11 Days Culture Explosion Tour

Day 1

Arrival Beijing

Transfer via: Flight on your own arrangement

Upon your arrival, your local guide will meet you and escort you to your hotel. Then you will spend the rest of the day at your leisure, or resting and catching up on your jet lag.    

Day 2

Beijing (B, L)

Sightseeing: Temple of Heaven, Tiananmen Square, Forbidden City

This morning our tour will begin with a visit of the Temple of Heaven, which was completed in 1420, and expanded over the years by two Qing Dynasty Emperors. It was the place 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. In the park nearby local people practice Tai Chi or sing and dance relaxingly. They will invite you to join in with these activities which will become a very worthwhile and unforgettable experience.

After lunch, we will go on our city tour to visit Tiananmen Square, the symbolic 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 will walk across the Golden River Bridge to visit the Forbidden City and experience the ancient Emperor's daily life. For 5 centuries Chinese emperors carried out their administration here. With almost 10,000 rooms, it was the centre of the Ming and Qing dynasties, a massive complex of palaces, pavilions, courtyards and gardens where 24 emperors used to live. (Also Bertolucci's film "The Last Emperor" was produced here). Forbidden City was the largest palace in the world, and in the past it was indeed a forbidden place for commoners. Your tour here will include private access to the Emperor's palace.

Day 3

Beijing (B, L)

Sightseeing: Mutianyu Great Wall, Panjiayuan Market

After experiencing the royal lifestyle, today we will be transferred to the surrounding countryside of Beijing and visit the Mutianyu 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 described it as one of humankind's greatest achievements. You will be able to climb and walk one of the best preserved sections of the 2,000 years old ancient wall, admiring the splendid mountain views. Bring a jacket and layer- although it is breezy, the climbing is tough. So be in a good shape!

In the afternoon, you will visit Panjiayuan Market.  At the mention of Panjiayuan market, people will take great delight talking about it as it is a famous city card as well as a distinguished spot in the capital city of Beijing. Along with climbing the Great Wall and eating Peking roast duck, going to the Panjiayuan Market is the Top Three Musts in Beijing for all visitors home and abroad. Also, take an exterior visit of both Beijing National Stadium (Bird's Nest/Olympic Stadium), National Swimming Centre('The Water Cube'),feel free to take some photos of the stadiums.

Day 4

Beijing / Xi'an (B, L)

Transfer via: Bullet Train on our arrangement
Sightseeing: Hutongs, Summer Palace

We will experience a unique Hutong tour by taking a rickshaw this morning. Hutongs are a kind of ancient city alley or lane and are very typical for Beijing. Most of them can be found close to the Forbidden City, and many were built during the three dynasties of Yuan, Ming and Qing. Today, the Hutong is a living museum of Beijing history showing the traditional lifestyle of Beijing people.

After having lunch at a local restaurant, you can spend the whole afternoon to visit the famous royal garden-Summer Palace. In 1888, the notorious Empress Cixi used the money intended for the Chinese Navy to build this opulent summer retreat for herself. You will have a lakeside cruise on the lovely Kunming Lake and enjoy the magical views of the temples, pavilions and covered corridors around. Later, you will take your bullet train to Xi’an. Arriving in Xian, you will be met and transferred to hotel by our local guide.

Day 5

Xi'an (B, L)

Sightseeing: Terra-cotta Warriors and Horses, Big Wild Goose Pagoda, Muslim Street

Today you will experience the highlights of Xi’an. After breakfast, you will depart you’re your hotel. You will visit the amazing 2000-year-old Terra-cotta Warriors and Horses. Regarded as the 8th Wonder of the World, the Terra-cotta Warriors and Horses are the most significant archeological excavations of the 20th century. Over 2,200 years ago, the first emperor of China, Qin Shi Huang, ordered the construction of a vast army of Terra-cotta warriors in search of immortality. After his early death they were buried with him to protect his empire. More than 7000 vivid figures in full battle array are formed for battle in several large pits.

Another highlight today is Big Wild Goose Pagoda. Situated in the south of Xian city, it is one of the main constructions in the famous Buddhist temple-Da-Ci-En Temple. There, the well-known Buddhist Master Xuanzang (Monk Tripitaka) stored his collection of classic Buddhist artifacts brought from India in Tang Dynasty. Now it is the Landmark of Xian.

Then we will go on to visit the Muslim Street, known as Huimin Jie as well by Chinese, is a Muslim community in the city. The district houses the architectures in the style of Ming and Qing dynasties, with the Drum Tower in the south and memorial archway in the north, and embracing many ancient courtyards as well as some 10 mosques in diverse sizes that built in different time, around where inhabited bout 20 000 Muslims retaining their pristine religious tradition and life style.

Day 6

Xi'an / Hangzhou (B, L)

Transfer via: Flight on our arrangement     
Sightseeing: Ancient City Wall, West Lake

In the morning we will visit Ancient City Wall. You will experience a half-hour's hike along the Ancient City Wall. It is the largest and best preserved present city wall in ancient China and is probably the best military battlement in the world. If you want to, you can rent a bicycle for a ride on top of the spectacular city wall. The wall was built in the Tang dynasty (618 -907) and enlarged in the Ming dynasty (1368-1644).

Later, you will be transferred to the airport to take your flight to Hangzhou. After your arrival, you will be met by your guide.

Together, you will visit beautiful West Lake. You will take a cruise boat across the lake to see the 3 pagodas on 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.
 

Day 7

Hangzhou (B, L)

Sightseeing: FeiLai Feng, Ling Yin Temple (Temple of Soul's Retreat),Six Harmonies Pagoda, Dragon Well Tea Plantation

Today 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.

Dragon Well Tea is well known worldwide, so you will be guided to the Dragon Well Tea Plantation to discover the history of Chinese tea and the tea ceremony. The water of dragon well is sweet and of good taste. The green tea here enjoys very high reputation since Ming Dynasty (1368-1644 A.D) for its four special features: green color, fragrant aroma, sweet taste and smooth appearance. Finally you will be transferred back to your hotel.

Day 8

Hangzhou / Suzhou (B, L)

Transfer via: Bullet Train on our arrangement
Sightseeing: Humble Administrator’s Garden, Tiger Hill

In the morning you will be escorted to the railway station to take bullet train to Suzhou. Suzhou is praised as the "Oriental Venice" and called a “paradise on earth”.

Upon your arrival in Suzhou, our guide will meet you and escort you to a local restaurant to have lunch. In the afternoon 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.

Then we will 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.

Day 9

Suzhou / Shanghai (B, L)

Transfer via: Private coach
Sightseeing: Lingering Garden（Garden to linger in), Lion Grove, The Grand Canal, The No.1 Silk Factory, Panmen Scenery Area 

Today 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, you will find stones in various interesting shapes.

Afterwards, we will visit the Grand Canal. As well as the Great Wall, it ranks as the country's greatest engineering achievement and it is the longest man-made waterway in world. Cruising on the Canal, you will see the local peoples’ life.

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.

Finally we will stop at Pan Gate which is an ancient city gate with land and water entrances. Gates with land and water entrances were quite typical in ancient China. Pan Gate is the only one left.

In the evening, you will be transferred to Shanghai by our private coach.

Day 10

Shanghai (B, L)

Sightseeing: Nanjing Road, The Bund, Jade Buddha Temple, Shanghai Museum
Today you will start the day with a visit of the Bund. Take a walk along the waterfront and experience the smells, sights and sounds of the old "Wall Street" in Shanghai. Actually, some people say that the Bund is like "an exhibition of buildings". Then you will walk along the famous pedestrian street-Nanjing Road, known as "China's No.1 Shopping Street".

Follow to visit the Jade Buddha Temple. It is famous for its two rare statues of Buddha carved out of a single piece of white jade. One is a 1,000kg, 1.9 meter-high figure carved from Burmese jade brought to China in 1882, and the other is a sleeping Buddha; The temple receives thousands of visitors and worshipers every day. If you're lucky, you can watch the monks serving a ceremony in a side room.

Afterwards, you will visit the Shanghai Museum. As the biggest museum of ancient Chinese art in China, with a collection of over 120,000 pieces of Chinese art & cultural relics, Shanghai Museum is especially famous for its treasures of bronzes, ceramics, paintings and calligraphy, ancient Sculpture, ancient Jade, coins, Ming and Qing furniture and seals.

Day 11

Departure Shanghai (B)

Transfer via: Flight on your own arrangement

Today will be free for your own purposes, until our guide will escort you to the airport for your next destination.