Beijing Central Axis Walk

Beijing central "axis" is interpreted as a royal line. The emperors in ancient China believed that they were the center of the world, so all of their palaces should be built on the axis or alongside the center from south to north of Beijing. As the core of old Beijing city, the Central Axis of Beijing also show us the ingenious urban planning in the Yuan, Ming and Qing dynasties, as well as China today.

Now the Central Axis of Beijing is on the tentative list for UNESCO cultural heritage, which was submitted in Sept 01, 2013 by National Commission of the People's Republic of China for UNESCO . The Central Axis of Beijing is 7.8km long from Yongdingmen Gate in the south and Bell Towert in the north. This 3-4 walking tour starts from Qianmen Street in the mid-axis instead of the southern tip of Yongdingmen Gate and ends at Drum and Bell Towers (3.5km).

We improvise the walking tour with you. The 3-4 hour walking tour may include the following tentative itinerary:

• Qianmen Street, the renovated old commercial street

• Tiananmen Square

• Nanchizi Street and Beichizi Street

• The photogenic Forbidden City Turret and Moat

• Walk alongside Jingshan Park

• Jingshan West Stree

• Dinganmen Inner Street

• Dinganmen Outer Street

• Shichahai (Houhai - Back Lake)

• Yandai Xiejie (one of the capital's oldest hutongs)

• Drum and Bell Towers

Just a reminder

People who are browsing Beijing Central Axis Walk are also interested in the following walking tours:

Old Beijing Walking Tour

Modern Beijing Walking Tour

Traditional Beijing Walking Tour

Traditional and Trendy Beijing Walk

Important Reminder

1. As for pick-up point, at present we include the pickup points ( your hotel or residential place ) within the East 3rd Ring Road, North of the Temple of Heaven, West Second Ring Road and North 3rd Ring Road. You'll pay for the transfer from your hotel to the starting point (subway, bus or taxi) escorted by our tour guide.

2. We provide one English speaking tour guide for each traveling party.

3. The 3-4 hour tour does not include visits that can be easily done by yourself like the Forbidden City, Bell Tower and Drum Tower. Those big attractions take 1 to 4 hours each.

4.If it is necessary to visit some of those places during one of our tour, entrance tickets have to be paid by you and the time to visit those places will be part of the time of the walking tour.

5. For payment and cancellation policy, please refer to our Terms & Conditions .

What you should bring

1. Sun glasses, your camera and your best smile

2. Wear comfortable shoes!

3. Don't wear expensive jewellery overtly.

4. During summer (Between May and October): sun block

5. For spring and autumn, the weather changes daily: a windproof jacket and an additional sweater

6. For winter (between November and April): you will need thick winter clothes (gloves,beanie woolen hat, scarf, winter sweater and long underpants).