A spellbinding odyssey through five thousand years of Chinese culture and history. Your journey begins in Beijing at the huge Tiananmen Square, a nearly hundred-acre site that has witnessed a staggering number of major historic events. Explore the Forbidden City, once off-limits to all but the Emperor’s inner circle, an enormous complex that was China’s seat of power for nearly five hundred years. Enjoy a rickshaw ride through the city’s hutongs—old neighborhoods with labyrinthine lanes—and dine at the home of a local family.