Shanghai Suzhou Yangtze River Cruise Xian Beijing Private Tour

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, Jade Buddha Temple, Nanjing Road, Oriental Pearl TV Tower, The Bund, Huangpu River Cruise.  
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  Your private 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.
  Go on to Jade Buddha Temple, a Buddhist temple with the architecture style of Song Dynasty(960-1279). The temple houses many ancient Buddhist sculptures, rare paintings and Buddhist scriptures.
  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. Suzhou: Humble Administrator's Garden, Lingering Garden, Grand Canal.    
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  Your guide will pick you up from hotel at 08:30am and drive to Suzhou.
  Visit Humble Administrator's Garden, the largest of all classical gardens in Suzhou. It is a representative of gardens in southern China. Humble Administrator's Garden is a treasure house containing arts of architecture, calligraphy, carving, painting, and bonsai.
• Then visit Lingering Garden. The garden is celebrated for its artistic way of dealing with the spaces between various kinds of architectural form. The four parts of the garden are connected by corridors which twist and turn with the terrain, spiraling up hills, spanning valleys, skirting ponds, or leading to secluded nooks.
  Take a cruise on Grand Canal. The cruise can give you a full view of the landscape of a typical river town in southern China including age-old dwelling houses, stone bridges of traditional designs and historical relics.
  Transfer you back to the hotel in Shanghai after the tour.
•   Breakfast, Lunch, , ,
• Day 4. Take flight to Yichang.  Reach Yichang and board ship.  
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  Pick you up from hotel and transfer to airport. Take flight to Yichang.
  
  
• Local guide will meet you at the airport in Yichang and escort you to board the cruise ship.
•   Breakfast, , , ,
• Day 5. Yangtze River Cruise Ship.  
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• Take a shore excursion to Three Gorges Dam in the afternoon. Admire this world's largest hydroelectric dam.
  
• In the evening, you will be the guests at the captain's cocktail party.
•   Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner
• Day 6. Yangtze River Cruise Ship.  
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  Cruise through the two of the great Three Gorges: Qutang Gorge, framed by steep mossy cliffs and Wu Gorge, celebrated for its 12 peaks.
  Take an excursion to Shennong Stream, another tributary of the Yangtze River. You may find the plank roads and ancient hanging coffins.
•   Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner
• Day 7. Yangtze River Cruise Ship.  
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• In the afternoon, go ashore to visit Fengdu Ghost City, where the Chinese believe the soul of the dead goes.
•   Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner
• Day 8. Yangtze River Cruise Ship, Chongqing, Chongqing Zoo(Panda House), flight to Xian.  Reach Xian and hotel check-in.  
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  Arrive in Chongqing in the morning.
  Local guide will meet you at the port.
  Drive to Chongqing Zoo. You may take a closer look of lovely pandas in the Panda House. Chongqing Zoo is the home to over 230 species of animals.
• Then transfer you to airport to take the flight for Xian.
  
  Local guide will meet you at the airport in Xian and escort you to check in the hotel.
•   Breakfast, Lunch, , ,
• Day 9. Xian: Terracotta Warriors and Horses, Huaqing Pool, Big Wild Goose Pagoda, Dumpling Dinner and Tang Dynasty Show.  
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  Your private 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 10. Xian: Shaanxi History Museum, Great Mosque, Ancient City Wall, flight to Beijing.  Reach Beijing and hotel check-in.  
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  Your private 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.
  Then transfer you to airport to take the flight for Beijing.
  
  Local guide will meet you at airport in Beijing and escort you to check in the hotel.
•   Breakfast, Lunch, , ,
• Day 11. Beijing: Tiananmen Square, Forbidden City, Summer Palace, Olympic Park.  
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  Your private 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 visit Forbidden City. This world's largest palace complex was the imperial palace during the Ming and Qing dynasties(1368-1911).
• Proceed to Summer Palace after lunch. Combining lakes, gardens and ancient structures, Summer Palace is the best-preserved and largest royal garden existing in China.
  Admire the most outstanding architectures in Olympic Park, Bird's Nest and Water Cube. Have an outside view of these two venues.
  Transfer you back to the hotel after the tour.
•   Breakfast, Lunch,
• Day 12. Beijing: Ming Tombs, Badaling Great Wall.  
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  Your private 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 13. Beijing Hutong, Temple of Heaven, Beijing Zoo, Lama Temple.  
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  Your private guide will pick you up from hotel at 08:30am.
  Visit Beijing Hutongs by rickshaws. Beijing Hutongs are narrow lanes surrounded by traditional courtyard residences. They have a history of over 700 years and represent the traditional culture and way of life of old Beijingers.
  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.
• Move on to Beijing Zoo, the biggest downtown zoo in China with the largest number of animal species. You can find the national treasure animal, giant pandas, in the zoo.
  Then visit Lama Temple, which is the large and well preserved Tibetan monastery in Beijing. The Hall of Harmony and Peace is the main building of the temple.
  Transfer you back to the hotel after the tour.
•   Breakfast, Lunch,
• Day 14. Departure.  
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  Pick you up from hotel and transfer to airport for departure.
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