Meet your private guide and separate driver at your central Tianjin hotel, and travel through the bustling streets by private, climate-controlled vehicle toward the Huangyaguan Great Wall.
On route, hear all about this section of the UNESCO-listed wall, which runs for 26 miles (46 kilometers) along mountain ridges north of Tianjin. Originally constructed under the Northern Qi dynasty during the 6th century, Huangyaguan was rebuilt in the Ming era between the 14th and 17th centuries, before several miles of it were again restored between 1984 and 1986.
On arrival, walk along the steeply stepped battlements, absorbing the spectacular views over the mountains and watchtowers disappearing into the distance.
After a Chinese lunch, continue to the Dule Temple in Jixian. Hop outside with your guide and explore this exquisite temple, one of only three still surviving from China’s Liao period between the 10th and 12th centuries, and made up of some of the country’s oldest wooden buildings.
Admire the elaborate timber structures on a guided stroll, seeing the ornate entrance gate, halls, and main pavilion, with its colossal clay statue of the goddess Guanyin.
Next, travel to the Eastern Qing Mausoleums, among the best-preserved imperial tomb complexes in China. Covering an area of 31 square miles (80 square kilometers), these burial grounds house the tombs of five of China’s Qing dynasty emperors, who ruled between 1644 and 1911.
See the sacred roads, archways, halls, and pavilions of the tombs, hearing how and why they were built, and learning how they include the mausolea of empresses, princes, and even imperial concubines.
Finally, return to Tianjin, were your tour finishes with a late-afternoon hotel drop-off.
