China 12 Days Tour of Shanghai Kaifeng Luoyang Xian Beijing

Detailed Itinerary

• Day 1. Entry Shanghai.  
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• Arrive at Shanghai airport or train station.
  Be picked by private vehicle and English-speaking tour guide from Beijingservice.com and transferred to hotel for check in.
  Remainder of the day is at leisure.
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• Day 2. Shanghai: Yu Garden, Nanjing Road, Oriental Pearl TV Tower, The Bund, Huangpu River Cruise.  
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  Your guide will pick you up from hotel at 08:30am.
  Start your Shanghai trip with Yu Garden. This well-restored Suzhou-style garden is one of the best gardens in southern China. It perfectly combines pavilions, halls, bridges, towers, ponds and rockeries.
  Take a stroll on Nanjing Road. Nanjing Road is the most prosperous shopping street in Shanghai and one of the top ten pedestrian streets in China.
• After lunch, proceed to Oriental Pearl TV Tower. This 468-meter-high tower is the most recognizable landmark of Shanghai. It has four major sightseeing observatories at different heights.
  Wander on The Bund. The Bund is a famous waterfront along the Huangpu River. It is famed as "Exhibition of International Buildings" because of 52 various buildings in different architectural styles, such as Gothic, Baroque, Romanesque and the Renaissance.
  Take a cruise on Huangpu River, which is a good way to discover the old and new Shanghai.
  Transfer you back to the hotel after the tour.
•   Breakfast, Lunch,
• Day 3. Zhouzhuang Water Town, take train to Kaifeng.    Reach Kaifeng and hotel check-in.    
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  Your guide will pick you up from hotel at 08:30am.
  Proceed to Zhouzhuang Water Town. This ancient town has a history of more than 900 years old with many houses built in the Ming and Qing Dynasties. There are about 100 houses with courtyards, and 60 of them have arch gateways made by carved bricks.
  
• Drive to railway station in Shanghai to take train for Kaifeng.
  
  Local guide will pick you up from railway station in Kaifeng and escort you to check in the hotel.
•   Breakfast, Lunch, , , , , , ,
• Day 4. Kaifeng: Daxiangguo Temple, Iron Pagoda, Po Pagoda, Dragon Pavilion Park.    
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  Your guide will pick you up from hotel at 08:30am.
  First drive to Daxiangguo Temple. With a history of over 1,400 years, Daxiangguo Temple is one of the ten famous Buddhist temples in China.
  Then visit Iron Pagoda. Iron Pagoda was built in 1049 during the Song Dynasty and is the tallest and best of its kind in China. The dark glazed bricks on its surface make the pagoda appear to be made of iron.
• Go on to Po Pagoda. The Pagoda is the first Buddhist pagoda and one of the oldest existing architectures in Kaifeng. It is typical example of the transition from a quadrangular pagoda to an octagonal pagoda.
  Continue to Dragon Pavilion Park. Dragon Pavilion is a grand hall in the Dragon Pavilion Park, which is located the site of imperial palaces of many dynasties. It is the main part of the building group of Ming and Qing Dynasties(1368-1912) in the park.
  Transfer you back to the hotel after the tour.
•   Breakfast, Lunch, , ,
• Day 5. Kaifeng - Shaolin Temple - Luoyang.    
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  Your guide will pick you up from hotel at 08:30am.
  Proceed to Dengfeng to visit Shaolin Temple. Built in 495AD, Shaolin Temple is the famous birthplace of Shaolin Kung Fu. The main buildings include Hall of Heavenly Kings, Pagoda Forest, Dharma Cave and Shaolin Temple Martial Art Training Center.
• Then drive to Luoyang and check in the hotel.
•   Breakfast, Lunch, , ,
• Day 6. Luoyang: Longmen Grottoes, White Horse Temple.  
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  Your guide will pick you up from hotel at 08:30am.
  Visit Longmen Grottoes. Represented by well-preserved pagodas, carvings and statues, Longmen Grottoes is the largest and most impressive Buddhist cave in China. It was included as a World Heritage Site by UNESCO in 2000.
• Then drive to White Horse Temple.. As the cradle of Chinese Buddhism, White Horse Temple has a history of over 1,900 years. It consists of Main Temple, Indian Temple, Burmese Temple Thai Temple and Qiyun Pagoda. Many rare Buddhist statues and relics are housed in the temple.
  Transfer you back to the hotel after the tour.
•   Breakfast, Lunch,
• Day 7. Take train to Xian.  Reach Xian and hotel check-in.  
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  Pick you up from hotel and transfer to railway station. Take train to Xian.
  
  
• Local guide will pick you up from railway station in Xian and escort you to check in the hotel.
•   Breakfast, , , ,
• Day 8. Xian: Terracotta Warriors and Horses, Huaqing Pool, Big Wild Goose Pagoda, Dumpling Dinner and Tang Dynasty Show.  
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  Your guide will pick you up from hotel at 08:30am.
  Drive about 1 hour to visit Terracotta Warriors and Horses. Be honored as the Eighth Wonder in the World, Terracotta Warriors and Horses is a part of the Mausoleum of the Emperor Qin Shihuang(259-210BC). Over 8,000 life-size warriors, horses and chariots are arranged in battle formations.
• After lunch, proceed to Huaqing Pool. Huaqing Pool had been a resort palace for many dynasties because of its natural beauty and hot spring resources. It has become a landmark site for Chinese Tang Culture.
  Move on to Big Wild Goose Pagoda. Originally built in 652 of Tang Dynasty, the pagoda is functioned to collect Buddhist materials that were taken from India by the hierarch Xuanzang.
• Have delicious Dumplings for dinner. With different tastes, appearances and cooking techniques, dumpling dinner become an unmissable authentic dainty for travelers to Xian.
  Enjoy Tang Dynasty Show after dinner. Tang Dynasty Show presents the essence of music and dance art of the Tang Dynasty over a thousand years ago.
  Transfer you back to the hotel after the show.
•   Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner
• Day 9. Xian: Shaanxi History Museum, Great Mosque, Ancient City Wall, train to Beijing.   Reach Beijing and hotel check-in.  
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  Your guide will pick you up from hotel at 08:30am.
  First proceed to Shaanxi History Museum. Over 1,700,000 cultural relics are displayed in this comprehensive museum to show the history and culture of Shaanxi province and ancient China.
  Then visit Great Mosque. With a history of over 1,200 year, Great Mosque is one of the oldest and largest mosques in China. It was designed with traditional Chinese architecture style and decorated with Islamic culture.
• Go on to Ancient City Wall, one of the most important landmarks of Xian. It was built over 600 years ago as an important military defensive system to fortify the city.
  Afterwards, drive you to railway station to take train for Beijing.
  
  Local guide will pick you up from railway station in Beijing and escort you to check in the hotel.
•   Breakfast, Lunch, , ,
• Day 10. Beijing: Tiananmen Square, Forbidden City, Summer Palace, Temple of Heaven.  
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  Your guide will pick you up from hotel at 08:30am.
  Take a stroll on the largest downtown square in the world, Tiananmen Square. The square has witnessed the founding of the new China.
  Then enter Forbidden City. This world's largest palace complex was the imperial palace during the Ming and Qing dynasties.
• After lunch, Visit Summer Palace. Combining lakes, gardens and ancient structures, Summer Palace is the best-preserved and largest royal garden existing in China.
  Continue to Temple of Heaven, the largest sacrificial building complex in the world. The temple was the place where emperors came to perform worship to the God of Heaven and pray for good harvests.
  Transfer you back to the hotel after the tour.
•   Breakfast, Lunch,
• Day 11. Beijing: Beijing: Ming Tombs, Badaling Great Wall.  
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  Your guide will pick you up from hotel at 08:30am.
  Visit Ming Tombs in the morning. With a history of over 600 years, Ming Tombs is the final resting place of 13 emperors of Ming Dynasty(1368-1644).
  Discover the largest and the first built tomb, Changling. It is the tomb of the third Ming Emperor Zhu Di and his wife.
• Head to the famous Badaling Great Wall in the afternoon. Badaling is the best preserved and most popular section of the Great Wall of China. It is close Beijing city and featured with magnificent architectures and breathtaking nature scenery.
  Transfer you back to the hotel after the tour.
•   Breakfast, Lunch,
• Day 12. Departure.  
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  Pick you up from hotel and transfer to airport for departure.
•   Breakfast, ,