Private Beijing Hidden Culture Day Tour: Ancient Temples, Hutong & Heritage Craft

Your guide and driver pick you up from your downtown Beijing hotel, then begin the hidden culture day tour away from crowded tourist spots.

Visit one of Beijing's best-preserved Ming-dynasty wooden temple complexes, remarkably uncrowded and free of large tourist groups. Admire original Ming architecture, exquisite carvings and Buddhist art, and watch a live performance of 500-year-old Beijing Jing Music — a national intangible cultural heritage passed down through generations of temple monks.

Enjoy lunch at a local Beijing restaurant near the temple, with options including traditional Beijing noodles, dumplings and home-style dishes. Lunch is at your own expense.

Stroll through the authentic Guozijian historic hutong area, a far quieter and more traditional old Beijing neighborhood than Nanluoguxiang. Explore the Confucius Temple and Imperial Academy, ancient China's highest educational institution, and learn about the imperial examination system and Confucian culture while wandering past traditional courtyard homes and everyday street life.

Join an intimate heritage craft workshop with a choice of cloisonné enamel painting, Peking Opera mask painting or traditional paper cutting. Learn the history of the craft from a local inheritor, and create your own handmade souvenir to take home.

The day concludes around late afternoon, with private drop-off back at your downtown Beijing hotel.