China 12 Days Tour of Shanghai Suzhou Zhouzhuang Hangzhou Huangshan Beijing Xian

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. Suzhou: Humble Administrator's Garden, Lingering Garden. Zhouzhuang Water Town.    
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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.
• Proceed to Zhouzhuang Water Town in the afternoon. 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.
  Transfer you back to the hotel in Shanghai after the tour.
•   Breakfast, Lunch, , ,
• Day 3. Hangzhou: Lingyin Temple, West Lake, Six Harmonies Pagoda, Huqingyu Tang Chinese Medicine Museum.    
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  Your guide will pick you up from hotel at 08:30am and drive to Hangzhou.
  Visit Lingyin Temple, one of the ten most famous ancient Buddhist temples in China. It has a history of about 1700 years. The temple contains an important collection of Buddhist literature together with many other treasures.
  Then proceed to West Lake. West Lake is one of the most beautiful scenic sites in China and a UNESCO World Heritage Site. We will take a cruise on the lake to enjoy the water view, historical sites and learn about the legends.
• Go on to Six Harmonies Pagoda. It is the landmark for navigation of Qiantang River. This octagonal pagoda is one of the masterpieces of ancient Chinese pagoda architecture.
  Then head to Huqingyu Tang Chinese Medicine Museum to learn about Chinese Traditional Herbal Medicine.
  Transfer you back to the hotel in Shanghai after the tour.
•   Breakfast, Lunch, , ,
• Day 4. Shanghai: Yu Garden, Nanjing Road, Oriental Pearl TV Tower, The Bund, flight to Huangshan.  Reach Huangshan and hotel check-in.  
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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.
  Then drive you to airport to take flight for Huangshan.
  
  Local guide will pick you up from airport in Huangshan and escort you to check in the hotel.
•   Breakfast, Lunch, Breakfast, Muslim Lunch,
• Day 5. Mt. Huangshan.  
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  Drive to Mt. Huangshan in the morning.
  Take cable car at Yungu Station to the top of the mountain and check in the hotel.
• After lunch, you will view Brush Pen Peak, tour Lion Peak and Xihai Grand Canyon, enjoy the sunset glow at the Cloud Dispelling Pavilion, etc.
  Stay overnight at the summit.
•   Breakfast, Lunch,
• Day 6. Mt. Huangshan, Tunxi Ancient Street, flight to Beijing.  Reach Beijing and hotel check-in.  
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  Try to get up early in the morning to catch the magical sunrise.
  After breakfast, visit the Begin-to-Believe Peak to see the grotesque pine trees.
  Take the cable car down to the foot of the Mt. Huangshan and drive back to the Huangshan City.
• Visit Tunxi Ancient Street. The street was built 700 years ago in the Song dynasty. Its total length is about 1.5 km and the sides of the street are laid with slab stones.
  Then drive you to airport to take flight for Beijing.
  
  Local guide will pick you up from airport in Beijing and escort you to check in the hotel.
•   Breakfast, Lunch, , ,
• Day 7. Beijing: Tiananmen Square, Forbidden City, Summer Palace, Olympic Park.  
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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 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 8. 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 9. Beijing Hutong, Temple of Heaven, flight to Xian.  Reach Xian and hotel check-in.  
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  Your 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.
• After lunch, drive you to airport to take flight for Xian.
  
  Local guide will pick you up from airport in Xian and escort you to check in the hotel.
•   Breakfast, Lunch, , ,
• Day 10. Xian: Shaanxi History Museum, Great Mosque, Ancient City Wall, Bell and Drum Tower Square, Dumpling Dinner and Tang Dynasty Show.  
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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.
  Continue to Bell and Drum Tower Square. The square offers good views of Bell and Drum Tower. It is the good place for local people to relax and enjoy leisure time.
• 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 11. Xian: Terracotta Warriors and Horses, Huaqing Pool, Big Wild Goose Pagoda.  
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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.
  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, ,