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Day
1
Shanghai
When you arrive in Shanghai, your English-speaking guide will wait for you with your name sight outside the customs of the airport. Then you will be transferred to the hotel. On the way to hotel, your guide will give you Shanghai tour suggestions. The rest of the day will be free for you to alleviate the long way flight fatigue.
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Day
2
Shanghai (B)
Today is a free day is for you to explore this international metropolis by yourself. It is advised to walk around the famous Shanghai Bund and see the towering buildings scattered near and far, a perfect mixture of the eastern and western cultures. Visit the symbolistic scenic spots as Shanghai museum, Yuyuan Garden Take a boat tour on the Huangpu River and have a great view of the Pudong district on your own. The boat usually runs from the Zhongshan Dong Lu (East Zhongshan Road) to the Wusongkou dock every one hour in the day time.
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Day
3
Shanghai (B)
One more free day for you in Shanghai so that you could savor the international metropolis flavor further. You could refer to Shanghai Day Trip to choose your favourite tour schedule.
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Day
4
Shanghai / Huangshan (B)
Transfer via: Flight –on our arrangement
Today you will fly to Huangshan and please arrange the transfer to the airport and board the flight by yourself. We book the flight tickets for you and the flight information will be informed for you in advance. We suggest you reserve a taxi at the hotel reception beforehand to avoid having to wait for a taxi outside.
When you arrive at Huangshan airport, your local guide will meet you outside of the Arrival Hall and transfer you to the hotel for check in procedure.
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Day
5
Huangshan (B)
Sightseeing: Mt. Huangshan
In the morning, you will be transferred to the foot of Mt. Huangshan (Yellow Mountain) , take cable car to the top of it and make a tour to North Sea Scenic Area and other peaks. This night, you will stay on top of the mountain.
Mt. Huangshan, known as "the loveliest mountain in China", is famous for its magnificent scenery made up of many granite peaks and rocks emerging out of clouds. Its landscape features “four wonders” of imposing peaks, spectacular rocks, odd-shaped pines, and a sea of clouds. Mount Huangshan boasts 72 peaks, more than 1,000 meters above sea level, with three main peaks rising majestically. The famous Welcoming Guests Pine (1,500 years old) and See-Guest-Off Pine have become a symbol of being faithful, unyielding and hospitable.
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Day
6
Huangshan / Suzhou (B)
Transfer via: Overnight train (soft sleeper) - on our arrangement
Sightseeing: Xidi and Hongcun Ancient Villages
This morning you will enjoy the famous Huangshan sunrise. Afterwards we’ll take a cable car down the mountain and continue to visit Xidi Ancient Village. First built 900 years ago in Song Dynasty, its traditional architecture is still well preserved. The buildings and the street patterns reflect the socio-economic structure of a long-lived settled period of Chinese history.
Our next stop will be Hongcun Ancient Village: Being an over 800 years old town leaning against Mt. Huangshan, it is folded in the fog of the Mountain which makes it look like a river. You will see that it is as beautiful as a Chinese landscape drawing. The famous film "Crouching Tiger" was produced here.
In the evening, you will be transferred to railway station to board an overnight soft sleeper train to Suzhou.
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Day
7
Suzhou
Sightseeing: Tiger Hill, Humble Administrator’s Garden,
Arrival in Suzhou in the morning, your local guide will wait for you at the exit of the railway station and transfer you to the hotel.
Then you will visit Humble Administrator's Garden, the largest classical garden in Suzhou and one of the four most famous ones in China. Originally built in 1513 AD, it consists of three parts with different types of buildings around streams and ponds.
We continue move on to Tiger Hill (Huqiu). Tiger Hill is the most famous sight in Suzhou city, enjoying the reputation of "The first scenic spot in Wu area" due to its imposing beauty; This includes Leisure Spring, Testing Sword Rock, Third Spring, Broken-Pillar-Hall and Mountain Villa Wrapped in Emerald Green etc. With only 36 meters of height and an area of 20hectares, you might think it to be an artificial hill, but its history can be traced back 2500 years ago.
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Day
8
Suzhou / Zhouzhuang / Suzhou (B)
Transfer via: Prviate Vehicle – on our arrangement
Sightseeing: Zhouzhuang
After having breakfast in your hotel, you will head to Zhouzhuang which is the top water town of China and the driving takes about an hour. With 900 years history, the village still keeps the original scene and layout arrangements. You could stop at the Fuan Bridge, double bridge and the famous Hall of Shen's Residence in Qing Dynasty style. Drive back to Suzhou in the late afternoon.
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Day
9
Suzhou / Hangzhou (B)
Transfer via: Train (soft seat)–on our arrangement
Sightseeing: Lingering Garden (Garden to linger in), Lion Grove, The No.1 Silk Factory,
Toady we will visit the most classical gardens of China. Our first stop will be Lingering Garden, one of the four most famous gardens of China. The garden is celebrated for its artistic way of handling the spaces between various architectural forms and garden courts. With pavilions, terraces, grotesque rocks, clear streams and rare vegetations, the corridors separate the garden into several courtyards with distinct styles.
Lion Grove is one of the four noted gardens of Suzhou. It was first built in 1342 during Yuan Dynasty (1279-1368) and is truly exquisite in design. When entering the garden, the you will find stones in various interesting shapes.
As Suzhou is also famous for its silk production we will spend some time in the No.1 Silk Factory to see how silk is processed from the silk worm to the final woven cloth.
After the tours, you will be transferred to railway station to take soft seat train to Hangzhou. Upon arrival, your Hangzhou local guide will met you and transfer you to the reserved hotel.
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Day
10
Hangzhou / Beijing (B)
Transfer via: Flight –on our arrangement
Sightseeing: West Lake, Lingying Temple, Six Harmonies Pagoda,
Today you will have a morning visit to the beautiful West Lake. We will take a cruise boat across the lake to see the 3 pagodas in the lake. The West Lake is the most famous tourist spot of Hangzhou. Graceful mountains surround it on three sides. It has a charming scenery and many cultural relics and historic sites.
Then you will visit Lingyin Temple including the FeiLai Feng. The Fei Lai Feng is situated in the east of Ling Yin Temple. Isolated from others, its stone quality is totally different from that of surrounding mountain groups. It is 167 meters high, on the peak there are many grotesque stones in the shapes of charming dragon, prostrate tiger, walking elephant and scared ape. The main hall of Lingyin Temple is about 34 meters (111 feet) tall - incredibly high for a one-storey building. In the center of the hall you’ll find the statue of Sakyamuni Buddha, which was carved from 24 pieces of camphor wood. The temple was named Lingyin Temple for its extremely beautiful environment which is serene and suitable for “Soul’s Retreat”.
After having lunch at local restaurant, we will drive to the Six Harmonies Pagoda, highly erected next to Qiantang River and in the south of the West Lake. It is a perfect examplel of brick-and-wood structure built in ancient China and was built in 970 AD in the Northern Song dynasty (960-1127) to press down the evil of the river tidal bore in Qiantang River.
See you off at the Hangzhou airport for a flight to Beijing. Upon arrival, your local guide will pick you up at Beijing airport and transferred to the hotel.
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Day
11
Beijing (B)
Sightseeing: Temple of Heaven, Tiananmen Square, Forbidden City
We start today's highlights with a visit of the Temple of Heaven, The temple of Heaven was where the Emperor came every winter solstice to worship heaven and to solemnly pray for a good harvest. With the three blue-tiled cone-shaped roofs, a unique wooden and blue-tiled structure built without a nail, it has become a worldwide symbol of Beijing.
After lunch, we go on our city tours to visit Tiananmen Square, the symbolical heart of China and gathering place for the masses. It is the biggest public square in the world, which can hold one million people.
From here we walk across the Golden River Bridge to visit the Forbidden City and experience ancient Emperor's daily life. Forbidden City was the largest palace in the world, and it was indeed a forbidden place limited to commoners for 500 year in the past. Your tour here will include private access to the Emperor's palace.
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Day
12
Beijing (B)
Sightseeing: Badaling Great Wall, Ming Tombs, Sacred Way
After experience of the royal lifestyle, today we will spend about 1.5 hours to be transferred outside the city to the surrounding countryside for a visit to the Badaling Great Wall, the pride of China and one of the Seven Wonders of the World. Whereas Genghis Khan contemplated it as a military obstacle, Richard Nixon saw it as one of humankind's greatest achievements. You will be able to climb and walk the 2,000 years old ancient wall, admiring the splendid mountain views.
This afternoon we will visit the legendary Ming Tombs, The Ming Tombs are situated at the foot of Heavenly Longevity Mountain, northwest of Beijing. Since there are 13Ming emperors buried there, there are also called the 13 Ming Tombs. Passing though the Sacred Way, a road guarded on both sides with stone statues by which the ancient emperors went to hold a memorial ceremony for the ancestors, you will encounter the marble tombs of the Ming Dynasty emperors.
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Day
13
Beijing (B)
After two days' visit, you might get familiar with Beijing City. Today a totally free day for your to explore the city by yourself.
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Day
14
Beijing Departure (B)
Transfer via: Flight –on your own arrangement
Free at leisure until your guide pick up you from your hotel lobby and transfer you to airport for your flight leave Beijing. Your pleasant China tour ends here.