DAY 01 Fly to Beijing
DAY 02 Arrive in Beijing
Arrive in Beijing, China’s capital city. Welcomed by your local guide at the airport, you will be escorted to your hotel for check-in.
DAY 03 Beijing (B,L,SD)
In the morning, marvel at the vast Tiananmen Square and see the neighboring halls and monuments. Walk through the Gate of Heavenly Peace to the magnificent Forbidden City, which was home to the Ming and Qing dynasties for over 500 years. Spend the afternoon at the former Imperial Summer Palace – the famous royal garden that was favored by the Empress Cixi in the late 19th century. Stroll through the “Long Corridor” to admire its painting gallery. Enroute visit a pearl factory. At last, you will ride on a pedal-powered cab and tour through Beijing’s traditional courtyard neighborhoods where old traditions remain very much alive. You will have the opportunity to visit the home of a local resident. Tonight, you will be served with one of the most famous dishes at Fangzhuang Quanjude Beijing Duck Restaurant.
DAY 04 Beijing (B,L)
Travel to the northwest of Beijing to visit China’s most famous attraction – the Great Wall of China. Built over 2,000 years ago, it stretches 4,000 miles across mountains and valleys in the northern part of China. Walk along a well-preserved section of this true wonder of the world and enjoy the panoramic views. You will also have a chance to visit a Jade Carving Museum. Continue exploring Beijing Zoo. It is one of the oldest zoos in China and has one of the largest animal collections in the country. The zoo and its aquarium have over 450 species of land animals and over 500 species of marine animals.
DAY 05 Beijing to Xian (B,L,SD)
In the morning, board your flight to Xian. Arrive in Xian meet your guide and go to the visit the ancient City Wall, the largest and best preserved one in China. The wall was originally built in the Ming Dynasty as military defensive system, now a round-city park has been built around the wall. Then you will visit the Small Wild Goose Pagoda Park. It mainly consists of the Xian Museum, the ancient Jianfu Temple built in the year 684 A.D during the Tang Dynasty (618-907) and the famous Small Wild Goose Pagoda. The scenic area has become a wonderful leisure site for the appreciation of cultural relics, sightseeing and entertainment. The dumpling dinner and Tang Dynasty show will be served in the evening.
DAY 06 Xian to Guilin (B,L)
After breakfast, go to visit the Terracotta Warriors museum. It is a huge underground military museum constructed as an accessory pit of Qin Shi Huang Mausoleum. In the museum, you will not only appreciate the life-size warrior figures, but also enjoy the display of Chinese ancient weapons, which exemplify the wisdom of the laboring people over 2,200 years ago. Enroute visit a Terra-Cotta Factory. After lunch, we sent you to the airport, and fly to Guilin. Welcomed by your local guide at the airport, you will be escorted to your hotel for check-in.
DAY 07 Guilin/Yangshuo/Guilin (B,L)
Drive to the wharf for Li River cruise and enjoy the Li River picturesque scenery to Yangshuo. The cruise will definitely be one of the highlights of your holiday. We will pass the extraordinary peaks, sprays of bamboo lining, local fishing rafts floating on the river and picturesque villages. After disembarkation, you may have a free walk in West Street.
DAY 08 Guilin to Chongqing (B,LD)
In the morning, board your flight to Chongqing. Arrive in Chongqing you will be welcomed by your local guide at the airport. After lunch, go to visit the Stillwell Museum. It was founded in memory of Joseph W. Stilwell, an American general who contributed a great deal to the Chinese people. Since the museum opened to the public in 1991, tens of thousands of visitors from home and overseas have been there. Later, you will visit the Chongqing Zoo, which attracts hundreds of thousands of tourists to see many rare Chinese animals. The zoo is famous for its giant pandas, which live happily there. It has also other lovely animals, including elephants, zebras and giraffe. At last, you may visit the Ciqikou Old Town. It dates back to the late Ming Dynasty (1368-1644). People always said “One flagstone road, and one thousand years’ Ciqikou”. This is never more true than when you visit Ciqikou Old Town where you will find the local residents dedicated to their traditional way of life, unaffected by modern influences to be found in the larger towns and cities. After dinner, Your guide will escort you to board the Yangtze River Cruise .
DAY 09 Cruise on Yangtze (B,L,D)
Shore excursion to Shibaozhai Temple with its impressive wooden pagoda, appropriately named “The Pearl of the Yangtze”. Depending on river conditions, an alternate excursion may be substituted to Fengdu, visiting either the new relocation village built for families who have moved as a result of the Yangtze’s rising waters brought about by the Three Gorges Dam.
DAY 10 Cruise on Yangtze (B,L,D)
Today, Cruise through Qutang Gorge and Wu Gorge. Enter Wu Gorge, known for its quiet beauty, forest-covered mountains, and cliffs so sheer that the sun barely penetrates the precipices. Then sail through Qutang Gorge, the shortest (5 miles), narrowest (500 feet), and most dramatic gorge. Take a shore excursion to Shennong Stream by small boat. Tonight, pass through the ship locks of the Three Gorges Dam.
DAY 11 Yichang to Shanghai (B,L)
This morning, stop at the Sandouping Dock, and take a shore excursion to the three Gorges Dam. Later sail through the Three Gorges Dam ship locks. Sail through Xiling Gorge, the longest (41 miles), and the deepest of the Three Gorges. Landing at Yichang. Yichang’s guide will pick you up, and send you to take flight to Shanghai. Welcomed by your Shanghai guide at the airport, you will be escorted to your hotel for check-in.
DAY 12 Shanghai (B,L)
In the morning, take walk on the Bund. The Bond’s Art Deco and Neoclassical facades appear much as they did during Shanghai’s previous heyday as China’s most international city, way back in the 1920s and ’30s. Of course, the surroundings have changed radically. Then go to visit the Shanghai Bazaar and Yu Yuan Garden. Yuyuan is the most famous garden in Shanghai. It is located in the heart of Shanghai’s Old City (Shanghai bazaar), one of the few existing old tourist places in Shanghai. Shanghai bazaar is teemed with a great number of small streets and lanes where vendors sell their products and food stuffs to the tourists and local people. After lunch, go to visit Shanghai Museum. As a museum of ancient Chinese art, Shanghai Museum possesses a collection of over 1000,000 objects, about 120,000 of which are precious works of art. High quality collection of ancient Chinese bronze, ceramics, painting and calligraphy is specially celebrated in the world. Later you may free shopping in Nanjing Road.
DAY 13 Shanghai/Suzhou/Shanghai (B,L)
Today have whole day city tour of Suzhou. Firstly, you will visit the Lingering Garden, which was built in 1583 by Xu Taishi, a bureaucrat of the Ming court, as his private residence. It is the best preserved of all the Suzhou gardens. It is also one of the 4 most famous gardens in China. Take a short tour of a silk spinning factory to see how Chinese silk has been produced since the 14th century. Continue to cruise on Grand Canal. The Grand Canal is one of the greatest ancient projects in China and is the longest man-made canal in world. On the boat, you may overview Santang Street. It was built by digging the river and constructing dams in 825 A.D. Owing to its distinguished geographic location and convenient water and land transportation, Santang Street was one of the streets which trade and culture were most highly developed in Ming and Qing dynasties. At last, you will drive back to Shanghai.
DAY 14 Shanghai to Hometown (B)
You will have a free time till transfer to airport.
Notice: Itineraries subject to be changed due to the water level /navigation authority /weather condition, etc. My company reserves the right of final interpretation of itinerary within the scope permitted by law.
