Need help with Beijing Itinerary (April 25-29)

I will be in Suzhou and Shanghai for work April 11-25. At the conclusion of those obligations several of us are flying to Beijing. A person with our company in Beijing has sent us a preliminary itinerary for tours and activities for our stay in Beijing, but it seems to me that we are going to miss out on many things while spending too much time for meals. We would prefer to see or do more things and eat on the way rather than sitting down for 2 hour lunches every day.

I would really appreciate it if anyone could comment on the itinerary they sent us. Specifically, some of the times (Great Wall, Forbidden City, etc.) seem too short.

Suggested Tour Itinerary:

25 April

1830 - 2000 Arrive at PEK and transport to Holiday Inn Central Plaza Beijing

2000 - 2200 Free time to explore city

26 April

0930 Arrive at Forbidden City

0930-1130 tour in Forbidden City

1200-1300 Lunch in Heaven and Earth

1400-1700 Tour in Hutong by rickshaw and local family visit

1800-2000 Dinner in Dadong

2030-2200 Lotus Market

27 April

0830-0930 travel from hotel to Great Wall (Mutianyu)

0930-1130 tour Mutianyu Great Wall

1130-1230 travel to Meifu Mansion for lunch

1230-1430 lunch at Meifu Mansion

1430-1600 travel to hotel

1600-1700 refresh at hotel

1715-1800 tavel to Chaoyang Theater

1830-1930 Chinese acrobatic performance

1930-2030 return to hotel

28 April

0900-0930 travel to Lama Temple

0930-1100 tour Lama Temple

1100-1130 transfer to Baijia Restaurant

1200-1330 lunch time

1330-1400 travel to Summer Palace

1400-1630 tour Summer Palace

1630-1800 back to hotel

29 April

0900-0930 travel to temple of Heaven

0930-1130 tour temple of heaven

1200-1230 return to hotel

Depart afternoon 29 April

We have time to change the itinerary, but I would really appreciate help on this. The things we really have to do are:

1. Great Wall (Mutianyu)

2. Forbidden City (Mao, Tinnanamen Square, etc.)

3. Summer Palace

4. Temple of Heaven

5. See Olympic Stadiums

Our group consists of 12 people between the ages of 22 and 55. Most of us like a pretty active schedule and would rather eat a quick meal and see more places than spend 4.5 hours on a meal like suggested on 27 April. Also, we will see an acrobat show in Shanghai the previous week so this activity may not be needed.

Thank you in advance for any help with this. I am very excited to see the wonderful sites in Beijing!

Need help with Beijing Itinerary (April 25-29)

You don%26#39;t need to change the schedule that much, but could easily spend 4 hours at the Forbidden City and Summer Palace.

This itinerary cuts time for some activities short and gives too much time for other activities in order to schedule lunch!

I think you can arrange to take lunches with you--perhaps purchase sandwiches to avoid wasting a lot of time for lunch. This isn%26#39;t a Chinese solution, but Subway restaurant or a hotel deli works well for this purpose. Your tour provider could certainly arrange boxed lunches, though you may not like them.

It really isn%26#39;t convenient to get lunch at the Forbidden City or when going to the Great Wall.

There%26#39;s no need to see Acrobats again. You could check out the Kungfu show at Red Theater.

Need help with Beijing Itinerary (April 25-29)

If this is organised and paid for by work, the lunches might be part of the Chinese custom for hospitality.