Picked by our tour guide at your hotel between 8am to 1pm or meet the guide at the meeting point at 7:40am or 13:00 pm. Then head to Tiananmen Square, the largest public square of this kind in the world. Located in the heart of Beijing City, it is the site for massive parades and rallies.This was the site when in 1949, from a rostrum on Tiananmen (the Gate of Heavenly Peace), Chairman Mao proclaimed the establishment of the People's Republic of China. For security reason, Tiananmen Square is a fenced square circled by low iron grids with main four entrances – east, west, south and north. The square is now open to the public till sunset, but all the tourists have to pass a security check before they enter the square. So check points have been set up at all the entrances leading to the square.
Have a glimpse at the outside of Memorial Hall of Chairman Mao, the Monument to the People's Heroes, the magnificent Great Hall of the People, the National Museum of China, the ancient Zhengyang Gate and Arrow Tower as well as the Tiananmen Tower which leads to the well-known Forbidden City.
Then move on to the Imperial Palace, also known as the "Forbidden City" , the largest and best-preserved ancient imperial palaces group with 500 years history. We will buy ticket in advance to skip the line. The palace was built between 1406 and 1420, but was burnt down, rebuilt, sacked and renovated countless times, so most of the architecture you can see today dates from the 1700's and onwards. You will have a highlight tour of the Forbidden City. Afterward, you will end the tour at the north exit of Forbidden City. Please feel free to ask tour guide help you to get taxi or bus to your own next destination. Note: A current valid passport is required on the day of travel.
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Booked a combination tour Tiananmen sq and forbidden city. We were not informed before the trip that the sq was not open to the public despite us booking this combination not long before. Expected the audio tour to be more historical. Spent a lot of time in queues and waiting. The individual ticket entrance would have been a lot quicker. Picked up more interesting facts from other groups.
Guide was excellent.. Lydia.
We had a wonderful morning with our guide, Lydia and a group of travellers. Lydia helped us all make our way seamlessly through the many checkpoints to get into Tiananmen Square and the Forbidden City. While it was a long walk, it was mostly flat and there were stops built in to the tour where people could have a break, explore other own or get a drink. Lydia also know where all the bathrooms were. Lydia’s English was great and she was very knowledgeable about all of the places that we visited. I’d highly recommend this tour.
The half day walking tour was fantastic and Bobo my guide was exceptional!! Even though it was raining the whole time her knowledge and enthusiasm made the history come alive so I hardly noticed how wet I was!! A memorable day. Thank you Bobo!
This tour was amazing, very exhaustive and our tour guide Bobo was the greatest. Definitely recommend!
Wendy is the best!! Highly recommend. Did a solo tour and it was super comfortable and engaging. Go early in summer to beat the heat and crowds!
Execellent half day trip to these amazing sites. Jeffrey is a very knowledgeble and experienced guide and planned very well the visiting of the famous landmarks despite the busy times . It was a very informative and pleasant trip and I enjoyed it very much!
It was a small group of 4 We were picked up at a good location and everything went smoothly Sophia was great well informed and took us at our pace. Definitely recommend.
Fantastic trip for the day. We chose this as our day 1 trip to get up and used to the time change after a long flight. Lucy was amazing as she kept our group together and taught us about the history of the forbidden city as well as recent discoveries. She had a good sense of humour as well which made the trip even more fun. I would recommend this trip if you wish to learn about the history of the forbidden city but to also stretch your legs and get moving for the day.
Thorough and excellent forbidden city tour, however we only drove past the Tianmen square and did not enter as expected, which was a little disappointing. We were told this is due to significant lines at the square to enter. We will have to book a trip to the square soon.
Covered the history of the forbidden city with knowledge and enthusiasm. Well structured, and most helpful in signposting us to our onward destination.
Tour was nice, could be a bit shorter though. Great guide, all thanx to Marco who spoke very good english and provided us with a lot of useful and funny informations.
Our tour guide Lisa was great! She picked us up from our hotel in the morning, helped us navigate the hectic lines and security at Tiananmen Square, provided historical insight at the Forbidden City, and took us on a nice stroll through Jingshan Park! A very enriching experience
Had a tour with Sofia! She did a great job telling us about the history of that Forbidden city.
Marco did a great job making the history of the forbidden city come to life. He was able to answer my questions and adjusted the focus based on my areas of interest
This was my favorite private tour of my entire trip! Linda was amazing and went above and beyond to make us feel comfortable and made it an enjoyable experience! She’s extremely helpful and knowledgeable! Made our experience unforgettable!! Highly recommend this tour!
A nice walking tour of the Forbidden City! Nice guide, very knowledgeable and humorous. We had a great time!
Nancy was an excellent guide! She was knowledgeable and very helpful. The tour was a great way to tick off these 2 big tourist attractions. Highly recommend
We started with a tour of the Forbidden city and finished at Tian’anmen Square. If we didn’t have Marco we would’ve been completely lost with the security checks and even getting a ticket. He took care of all of that for the group which meant it ran smooth. The tour was informative and Marco’s English is excellent. He explained everything thoroughly and made sure we understood and had time to ask questions. He was very friendly and approachable to ask and clarify information. He made sure we had regular breaks and opportunities for photos. The tour lasted around 3 hours for the Forbidden City and we were taken to all the main palaces inside. Once we finished there we headed over to Tian’anmen Square and again we relied on Marco to help us with the checks. He gave a tour around the square. I would recommend going in the afternoon to the square as the queues can be so long. But in the afternoon they are much better. Marco gave us some tips for restaurants in Beijing which was a great way to finish the tour. Super happy we had him for the day. Thank you Marco for a great day!
Marco took such wonderful care of us! Even though we arrived a little late to the tour, he kindly accommodated us and made sure we didn’t miss out. At the end, he even stayed back to show us Tiananmen Square, which was such a special bonus. His knowledge and insights are truly unmatched. We feel so grateful and fortunate to have experienced everything we did, despite our late start. Thank you, Marco, for making it such an incredible and memorable experience!
We had an outstanding experience with our tour guide, Marko! Despite our delayed arrival due to travel difficulties, he patiently waited for us and immediately put us at ease before starting the tour. His deep knowledge of the Forbidden City and Tiananmen Square brought the sites to life in a way we never could have experienced on our own. Marko went above and beyond to make the tour engaging, insightful and stress-free. We couldn’t have asked for a better guide and highly recommend him!
Marco was a wonderful tour guide who went above and beyond for our walking tour. He was incredibly knowledgable, answered all of our questions, and had a great sense of humour. We took breaks based on the group's energy levels, and the tour itself was at the perfect pace. We would love to have Marco as a tour guide any day in the future, and we highly recommend this tour! Lily was also incredibly helpful in organising the tour and sorting out our logistics behind the scenes. We really enjoyed our time and would encourage anyone to purchase this deal!
It was unfortunate that the Tiananmen Square was closed but we still had a great tour. Nancy was fun and nice, also very knowledgeable.
This trip was very worth it, despite the intense summer heat. In hindsight, we’d have brought umbrellas… or simply would have visited in a milder season. Marco, our guide, was the best. He shared very interesting commentary, made sure our group had some rest in the shade sometimes, and gave extra help with how to check in luggage before the visit to the Forbidden City. We had a great day!
We did this half day tour on 27th July 2025. We cannot recommend it enough. We were met by the guide, Lucy, in our hotel lobby, Grand Hyatt Beijing, and then taken in a new air-conditioned Minivan to as close as one can get to Tiananmen Square in a vehicle. We were then shown the Square and went straight from there to the Forbidden City. There was nothing Lucy did not know. Her English was impeccable. Having such a knowledgeable guide really enhanced our enjoyment of these amazing sites. Due to an event outside everyone's control we needed to amend our booking slightly and Lily was incredibly helpful and facilitated this modification painlessly. This company and their guides are amazing. Don't hesitate- just book with them. You won't regret it.
Huang was amazing tour was very interesting and he had very good stories about everything. Knowledge about everything we saw
Summer made a difference for us as she is knowledgeable about the great history of of Tiananmen and the Forbidden City. In particular the daily ins & outs of the Emperor, Mother Empress and the entire layout of the Square, about the founder Maio, the residences of the past, present rulers. We particularly enjoyed the Imperial Garden.
Marco is a really excellent tour guide, giving us a great depth of history of the life and culture of the Forbidden City and Beijing in a friendly, clear and sometimes amusing way and at just the right speed. Perfect!
Jeffrey was a great guide, very knowledgeable and enthusiastic about sharing the history of the places we visited. His suggestion of a restaurant for the famous Peking Duck was fantastic! Thanks for a great tour Jeffrey!
We've had a lovely day. Our guide Rita gave us a lot of information (in a very good English), not only about Tiananmen Square and the Forbidden City, but also historical and sightseeing ones. I highly recommand this tour, thank you Rita for your professionalism and kind way of introducing us in the greatness of the China present and past events!
Great tour by William! Very knowledgeable and kind! His English was the best of all our tours! Keep it up
Very amazing and insightful tour!! Forbidden city is lovely and Maggie our tour Guide gave us so much information. Highly recommend!
We received an amazing tour by the wonderful Lisa. She was able to tell us all the ins and outs about the tiananmen Square, surrounding bullings and forbidden city. We had a great connection and after the tour she gave us a good suggestion for a restaurant.
We had an excellent experience with the day tour in Beijing with the guide Jeffrey, who was super attentive and explained all the details of the Forbidden City, Lama Temple and Tiananmen Square. Congratulations Jeffrey and thank you very much for all your help. Hugs
Everything went according to schedule and the visit was amazing. Our guide Jeffrey was very helpful If you want to visit all the palace you need all day
What an amazing place to visit. Lydia was professional and knowledgeable and showed us the main sights. The timing in the afternoon fit our plans perfectly. Really enjoyed the tour
Jerry, my tour guide, was absolutely amazing. He was full of knowledge, was so kind and very attentive. I had time restrictions for my tour, as I had a flight later in the afternoon, and he managed to show me so much- including the Forbidden City- both quickly but also diligently. He was also amazing at ensuring I got to the airport on time. Thank you Jerry, I will be back!
Our tourguide Jun was a great tour guide. He was perfectly on time, was really helpful and provide lots of information. More over, he's english skills are very good and he provided other activities as well. We would definitivly again. Thank you for this great trip.
Amber was a perfect guide for the Forbidden City! I really enjoyed his deep knowledge in Chinese history and art.
Walking the Tiananmen Square and Forbidden city was incredible. Having Lucy as mi guide made all the difference, she is great. Totally recommend this experience.
We really enjoyed the walking tour of Tiananmen Square and the Forbidden City. Our tour guide Jerry was great.
It's a very good experience. Tour guide Jerry was quite knowledgeable and informative. He was also friendly and ready to help with everything. I was recommended for this tour. Thanks, Anucha
Thaís is a must do tour in Beijing!!! We had an amazing morning with our guide, his name is Deeper, who showed and told us a lot about Chinese Culture and Chinese History! And the whole process was much easier with him!!! I have no doubt that is the best option to visit the Tiananmen Square and the Forbidden City, that are the central part of Beijing!!!! I strongly recommend this Tour!!!
Jeffery is very kind and professional.Arrived on time, makes good cell phone contact and knowledgeable about tour. Recommended.
Jeffrey, local guide met me in the hotel and pick me up. Jeffrey walked thought all security checks and took care for the tickets. Jeffrey has a very good knowledge, very kind person, I enjoyed very much the tour, highly recommended!!
I met Kevin and we started our visit from Tiananmen square, then we continued in Forbidden City. I visited really beautiful places in the beautiful chinese atmosphere, with perfect explanations and a very kind guide! Recommended.
Jeffrey was a great tour guide who explained Chinese history along the way starting from hotel pickup to Tiananmen Sq to forbidden city. It is normally nearly impossible to arrange Forbidden City tickets but his travel agency did it for us and he went to stand in line to get the tickets from the ticket window while we waited in the shade. He was also very attentive to explaining history to my 10 year old who only spoke English. Great service.
Private tour with very well prepared guide Lucy, who spoke English very good and walked me through the history of Beijing and the Forbidden City. Highly recommend if, like me, you only have few hours to visit the city.
What a fabulous day, very interesting.Definitely suitable for all ages. The lunch was delicious, I would recommend trying the local dishes.Jerry was an excellent guide, gave a lot of great historical information and was so kind to give me the opportunity to even practice my Mandarin skills! Will definitely return for other activities and tours again!
When I arranged the tour from home, I read the hotel pickup and drop off which appealed to me, but after booking with the details of my hotel disclosed as required by the booking, I was told they would charge me an extra 300 Yuan for the hotel pickup, and when I asked about being returned to the Hotel, I was told buy Lillys Tours I would have to pay 450 Yuan for pickup and drop off back to my Hotel. When I checked after the first message was sent, they had already deducted the money from my account, so with the timing, and them having already deducted the money, I went ahead with it. The drivers spoke no English which made the long drive a bit awkward and their driving was very aggressive as merging lanes were not allowed to merge by the driver who honked his horn at them and the drivers rolled down the windows versus using the air conditioning which with one of my kids suffering from Asthma and my not being able to communicate this to the driver, made the trip a bit more uncomfortable than necessary. The air in Beijing near the Forbidden city is quite bad, and toward the end of the half day tour, even I was starting to develop a cough. I do recommend seeing the great wall which is in a better area and quite Beautiful in places with quite good air. The Tour guide is very good and very informative . If they could support their service with good transportation in and out of the city ,as most people who chose to arrange a tour online from other countries as they lack a Chinese bank account to pay electronically in china via Wechat or the DIDI(the Chinese taxipay app they use), they would have a completely good service, but at the moment, not so good. *Offering a pickup but not a return doesn't make sense to me.
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