Tour Diary
Basic Facts:

Students and teachers at the Great Wall of China

Guardian at the Ming Tombs

Students on the Great Wall


Temple of Heaven


In the Forbidden City

Day 1: Sunday March 18th
Check in at Cork airport for flight to London. Transfer to terminal 3  for Air China flight to Beijing.

Day 2: Monday March 19th
Arrive in Beijing, where we are met by our guides David and Bill, transfer to the Gloria Plaza Hotel. Evening meal, Vietnamese buffet, in the hotel..

Day 3: Tuesday March 20th
Morning visit to Tian Anmen Square and the Forbidden City. Afternoon in the Summer Palace, a marvel of landscape architecture. Evening meal in our hotel.

Day 4: Wednesday March 21st
Morning excursion to a Jade factory and then through the valley of the Ming tombs, walking past the the giant tortoise at the Great Palace Gate, along the spirit way with its guard of stone animals and on to the Lingxing Gate. Afternoon visit to the Great Wall of China at Badaling. Sand storm at the Great Wall. Evening invitation to a traditional Peking Duck banquet.

Day 5: Thursday March 22nd
Morning rickshaw tour of the Hutongs and a visit to a typical house of the area, on to the Lamasery Temple with its 18m high statue of Maitreya Buddah which is said to have been sculpted from  a single piece of sandalwood. Afternoon visit to the magnificent Temple of Heaven. Evening trip to an Acrobatic show.

Day 6: Friday March 23rd
At leisure in Beijing, time to explore the sights, such as Chairman Mao's Tomb, Jingshan Park, Beijing Zoo, The Great Bell Temple, The Ancient Observatory or visit the cities markets.

Day 7: Saturday March 24th
At leisure in Beijing, time to explore more of the cities sights or visit the silk, art and antique markets.

Day 8: Sunday March 25th
After breakfast, transfer to the airport for a return flight to London. Connect with the onward flight to Cork.


China flag

The mainland of China covers an area of 9,506,960 sq km. It is home to a population of 1.2 billion people. The capital, Beijing, has a population of 12 million, 95% of these are Han Chinese. 93% of the population are Han Chinese the remainder are Mongol, Zhuang, Manchu and Uighur.

Climate: Beijing temperatures for March range from -1 to 11 degrees Celsius, with 8mm of rain.

Language: Mandarin

Time: GMT +8 hours.

Telephone: The direct dial code from Ireland to Beijing is 00 86 10 followed by the local number.

Currency: Yuan

Main sights: Forbidden City, Summer Palace, Hutongs, Great Wall, Ming Tombs, Temple of Heaven, Tian Anmen Square, Beijing Zoo, Beijing opera, Great Bell Temple and markets.

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