is available. $37 per person. (B)

Day 7: Beijing. Today enjoy another day at leisure, to continue your exploration of Beijing on your own.  Or, take advantage of an optional afternoon tour to the Summer Palace, the quintessential Chinese garden, A UNESCO World Heritage site ranked among the most noted classical gardens of the world.

Continue your tour to the Panda Zoo, dedicated to the preservation of this endangered (and adorable) species of bear. End the day with a visit to the Red Sandalwood Museum, a temple to the world's largest and most valuable collection of Chinese red sandalwood, a timber now so rare that, like certain gemstones, it rates as "precious".(B).

Day 8: Beijing/USA. Enjoy a final morning in Beijing. Shop, stroll, and explore a few hidden corners. Later this afternoon, transfer to the airport for your return flight to the USA. Your amazing adventure in Beijing comes to an end as you arrive in Los Angeles late this afternoon). (B)

Optional Tours in Beijing - $99

To take full advantage of your visit to Beijing, we offer a special, discounted optional tours package to other "must see" sites. These are not "seat in coach" tours that pick up passengers in various hotels. All the optional tours we offer are operated for Friendly Planet groups only and are specially priced.

The special discounted optional tours package price of $99 per person is available when booked and prepaid in the USA.

Optional Tours Package Includes:

• Half day tour to the Summer Palace & Panda Zoo (Day 4)
• Peking Duck dinner & Shaolin Kung Fu Martial Arts demonstration (Day 5)
• Full day tour of the Hutongs of Beijing & Temple of Heaven with lunch (Day 6)

**The special Gaobeidian Village visit must be reserved and paid in China, directly to your guide. The tour requires a minumum of 10 passengers to operate.

Destination FAQs

For quick answers to Frequently Asked Questions about travel to China, click here.

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Beijing Express
Included Features

• Round-trip airfare from Los Angeles via China Southern or Air China including fuel surcharges (flight schedule)

• All transfers with meeting, assistance and porterage

• Accommodations at the 5-star Beijing International Hotel

• Full buffet American breakfast daily plus 2 included lunches(B)

• Services of local English speaking tour hosts

Shop & Compare

Our tours may look similar to others you've seen, but we invite you to shop & compare. There are important differences that make Friendly Planet tours the best you can find.

No Compromise on Quality: Despite our extraordinary prices, there are no compromises on our China tours. In Beijing  you'll stay at the 5-star, centrally located Beijing International Hotel, noted for its amenities and service.

Credit Cards or Cash :  Whether you pay by check, money order or your favorite major credit card, your tour price on this tour is the same. No extra cost to charge your dream vacation to China. Credit Card Authorization Form.

Included Features:  Your airfare (including fuel surcharges), transfers as well as important visits to the Great Wall of China and the Forbidden City, both with lunch, are included, not expensive extras as in other tours.

Personal Service: Most important of all, the extra ingredient that makes our tours stand apart from others—the wonderful, personal attention you'll receive from our friendly staff in the USA and our representatives in China —is completely free of charge. Compare our China programs to others, feature for feature. You'll see for yourself that ours are the very best value for money you'll find anywhere.

Taxes & Fees Service Price Additional Taxes, Fees & September 11th Security Fee $120 Chinese Visa* $130

* All visitors to China must obtain a visa. Comprehensive visa instructions will be included in confirmation packets to all passengers.

Optionals & Upgrades Service Price Sightseeing Package $99 Travel Insurance (Recommended) $129

Visas: All visitors to China must obtain a visa. The cost of the visa, including processing cost, is $75 per person. Comprehensive visa instructions will be included in confirmation packets to all passengers.

Flight Schedule: Click here for a full flight schedule.

Departure Airports: Included flights are from Los Angeles.

Important Note: If you are reserving this tour less than 60 days prior to departure, confirmation is subject to space availability. We will advise you within 48 hours if we can confirm your reservation. In the meantime, no credit cards will be debited for deposits or payments until we are able to confirm your reservations.

Waitlisting on Friendly Planet Sold-Out Departures: If your preferred departure is sold out, you can place yourself on a waitlist by completing the online reservation form and submitting it to us. Just click on the "waitlist" button, complete the form and click "submit". In the comments box at the very bottom of the form, please write any notes regarding your request, especially any flexibility you might have in your dates of travel. This way, if your first choice doesn't clear, we can try for a second or third choice. We will make every effort to clear your space in a timely way so that you can join us on tour. You do not need to send any deposits for waitlists. When we clear your space, we'll contact you immediately by phone or email, and if you still wish to travel, we will arrange for deposits or payments at that time. We regret that we cannot accept waitlists beyond 35 days prior to departure. If you see "sold out" next to the dates you wish to reserve or waitlist, please note that this departure is now closed, including waitlist possibilities.

Already Booked? Print and complete your Tour Registration Form (PDF).

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* Some tour prices reflect an early booking discount on select dates. Prices do not include Additional Taxes, Fees & September 11th Security Fee.

Though we do our best to provide accurate and up-to-date information on our site about our tours, sometimes oversights and typographical errors can occur. Please confirm all tour prices and details with us via email or phone prior to booking. We will not be held responsible for misunderstandings arising from such errors.

TourCode: d-000