10 Days China Ancient Capitals Tour from Beijing (Beijing-Pingyao-Zhengzhou-Dengfeng-Kaifeng-Luoyang-Xi’an)

After breakfast, begin at Tian’anmen Square, the monumental center of modern Beijing. See the Monument to the People’s Heroes, the Great Hall of the People, the National Museum of China, and the exterior of the Chairman Mao Memorial Hall before walking toward Tian’anmen Gate.

Enter the magnificent Forbidden City, the imperial palace of 24 emperors during the Ming and Qing dynasties. Follow the central ceremonial route through the grand gates and courtyards to the Hall of Supreme Harmony, Hall of Central Harmony, and Hall of Preserving Harmony. Continue into the Inner Court, where the emperor, empress, and imperial family once lived, before finishing in the peaceful Imperial Garden.

Leave through the northern gate and continue to Jingshan Park. Climb the central hill to Wanchun Pavilion, which offers a panoramic view over the golden roofs, red walls, courtyards, and central axis of the Forbidden City.

In the afternoon, explore the traditional hutongs around Shichahai. Walk through narrow lanes lined with courtyard residences and learn about everyday life in old Beijing. Pass Houhai Lake, the Drum Tower, and the Bell Tower, with time to observe neighborhood shops, local residents, and historic architecture.

After breakfast, drive through the northern suburbs of Beijing to the scenic Mutianyu Great Wall. This beautifully restored section is known for its numerous watchtowers, steep mountain ridges, and forested surroundings.

Take a cable car or chairlift up to the wall and walk between its ancient watchtowers. Your guide will introduce the history of the fortifications, the role of the signal towers, and the defensive system once used to protect the northern approaches to the imperial capital. Choose an easy walk around the central section or follow a longer and steeper route for wider mountain views. Descend by cable car, chairlift, or toboggan, depending on your preference and local operating conditions.

After lunch at a local restaurant, return to central Beijing and visit the Temple of Heaven. Walk through the ceremonial complex to see the Hall of Prayer for Good Harvests, Imperial Vault of Heaven, Echo Wall, and Circular Mound Altar. These buildings and altars reflect the relationship between imperial power, traditional cosmology, and ancient Chinese ceremonial practices.

The surrounding park is also an excellent place to observe local life. Residents often gather beneath the old cypress trees to practice tai chi, sing, dance, exercise, and play traditional instruments. Return to your hotel after the visit.

After breakfast, your guide and driver will transfer you to the railway station for the high-speed train from Beijing to Pingyao. Upon arrival, meet your local guide and transfer to Pingyao Ancient City, a UNESCO World Heritage site and one of China’s best-preserved traditional walled towns.

After checking into a courtyard-style hotel inside the ancient city, begin exploring its historic streets and architectural landmarks. Visit the Ancient City Wall, originally constructed with rammed earth and later strengthened with bricks during the Ming Dynasty. Walk along part of the fortification for panoramic views over the gray-tiled rooftops, courtyard residences, temples, shops, and symmetrical streets.

Continue to the Pingyao Ancient Government Office, where local officials administered the county and handled judicial affairs during imperial times. Its courtyards, administrative halls, prison cells, residential rooms, and former courtroom illustrate how a traditional Chinese county government operated.

Visit Rishengchang Exchange House, widely regarded as China’s first draft bank. Learn how Shanxi merchants developed secure remittance services and extensive financial networks that connected commercial centers across the country. Afterwards, stroll along Ming-Qing Street, lined with historic shops, museums, restaurants, and traditional merchant buildings.

In the evening, enjoy free time to explore the lantern-lit lanes, sample local Shanxi cuisine, and experience the quieter atmosphere of the ancient town after many daytime visitors have departed.

Meals: Breakfast and lunch
Accommodation: Pingyao Ancient City

After breakfast, continue exploring the cultural and architectural heritage of Pingyao Ancient City. Begin at the Pingyao Confucian Temple, an important complex dedicated to Confucius and traditional education. Walk through its ceremonial gates, courtyards, halls, and examination-related exhibitions while learning about Confucian learning and China’s imperial examination system.

Continue to the City God Temple, where residents once worshipped the spiritual protector of Pingyao. The temple complex combines religious halls, courtyards, decorative roofs, glazed tiles, and traditional theatrical spaces. Depending on available time, visit a former escort agency or merchant residence to learn how valuable goods and silver were transported and protected along China’s historic trading routes.

Walk through quieter residential lanes to observe courtyard houses, local workshops, handmade lacquerware, vinegar shops, and traditional food stalls. Pingyao is particularly known for polished lacquerware, handmade noodles, beef dishes, and the commercial traditions of Shanxi merchants.

After lunch, transfer to Pingyao Ancient City Railway Station and board a high-speed train to Zhengzhou, the modern capital of Henan Province. Located in China’s Central Plains, Zhengzhou provides convenient access to several important centers of Chinese civilization, including Dengfeng, Kaifeng, and Luoyang.

Upon arrival, meet your local guide and driver at the railway station and transfer to the hotel. The remainder of the evening is free for rest or an independent walk near the hotel.

Meals: Breakfast and lunch
Accommodation: Zhengzhou

After breakfast, drive from Zhengzhou to Dengfeng, located at the foot of Mount Song, one of China’s Five Sacred Mountains. The area has long been an important center of Buddhism, Daoism, Confucian education, astronomy, and imperial ceremonial traditions.

Visit the renowned Shaolin Temple, founded during the Northern Wei Dynasty and internationally associated with Chan Buddhism and Shaolin Kung Fu. Walk through its central courtyards and visit the Hall of Heavenly Kings, Mahavira Hall, Abbot’s Room, and other important monastic buildings. Your guide will explain the history of the temple, the daily life of Shaolin monks, and the relationship between Buddhist practice and martial arts.

Attend a traditional Shaolin Kung Fu Performance, featuring weapon demonstrations, coordinated routines, animal-inspired movements, balance skills, and hard qigong techniques. The performance provides an engaging introduction to the training discipline and physical traditions associated with Shaolin martial arts.

Continue to the Pagoda Forest, an extraordinary collection of brick and stone stupas built to commemorate distinguished Shaolin monks. The different shapes, sizes, carvings, and architectural styles reflect the rank and historical period of the monks buried there.

After lunch, visit Songyang Academy, one of the most celebrated academies of classical learning in ancient China. Set beneath the mountains, the peaceful complex contains traditional halls, historic stone inscriptions, and ancient cypress trees. Depending on opening arrangements and local conditions, the academy may be replaced by Zhongyue Temple or the Gaocheng Astronomical Observatory.

Return to Zhengzhou in the late afternoon and enjoy the evening at leisure.

Meals: Breakfast and lunch
Accommodation: Zhengzhou

After breakfast, drive from Zhengzhou to Kaifeng, one of China’s Eight Ancient Capitals and the political, economic, and cultural center of the Northern Song Dynasty. At its height, the city was known for its busy canals, markets, workshops, restaurants, temples, and international trade.

Begin at Dragon Pavilion Park, located on the former site of the imperial palace. Walk along the central avenue, cross the lakeside causeway, and climb the elevated pavilion for panoramic views over the surrounding lakes and historic district. Your guide will introduce the rise of Northern Song Kaifeng and the remains of earlier palace complexes buried beneath the modern city.

Continue to the Iron Pagoda, one of the best-preserved Northern Song monuments in Kaifeng. Despite its name, the structure was built with brown glazed bricks whose color resembles iron. Examine the detailed Buddhist images, decorative tiles, floral patterns, and architectural features covering the pagoda’s exterior.

After lunch, visit the Qingming Riverside Landscape Garden, inspired by the famous painting Along the River During the Qingming Festival. The extensive cultural park recreates the city gates, bridges, markets, workshops, riverside scenes, and street life of the Northern Song capital. Traditional performances and demonstrations help bring the period’s commercial and social history to life.

Later, transfer to the railway station and take a high-speed train to Luoyang, another important ancient Chinese capital. Meet your local guide upon arrival and transfer to the hotel.

Meals: Breakfast and lunch
Accommodation: Luoyang

After breakfast, visit the UNESCO-listed Longmen Grottoes, one of the finest collections of Buddhist cave art in China. The grottoes extend along the limestone cliffs beside the Yi River and contain thousands of statues, devotional niches, inscriptions, and cave temples created over several centuries.

Follow the riverside path along the western cliff and visit important sites such as Guyang Cave, the Three Binyang Caves, Ten Thousand Buddha Cave, and Lotus Flower Cave. The highlight is Fengxian Temple, where the monumental Vairocana Buddha is surrounded by disciples, bodhisattvas, heavenly kings, and guardian figures. The scale, balanced composition, and expressive carving make it a masterpiece of Tang-dynasty Buddhist sculpture.

After lunch, continue to White Horse Temple, traditionally considered the first officially established Buddhist temple in China. Explore the historic halls, courtyards, Buddhist statues, ancient tombs, and international temple areas while learning how Buddhism reached China through early cultural exchanges with India and Central Asia.

Transfer to Luoyang Longmen Railway Station and take a high-speed train to Xi’an, formerly known as Chang’an and the capital of several influential Chinese dynasties. It was also the eastern starting point of the ancient Silk Road, where merchants, diplomats, monks, and travelers from different cultures once gathered.

Upon arrival, meet your local guide and driver and transfer to the hotel. If time permits, enjoy an evening walk around the illuminated cultural district near the Big Wild Goose Pagoda.

Meals: Breakfast and lunch
Accommodation: Xi’an

After breakfast, drive east of Xi’an to visit the world-famous Terracotta Warriors and Horses Museum. Discovered by local farmers in 1974, this vast underground army was created to protect Qin Shi Huang, the first emperor to unify China, in the afterlife.

Explore the principal excavation halls, beginning with Pit 1, which contains the largest formation of infantry soldiers, officers, and horse-drawn chariots. Continue to Pits 2 and 3 to see cavalry units, archers, command formations, and different types of military figures. Your guide will explain how the warriors were produced, painted, buried, discovered, excavated, and carefully restored.

Observe the individual faces, hairstyles, armor, clothing, ranks, and postures of the figures. Although the warriors were made using standardized production techniques, their detailed features give each soldier a distinctive appearance. Exhibitions also introduce the bronze weapons, chariots, original pigments, and ongoing archaeological work connected with the mausoleum complex.

After lunch, return to central Xi’an and visit Xi’an City Wall, one of the largest and best-preserved ancient urban fortifications in China. Walk along the broad ramparts and admire the defensive towers, gate buildings, historic neighborhoods, and modern skyline. When bicycles are available, you may choose to cycle along part of the wall.

Continue to the lively Muslim Quarter, a historic neighborhood reflecting Xi’an’s long connection with the Silk Road. Walk through streets filled with restaurants, bakeries, food stalls, handicraft shops, and family businesses. Visit the Great Mosque of Xi’an, where Islamic religious traditions are expressed through classical Chinese courtyards, wooden halls, ornamental gateways, stone tablets, and landscaped gardens.

In the evening, an optional Tang Dynasty cultural performance and dumpling dinner can be arranged.

Meals: Breakfast and lunch
Accommodation: Xi’an

After breakfast, check out of the hotel and transfer to Xi’an Xianyang International Airport for your flight to Beijing. Upon arrival at Beijing Capital International Airport or Beijing Daxing International Airport, collect your luggage if required and proceed to the appropriate terminal for your connecting international flight home.

Please allow sufficient connection time for collecting and rechecking luggage, changing terminals or airports if necessary, security screening, immigration procedures, and international flight check-in. For the smoothest connection, the domestic and international flights should preferably arrive at and depart from the same Beijing airport.

Your memorable 10-day China Ancient Capitals Tour ends when you board your international flight from Beijing.

Meals: Breakfast
Accommodation: None