Beijing from Luoyang: Forbidden City, Temple of Heaven and Summer Palace, 4 Days

Board at Luoyang Longmen in the morning and reach Beijing West in about four hours. Take the subway to a hotel inside the Second Ring, where the hutong mouth opens onto a row of old locust trees. Nothing heavy this afternoon: walk the Shichahai lakeshore from Lotus Market, cross Yinding Bridge, and look west toward the ridgeline of the Western Hills. Before dark, a bowl of baodu and two sesame cakes on Yandai Xiejie, then back to the hotel for an early night.

Attraction introduction: Shichahai is three connected lakes, Qianhai, Houhai and Xihai, left from the water system that fed the Yuan dynasty canal. It is the most intact historic quarter inside the old city, with hutong lanes, courtyard houses and princely mansions layered along the water. Prince Gong Mansion stands on the west bank of Houhai. Yinding Bridge takes its name from the silver ingot shape of its arch.

Tips: Prices along the lakes vary a lot, so read the menu before sitting down. Guests generally find the Qianhai side crowded after six in the evening, while the Xihai end stays quiet. In practice, keep day one to settling in, eating and walking, and let the travel fatigue wear off before the early start tomorrow.

The ticket is booked for the morning. Enter at Meridian Gate, clear security once, then follow the central axis north: Gate of Supreme Harmony, Hall of Supreme Harmony, Hall of Central Harmony, Hall of Preserving Harmony. The plaza in front of the main hall is wide enough to hear your own footsteps, and in November the low sun brings out the glaze on the roof ridges. Lunch inside the palace, then the courtyards of the Eastern Six Palaces, lower doors, narrower yards, clearly built for living. Leave by the Gate of Divine Prowess and climb Jingshan opposite; ten minutes to Wanchun Pavilion and the whole walled city lies flat below.

Attraction introduction: The Forbidden City, once called the Purple Forbidden Enclosure, served as the palace of the Ming and Qing courts and is the largest surviving complex of wooden architecture in the country. The three great halls sit on a three-tier marble terrace. The Hall of Supreme Harmony, known as the throne hall, keeps its original gold brick floor and coiled dragon columns. The Eastern Six Palaces are smaller in scale and much quieter than the axis.

Tips: Entry runs one way only, in at Meridian Gate and out at the Gate of Divine Prowess, with no turning back. Guests generally find the full walk takes three to four hours, and soft-soled shoes matter more than anything else. In practice, the Clock and Treasure galleries cost ten yuan each, so give them a separate hour instead of squeezing them into the main route.

Morning at the Temple of Heaven, entering from the south. The Circular Mound Altar, the Imperial Vault of Heaven, the Echo Wall and finally the Hall of Prayer for Good Harvests unfold northward, the ground opening up and the sky widening with each step. Under November light the blue glaze reads deep rather than bright, and the terrace is busy, so a clear angle takes patience. Leave by the west gate, two stops to Qianmen, and eat a bowl of luzhu in the Dashilan lanes. The afternoon is free: second-hand books along Liulichang, or a nap back at the hotel.

Attraction introduction: The Temple of Heaven was built in the eighteenth year of the Yongle reign and served as the place where Ming and Qing emperors sacrificed to heaven and prayed for harvests, the largest surviving complex of its kind. The Hall of Prayer for Good Harvests is a round, triple-eaved hall framed entirely in wood without a single iron nail, its twenty-eight columns standing for the seasons, the months and the traditional hours. The Echo Wall is the circular wall of the Imperial Vault, carrying a sound along its curve.

Tips: Only the combined ticket includes the Hall of Prayer, the Circular Mound and the Echo Wall, and the plain gate ticket will not get you into those courtyards. Guests generally find the south-to-north route the easiest, since walking it the other way means climbing. In practice, Beijing wind bites in November, so bring a hat and gloves; the top of the Circular Mound is open on all four sides.

The last day heads west of the city. Enter the Summer Palace at the East Palace Gate, pass the Hall of Benevolence and Longevity, and take the Long Corridor along Kunming Lake, more than seven hundred metres of painted beams, one panel after another. The Tower of Buddhist Incense sits on Longevity Hill, twenty minutes up, and from the top the Seventeen-Arch Bridge lies across the water like a carrying pole. A light lunch near Suzhou Street, then back to the hotel for the bags and an evening train to Luoyang.

Attraction introduction: The Summer Palace began as the Garden of Clear Ripples, was destroyed in 1860 and rebuilt in the Guangxu years under its present name. It is laid out around Kunming Lake and Longevity Hill in imitation of West Lake in Hangzhou, and is the most complete surviving imperial garden in the country. The Long Corridor runs from the Gate of Inviting the Moon to the Shizhang Pavilion, its beams painted with landscapes, birds and figure scenes. The Seventeen-Arch Bridge links the eastern causeway to South Lake Island.

Tips: The garden is enormous and a full circuit takes over four hours, so when time is short take the corridor and the hill only. Guests generally find the western causeway the quietest part, especially with reeds in late autumn. In practice, do not fill the last day, and keep two hours for the station, because the train will not wait.