Great Wall at Mutianyu and Sacred Way (Ming Tomb) one day tour 200 RMB p/p

Great Wall at Mutianyu

Mutianyu section of Great Wall is located in Huairou district, 70 km from downtown Beijing. The Mutianyu area to visit the wall as it is less crowded than Badaling. There are three ways to head up and down beside hiking on foot. One is the cable car, the other is a slideaway (toboggan) and the other is a chair lift. A lot of vendors will greet you on your way down. Look at their products from afar first before you get closer to them. Once you go into a shop you'll have a hard time getting away from the vendor so make sure you like what you see before you start haggling.
It was first built in Northern Qi (550-577). In Ming Dynasty, General Xu Da constructed the Great Wall on its former base. The Mutianyu Pass was built in 1404. The fortifications and the Great Wall here are featured by many watchtowers on overlapping mountain ranges. The wall, built with slabs of stone, is crenellated on both sides with bricks. The wall provides better protection and ward off attacks with Juyongguan in the west and Gubeikou in the east.
Mutianyu Great Wall works as the northern barrier defending the capital and the imperial tombs. It is a green section of the great wall in Beijing with vegetation, green pines and cypresses covering 90 per cent of the section.

Ming Tomb (sacred way)

At the southern end of the mausoleum area is a large memorial archway called Pailou. Built in 1540, it is now a monumental construction, built of white marble with five arches. Six rectangular pillars support it with beautiful bas-relief carvings (lions, dragons, lotus flowers). It is 14 metres high and 28.86 metres wide.

One kilometre north of the archway is the main gate of the mausoleum area-the main gate of the palace called the Great Red Gate. Two tablets used to be placed on both sides of the gate which said: "Dignitaries, officials and other persons arriving here must dismount from their horses."

The central entrance was reserved for the body of the dead emperor, the living emperor had to use the left entrance when he came to pay homage to his ancestors. One more kilometre north of the main gate of the palace is a stele pavilion, on the back of the stele marble was engraved resume of Zhu Di, the emperor of Chenzu of the Ming Dynasty and on the upper front was engraved characters. "Stele of Divine Merit and Sacred Virtue, Changling, Great Ming". The stele is carried on a marble tortoise, which, according to Chinese Legend, is the Son of Dragon, which the emperor called himself.

Around the Pavilion are four Ornamental Pillars built with the same mythical beast on the tops, which face either inward or outward, which means hoping the emperor not to cling to the palace or not to forget to return to the Palace to handle state affairs.

Going inward from the stele Pavilion is the 3.5 Km long Sacred Way, which means the road leading to Heaven. The emperor, known as the Son of Heaven went through the sacred road to the sacrificial altar to converse with Heaven during his reign, naturally, after his death, he would also go through the Sacred Way back to heaven.

Alongside the Sacred Way are 18 pairs of marble figures lined up in antithesis, these marble figures, sculptured from whole stones, were erected over 500 years ago, the traditional way of putting over marble figures as guard of honour in front of the mausoleum began in the Han Dynasty which signified the dignity of the emperor, symbolising the good fortune and warding off evil influence.

This Sacred Way starts with two hexagonal columns called Wang Zhu on either side, they are carved with a cloud design. Their tops are shaped like a rounded cylinder.Following this are on each side are lions, xie zhi (a mythical beast of feline family, with a mane and a horn on its head), camels, elephants, Qilin (a kind of imaginary animal with a scaly body, a cow's tail, deer's hooves and, horns on its head), horses. All six animals have two kneeling, two standing, 12 animals on each side and 24 animals in all. They were supposed to change guards at midnight.

A slight turn of the Sacred Way leads to the human statues. Even this slight turn is in conformity with the principle of Feng Shui (winds of heaven and the waters of earth). On each side stand two generals, two civil officials and two "retired" government officials, 6 on each side, and 12 in all. They are larger-than-life-size human statues.The avenue of stone animals and statues ends at Ling Xing Gate, better known as the Dragon and Phoenix Gate.The Sacred Way goes on beyond the Dragon and Phoenix Gate towards the chief tomb-Changling, Emperor Yongle's tomb.

With more than 15 years of trusted tours services, China guide is your trustworthy helper for your Beijing City's best bus tours. Beijing City has the biggest city square, the largest royal palace, unique hutongs, the fantastic Great Wall, the newest Olympic landmarks and the most immigrants of any city in China. The ultimate big city, Beijing offers a variety of activities for everyone. Take our air-condtioned city bus tour for a great overview, taking a trip to the Great Wall and visit the world famous Forbidden City. We keep the group around 10 travellers, a small group. The small nature of groups enables you to see more than conventional tours, viewing Beijing's side streets as well as the world famous sights. You have a worry-free payment for all the tours: on the spot cash payment.

Itinerary:
Price: 200RMB p/p adult; 150RMB p/p child
Departure: Daily
Duration: Approx.9 hours ( include lunch )
Pick-up at Your Hotel around 8:00am
Come back to Your Hotel around 5:00pm
Great Wall Hiking Time: 2 hours
Cable car,Toboggan: Available ( optional )
Best time to go: All year round
Distance: 70km
Payment Types: Cash

Details:
Pick up at your hotel between 7:20am and 8:30am, and then driving to Mutianyu Great Wall. Mutianyu Great Wall is known for its beautiful surroundings - dense woods and rich pastures changing colors with the seasons of a year. Mutianyu Great Wall is located in Huai Rou County on the north-east of Beijing. This section of the Great Wall is about 75 KM from the center of Beijing. As one of the best-preserved parts of the Great Wall, Mutianyu section of Great Wall used to serve as the northern barrier defending the capital and the imperial tombs. If you want to reach the highest point, cable car is a good choice (optional). Having traditional Chinese lunch at a local restaurant. After lunch, drive to the Sacred Way, part of the Ming Tombs complex. It is a long, straight path flanked by statues first of ancient government officials and then by animal. Then transferred back to your hotel in Beijing.

Reservation:
1. Please send your email to us thebeijingtour@gmail.com You are also welcome to call us at + 86-10-13552527373.
2. We will contact you soon. We even take last minute booking if time is pressing. When your booking is confirmed, you will get a confirmation email or call from us, which includes the confirmed detailed itinerary with prices.
3. Our tour guide will contact to you around 10 pm to fix the departure time for next day's travel activity. If you happen to be not in your hotel room, our tour guide will leave a message for you.
4. Please pay cash to our tour guide when you are on the tour. Both RMB and hard currency are acceptable.

Confirmation Sheet

Daily Seat-In-Coach Tours small vehicle in good condition
 Great Wall at Badaling and Ming Tomb 150 RMB p/p.
 Great Wall at Mutianyu and Ming Tomb 200 RMB p/p.
 Great Wall hiking tour from JingShanLing to SiMaTai 300 RMB p/p.
 Forbidden City ; Summer Palace and Temple of Heaven one day tour 250 RMB p/p.

Acrobatics Show Discount Price
 China Puppet Theatre Acrobatics Kingdom 60 RMB p/p.
 Tiandi Theatre 60 RMB p/p.
 Tianqiao Acrobatic Theatre 80 RMB p/p.
 Chaoyang Theatre Acrobatic show 80 RMB p/p.

Beijing Opera Show Discount Price
 Liyuan Theatre Opera show 100 RMB p/p.
 Huguang Guild Hall Opera show 100 RMB p/p.
 Forbidden Love Opera at Nationalities Culture Palace 140 RMB p/p.

Kungfu Show Discount Price
 Red Theatre Legend of Kungfu 100 RMB p/p.

Private Tours private driver and tour guide
 Great Wall at Badaling and Ming Tomb one day tour.
 Great Wall at Mutianyu and Ming Tomb one day tour.
 Great Wall from Jinshanling to Simatai hiking one day tour.
 Forbidden City; Summer Palace and Temple of Heaven one day tour.
 Mutianyu Great Wall half day tour.
 Temple of Heaven and Summer Palace one day tour.
 Hutong Tour by rickshaw.