4-Hour Private Beijing Walking Tour of the Forbidden City
4.9
346 Ratings
Beijing
Experience a deep tour of the Forbidden City with a private guide on this 4-hour walking tour. Discover the most famous parts, visit Tienanmen Square, and learn the fascinating stories behind the sacred sites.
Duration: 4 hours
Cancellation: 1 day learn more
Highlights
  • Tiananmen Square (Tiananmen Guangchang) - Please Note: Tian’anmen Square might close without advance notice due to the government activity, if this happened we will take you walk around the Square and offer commentary)

After picking you up from your hotel in Beijing, head to the Tienanmen Square directly, home to the National Museum of China. Please note this tour including tour guide meet you in the lobby of your hotel, but please pay your own transportation fee(You can choose to use a taxi(at your own expense) or walk to Tian’anmen Square. If there is anything you particularly want to see, feel free to let your guide know. The best thing about having a private guide is that the tour can be tailored to the things that interest you the most.

This tour including special skip-the-line access which help you beat the crowds and save time to explore.

Your tour will start from Qianmen (Front Gate), follow your tour guide to walk through Tiananmen Square. Get to know the the stories of the surrounding buildings.

  • National Museum Of China - These are buildings you will see from Tian’anmen Square: the National Museum of China, the Great Wall of the People, Chairman Mao’s Memorial Hall, the Monument of People’s Heroes and The Flagpole.
  • Mausoleum of Mao Zedong - Your tour guide will offer detailed explanation about these sites. Feel free to ask questions if you have.
  • Forbidden City-The Palace Museum - Follow your tour guide to pass through the south gate to the magnificent Forbidden City, a 250-acre complex of courtyards, palaces, pavilions and gardens, which served as the imperial palace for emperors and their households for more than 500 years.

The Forbidden City was the imperial palace from the Ming and Qing Dynasties. It is located in the middle of Beijing, and now houses the Palace Museum. For almost 500 years, it served as the home of emperors and their households, as well as the ceremonial and political center of Chinese government.

  • Meridian Gate (Wu Men) - Enter the Forbidden City from the South Gate -Meridian Gate. In the Forbidden City you will explore the most important buildings and courtyards.
  • Hall of Union - Then continue to check out the living quarters in the palace: Hall of Union, Hall Heavenly Purity, Hall of Union and Hall of Earthly Tranquillity.
  • Hall of Great Harmony (Taihe Dian) - Stroll around the courtyards and halls of the Forbidden city with your tour guide, and learn the histories and stories about this massive palace. You will visit these buildings inside the Forbidden City.

Hall of Great Harmony where the emperor handle states affairs.

  • Hall of Preserving Harmony (Baohedian) - Hall of Central Harmony and Hall of Preserving Harmony. The Hall of Heavenly Purity, The Hall of Union, The Hall of Earthly Tranquility and the Imperial Garden.
  • The Imperial Garden of The Palace Museum - Your tour will ends at the north gate, you can choose to explore more of the Palace on your own, or your tour guide will help you to get taxi to your next destination. (at your own cost)
What's Included
  • Hotel pickup (excluding transportation fee to Tian’anmen Square)
  • Exclusive private tour experience
  • Expert guidance from a professional tour guide
  • All entrance fees included
What's Not Included
  • Transportation to the Forbidden City
  • Hotel drop-off
  • Gratuities
  • Additional entrance fee to the museums
Additional Information

Seeking an immersive exploration of the Forbidden City alongside a dedicated guide? Embark on this 4-hour walkabout where you will tour the most iconic sections of the Forbidden City. Take a stop at the Tienanmen Square. Traverse from the majestic Hall of the Supreme Harmony - the emperor’s official workspace, to The Garden of Mental Cultivation - the regal sleeping chambers. This exhaustive tour comprehensively narrates the tales behind the hallowed spots of the Forbidden City. The tour package includes a coveted skip-the-line pass, which helps you bypass long queues, thus saving time for exploration.

  • A current valid passport is required on the day of travel
  • Passport name, number is required at time of booking for all participants
  • The Forbidden City in winter closes at 4:30pm (1st of Nov - 31st of March), in summer at 5:00pm (1st of April -31st of Oct), please arrange your start time accordingly
  • Please Note: When making a booking, please provide the tour operator with your desired pick up time at “special requirement”, your tour operator will also contact you just in case
  • The visit to Tiananmen Square is not guaranteed, it might be closed due to the government events.
Location
Tiananmen Square (Tiananmen Guangchang)
West Changan Street, Dongcheng District,
Cancellation Policy

For a full refund, cancel at least 24 hours before the scheduled departure time.

Customer Ratings
4.9
(346 Ratings)
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Willi151
Jun 1, 2024
Unforgettable Forbidden City Tour with Miko! - Miko is an exceptional guide for the Forbidden City in Beijing! His profound knowledge and engaging storytelling brought the history and architecture to life. Friendly, attentive, and highly organized, Miko ensured a smooth and memorable experience. His passion and warm personality made the tour truly special. Highly recommend Miko for an outstanding and insightful visit to the Forbidden City. Five stars!
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Y1087ahjavierg
May 28, 2024
Highly recommended if you want to optimize your time in Beijing - Miko was our tour guide and all the information provided before/during/after the tour was very helpful. His good command of English is a big plus and we really enjoyed our tour with him.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Explore58465803392
May 27, 2024
Private walking tour of forbidden city and Tiananmen Square - We came as a family, on a private walking tour with Sophie to the forbidden city and Tiananmen Square. In awe of the forbidden city, and we thoroughly enjoyed the tour with Sophie’s very insightful knowledge of the place! Would spend a full day touring the place and listening to the history and stories by Sophie. Highly recommend, thank you again Sophie.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
484mattim
May 27, 2024
Great walking tour in impressive settings - Great tour and great, professional tour guide (Miko). Much to see and I learned a lot about current day and historical China.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Aspine67
May 25, 2024
Great tour with Licia - Licia was my guide and we spent a good four plus hours together. She has strong knowledge of the Forbidden City and it was great fun walking through the compound with her. Her English is excellent and we had a nice chat. It was a rainy day but she took excellent care of me, helping to hold the umbrella over me when I took photos and also took photos of me. We later discovered a mutual love for Chinese tea so she brought me to a tea house to learn more and taste different types of tea. I appreciated that she also took the trouble to double check the terminal for my flight to make sure the driver was dropping me off at the right airport terminal after the tour. The agency driver Jason was super and also took great care of me. Thank you Licia for a wonderful first tour of Beijing for me. I’ll be back!
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Jessi06
May 20, 2024
Jay was great! - This was a great tour. Jay did a fantastic job. He was friendly, kind and very knowledgeable! He had great shortcuts to get away from the crowds as much as possible. Overall a great experience!
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Gregde3768pt
May 20, 2024
Amazing Tour with Maria - We highly recommend this walking tour of the Forbidden city and Tiananmen Square. We were very lucky to have Maria as our tour guide, ask for her because she is super. Maria picked us up from our hotel promptly and then we proceeded on the tour. Maria was very friendly, funny, relaxed and gave great insight into the history and various themes of all the historical sights. Maria also spoke perfect English. Thanks Maria.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
G5836vstomd
May 15, 2024
Miko is the GOAT - Miko was a fantastic guide. Knowledgeable, personable, and a great sense of humor! Miko is the GOAT tour guide - highly recommend!!
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Angela_d
May 13, 2024
Fun tour and convenient - Jay was our guide and gave an excellent tour of Tiananmen and the Forbidden City. We got an early start which helped us avoid a lot of crowds and the hotter parts of the day. We chose to go up to Jingshan park afterwards since it was a nice day. Jay also gave us recommendations for places to eat and do afterwards, which was great. The tickets to the Forbidden City sell out really quickly, so we were glad to have the agency manage all the ticket acquisition. Communication over WeChat was also very efficient.
Review provided by Viator
Afg9397
May 12, 2024
10/10 experience in TiananMen and Forbidden City - Beyond all our expectations, Miko our guide made us navigate Tiananmen and the Forbidden City, making us wanting know more and more about the history behind it. Thanks Miko! Even very attentively, he brought water for all of us :)
Review provided by Tripadvisor
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up to 15 guests
1 Adult
June 2024
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