When you register, you are invited to select two tours; one from the Cultural Tour options and one from the Modern Tour options. Each tour has a limited number of places, so make sure that you register early to ensure your place on your chosen tours.
Cultural Tour Choices
THE TEMPLE OF HEAVEN
The Temple of Heaven is the most important sacrificial temple in Beijing. The emperors of the Ming and Qing dynasties visited three times a year to worship heaven and pray for good harvests.
We start our adventure by practicing some Taichi with a local master. This Chinese mind-body exercise, originating from ancient martial arts, is known as “meditation in motion,” combining slow, gentle movements, deep breathing, and mindfulness to improve strength, balance, flexibility, and reduce stress.
We then explore the geometrically perfect layout, the supremacy of the number ‘9’ as part of the temple design, and the illusion of a stairway to heaven. This temple is a treasure of ancient Chinese architectural design.
THE SUMMER PALACE
This royal summer retreat in the northwest of Beijing harmoniously blends natural landscape and man-made architecture. The most expansive and impressive of imperial gardens, it was built in the Qing Dynasty and enlarged by Dowager Empress Cixi, who spent money meant for constructing a modern naval academy on it.
Join us on a sightseeing tour exploring the 728 meter ‘Long Corridor’ decorated with 14,000 paintings each depicting an historical legend from Ancient China, and experience the serenity of the Kunming Lake from a boat.
THE FORBIDDEN CITY
The Forbidden City, the world’s largest and best-preserved imperial palace complex, is a must-see for any visitor to Beijing. First opened to the public in 1925, as during the Yuan, Ming, and Qing dynasties, entry by commoners was punishable by death. Constructed in the 15th century by 100,000 artisans and a million laborers, it is said to have 9,999 rooms, one short of the ancient Chinese number for “Divine Perfection.” Every brick and carving in the palace incorporates principles of Fengshui, the universal elements, and Yin and Yang.
Let us take a tour of where emperors held court sessions and summoned ministers in ancient times, see their living quarters, and hear about the life stories of emperors and empresses.
Modern Tour Choices
THE 798 ART ZONE
The 798 Art District, also known as the Dashanzi Art District, was built in the early 1950s by East Germans as a Soviet gift to Chinese communists. Originally, it housed the Wireless Joint Equipment Factory. When the corporation moved out, the vacant plants (including the 798 Factory) were leased.
Drawn by the area’s ordered design, convenient traffic, and unique Bauhaus architecture, many art organizations and artists rented and transformed these spaces. Over time, this area evolved into a district featuring galleries, art studios, cultural companies, and fashion shops.
Join us on a Contemporary Art Discovery tour of this area, led by a contemporary art specialist.
THE APOLLO ROBO TAXIS
Apollo Park is an autonomous driving and vehicle-road coordination application testing base built by Baidu. It constructs an intelligent connected vehicle ecosystem based on the “Vehicle-Road-Cloud-Map” technical architecture, driving the R&D and commercialization of autonomous driving technologies.
This is your chance to witness exhibitions of Apollo autonomous driving first hand and learn about their development. Now buckle up, sit back and experience the ride for yourself. Try out special features including voice activated commands, message functions and music playback.
THE XIAOMI EV HYPERFACTORY – Where an Electric Car is Produced Every 76 Seconds
From a Chinese smartphone manufacturer, to an EV Hyperfactory, Xiaomi has made great strides with large-scale investments in advanced high-precision automated inspection equipment, conducting real-time online inspections for 6 major categories of processes.
Tailor-made for the new energy sector, Xiaomi Auto Factory features six dedicated workshops, enabling the independent production of key components such as integrated die-cast rear floors and CTB (Cell to Body) batteries. Meanwhile, over 700 robots have been introduced to achieve high-quality delivery through advanced automated production.
This is your opportunity to experience first-hand what the future looks like, and take a tour of this robot led, fully automated phenomenon.
