4-Day Classic Beijing Tour

The 4-day classic Beijing tour is designed for tourists who come to visit China for the first time. It covers the most popular and typical places in Beijing, fully displaying the scenery, culture, history, local lifestyles and features, food and drinks, business, etc. for you.

Day 1:Arrival in Beijing

Your guide meets you at Capital Airport, and helps you check in at your hotel

Enjoy Beijing Duck as welcome dinner.

Accommodation: Beijing downtown

Day 2:The Great Wall & the Summer Palace

Start your day at the most famous part of the Great Wall, the Badaling Great Wall. Leave the downtown for the Great Wall at 8 am. Since it is a long drive to the Great Wall (about 2 hours' riding) have a break at the Jade Museum on the way. Lunch will be enjoyed in a local restaurant. In the early afternoon come back to the city and have a sightseeing tour of the Summer Palace.

Recommended Activity: Beijing Opera Show (Liyuan Theatre,19:30-21:10 every evening)

Accommodation: Beijing downtown

Day 3: Beijing city sightseeing & Local experience

Your guide meets you at the hotel at 8 am and set out for the day's touring: Tian'anmen Square and the Forbidden City.

After visiting the two sites, have a break and get ready forlunch.

Hutong visit: see some traditional arts of the old Beijing, suchas paper cutting and kite making, and visit a local family.

Accommodation: Beijing downtown

Day 4: Beijing Olympic sites

Visit the Olympic sites: Bird's Nest, Water Cube and OlympicPark, witnessing the fast developing modern China. Enjoy some free time after visiting the sites.

After lunch, it is shopping time and then the tour is over.

    Dolphins(海豚) live in a dark underwater world. It's often impossible to see each other or anything else around them, so sound plays an important role in their survival. To communicate with each other, dolphins produce all kinds of sounds.

    Only other dolphins understand what the sounds mean. Scientists haven't uncovered their secret communication, except for one kind of whistle. It might last less than a second, but this whistle is a big deal. Why? Because these whistles are actually names of dolphins - and every dolphin has one. Scientists call these sounds a “signature whistle.” When other dolphins hear the whistle, they know which dolphin is calling.

    Dolphins often hunt by themselves but still need to stay connected to the group. Since they can't always see each other, dolphins use their signature whistles to check in with other dolphins hundreds of yards away. “In coastal areas, dolphins exchange whistles even when they're a third of a mile apart,” says Greg Campbell, who studies animals. That means dolphins shout out to group members that might be nearly five football fields away.

    What's amazing is who names the baby dolphin. Not the mother. Not an auntie dolphin or another group member. Scientists believe the baby dolphin itself comes up with the signature whistle. Like human babies, a baby dolphin plays with sounds throughout its first year. While testing its sound skills, a baby dolphin is doing something amazing. It's creating or figuring out its signature whistle. How or why it chooses its signature whistle is not clear. Studies show that most of the time the signature whistle is nothing like its mother's or group members' whistles.

    When the baby dolphin is about a year old, its signature whistle is set. It repeats it often so the other dolphins learn to recognize it.

    Deciphering(破译) dolphin names is just the beginning of figuring out what dolphins communicate about. Do they chat about sharks? Discuss the tides? Maybe they even have a name for people. Someday scientists are to decipher the rest of dolphins' communication.

    The hit movie Notting Hill（诺丁山）begins with a famous scene. Hugh Grant bumps into Julia Roberts and spills orange juice all over her. After the collision, Grant repeatedly says, “I'm so sorry. I'm so sorry.”

    His actions in this scene are very British. If Roberts' character were from the Britain, than she would probably apologize repeatedly as well – even if the crash were not her fault. But this doesn't happen in the movie, as Roberts is from the US.

    A report in The Telegraph once said that three quarters of British people apologize when they bump into someone in the street – regardless of whether they are responsible or not. In fact, Britons use “sorry” in many situations. For example, if they mishear someone, they say “Sorry?” The person they are talking to will also apologize by replying, “No, I am sorry!” This can go on for up to five minutes as they compete over who is the most sorry.

    Why are Britons so sorry? Mark Tyrell, a psychology writer in the UK, thinks that their apologetic tendencies are rooted in British class system. “We say sorry because historically the new middle class in Britain had to apologize for not being the working class, but also for really being the upper class.” Another theory is that they apologize to avoid conflicts. For example, if they bump into someone, he might get angry. To avoid this, they instantly say “Sorry!”

    True manners are about being considerate, and today's constant use of apologizing shows that we are perhaps not as thoughtful as we once were. The word “sorry” has lost some of its meaning.

    Do you see my point? Sorry, it might just be a British thing.

    When I was growing up，I was embarrassed to be seen with my father. He was badly crippled (跛脚)，and when we would walk together，his hand on my arm for balance，people would stare，I would be ashamed of the unwanted attention.

    It was difficult to walk together—and because of that，we didn't say much as we went along. But as we started out，he always said，“You set the pace. I will try to follow you.”

    Our usual walk was to or from the subway，which was how he got to work. He went to work sick，and even in bad weather. He almost never missed a day，and would make it to the office even if others could not. It was a matter of pride for him.

    When snow or ice was on the ground，it was impossible for him to walk，even with help. At such times my sister or I would pull him through the streets of Brooklyn，N.Y.，on a child's sleigh to the subway entrance. Once there，he would try to grasp handrail until he reached the lower steps that the warmer tunnel air kept ice free. In Manhattan the subway station was the basement of his office building，and he would not have to go outside again until we met him in Brooklyn on his way home.

    When I think of it now，I am surprised at how much courage it must have taken for a grown man to suffer from shame and disability. And I am also surprised at how he did it—without bitterness or complaint.

    He never talked about himself as an object of pity，nor did he show any envy of the more fortunate or able. What he looked for in others was a “good heart”，and if he found one，the owner was good enough for him.

    Now that I am older，I believe that is a proper standard by which to judge people，even though I still don't know exactly what a “good heart” is. But I know the times I don't have one myself.

    He has been away for many years now，but I think of him often. I wonder if he sensed my reluctance to be seen with him during our walks. If he did，I am sorry I never told him how sorry I was，how unworthy I was，how I regretted it. I think of him when I complain about my troubles，when I am envious of another's good fortune，when I don't have a “good heart”．

    Most airlines go all out to ensure their passengers have the best possible flight experience. Now, Europe's low-budget airline, easyJet, wants to extend the positive experience beyond the plane ride with “Sneakairs” —smart shoes that allow visitors to explore new cities and towns without ever looking at a map.

    To transform Sneakairs from an ordinary shoe to a tour guide，all the wearer has to do is enter his or her desired destination into the easyJet smartphone app. A built-in GPS will determine the wearer's starting location while the Google Maps navigation (导航)tool will help chart the best route. Whenever a change of direction is necessary, the app will communicate with the appropriate shoe via the Bluetooth and cause it to vibrate(振动). For example, if the wearer needs to turn right, he/she will feel the sensation in the right shoe. Should the user miss the turn, the smart shoes will both vibrate at the same time, reminding him/her to change course.

    Visitors that wander off the suggested path or decide to take a break for a cup of coffee or a meal have nothing to worry about. The smart app will automatically determine the new location and chart out a new route. Once the desired destination is reached, Sneakairs will vibrate three times to inform the user of the arrival and then go back to being ordinary shoes—until their navigation services are needed again!

    Sneakairs is certainly not the first navigation shoe in the market. However, easyJet is the first airline to offer them to passengers just as they are about to land in an unknown city. However, before Sneakairs can go mainstream, the easyJet team still needs to make some adjustments. Among the challenges that need to be addressed is the smart shoe's three-hour battery life, which is hardly enough for a tourist to catch all the delights a new city or town has to offer!

    Frogmore House has been a royal place since the 18th century and is today used by the Royal Family for private entertaining. It is especially linked with Queen Charlotte, The wife of George III, and her daughters, whose love of botany and art is reflected throughout the house.

    Unfortunately, parts of a visit to Frogmore are unsuitable for wheelchair-users. For information about access, please telephone 020 7766 7324.

Frogmore House and Garden

    18, 19, 20 May 10:00 - 17:30 (last admission 16:00)

    28, 29, 30 August 10:00 -17:30 (last admission 16:00)

    Please telephone 020 7766 7305 for admission prices.

    Summer Opening for Pre-booked Coach Groups

    3 August - 30 September every Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday and Saturday, 10:00- 15:00.

    Adult: £ 10.50 0ver 60/Student (with valid ID): £ 8. 80

    Child (under 17) : £5. 80 Child (under 5): Free

    Price includes a guided tour of the house.

    Private Evening Tours

    17:30 - 19:00. £25. 00 per person. Price includes a guided tour, a copy of the official guidebook and a glass of champagne.

    The maximum group size for all visits is 10 people

    Please note that there is no access for private cars.

    To make a group booking, please telephone 020 7766 7315.

    For more information including BSL (British Sign Language) interpretation, please telephone 020 7766 7326.