Highlights
- Snack through Dashilar's food stalls and browse independent craft markets
- Perfect for artists, designers, and makers who want to learn 200-year-old craft
- Kids and teenagers get hands-on, they paint, they create and they have fun!
- Paint your own opera mask in a hutong studio, stay as long as you like!
- Walk the hutongs where Peking Opera was born, stories without guidebook covers
Description
WHAT WE BELIEVE
· A Day In Beijing is an independent one-woman operation, created and run by a born-and-raised Beijinger, to connect our local independent businesses and communities to the world beyond the VPN. We're (I am!) new here, but we're not new at this — 5/5 ratings across every platform and every product so far.
· And we dream big, we want to do our bits to challenge the colonial stereotype of Beijing, of China, through our heartfelt, carefully curated cultural experiences.
· You have 100% control over what to purchase and what to try by paying the studio directly. We take zero commission, zero markup.
· We aim to create a conscious and ethical way to travel to this city. Beijing, explained by Beijingers.
· More experiences, cultural context and travelling tips on our Instagram A Day In Beijing f you want to explore the city independently!
WHY THIS TOUR IS DIFFERENT
· Your guide is a Beijinger who walks these streets daily. This isn't office, it's her neighbourhood.
· The walk earns the workshop. By the time you pick up a brush, you understand the art form, the history, and the colour code. The mask means something.
· No factory studios, no tourist assembly lines. You paint in a hutong workshop with a local artist.
THIS TOUR IS FOR YOU IF
· You're travelling with kids or teenagers who'd rather make something than look at something — or you're a crafty adult yourself!
· You're uncomfortable with tours that treat local communities like a backdrop.
· You like going places Google Maps won't take you.
· You'd rather have a real conversation than follow a script.
WHAT YOU WILL EXPERIENCE
· We start at Qianmen Gate, the 600-year-old boundary between imperial Beijing and the entertainment district to the south. From here we walk through Dashilar, Beijing's oldest commercial street, past food vendors, craft stalls.
· Then we turn off the main street into the real hutongs, quieter, local, no tourists. This is where Peking Opera was actually born. In 1790, four opera troupes came to Beijing for an emperor's birthday party and never left. They settled in these hutongs and created an entirely new art form.
· You'll walk past the ornate courtyard gates and see where local artists and craftspeople still work in the gaps between the old courtyards.
· The walk ends at a hutong studio where you paint your own Peking Opera mask. By this point you'll know the code: red means loyalty, white means treachery, gold means you're a god.
· Choose a classic character or design your own. Your guide will get you settled in with the studio team, then you're free to stay as long as you like. The studio offers a range of painting options — prices vary (230RMB-330RMB) by mask size and material, paid directly to them.
Private experiences available, a more intimate version, tailored to your group — flexible pace, deeper conversation, customised focus.
Includes
English-speaking local guide
Guided hutong walking tour
Excludes
Traditional opera mask-painting
Food and drinks (optional local snack stops along the route)
Gratuities for your guide are not included and are always appreciated
Easy cancellation
Cancel up to 24 hours in advance for a full refund
