Beijing China
China

14 Cruises availables At departure or passage at this port

Avalon Waterways (14 Cruises)


Frequently Asked Questions

At the Tianjin international cruise terminal. Beijing has no port: nearly two and a half hours of road separate the gangway from Tiananmen Square. It will be a long day, and you should know that before booking.
Eight to nine hours in total, of which only four or five are on the ground. The rest is driving. So give up on seeing everything and build one coherent programme, ideally booked before you sail.
Rarely. Wall and palace seldom fit into one day: you have to choose. Three formulas dominate: the imperial heart, the Great Wall, or the Beijing of the lanes by pedicab.
Five centuries of Chinese history laid out over nearly a kilometre from south to north: paved courtyards, yellow glazed roofs and throne halls. Even at walking pace the scale impresses, and bronze lions, sundials and dragon-headed spouts reward those who linger.
A colossal structure snaking from ridge to ridge until it vanishes into haze. The restored sections near Beijing offer watchtowers, steep staircases and views of blue-grey mountains. The effort varies with the stretch your excursion chooses.
A rotunda of deep blue timber south of the city, a Ming masterpiece where emperors prayed for the harvest. Its parks fill from dawn with card players, water calligraphers and dancers, a spectacle that rivals the monuments.
Narrow lanes lined with courtyard houses, best seen by pedicab. They open a window onto a domestic Beijing the palaces never show: mahjong games on the pavement, birdcages hung in the trees, the smell of sesame frying.
Good shoes, water and a valid passport for the formalities, whichever programme you choose. Walking distances inside the imperial sites are considerable and shade is scarce in the courtyards.
Distinctly, and some itineraries allow it. The capital can then be approached without watching the clock, with an evening to try Peking duck at a well-known house. One day is obviously not enough.
Often the in-between moments rather than the monuments: a bowl of noodles in a lane, kites above the squares, bicycles loaded with improbable cargo, tea served scalding even in high summer.