Dongjiaominxiang Hotel
AUGUST 3-6, 2008
$1239. per person, double occupancy. Add $809. for single supplement (if available).
August 3 (Sunday): ARRIVE BEIJING
Arrive in Beijing from Dun Huang. You will then be transferred to your accommodations provided at the Dongjiaominxiang Hotel for the next three nights. No meals included today. Overnight Beijing.
Dongjiaominxiang Hotel
August 4 (Monday): BEIJING: GREAT WALL AND MING TOMBS
After breakfast, depart on a full day tour to the Great Wall and also the remarkable Ming Tombs with lunch
at a local restaurant. The well-preserved sections of the Great Wall in Beijing are China's most famous
tourist site. These sections are mainly the remains from the Ming Dynasty, an era of tremendous construction.
The wall runs across the northern part of Beijing for over six hundred kilometers (370 miles) with
various passes and towers.
You will visit the portion of the wall at Badaling. Badaling is a rare ancient military defense project. The
elevation of it is about 1,000 meters (3300 ft). The wall of Badaling has a total length of 3,741 meters (about
2.5 miles) with an average height of 8 meters (26.4 ft). The highest part is 15 meters (about 50 ft). The
top of the wall can permit five horses to be ridden abreast.
A portion of the Great Wall of China
Around 50 km (31 miles) northwest from Beijing City lies the Ming Tombs - the general name given to the mausoleums of 13 emperors of the Ming Dynasty (1368 - 1644). The mausoleums have been perfectly preserved, as has the necropolis of each of the many emperors. Only the Changling and Dingling tombs are open to the public. Changling, the chief of the Ming Tombs, is the largest in scale and is completely preserved. Unlike Changling, Dingling is under ground and about 27 meters (56 ft) deep. Dinner at a local restaurant. Overnight Beijing (B,L,D).
Ming Tomb
August 5 (Tuesday): BEIJING: FORBIDDEN CITY, SUMMER PALACE, TEMPLE OF HEAVEN
After breakfast depart on a full day tour to the Forbidden City, Summer Palace and Temple of Heaven with
lunch at a local restaurant. Dinner at a local restaurant. Overnight Beijing. (B,L,D).
Lying at the center of Beijing, the Forbidden City, called Gu Gong, in Chinese, was the imperial palace
during the Ming and Qing dynasties. Now known as the Palace Museum, it is to the north of Tiananmen Square.
Until 1924 when the last emperor of China was driven from the Inner Court, fourteen emperors of the Ming dynasty
and ten emperors of the Qing dynasty had reigned here.
The Forbidden City
Situated in the western outskirts of Haidian District, the Summer Palace is 15 kilometers (9.3 miles) from
central Beijing. Having the largest royal park and being well preserved, it was designated, in 1960 by the
State Council, as a Key Cultural Relics Protection Site of China. Containing examples of the ancient arts,
it also has graceful landscapes and magnificent constructions. The Summer Palace is the archetypal Chinese
garden, and is ranked amongst the most noted and classical gardens of the world. In 1998, it was listed as
one of the World Heritage Sites by UNESCO. Of the many sites, the ones most critical to eclipse observers might
be the Hall of Dispelling Clouds and Gate of Dispelling Clouds located on the palace grounds.
Portion of the Summer Palace site
The Temple of Heaven is a masterpiece of architecture and landscape design and is the grandest of four temples located in Beijing. It is larger than the Forbidden City and smaller than the Summer Palace with an area of about 2,700,000 square meters. In China the emporer was regarded as the son of Heaven who adminstered earthly matters. The temple grounds contains the Earthly Mount where the emporer prayed for favorable weather (he had to be an eclipse observer!), the House of Heavenly Lord, and the Hall of Annual Prayer built on three levels of marble stone base. The structures were built in 1420 A.D. during the Ming Dynasty to offer sacrifice to Heaven. During the Ming and Qing Dynasties (1368 A.D. - 1911 A.D.), the emperors would offer sacrifices on the day of the Winter Solstice every year.
Temple of Heaven
August 6 (Wednesday): BEIJING TO HOMETOWN
After breakfast, transfer from your hotel to the Beijing airport where you will board you flight for home. End
of a wonderful tour. (B).
Night view of Beijing Capital Airport
BEIJING POST TOUR PRICE INCLUDES:
BEIJING POST TOUR PRICE DOES NOT INCLUDE:
Carlson Wagonlit Future Travel recommends that each client purchase adequate trip cancellation insurance, medical, baggage, accident and other personal effects insurance. Trip cancellation insurance must be purchased at time of initial deposit. Clients should be aware that we cannot guarantee the weather for this astronomical event or any other.