15 Days Small Group Tour of Beijing - Xi'an - Guilin - Chengdu - Chongqing - Yangtze River Cruise - Yichang - Shanghai

Tour Type: Small Group of max 18, guaranteed departures
Guide & Driver: English-speaking guide, experienced driver with an air-conditioned coach
Accommodation: 11 nights at good 5-star & 4-star hotels, 3 nights on Yangtze River cruise

Highlights:

Must-see sights - Mutianyu Great Wall, Forbidden City, Terracotta Army.
A cruise tour to take in breathtakingly beautiful views along Li River through Guilin.
Have a once in a life chance to visit the home of legendary Giant Pandas.
Travel back 200 years in Shanghai as you walk along the Bund.

Prices from 4 people are available at this rate

$3,039.00 ~~$3,299.00~~

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Itinerary

Day 1 Arrival in Beijing

Upon arrival at Beijing Airport, please clear yourself through Customs. Our English-speaking guide will meet you at the arrival hall and then transfer you to the hotel. Have a good rest to restore yourself for your lovely China tour; or, as your hotel is located right in Beijing’s cultural and commercial center, while away the hours by exploring whatever may interest you in the nearby areas.

Accommodation: Hotel New Otani Chang Fu Gong

Day 2 Beijing

After breakfast, our guide will host a 30-minute welcome meeting at the hotel lobby, to share some travel guidelines and tips for everyone to get prepared for your journeys ahead. Then, start this tour with an excursion to the world-famous Tiananmen Square, China’s open city square for grand national-level rallies. We will walk the square to reach the Forbidden City, with a visit to the Treasure Gallery included in the ticket.

The Forbidden City, once home and office to 24 emperors during the Ming and Qing dynasties (1368 – 1911 AD), is drawing people from all over the world to bathe themselves in the imperial radiance. Symbols and signs of imperial power can be found here and there, from the golden color of roofs, to images of Chinese dragon and phoenix, to lion statues... The former two are understandable, but, lions? Actually, Chinese emperors only began to see real ones since the Western Han dynasty (202 BC - 9 AD), when they were brought from Africa before His Majesty as tribute. For their intimidating magnificence, the lions were thought by the emperors as an emblem of power, and ever since began to sit at the doors of dignitaries. The bronze ones are those for Chinese emperors.

An a la carte welcome lunch (valued at CNY150.00 per person and included in our price) will follow at a noted nicely decorated local restaurant, for you to taste diversified Chinese food. Of course, Peking Roast Duck - an elaborately made cuisine served for royal families at ancient times - is covered.

Then we will head for the Temple of Heaven. This was where emperors of the Ming and Qing dynasties offered sacrifices to Heaven in order to pray for bumper harvests. Its architecture, with round roofs symbolizing Heaven and square walls Earth, exudes a divine majesty you would hardly find anywhere else in the world.To end today’s trip, we will surprise you with a special program: appreciating a wonderful acrobatic show. Not far away from the site of the Temple of Heaven, it is the Red Theater, where you will enjoy a grand visual feast of the splendid Chinese Acrobatic Show.

Meals: Western buffet breakfast, A la carte welcome lunch

Day 3 Beijing

Visit Mutianyu Great Wall by a round-trip cable car ride and toast for Great Wall challenge with red wine; drive by Olympic Bird's Nest; then take a rickshaw ride through Hutong alleys and visit a local family in a traditional courtyard house. (B)

Day 4 Beijing to Xi'an by Flight

Visit Panda Hall and Summer Palace; taste local flavors for lunch; fly to Xi'an and transfer to hotel. (B+L)

Day 5 Xi'an

Visit Terracotta Army and the discoverer’s home of the first terracotta warrior; have a unique experience to make your own mini clay warrior; continue to visit Giant Wild Goose Pagoda, and then enjoy dumpling dinner and Tang Dynasty Music and Dance Show in the evening. (B+D)

Day 6 Xi'an

Connect with local people at City Wall Park and learn to practice Tai Chi from a master, then visit City Wall; taste local flavors for lunch at Muslim Quarter; in the afternoon visit Great Mosque and Shaanxi History Museum. (B+L)

Day 7 Xi'an to Guilin by Flight

Fly to Guilin and transfer to hotel; visit Reed Flute Cave and Elephant Trunk Hill. (B)

Day 8 Guilin - Yangshuo - Guilin

Take a Li River cruise from Guilin to Yangshuo; explore West Street and have a countryside tour; drive back to Guilin. (B+L)

Day 9 Guilin to Chengdu by High Speed Train

Take a high speed train with first class seat to Chengdu and check in at hotel; taste local Gai Wan tea and see the Chinese matchmaking corner at Renmin Park. (B)

Day 10 Chengdu to Chongqing by High Speed Train

Visit Giant Panda Base and Wide and Narrow Alleys; take a high speed train to Chongqing and board the Yangtze River cruise ship for a 3-night stay. (B+D)

Day 11 Yangtze River Cruise

Take an onshore excursion to Ghost City, then enjoy your leisure time on board or participate in some cultural activities; three buffet meals a day plus midnight snacks are served. (B+L+D)

Day 12 Yangtze River Cruise

Admire Yangtze Three Gorges and take an onshore excursion to Shennv Stream. (B+L+D)

Day 13 Yichang to Shanghai by High Speed Train

Disembark from cruise ship and visit Three Gorges Dam; take a high-speed train to Shanghai and transfer to hotel. (B)

Day 14 Shanghai

Visit Shanghai Museum and Yu Garden; enjoy an a la carte farewell lunch; stroll along the Bund and take a Huangpu River cruise tour. (B+L)

Day 15 Departure from Shanghai

Please check out before 12:00, and head for the airport in our recommended ways; a pleasant journey home! (B)

Inclusions：

Domestic airfares & train fares
Hotel accommodation with breakfasts
A la carte lunches as itinerary specifies
Professional English-speaking guides
Drivers & air-conditioned vehicles
Entrance fees to tourist sites
Yangtze River cruise with full board
The service charge recruited by the cruise company
Tips or gratuities for hotel porters