07 Days BeiJing/PingYao/TaiYuan/DaTong

Day 1 Singapore Beijing

Your exciting holiday begins with a pleasant flight to a fascinating City ~ Beijing. It is a famous cultural city with a history of 3,000 years & the capital of the People’s Republic of China and is the nation’s center of government, economy, culture, and international activities, as well as a transportation hub. The local representative will meet and greet you on your arrival and transfer to visit the 2008 Olympics Stadium (view) and do some shopping at Ladies Street.

(Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner)

Day 2 Beijing Taiyuan Qixian Pingyao

Take a domestic flight to Taiyuan. Upon arrival, proceed to Qixian. Visit to Qiao’s Family Mansion in Qiaojiabu Village in Qixian County, 54km south of Taiyuan. This mansion was built in 1755 in the Qing Dynasty, occupies an area of 0.872 hectares. Its original owner was a rich merchant in the periods of Emperor Jiaqing and Emperor Daoguang. With typical northern China architectural characteristics, the courtyard is divided into 6 big yards and 20 small yards with 313 rooms and covers. The Pinyao Ancient Town, located in the middle of Shanxi Province, is one of the four best-preserved ancient cities in China. Being prosperous and well developed in both Ming and Qing dynasties as a financial and business center, Pingyao was the assembly place of wealthy merchants who built the eye-catching courtyards one after the other, thus made the town the typical folk house in northern China. With more than 1700 years history, the ancient town is the birthplace of the earliest bank in China, named “Piaohao”, means the firm for exchanging and transferring of money. We will visit the most famous bank, Rishengchang, the first private banking unit in China. Lastly visit Ancient Ming and Qing Street where this is one of the best places in which to explore ancient Chinese culture.

(Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner)

Day 3 Pingyao

This morning, we will visit Pingyao’s Chenghuang Temple. The temple was built during the Northern Song Dynasty (960-1127) and is an essential venue for visitors who seek to appreciate and understand the cultural and religious background of this city. The Armed Escort Agency is housed in the grandeur of a Ming Styled complex and it is an excellent place to discover the history of the armed escort agencies that played an important role in the development of Chinese commerce. Lastly will visit the Country Government Office(Yamen).

(Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner)

Day 4 Pingyao Taiyuan

This morning, we will visit The Coal Museum of China. The Coal Museum of China contains the collection, research, exhibition of the coal relic specimen and academic exchanges on science and technology of coal and popular science education of coal. Next, visit Jinci Temple. It is located 25km southwest of Taiyuan. Jinci Temple was built in commemoration of the first king Tang Shuyu of the Kingdom of Jin. The scale of Jinci Temple has been enlarged and rebuilt during the different dynasties. Nowadays, the temple is a place composed of religions, history and culture. Besides these values, the temple is famous for the magnificent architectures of the Song Dynasty, the exquisite figures of maidservants and its beautiful garden. Lastly, proceed to do shopping at Liuxiang Shopping Street.

(Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner)

Day 5 Taiyuan Yingxian Hunyuan Datong

After breakfast, we shall continue our journey to visit Yingxian Wooden Pagoda. The wooden pagoda is the imposing structure extant today in China. Built in 1056, the 66m high pagoda stands at the foot of Mt. Hengshan. Though it appears as a five-storey structure, the pagoda in fact has nine stories with four hidden inside. It was constructed with over 50 kinds of brackets, depending entirely on the joining of tenors and mortises and, more miraculously, without a single nail or rivet. Next proceed to XuanKong Temple (Hanging Monastery), located in Mt. Hengshan south of Datong. The most dramatic of the Eighteen Scenes of Hengshan is the Hanging Monastery, suspended precariously under an overhanging precipice. Some of the 40 halls in this temple are held up by a single support-pillar.

(Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner)

Day 6 Datong Beijing

Datong City is located in the northern part of Shanxi. It is a famous historic and cultural city in the north China with a history of 2000 years. Its strategic position is also important. We will visit Yungang Grottoes. This 500-year-old Yungang Grottoes in west Datong is the largest cluster of grottoes in China and a world-famous treasure house of art. Visit the well preserved Nine-Dragon Wall before transferring back to Beijing.

(Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner)

Day 7 Beijing Singapore

After breakfast, we will take in the splendor of ancient China beginning with a tour of the Tiananmen Square. Tiananmen Square is located in the center of the city, covering an area of 400,000 sqm, is the largest public square in the world. It was the front gateway to the imperial palace in the Ming and Qing dynasties. Next proceed to Imperial Palace, more people known as The Forbidden City. It is the largest and best-preserved cluster of ancient buildings in China. It was home to two dynasties of emperors, the Ming and the Qing. It has 9,000 halls and rooms containing many precious relics, is the largest palace in the world and one of the mankind’s major cultural legacies. Lastly proceed to Xiushui Plaza for shopping with a stop at China National Grand Theatre (view). After dinner, transfer to the airport for your departure flight.

(Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner)