13 Days China Tour of Beijing Xian Yangtze River Cruise and Shanghai

Detailed Itinerary

• Day 1. Arrival  
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•   No meal today.
• D2. Beijing: Tiananmen, Forbidden City, Temple of Heaven, Beijing Hutong.  
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  This morning, you will be met by private tour guide from hotel lobby at 08:30a.m. Then we will drive to Visit Tiananmen Square. You may take a leisure walk on the biggest downtown square for about 20 minutes. Great Wall Hall of The People, Memorial Hall of Chairman Mao, Momument of People
• We will drive to Temple of Heaven after lunch and a short rest in a nice local restaurant. Temple of Heaven is the sacrificial building complex for ancient emperor since more than 500 years ago. It was built in 1420, the period in Ming Dynasty. Circular Mound Altar and Tianxin Stone are very interesting. Our tour guide will discover the secret of the two places during the trip. The sightseeing takes about one hour.
  
  Beijing Hutong is one of the best places to discover old Beijing. Old Beijing section help travelers to touch the daily life of old Beijing residents. We will stop at the Hutong near Drum Tower, which is the central area of Beijing. Man-powered rickshaw is arranged to offer an unique experience to walk through in the old small alleys.
  
  You will be be transferred back to hotel after the sightseeing of downtown Beijing. Dinner is on your own. You may discover a restaurant in or near your hotel.
• Note
  • We will reserve tickets of Forbidden City in advance to save the time waiting in line. Please send scanned copy of passport upon reservation.
  • Please let us know if you prefer to have lunch in local house of Hutong area.
•   Breakfast, Lunch,
• D3. Beijing: Ming Tombs, Lunch, Badaling Great Wall.  
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  On the morning of third day, tour guide driver and vehicle will meet you from hotel at 08:30a.m. We will drive one hour to the north section of Beijing. The attraction we will visit this morning is Ming Tomb, which is the burial place of thirteen Ming Dynasty Emperors. We will discover the biggest one of them - Changling (Chang Tomb). The main building of the Tomb is LingEn Palace, which is the only huge palace made of camphor wood.
  
  After one hour visiting, we will drive to local restaurant to have lunch. The Lunch time is around 40 minutes.
• Drive 30 minutes to Badaling Great Wall - the most famous and best reserved section of Great Wall in China. This part of Great Wall was built in 1505 of Ming Dynasty; but travelers still can find the Original appearance of the wall. We suggest you to walk to south east if this is public holiday or weekend, which can help you to find uncrowded section of Great Wall.
  
  You will be transferred back to downtown hotel after the whole day trip.
• Note
  • Tickets of Badaling Great Wall needs to be reserved in advance. Please send scanned passport via email upon booking.
  • The traffic between Great Wall and Beijing is heavy during rush hour.
•   Breakfast, Lunch,
• D4. Beijing: Summer Palace, Lunch, fly to Xian.  Reach Xian.  
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  After buffet breakfast in hotel, tour guide will meet you from lobby. This is the last day of this trip in Beijing. We will drive around 40 minutes to Summer Palace - the previous imperial garden first built in 1750. The garden mainly consists of Kunming Lake and Wanshou Mountain. For sure, the 17-hole-bridge and Bronze Bull should not be skipped. It is available to enjoy the beauty of the garden on cruise ship from May to October. The normal sightseeing time is 1.5 hours.
• After lunch, you will be transferred to airport to connect flight to another ancient capital - Xian, ancient name ChangAn. After reaching Xian, you will be met from waiting hall of Xian Xianyang International Airport and transfer you to hotel. Remainder of the day is at leisure.
• Note
  • We will departure for airport 3 hours in advance. And tour guide may adjust the time according to traffic condition.
  • Tour guide name of Xian will be informed via email one day in advance.
•   Breakfast, Lunch,
• D5. Xian: Terracotta Warriors, Huaqing Hot Spring, Big Wild Goose Pagoda, Tang Dynasty Show  
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  Xian local tour guide, driver and private vehicle will meet you from hotel at 08:30 a.m. Drive about one and half hours to visit Terracotta Warriors Museum - the eighth wonder of the world. You may find more than 6000 pottery soldiers depict the history of the Qin Dynasty from 221 BC-206 BC. Each terracotta figure differs in height, face, gesture and even hairstyle.
• After lunch in a nice restaurant, we will drive back to Xian city.
  on the way to city, we will visit Huaqing Pool (also called Huaqing Hot Spring), which was used as a place for imperial member to enjoy Hot-spring. The traditional building in Tang Dynasty style tells a love story of emperor in Tang Dynasty (618-907).
  Move on to visit Big Wild Goose Pagoda. Being one of the landmarks of Xian, Big Wild Goose Pagoda was built in 652 during Tang Dynasty. Buddhist sutras and figurines brought to China by Xuanzhang was stored in this pagoda.
• This evening, we will enjoy a performance with combination of traditional entertainment attributable with historical records and ancient Chinese cultural relics. Being a performance covers music and dances, Tang Dynasty Show was popular in the Tang dynasty of China more than one thousand years ago.
•   Buffet breakfast in hotel, Lunch, Dinner
• D6. Xian: Shaanxi Provincial History Museum, Great Mosque, Muslim Street, City Wall, Drum Tower Square  
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  After breakfast in hotel, private Xian tour guide will meet you from hotel lobby at 08:30 a.m. The first attraction we will visit is Shaanxi Provincial History Museum. Being the first huge state museum with modern facilities in China, this museum the museum houses over 300,000 items including murals, paintings, pottery, coins, as well as bronze, gold, and silver objects.
  Then we will visit Great Mosque, one of the oldest and best-preserved mosques in China. The amazing place is this mosque was built in a style of Chinese courtyard with strong traditional Chinese architectural features. And it still serves as an important spot for religious activities of over 60,000 Muslims in Xian.
• Have lunch in a local restaurant. Drive to visit Muslim Street (Muslim Quarters). More than 20000 Muslims are making their living in this area, after they move from Arabic countries and Persia to Xian since the Western Han Dynasty (206 BC-9 AD).
  Move on to discover a section of Xian Ancient City Wall. Built in 1370, it is the oldest largest and best preserved city wall of China, which used to be an important military defensive system to fortify the city.
  If time permit, we will dive to visit Drum Tower Square to take a leisure walk before being transferred back to hotel.
• Note
  • It is available to visit the city wall by foot, battery car or bike.
•   Buffet breakfast in hotel, Lunch,
• Day 7. Xian fly to Chongqing  Chongqing short sightseeing before boarding.   
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  Be met from hotel of Xian on early morning. Boxed breakfast will be prepared for morning flight. Then you will be transferred to airport to connect flight to Chongqing.
• If time permit, we will take a short sightseeing of Giant Panda House and Residence of Stilwell.
  Then we will drive to cruise port to board ship on Yangtze River.
• Note
  • 5 star ship of New Century fleet or Victoria fleet will be used.
•   Boxed breakfat in hotel of Xian, Lunch,
• D8. Yangtze River Cruise: Fengdu Ghost City. Fengdu Ghost City. Qutang Gorge and Wu Gorge.   
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  Have buffet breakfast on ship. Then we will enjoy the scenery along the Yangtze River. If you are interested Chinese Taichi, it is a good idea to do some Taichi exercising follow a Taichi master on ship.
  
  A shore excursion to Fengdu is included. Travelers may touch the culture related with religion and spirit.
• During the cruising, there will be some Chinese cultural related activities. You may choose by interests.
• Captain's welcome reception is arranged in this evening.
• Note
  • Above itinerary is covered by quotation. Please pay on spot if you also want to add 'optional trip'. The optional trip information is only available after checking in based on weather condition.
•   Buffet breakfast, lunch, dinner
• D9. Yangtze River Cruise: Shennong Stream, Xiling Gorge. Pass through the five-step ship locks.  
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  After buffet breakfast, you may enjoy more magnificent scenery along Yangtze River than yesterday. The shore excursion today lead you to discover Shennong Stream. This trip lead you to enjoy the beautiful scenery of this tributary of Yangtze River and to discover the life of local Tujia people.
  
• It is a wonderful chance to take photo while the ship cruise through Qutang Gorge, Wuxia Gorge and Xiling Gorge.
  
• The ship pass through the five-step ship locks, which is an unique experience on Yangtze River.
  Captain's Farewell Banquet will be arranged in the evening.
• Note
  • Sometimes there will be cultural performances by the crew, and tourists can also join in, which make the trip more interesting.
•   Buffet breakfast, Buffet lunch, Buffet dinner
• D10. Yangtze River Cruise: Three Gorges Dam. Yichang to Shanghai.  Shanghai airport - Shanghai Hotel.  
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  This is the final day on Yangtze River in this trip. The highligh is shore excursion to the Three Gorges Dam Site, the largest hydroelectric project in the world. Construction of the dam formally began in 1994. The body of the dam was completed in 2003, and the whole construction competed in 2009. Arrives in Yichang at 11:30.
  Be met by our local tour guide and transferred to airport to connect flight to Shanghai.
  
• After arriving at Shanghai airport, be met and transferred to hotel in downtown Shanghai.
•   Buffet breakfast on ship, Lunch,
• D11. Shanghai: Suzhou Garden and Zhouzhuang Water Town one day trip.  
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  Be met by Shanghai private tour guide from hotel lobby at 08:30a.m. Drive one and half hours to Suzhou to visit Humble Administrator's Garden, the largest of all classical gardens in Suzhou. The garden is representative of Chinese classical gardens in the Ming Dynasty, which are focused on a central pond with pavilions, terraces, chambers, and towers located nearby.
• Move on to visit Zhouzhuang Watertown. This ancient town has a history of more than 900 years with many houses built in the Ming and Qing Dynasties. There are about 100 houses with courtyards dotted in the Criss-crossed waterways, and 60 of them have arch gateways made by carved bricks.
  
  Be transferred back to Shanghai after the tour.
•   Shanghai buffet breakfast in hotel, Lunch on the way,
• D12. Shanghai: Yu Garden, Oriental Pearl TV Tower, Nanjing Road, the Bund, Acrobatic Show   
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  Be met by Shanghai private tour guide from hotel lobby at 08:30 a.m. Drive to visit Yu Garden, which is called Yuyuan in Chinese. Being a famous Suzhou-style garden, it was finished in 1577 by a government officer of the Ming Dynasty (1368-1644). With pavilions, halls, chambers, towers, ponds and rockeries, the Garden presents more than 40 scenic spots.
  
  Drive to Pudong New Area to visit Oriental Pearl TV Tower. The Tower provides 3 major sightseeing floors, which make it possible for travelers to take a bird's view of the city in different heigh of 98, 263 and 350 meters.
  
  
• Move on to visit Nanjing Road, the First Business Street of China. More than 600 businesses offer countless brands, superior quality, and new fashions.
  
  Then we will visit The Bund, a waterfront along Huangpu River in downtown. The main building styles covers Gothic, Baroque, Romanesque, Classicism, Renaissance, etc.
  
• In the evening, we will enjoy Acrobatic Show, performed by Shanghai Magic Troupe and New Shanghai Circus Troupe. This is the first team who performed acrobatics in Broadway Stage of USA from China.
  
  You will be transferred back to hotel after the whole day trip.
•   Buffet breakfast in hotel, Lunch,
• D13. Shanghai: Departure.  
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  Be met from hotel and transferred to airport to connect homeward flight. Service end. Usually the pick up time is 4 hours before departure time, unless tour guide update you a new pick up time based on traffic condition.
• Note
  • Boxed breakfast will be prepared if you take early morning flight
•   Breakfast, ,