A Day Inside Old Beijing

The lakes, the old lanes & the towers

The lakes · the old clock · the lanes

Your private vehicle and English-speaking guide meet you at your hotel to begin the day.

The first chapter starts at Shichahai, a historic lake district in the north-west of Beijing’s old city. Its waterways were once connected to the wider canal network, helping bring supplies into the capital and supporting the development of the surrounding neighbourhoods.

Walk beside the water and cross Silver Ingot Bridge, taking in the traditional buildings, willow-lined shores and changing views across the lakes. Your guide will introduce the relationship between water, transport and the growth of Beijing — a story that is easy to overlook when visiting the city’s better-known imperial landmarks.

Continue towards Yandai Xiejie, a historic commercial lane known for its narrow, winding layout and traditional shopfronts. Once associated with pipe shops and local trade, the street offers a glimpse into the commercial life of old Beijing.

The story then turns to time. Near the Drum and Bell Towers, discover how the sounds of drums and bells once marked the hours of the day and helped organise life in the imperial capital. The towers were not simply architectural landmarks; they were part of the city’s system of timekeeping and daily order.

The morning continues through selected hutong lanes, including the neighbourhoods around Wudaoying and Fangjia. Here, your guide helps you read the details of traditional courtyard homes — from doorways and screen walls to stone drums and the arrangement of residential spaces.

These streets are not frozen in the past. They remain part of a changing city, where traditional homes, small businesses and contemporary urban life exist side by side.

King’s Joy, Guozijian Street & the Temple of Confucius

The academy · Temple of Confucius and Imperial College

After the morning’s walk, take a well-deserved break for lunch at King’s Joy, a courtyard restaurant in the Wudaoying neighbourhood.

The restaurant’s menu centres on vegetarian Beijing cooking, offering a different perspective on Chinese food and seasonal ingredients. The standard menu is vegetarian, with a half-meat menu available on request. Please let us know about allergies and dietary preferences when booking so arrangements can be discussed with the restaurant in advance.

After lunch, continue to Guozijian Street, one of the most distinctive historic streets in old Beijing. Here, the Temple of Confucius and the Imperial College face each other across the street, bringing together two important parts of China’s intellectual and educational history.

At the Temple of Confucius, discover the ideas of the philosopher whose teachings influenced Chinese education, ethics, family relationships and public life for centuries.

Across the street, the Imperial College was once the highest institution of learning in imperial China. Its examination steles commemorate successful candidates in the imperial examination system, which offered a route into government service through scholarship.

As you explore the halls, courtyards and stone inscriptions, your guide will explain how the examination system worked, who could pursue an education and what becoming a scholar-official meant in traditional Chinese society.

The visit is not simply about admiring historic architecture. It is an opportunity to understand the ideas and institutions that helped shape Chinese society.

The courtyard afternoon — tea, craft & living traditions

The courtyard · tea, pastries and a traditional craft

The final chapter of the daytime experience is deliberately slower.

Step into a traditional courtyard setting for an afternoon of covered-bowl tea, old Beijing pastries and a hands-on cultural activity.

The courtyard offers a different way to experience the old city. Rather than looking at traditional architecture from the street, you have time to sit down, enjoy tea and learn about the customs and small rituals associated with courtyard life.

Choose one traditional craft activity, arranged in advance. Options may include painting a traditional Beijing rabbit-god figure, trying a diabolo activity or making a bamboo pinwheel.

The rabbit-god, known locally as Tu’er Ye, is a distinctive folk figure associated with Beijing. Its colourful appearance and connection with local traditions make it a particularly memorable craft to take home.

Where the courtyard host is available, the afternoon also offers an opportunity to hear stories about the house and its traditions. The intention is not to turn local culture into a performance, but to create time for conversation, participation and a more personal connection with the city.

By late afternoon, the journey has moved from the waterways that helped shape Beijing to the streets, institutions and courtyard spaces where its traditions continue to find expression.

Your private vehicle then takes you back to your hotel.

Optional evening — Peking Duck at Dadong

Available with the US$198 option

For those who would like to end the day with one of Beijing’s most recognisable culinary traditions, continue to Dadong’s Nanxincang restaurant.

The restaurant is located inside a former Ming-dynasty granary, giving the evening a setting that connects the city’s food culture with its history of grain storage and canal transport.

Settle in for a traditional Peking Duck dinner, with the duck carved at the table, accompanied by a selection of hot and cold dishes and soft drinks.

Your guide will introduce the story of Peking Duck — how the city developed its own culinary tradition and why this dish became such an enduring part of Beijing’s food culture.

It is a fitting end to a day spent exploring the many layers of the old capital: from the water that sustained it to the food that became part of its identity.