Hutongs Tours in Beijing

A tour of Beijing's hutongs will give you an insight into the daily life of the residents of the historic district. On this type of tour, you will have the opportunity to walk through the narrow, ancient alleys that make up the hutongs while listening to fascinating stories about the residents and their culture.

This experience becomes one of the best things to see and do in Beijing, as you will also visit the siheyuan which are the traditional houses of the hutongs. Moreover, it is the perfect place to experience the authentic gastronomy in the local restaurants.

On this small group tour you will travel in a private tuk-tuk while being offered unlimited beer and soft drinks. Together with your tour guide you will explore the back alleys of the huts in North Sutra to escape the traditional paths.

When booking a tuk tuk food tour you will also go to a popular local brewery to enjoy the best craft beer in town. There you will learn about the brewing process and what makes it truly special to Beijingers.

You can sample the best local food at small family-run businesses frequented by locals, cook your own barbecue at a steakhouse, savor the best homemade Beijing noodles and wrap up delicious desserts.

Details of interest

• Price: from 65 euros per person.
• Duration: about 3 hours and a half.
• Means of transport: the whole tour is completed by tuk tuk.

In Beijing, the gastronomic experience goes beyond the typical tourist markets full of insects and meat on sticks. If you want to enjoy authentic local food, I recommend joining this small group food tour, which will take you to explore the traditional hutong district.

There you will taste traditional dishes and learn about the history and culture of the city as you enter the alleys full of local life.

You will visit the local Mijiu modern brewery and taste six cups of handmade rice wine. Then you will go to Guijie Street or Ghost Street, one of the most popular snack streets in the city and end one of the best food tours in Beijing.

Details of interest

• Price: about 74 euros per person.
• Duration: about 3 hours.
• Means of transport: part of the tour is by private transport and part on foot.
• Advantages of this option: bottled water is included throughout the tour and entrance fees to all the places you will visit.

On this tour you will go to know the main points of interest of the city with the help of a private guide who will adapt to your needs. You will get to know:

• The Forbidden City
• The Great Wall of China
• The alleys in oriental carriage
• The Lama Temple, among other highlights.
• A show with world famousChinese acrobats.
• Various shopping places in the Hutongs.

In the midst of this one of the best tours in Beijing you will be able to try a variety of food options in Beijing, from Szechuan dishes to traditional styles such as Southern, Pekingese and Dim Sum.

Interesting details

• Price: about 100 euros per person.
• Duration: about 8 hours.
• Means of transport: the whole trip is completed by private car.
• Disadvantages of this option: food and drinks are not included in the price. Tips and entrance fees to the places you will visit during the tour are not included either.

One of the most authentic experiences you can have is to take a tour through the history of the city through its narrow and picturesque streets, and what better way to do it than in a traditional oriental rickshaw.

You will be able to enjoy the sights of the old Beijing that still exists for millions of people. Right after that you will walk to the Drum Tower, which you can climb to enjoy panoramic views of ancient Beijing.

After descending from the Drum Tower, you will have a chance to stop for a short break to rest and chat with a real Chinese family and learn about their daily life. You will also pause to enjoy a nice refreshment at a local tea house. It's an experience that pairs nicely with the Beijing sightseeing bus activity.

Details of interest

• Price: from 49 euros per person .
• Duration: about 3 hours.
• Means of transport: the whole trip is done in the traditional rickshaw.

The tour will start early in the morning, when your tour guide will pick you up from your hotel or accommodation site to take you straight to the Panda House at the Beijing Zoo, where you can see the adorable giant pandas. Afterwards, you will visit Olympic Green and have time for a photo session outside Water Cube and Bird's Nest.

To continue the tour, you'll head straight to Yongle Lama Temple, a Tibetan Buddhist monastery dating back more than 300 years.

Midway through the day you'll sample a traditional Chinese lunch and continue the tour by exploring the hutongs, a maze of historic alleys flanked by traditional houses that are now rapidly disappearing. Even on this tour you can learn Chinese calligraphy or how to cut Chinese paper.

Details of interest

• Price: about 153 euros per person.
• Duration: about 8 hours.
• Means of transportation: the whole experience is done in a private air-conditioned vehicle.
• Advantages of this option: all entrance fees to the sites visited are included.

The Olympic Park, home of the 2008 games, has attracted worldwide attention and on this tour you will go to the National Stadium known as the "Bird's Nest" due to its impressive architecture.

After strolling through Beijing's sporting arena, you will explore the city's ancient streets on an exciting rickshaw tour. With this tour you will enjoy the city life as you stroll through narrow streets and quaint bungalows.

Doing this tour will definitely allow you to see the most authentic parts of the city and really discover the old Beijing.

Interesting details

• Price: about 139 euros per person.
• Duration: about 7 hours approximately.
• Means of transport: you will go in an air-conditioned minivan.
• Advantages of this option: you will be offered a Chinese-style lunch and will be accompanied by a professional guide. In addition, round-trip transportation to and from your accommodation is included.

On this bike tour of Beijing you will ride through the different hutongs of the city, where you will not only learn about the history of the city, but also visit teahouses and galleries to appreciate the antiquity of the city.

Your bike tour will include visits to traditional courtyard houses hidden behind high walls. Your guide will be in charge of explaining the details of the hutongs and their houses, as well as showing you different unique attractions, while you cycle, such as lesser-known temples and parks where locals spend their time chatting.

You will also visit one of the old courtyard houses to get a better idea of the old stone walls and aristocratic architecture.

Details of interest

• Price: about 182 euros per person.
• Duration: about 3 hours.
• Means of transport: the whole tour is completed by bicycle.

On this 3-hour walking tour of the city you will see Beijing's meandering huts in the Nanluoguxiang district, the glittering canals of Houhai Lake and the amusement parks that come alive at night.

Together with your local guide you'll go for a walk through the city streets, sample some delicacies at the night market on the lively Wangfujing Snack Street and stroll through the Royal City Park, so it's certainly among the best things to see and do in Beijing at night.

You'll love Nanluoguxiang, a historic area dating back to 1750 that in recent years has become a popular tourist destination for its charming huts. Another area you will visit is Shichahai, where you will see many temples and palaces. This is even a tour you can include in your Beijing itinerary in summer, during which season you can rent a boat to paddle around the region's lake.

Details of interest

• Price: about 182 euros per person.
• Duration: about 3 hours.
• Means of transport: by public transport.
• Advantages of this option: a typical Beijing roast duck tasting is included.

On this night tour with an expert you will discover the best nightlife spots in Beijing. To start with, you will visit the Wangfujing night market, which is located in the basement of a large shopping mall.

What will strike you most about this place is that it is a transformed place that resembles the old Hutong streets of Beijing before modernization. Also, here you will have the opportunity to taste traditional Beijing sweets before continuing to Nanluoguxiang Street, where you will see pubs, cafes, restaurants and stores selling traditional handicrafts.

At this point you will be able to watch the daylight fade and the neon lights start to mix with the traditional red lanterns to create a lively and relaxing atmosphere.

Details of interest

• Price: about 76 euros per person.
• Duration: about 4 hours to complete the tour.
• Means of transport: the whole tour is done by cab.

The driver will pick you up from your hotel to take you to the hutong area. Your guide will tell you interesting stories of Beijing' s traditional alleys and Hutong. One thing you will like about this tour is that you can choose to walk or ride a bicycle.

You will pass through many hutongs and see how the locals live in such a small and gray Siheyaun. The tour ends at the Empty Tower, where you can see the most traditional part of Beijing. After there, the driver will take you back to your hotel or accommodation place.

Details of interest

• Price: about 114 euros per person.
• Duration: about 3 hours.
• Means of transportation: walking or by bicycle.
• Advantages of this option: bottled mineral water is included throughout the tour.

A tour of Beijing's hutongs is a unique experience that will allow you to appreciate the traditional life and culture of Beijing. The hutongs are narrow streets surrounded by traditional Chinese houses called Siheyuan and have become one of the most prominent tourist attractions in the city.

On the different tours you can see up close how the locals live in these houses, as well as the different kinds of buildings in this area of the city, while learning about their history and culture from your guide.