9-Day Beijing Highlights & Confucian Culture in Shandong

Upon your arrival at the Beijing airport, your local guide will welcome you and escort you to your hotel. Rest of the day is your leisure time to explore this city on your own.

In the morning, the guide will pick you up from the hotel lobby at the appointed time to start today's tour from Tiananmen Square, and then to the Forbidden City, which shows the glorious history and luxurious setups by emperors over ancient times.

After that, enjoy Chinese lunch at a local restaurant and then continue the tour with a pearl store and a leisure walking tour in the hutongs to learn about the daily life of old Beijingers. What's more, you will also enjoy painting facial make-up of Peking Opera on a paper mask here.

Know more about amusements of the elderly locals in the Temple of Heaven, and then start for the magnificent Great Wall (Mutianyu section). Immerse yourself in this unbelievable construction from a special view via a cable car.

After breakfast, board your high-speed train to Jinan City (around 2 hours). On arrival, you will meet your guide and then be escorted to your hotel. After checking in, you could have relaxing sightseeing through the city with Daming Lake, the biggest lake in Jinan, Furong Street and Baotu Spring surrounded by historical structures.

Today, your guide will transfer you to Tai'an City for a tour of the famous Dai Temple and the holy Mount Tai including Puzhao Temple and Bixia Temple. This tour will let you feel the sacred atmosphere of Chinese religion. Before driving to the hotel, take in the charm of natural beauty from the top via cable car.

Spend about 1.5 hours being driven to Qufu City, where Confucius was born and grew into a philosopher whose philosophy greatly impacted people around the world and still linger in today's society.

In Qufu, you must see three sites, which are collectively known as "The Three Confucian". It consists of the Family Kong's Mansion, the Temple of Confucius and the Cemetery of Confucius. From these sites, you will learn more about Confucius and Confucian culture. After the tour, drive back to Tai'an.

Today, you will take a high-speed train for around 3 hours to the beautiful coastal city Qingdao. Upon arrival, you will visit the symbols of the city including Zhan Bridge, Badaguan Scenic Area and Olympic Sailing Center.

Enjoy a tour to Mt. Laoshan, a famous Taoist holy mountain where you will see lots of ancient Taoist buildings, among which Taiqing Palace is the oldest and largest one. After that, drive back to Qingdao and the rest of the day is free for you to explore this city on your own.

Today, you will enjoy some free time until your local guide and driver escort you to the airport for your flight departing from Qingdao.