Beijing Full-day Tour

Great Wall, Hutongs & Evening Food Tour

Start Time: 7:30am End Time: Approx 8:30pm

$305 USD / adult, $290 USD / child age 4-15

Hotel pick-up & transportation included.

Entrance ticket to Great Wall included.

The Essentials:

Get a true feel for Beijing in just one day: visit the Mutianyu section of the Great Wall, sit down to a farmhouse-style meal, and walk through the hutongs for a taste of the city’s local food scene. With an expert guide leading the way, this full-day tour brings you a perfect blend of history, food, and culture that define China’s capital city.

Group Size

Small groups of 2-10 people per tour. Can be made private, by request, for an additional charge.

Start & End Locations

Hotel pick-up is available for guests staying within Beijing’s third ring road. The tour will end at our last food tour stop in the city center near Nanluoguxiang subway station.

Cancellation Policy

Reservations cancelled 48 hours or more before your tour start time are fully refundable.

Inclusions

Dietary Requests

We can accommodate the checked dietary requests on this tour. All requests must be communicated at time of booking. Visit our FAQ section for more details.

What You'll Do:

Hotel Pick-up

Hotel pick-up will be provided for guests staying within Beijing’s third ring road. Exact pick-up times will vary and be communicated 24 hours before your tour starts.

Walk Along the Great Wall of China

The Mutianyu section of the Great Wall is one of the most scenic and historically rich. Ride the cable car up to the top, where you’ll be treated to jaw-dropping views, then explore an impressive cluster of ancient watchtowers. When it’s time to head down, take the toboggan for a fun, unique ride (or opt to take the cable car back down).

Duration: approx 2.5 hours on the wall

Lunch at a Farmhouse-style Restaurant

Enjoy a local meal in a riverside restaurant featuring traditional Hui-style architecture. Located in a village near the Great Wall, it’s the perfect spot to relax and refuel with seasonal dishes like chestnut-braised pork belly and grilled rainbow trout.

Discover Beijing's Hutongs & Drum Tower

Dating back to the 12th century, these historic narrow lanes (aka Hutongs) make up the geographic center of Beijing as they spread in every direction from the Forbidden city. Stroll by foot while getting glimpses of the iconic Drum Tower through the alleyways.

Free-time duration subject to traffic conditions from the Great Wall

Taste Our Best-Selling Evening Food Tour

Wander through Beijing’s historic hutongs and dive into authentic local dishes like Beijing hotpot, hand-pulled noodles, and made-to-order pancakes, with a lot more tasty surprises along the way. It’s a food crawl that brings you into the heart of local Beijing life and cuisine.

Duration: approx 3.5 hours

Nanluoguxiang Hutong

The tour will end near this Hutong alley popular for its unique shops and bustling environment.

Plus More Surprises!

* This itinerary is subject to changes and adjustments based on daily vendor operations and availability, but it will always be fantastic.

Beijing: From Dynasties to Daily Life

Beijing has been the political, cultural, and historical capital of China for over 800 years. It’s a city where past and present collide: the Great Wall, built during the Ming Dynasty to defend the empire, stands in contrast to the modern skyscrapers, trendy cafes, and international life that shape the city now.

This is Beijing’s only  full-day tour that takes you deep into Beijing’s culinary scene. Wander the hutongs, once residences of Beijing’s elite, and taste dozens of local dishes that have shaped the city for centuries. Along the way, you’ll meet vendors and learn what makes their restaurants special to the local community.

Beijing cityscape and pagoda

Tour Highlights:

View of Great Wall

Take in panoramic views of China's Great Wall and surrounding mountains from the top.

Toboggan Sled

Ride the toboggan slide down for a fun and thrilling descent.

Locals playing cards in hutong

Stroll through Beijing’s historic hutongs, discovering popular landmarks and local life.

Guest cheers at table

Taste your way through 4+ local spots, sampling Beijing’s best street eats and iconic dishes.

Featured In:

"Top-10 Food Experience in the World"

Lost Plate Food Tours is 1 in the World by TripAdvisor

"Delving Into the Hutongs, Chopsticks at the Ready"

Beijing Hutong Evening Food Tour Featured on Washington Post

Customer Reviews:

Frequently Asked Questions:

This tour includes the following:

  • Hotel pick-up
  • Entrance, cablecar, and tobbogan tickets at the Great Wall
  • Authentic farmhouse-style lunch
  • Free time in Beijing’s Hutongs (subject to traffic time)
  • Dinner (in the form of our Evening Hutong Food Tour)
  • English-speaking expert Lost Plate guide
  • Ground transportation with driver
  • Bottled water throughout the day (plus soft drinks and beer during lunch and the evening food tour). 

The only items excluded during this tour are:

  • Hotel drop-off at the end of the day (the tour will end in the city center so you have the flexibility to stay as long as you’d like)
  • Optional gratuity for your guide and driver if you wish to give them one.

A lot! We don’t take what we eat throughout the day lightly (literally). You can expect a plentiful and varied lunch with soft drinks and/or beer. For dinner, you’ll enjoy our Evening Food Tour which includes 4 sit-down stops for authentic local food. Dinner also includes soft drinks and/or beer.

All dietary requests must be communicated at the time of booking. When booking online, you will have the opportunity to let us know if you have any dietary requirements or special requests. Please use the following information to understand if this tour is right for you.

This tour is not recommended for vegan or gluten-free travelers. Our eateries are small, family run, and very specialized, so we do our best but on this tour there just aren’t a lot of substitutes. Wheat products are featured at every stop, in sauces like soy sauce and in tour highlights like noodles and meat pies. There are no substitutes or alternatives available.

This tour also cannot accommodate severe allergies as we do not have control over the preparation for your food. Travelers that don’t eat nuts are welcome, but kitchens do use nuts and cross-contamination is possible.

If you have any questions not answered here, please contact us prior to booking.

Transportation throughout the day (including hotel pick-up, the 1.5-2 hour drive to the Great Wall, lunch, and the drive back to the city center) will be done by private van transportation. Travel is done via expressway.

Our evening food tour and free-time in the Hutongs will be by foot.

You’ll spend approximately 3 hours at the Great Wall, which includes time for riding the cable car up, walking along the wall and its watchtowers, and riding the toboggan slide down.

The evening food tour covers approximately 1.5 miles (2.5km) and takes about 3 hours, with plenty of time sitting inside restaurants between walking.

You should be prepared to deal with whatever the weather throws at us – whether it’s hot sunshine, a chilly downpour (maybe even snow in the winter), or anything in between.

There is no dress code for any of the attractions that we visit during this tour.

We recommend dressing for the weather and always have layers for varying conditions throughout the day. The Great Wall is located outside of the city, in mountainous terrain, and weather conditions can be very different than the city. Comfortable, close-toed footwear that you are used to wearing all day is also important.

All of our tours are rain-or-shine, so we suggest you dress for the weather. In rare cases of extreme weather, your guide will cancel the tour and provide a full refund.

Beijing sits at a low altitude on the North China Plain and enjoys a four-season climate characterized by hot, humid summers and cold, dry winters. Summers see most of the year’s rainfall, mainly in July and August. Winters can be very cold, windy, and dry due to Siberian air masses that move in from the north. Spring and autumn are short but generally very pleasant.

As the capital and a major metropolis, air quality can vary, with occasional periods of haze. On clear days, visibility is excellent with mountain views.

Yes, this tour can be booked privately, either for yourself or for a group or special occasion. We’ve hosted everything from birthdays and bachelor/ette parties to corporate events and school groups. Just let us know the date, time and group size, and we’ll handle the rest – including the itinerary, dietary restrictions, logistics, and even extras like birthday cakes or a bottle of bubbly.

We can accommodate groups of any size, splitting large parties into smaller groups if needed. The minimum charge for a private tour is typically equivalent to the cost of 6 adults. Typically, private tours with 6 or more people won’t incur an extra private tour fee. Contact us directly to get started!

Our child pricing is valid for ages 4 through 15. Children ages 3 and under are free.

We welcome all travelers, but ask that guests use their own judgement to determine whether this tour is appropriate without impacting the experience of other guests. We do not recommend this tour for anyone who is unable to be on their feet for 2-3 hours at a time (including on uneven surfaces and climbing stairs), or requires mobility assistance such as a wheelchair or walker.

It is important to emphasize that the Great Wall offers limited wheelchair accessibility. Guests in a wheelchair are required to navigate steep and long inclined terrain, and will not be able to travel along the wall (but can access a viewpoint at the top via cablecar).

Booking a private tour is always an option. This gives you some added flexibility during the itinerary to make sure you have extra time when needed during the day.

A photo of your passport details page will be collected prior to your tour. This is required when purchasing entrance tickets to the Great Wall. Ticketing rules at our destinations are strict, so pre-purchased tickets ensure a smooth entry without issues. 

You will also need to bring your passport with you on the day of the tour. 

Bookings canceled 48 hours or more before your tour are fully refundable (100% refund). Bookings canceled within 48 hours notice are not refundable. Tours cannot be rescheduled with less than 48 hours notice. 

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