Beijing: Private Night Tour with Great Wall & Ice Lanterns

Beijing glows differently after dark: eight ways to see it

You choose from eight night packages in Beijing: customizable downtown tours hitting Tiananmen, Houhai, and the Olympic landmarks; summer Great Wall climbs under stars; or winter ice lantern festivals. Hotel pickup, guide, and entry tickets are included. You control the pace and which zones to linger in, and the private vehicle means no group schedule to follow.

Step-by-step itinerary

Stops and time at each

1. Chang'an Avenuepass by
2. Tiananmen Square30m
3. Shichahai20m
4. National Center for the Performing Arts20m
5. CCTV Headquarterspass by
6. Great Wall at Badaling2h · entry included
7. Longqingxia Ravine2h · entry included

Beijing private night sightseeing tour

• Hotel pick up by guide and driver
• Visit Qianmen century-old commercial street
• See National Centre for the Performing Arts
• Optional visit to Tian’anmen Square
• Explore Houhai Lake at night
• Walk through Old Beijing Hutongs
• Visit Olympic Village: Bird’s Nest and Water Cube
• Drive through CBD area: CCTV Headquarters and The Place
• Return to hotel or central Beijing destination

The experience

The red lanterns along Qianmen Street flicker to life as the sun drops, and suddenly the old commercial street stops being a daytime tourist corridor and becomes something else entirely. This is when Beijing's night tour packages start to make sense. You get picked up from your hotel, settle into a private vehicle with a guide who knows which landmarks photograph best when lit, and then you choose your route. Four hours exploring the downtown glow: Tiananmen Square, Houhai Lake, the Bird's Nest and Water Cube lit up like a modern sculpture park, the CCTV Headquarters (locals call it "Big Pants" for its twisted shape) glowing against the CBD skyline. Or you push further out: the Great Wall at Badaling under starlight in summer, or the ice lantern sculptures at Longqing Gorge carved and lit in winter, turning the ravine into what they call a "fairyland." The guide handles entry tickets and timing. You just move through the city as it transforms.

The downtown route divides into four zones, each with its own rhythm. Qianmen-Tiananmen is the historical core: gray brick, red lanterns, street food stalls selling fried scorpions and silkworm pupae if you're curious. Houhai-Hutong is where you slow down. The lake quiets at night, shops glow warmly along the water, and the old alleyways with their hundred-year histories feel less crowded than they do by day. The Olympic Village is pure photography: the Bird's Nest's lattice structure lit from inside, the Water Cube's blue glow, both of them reflected and framed in ways that make every phone shot look intentional. The CBD is the opposite: skyscrapers, the Place's massive overhead LED screen, the sense of Beijing as a modern capital. Your guide can adjust the stops and timing as you go, so if you want to linger at Houhai or skip ahead to the Olympic Park, that flexibility is built in.

If you're there in winter, the Longqing Gorge ice lantern tour pulls you two hours outside the city to see craftsmen's work (massive ice blocks carved into lanterns, sculptures, castles, slides), all lit from inside with thousands of colored lights once darkness falls. Summer flips the equation: the Great Wall at Badaling becomes the draw, and the 1.5-hour transfer gives your guide time to walk you through the wall's history before you climb it under stars, avoiding the daytime crowds entirely. The Gubei Water Town and Simatai option splits the difference. You catch the sunset from Simatai, then explore the illuminated Great Wall there, then wander Gubei's ancient alleys with their red lanterns glowing. Every package includes hotel pickup, the guide, entry fees, and transport in a private vehicle. If you want to add dinner (Peking roast duck, hot pot, Sichuan), or catch an acrobatics show before the night tour, those are options too. The only real constraint is that Tiananmen Square itself requires your passport details a day in advance for security clearance. Without that, the guide explains it from outside.

What’s included

• Your day includes hotel pickup and drop-off, a professional guide fluent in your language, entrance tickets for your chosen attractions (Tiananmen, Houhai, Olympic Park, Longqing Gorge, or Badaling Great Wall depending on package), and private vehicle transport.
• Meals, acrobatics shows, and cable car rides are optional add-ons.
• The guide adjusts timing and stops throughout the tour based on your interests and pace.

Options for this experience

5 options

Downtown night tour lasting 4 hoursGuide in English · 17:00, 17:30 and 18:00This option includes an English-speaking tour guide and a private car for a 4-hour downtown night sightseeing tour. Pickup is included.

4-hour night tour with Hutong foodGuide in English, Chinese or Chinese · 17:30 and 18:004-hour night tour with Hutong food: Choose the downtown night sights you want to visit and spend 1 hour in a Hutong enjoying more than 15 food tastes; the tour lasts about 4 hours. Pickup is included.

4-hour night tour with dinnerGuide in English, Chinese or Chinese · 17:00, 17:30 and 18:00This option covers a night sightseeing tour and dinner at a local restaurant, featuring Peking duck, hotpot, dim sum and more. Pickup is included.

See 2 more options

4-hour night tour with acrobaticsGuide in English, Chinese or Chinese · 16:30Enjoy a Chinese acrobatic show (middle-back zone) along with a private English-speaking tour guide and transfer for a 4-hour tour. Pickup is included.

Gubei and Simatai Wall tour lasting 7 hoursGuide in English, Chinese or Chinese · 15:00 and 16:007-hour Gubei and Simatai Wall: Visit Gubei Water Town and the Simatai Great Wall with entry tickets and a round-trip cable car. The entire itinerary lasts 6 to 7 hours. Pickup is included.

You pick the guide language when booking.

You see the exact price of each option when you check availability.See dates & prices

Before you book

Days and timesEvery day6 departure times: the first at 15:00, the last at 18:00

Book up to6h before

AgesAdult (11 to 90 years) · Child (4 to 10 years) · Infant (under 4): free

GroupPrivate

Live guideEnglish and Chinese

Meeting point and pickupHotel pickup included.

Cancellation and refundsFree cancellation up to 24 h before the start. After that, no refund.

Prices and times updated 11 days ago

Good to know

Easy physical levelInfants must sit on laps

Operated by Discover Beijing Tours

Is this one for you?Right for travelers staying in central Beijing who want to see the city's lit landmarks without arranging transport or tickets themselves. The 4-hour downtown tours fit an evening. The Great Wall and ice lantern trips take a full half-day, which is what makes reaching those sites and spending real time there possible.

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Top questions

What languages is the guide in?

Live guide in English, Chinese and Chinese.

Can children come?

Yes. Ticket types: Child (4 to 10 years); Infant (under 4): free.

What's included in the Beijing night tour?

Hotel pickup and drop-off, professional guide, entrance tickets for your chosen attractions, and private vehicle transport. Meals and acrobatics shows are add-ons.

How long is the night tour?

Downtown packages run 4 hours. The Great Wall at Badaling and Longqing Gorge tours are longer due to travel time: roughly 1.5 to 2 hours each way plus time at the site.

Do I need to book Tiananmen Square in advance?

Yes, if you want to enter the square or see the flag-lowering ceremony, provide your full name, passport number, and age at least one day ahead. Otherwise, the guide explains it from the perimeter.

Can I customize which attractions to visit?

Yes. The downtown route covers four zones (Qianmen-Tiananmen, Houhai-Hutong, Olympic Village, and CBD), and you can adjust stops and timing with your guide during the tour.

What's the difference between the summer and winter tours?

Summer features the Great Wall at Badaling lit at night. Winter showcases the Longqing Gorge ice lantern festival, where carved ice sculptures are lit with colored lights.

Is food included?

No, but you can add a local dinner (Peking roast duck, hot pot, or Sichuan) or join a hutong snack tour for an extra cost.

How far is the hotel pickup area?

Pickup is available for hotels within the 4th ring road of Beijing. Confirm your hotel location when booking.

Can I add an acrobatics show?

Yes, there's a package combining a traditional Chinese acrobatics show with the customizable night tour of lit landmarks.