Beijing One Day Hutong Essence Tour, Beijing Hutong,

Pick up from your hotel around 9:00am. First drive to Shichahai bar area . Shichahai area is a centraly preserved zone showcasing the life of old Beijing. It is comprised of three-lake area: Qian Hai Lake, meaning Front Sea; Hou Hai Lake, meaning Back Sea and Xi Hai Lake, meaning Western Sea. Lots of bars are clustered in the Shichahai area or along the Shichahai Lakeshore. Then take a a boat cruising on the Shichahai Lake for 40 minutes. The local boat company uses the boats which are 7 meters in length and 1.7 meters in width. It is made in line with the old Chinese Traditional painting dating to the Song Dynasty 800 years ago. All the boats are paddled by the boatmen who wear in yellow vests and bamboo hats. You also have the chance to get a close view of the local people's daily life on the banks while enjoying the sweet tune from the Chinese stringed and woodwind instruments played by the ladies on the bow of boats. After the boat tour, take a pedicab to visit Da Jinsi Hutong Tao , the most famous hutongs keeping the original layout. In the course of the hutong tour, you are arranged to visit Mr.Dacheng Bai, a local folk craftsman, famous for making " Zongren Bai ", a traditional "Zongren", a kind the figurines of drama characters made from the hair of a pig or a horse, cloth and silk, listed a city-level intangible cultural heritage in Beijing. Then move on to Prince Gong's Mansion . It was once the private living place of He Shen, a favorite minister of Emperor Qianlong of the Qing Dynasty (1644-1911), it was first constructed in 1777. In 1851, the mansion was offered to Prince Gong by Emperor Xianfeng (1851-1862), hence the name. Now it is the most well preserved mansion in Beijing. You have a typical Chinese lunch at an ordinary family courtyard home . After lunch, you will have a hand-on experience with Beijing Opera make-up and performance learning! Our Beijing Opera master will give a brief presentation of Beijing Opera's history, acting methods etc. You will be taught to how do the make-up. Finally our Beijing Opera master will offer 15 minutes' performance on the spot. After learning Beijing opera , you are arrange to visit a local nursery . Then drive to Drum Tower dating from 1420, ascending the big drum tower and having bird's eye view of the surrounding communities of hutongs and siheyuan. Whole day tour ends, you are returned to your hotel.