We only had one weekend in Beijing and a bucket list wish to have Yoga photos taken on the Great Wall and the toboggan ride down. After searching through reviews and customizable tours we picked this tour company. It certainly did not disappoint.
All of our requests were handled professionally and without issue. Our guide Yelu was an English major at university, so she spoke English very well. Our driver was top-notch as well, but I’m sorry for forgetting his name.
One party in our group of 2 had flown in from Guangzhou the night before, and the other had to take the sleeper train from Shanghai. She needed transportation from the train station to the hotel, so that was the first customization we did. I was able to call to speak to the tour operator a couple of days before to make these arrangements. We also asked that she have time to take a shower at the hotel before starting our tour. They were so accommodating, and we left on our tour at 9 am rather than the usual 8:30.
We had chosen the Great Wall at Mutianyu because that is the location of the toboggan ride down, but also has some spectacular views that do not disappoint. The Summer Palace was our afternoon activity. These were the furthest things from the hotel so got them out of the way our first day.
The tour we booked included all admission fees except the Dragon boat at the Summer Palace (which was only 15 CNY so not much). We had all the bottled water we wanted and a fabulous lunch at an authentic Chinese restaurant also included in the tour price. Our guide pre-ordered to save us valuable tour time.
We spent more time than usually allotted at the Wall because of the Yoga pose photography. Our guide was more than happy to take all the pictures we asked her to. She was very knowledgeable and fun to be with.
We took the ski lift up and the toboggan down and I would highly recommend this. It was a blast.
The Summer Palace would not have been the same without our guide. She gave us information about the history and buildings we were seeing. The dragon boat across the lake was enjoyable and offered views that were not seen from the paths.
We chose not to spend too much time there and this allowed us to return at the normal tour return time, even with our later lunch stop.
Both of these attractions are top things in Beijing to see. I highly recommend Discover Beijing tours as the company that will customize your trip the way you like.
Pauline
Kingston Canada
