14 Days Classic China Tour with Yangtze River Cruise

Day 1  Friday 16-April-10  Meal(s) ()   Arrival / Beijing

Transfer via: by air-own arrangement   All Nipon 905  Arrive in Beijing 1:25 pm
Program: Arrive in Beijing, you will be met and transferred to hotel, free at the rest of the day

Accommodations: Doubletree by Hilton Beijing arranged on your own

Day 2  Saturday 17-April-10   Meal(s) (B,L)   Beijing

Program: Full day tour for the Badaling Great Wall with Cable Car, The Forbidden City, The Temple of Heaven

-Badaling Great Wall: This less-crowded section of the Great Wall is a pleasant drive 90km NE of Beijing. A cable car takes you to a good section (avoiding a very steep climb), where you can walk along the wall, through the watch towers and enjoy superb views as it snakes across the hills and mountains.
-The Forbidden City: The largest imperial palace in China during the Ming and Qing dynasties with a history of around 600 years.
-The Temple of Heaven: The place where the ancient emperors used to pray for the God's bless of the whole nation.

Accommodations: Doubletree by Hilton Beijing arranged on your own

Day 3  Sunday 18-April-10     Meal(s) (B,L)   Beijing / Xian

Transfer via: by air (arranged by us) CZ5034 1800-1950
Program: Visit Hutongs by rickshaw, The Summer Palace, then be transferred to airport for Xian. Arrive in Xian, be met and transferred to hotel

-Hutongs: The old narrow paths where common people lived. All the Hutongs crisscross with each other, dotted with the Kindergarten, the Bell Tower, the Drum Tower, the Tea House, and the lake, House of Gong Infante and local people's houses among them.
-The Summer Palace: The largest and best-preserved royal garden in China with a history of over 800 years.

Accommodations: Bell Tower Hotel****
Tel: 029-87600000, Fax: 029-87271217


 

Day 4  Monday 19-April-10   Meal(s) (B,L)   Xian

Program: Full day tour for Big Wild Goose Pagoda, The Great Mosque of Xian, The Bell Tower, The Ancient City Wall and Cycling along The Ancient City Wall

-Big Wild Goose Pagoda: It is a well-preserved ancient building and a holy place for Buddhists.
-The Great Mosque of Xian: It is the largest and best preserved of the early mosques of China. Built primarily in the Ming Dynasty when Chinese architectural elements were synthesized into mosque architecture.
-The Bell Tower: The wooden tower, which is the largest and best-preserved of its kind in China, is 36 meters (118 feet) high.
-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.

Accommodations: Bell Tower Hotel****

Day 5  Tuesday 20-April-10   Meal(s) (B,L)   Xian

Program: Full day tour for the Terra-cotta Warriors and Horses Museum and pottery factory. You will have about half day to visit the pottery factory and learn how to process the Terra Cotta Warriors or Horse Replica Statues, you can also talk with the workers

-The Terra-cotta Warriors and Horses: The greatest archaeological findings of the century: the army of terra-cotta warriors and the bronze chariots entombed in vast underground vaults at emperor Qin's tomb. Today you will also have chance to go inside the pit and visit the terra-cotta warriors and horses closely.

 

Accommodations: Bell Tower Hotel****

Day 6  Wednesday 21-April-10   Meal(s) (B,L,)   Xian / Guilin 

Transfer via: by air(arranged by us)    CZ6376  1215-1400
Program:  Visit History Museum in Xian, The Gallery of Farmers, then be transferred to airport for Guilin. Arrive in Guilin, be met and transferred to hotel

-History Museum in Xian: It is a magnificent architectural complex in the Tang Dynasty style. The Museum possesses a treasure of 113,000 historic and cultural artifacts unearthed in Shaanxi, and it covers an area of 1,100 square meters for exhibition.
-The Gallery of Farmers: the gallery has more than 1000 paintings on display, the gallery is a complex in which you can not only appreciate the special beauty of farmers' paintings, experience the local culture we largely preserved from Qin and Han Dynasty

Accommodations: Guilin Bravo Hotel****
Tel: 0773-2823950, Fax: 0773-2851344


 

Day 7  Thursday 22-April-10  Meal(s) (B,L)  Guilin / Yangshuo / Guilin

Program: Full day tour for Li River Cruise, West Street, Big Banyan, The Moon Hill, after the tour, drive back to Guilin

-Li River Cruise: Depart from your hotel in the morning. Be transferred to the Zhujiang Pier(about 1 hour drive)for a 4.5 hours wonderful cruise. You will enjoy the picturesque mountains, peaceful green fields, farms and villages with water buffalos, cows wondering around on both sides of the river bank. Disembark at the one-thousand-year-old town Yangshuo in the afternoon.
-West Street: West Street is the oldest street in Yangshuo with a history of more than 1,400 years. Situated at the center of Yangshuo County, West Street has become, since the 1980's, a window of eastern and western culture and the biggest 'foreign language center' in China.
-Big Banyan: 6 kilometers away from the County of Yangshuo, you will find a prominent and towering tree: the Big Banyan Tree. It has survived wind and rain over centuries since it was planted during the Sui Dynasty (581-618).
-The Moon Hill: 50 minutes' bike from Yangshuo, there lies the Moon Hill. Named for the crescent shaped cave running through the moon, Moon Hill is one of the highlights in Yangshuo.

Accommodations: Guilin Bravo Hotel****

Day 8  Friday 23-April-10   Meal(s) (B,L)   Guilin / Longsheng / Guilin

Program: Full day tour for Dragon's Backbone Rice Terraces, Zhuang Ethnic Tribes, Yao Ethnic Tribes, then drive back to Guilin

-Dragon's Backbone Rice Terraces: Longji, as known as the Dragon's Backbone Rice Terraces, is located in Longsheng County, the mountainous region on the northeastern part of Guilin. They were first built in the Yuan dynasty (about 800 years ago) and completed in the Qin dynasty by Zhuang people.

Accommodations: Guilin Bravo Hotel****

Day 9  Saturday 24-April-10   Meal(s) (B,L)   Guilin / Chongqing / Yangtze Cruise

Transfer via: by air (arranged by us)   CZ8192   1445-1610
Program: Visit Elephant Trunk Hill, Seven Star Park, Reed Flute Cave, then transferred to airport for Chongqing. Arrive in Chongqing, be met and transferred to dock. Board the ship from 17:00 to 20:00 and departs Chongqing at 22:00

-Elephant Trunk Hill: Located at the conjunction of the Li River & the Peach  Blossom River, the whole hill looks very much like a giant elephant with a long trunk, it is the symbol of Guilin city.
-Seven Star Park: The biggest park in Guilin, where you can see a giant Panda Yueyue, the Camel Hill, Bonsai Garden and more sites if you are energetic enough to climb some hills.
-Reed Flute Cave: Known as "the Palace of Natural Arts" where you can see beautiful stalactites & stalagmites, learn how they are formed.

Accommodations: Victoria Rose*****

Day 10  Sunday 25-April-10   Meal(s) (B,L,D)   Yangtze Cruise

Program: (8:00-10:00) Shore excursion to either Fengdu Ghost City or Wanxian, or Shibaozhai (depending on river conditions).Then returns to the ship and sail towards the magnificent Three Gorges

Fengdu, with fantastic temples of underworld demons and gods, is constructed on the Mingshan Hill by the river band. It is known as the "Ghost City" and is a place for punishing the devil and awarding the good.
Wanxian: One of the most important and largest ports on the Yangtze. It is widely known for its variety and hustling markets. Fifty percent of the city will be resettled after the Three Gorges Dam Project is completed.

Accommodations: Victoria Rose*****

Day 11  Monday 26-April-10   Meal(s) (B,L,D)  Yangtze Cruise

Program: (08:00-13:00) Passing through Qutang Gorge and Wu Gorge 
          (13:00-16:30) Boat excursion to Shennong Stream 
          (17:30) Passing through Xiling Gorge

Shennong Stream is another tributary of the Yangtze River, and its fast-flowing, clear water runs southwards through deep gorges. The stream races past large and small Karst caves, flocks of swallows, sheer cliffs, deep gorges, waterfalls, three-colored springs, rapids, the ancient plank path, a suspended coffin in the cliff, groups of ancient tombs and marvelous Karst formations.

Accommodations: Victoria Rose*****

Day 12  Tuesday 27-April-10   Meal(s) (B,L)   Yangtze Cruise / Yichang / Shanghai

Transfer via: by air (arranged by us)   FM9366 1535-1705
Program: (08:00-10:00) Shore excursion to The Three Gorges Dam Site.

(13:00) Disembark at Yichang, be met at the dock and transferred to airport for Shanghai. Arrive in Shanghai, be met and transferred to hotel.

Accommodations: Heng Sheng Peninsula International Hotel****

Day 13  Wednesday 28-April-10   Meal(s) (B,L)   Shanghai

Program: Full day tour for the Yu Garden, Yu market, Jade Buddha Temple, Taikang Lu Art Street and Maoming Nan Lu  Street near Nanchang Road, Shanghai Old Street, in the evening, you will enjoy the Huangpu River cruise by ship

 

-Yu Garden: It's reputed to be the most beautiful garden south of the Yangtze River. Built beside the Temple of the City God and covering only fives acres, it follows the Suzhou garden design of a world in microcosm.
-Jade Buddha Temple: The Jade Buddha Temple is one of the few temples in downtown Shanghai. If you're lucky, you can watch the monks serving a ceremony in a side room.
-Shanghai Old Street: Known as Fangband Road, "Shanghai Old Street" with a total of 825 metres, is adjacent to the Yuyuan Garden Bazaar Area and runs in an east-west direction from Zhonghua Road to Henan Road South, with both ends marked by decorated archways.
-Huangpu River: take a glimpse at the old Shanghai & new Shanghai. Enjoy a sight of rows of magnificent buildings on the banks and ships of different sizes briskly plying the Huangpu River.

Accommodations: Heng Sheng Peninsula International Hotel****

Day 14  Thursday 29-April-10   Meal(s) (B)   Shanghai / Exit

Transfer via: by air-own arrangement  United #836   Depart Shanghai 3:55 p.m.
Program: Free at leisure, then you will be transferred to airport for your flight to next destination


 

Service Ends!