Beijing Central Axis Tour: Imperial Rituals & Peking Duck｜China

This tour includes a lunch featuring Peking duck. Peking duck originated centuries ago as an imperial court delicacy, later spreading among ordinary people to become a world-renowned signature dish of the capital. Peking duck is a magical dish — with every bite, you'll be delighted to find the skin wonderfully crispy, the meat tender, and the aroma simply irresistible!

Whether prepared using the slow-roasting or hanging-roasting method, the ducks are carefully selected to ensure the finished dish boasts a golden color, crispy skin, and tender meat. Just looking at it is enough to make your mouth water — it's truly worth trying!

In 2024, the Beijing Central Axis was inscribed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Stretching 7.8 kilometers from south to north, it links together the entire old city of Beijing and connects 15 heritage sites, embodying the ideal order of ancient Chinese capital planning.

This tour kicks off at Tian'anmen Square. In ancient times, Tian'anmen served as the front gate of the Imperial City along the Central Axis — the first ceremonial gateway into the imperial palace. Passing through Tian'anmen and then Duan Gate, followed by Meridian Gate (Wu Men), you'll arrive at the entrance to the Forbidden City.

Your next stop is the Forbidden City, also known as the Palace Museum. It stands as the most important architectural complex of the Beijing Central Axis World Heritage site, serving as the palace where Ming and Qing emperors governed and resided.

Then we'll head to the Temple of Heaven. Its architecture is celebrated as the peak of aesthetic achievement in ancient China. It served as an imperial altar where emperors performed rituals to pray for good harvests. Taking in the sights of its architecture, you can feel the harmony between heaven and earth that it conveys.

Next, we'll visit the Beijing Fire God Temple. First built in the 6th year of the Zhenguan era of the Tang Dynasty (632 AD), it is one of the oldest surviving temples in Beijing. Located in the northern part of Beijing's Central Axis, the temple faces the Forbidden City to the south, borders the Bell and Drum Towers to the north, and sits beside the waters of Shichahai Lake to the west. This was the only officially sanctioned Fire God Temple used by the imperial court, serving as the official site for rituals to ward off fires and pray for national peace and prosperity. You'll also see a one-of-a-kind design rooted in Five Elements feng shui: after the Forbidden City suffered repeated fires during the Ming Dynasty, the temple's roof was specifically covered with green and jade-colored glazed tiles — the color of water — to symbolically "conquer fire with water."