Meet your personal guide and driver upon pickup from your centrally located hotel in Beijing. You'll depart in the morning for the World Heritage–listed Ming Tombs, located about 1 hour away.
On arrival, walk with your guide along a portion of the Spirit Way, a 4.5-mile (7-km) path leading to 13 tombs where emperors of the Ming Dynasty were buried. Note the impressive sculptures of guardian animals and officials lining the route. Then hop back in your private vehicle to reach the 15th-century mausoleum called Chang Tomb, a 30-acre (12-hectare) complex considered the largest and best preserved of the Ming Tombs.
Next up is the roughly 1-hour drive to another UNESCO site, the Great Wall at Mutianyu. You're provided with lunch at a nearby restaurant before you have about 2 hours to explore this fully restored section with your guide. Hike 30 minutes by foot, or make an easier ascent with an included round-trip cable car or chair lift ride (or you can take the toboggan down).
Snap photos of the scenic surroundings: dense woods and rich pastures that change colors with the seasons. The Mutianyu Great Wall winds along to the crest of a mountain before turning sharply and dipping downhill. Then relax on the 2-hour drive back to Beijing.
