Hutong Rickshaw tour and Family Visit
Tour Description
Pick up from your hotel lobby at 9:00am.Transfer to Hutong area(1hour) by car, explore the most beautiful Hutong area in Beijing by walking. Sightseeing of inner Hutong by rickshaw. Then visit a local family and learn hands-on making Chinese dumplings(2hours), enjoy these with other Chinese dishes and this will be your lunch.
Making Chinese dumplings:
To make Chinese dumplings, first of all, chop the meat into pieces and mash them, then add salt, sesame oil, soy sauce, ginger, scallions, Chinese cabbage and MSG if you like. Mix thoroughly the ingredients; add two spoonful of water if necessary.In a big bowl, add water to flour gradually. Mix and knead by hand to form soft dough, then cover it with towel and put it aside for about an hour. Then scatter some dry flour on the board, knead and roll it into a sausage---like dough about 5 centimeters in diameter, then chop it into small pieces. Press each piece with your hand and get a pancake. Finally, to hold the pancake with your palm and put the filling in the center and wrap into half-moon shaped and seal the edges.
In the afternoon, visit the Bell tower and Drum tower(2hours), watch the fantastic drum beating performance, then transfer to Prince Gong's Garden(1hour) for a visit, return to hotel.
Prince Gong's Garden:
Prince Gong's Mansion is located on the north bank of Shichahai.It is the biggest quadrangle in the world and now it is the best preserved of the more than sixty princely mansions of the Qing Dynasty (1644-1911). It was once the residence of He Shen, a favorite court official during the reign of Emperor Qianlong. As soon as Emperor Qianlong died, He Shen was put into prison and sentenced to death for his corruption by Emperor Jiaqing, the successor of Emperor Qianlong. Thus, his residence was confiscated, and afterwards, in 1851, Emperor Xianfeng gifted it to his sixth young brother Yixin, Prince Gong. Therefore, the residence got its name Prince Gong's Mansion.