Day01: Arrival in Shanghai
Welcome to China. Upon arrival, our local guide will take you to your downtown hotel. The rest of the day is on your own to explore the city.
Day02: Shanghai (B+L)
Sightseeings: Shanghai Museum/ Oriental Pearl TV Tower/ Bund/ Nanjing Road
Today you will start the day with a trip to visit the Shanghai Museum, which is a veritable treasure house of ancient Chinese art and houses 120,000 precious relics. Afterward, you will also pay a visit to Oriental Pearl TV Tower. The tower becomes Shanghai’s new landmark and a big magnet for tourists with its unique design composed of balls and columns. In the late afternoon, you will visit the picturesque Bund. Extending for 1.5 km on the shore of the Huangpu River, the Bund is a symbol of China’s prosperous future and Shanghai’s international past. Then you will stroll along the Nanjing Road, which is considered as one of the World’s Seven Great Roads in the 1930s and always mentioned in travel guides as a must see of China tour.
Day03: Shanghai (B+L)
Sightseeings: Yu Yuan garden/ Jade Buddha Temple/ Shanghai Xin Tian Di
In the morning, you visit the Yu Yuan Garden. A former private garden, called work of art, designs with different styles of the traditional Chinese horticulture art. After lunch continue to inspect the Jade Buddha Temple, which is renowned for a 2m-tall Buddha carved from a single piece of white jade, brought to China by a Burmese monk in 1822. Then you will stroll along Shanghai Xin Tian Di, which has become an urban tourist attraction that holds the historical and cultural legacies of the city. In the evening, you will take a flight to Huangshan and transfer to the hotel.
Day04: Shanghai – Yichang (B+L+D)
Transfer via: FM flight
The morning is at your leisure before you board your flight to Yichang and transfer to the dock to get on the ship.
Day05: Yangtze River Cruise (B+L+D)
Shore excursion to Three Gorges Dam.
Day06: Yangtze River Cruise (B+L+D)
Shore excursion to Lesser Three Gorges or Shennong Stream.
Day07: Yangtze River Cruise (B+L+D)
Shore excursion to Fengdu or Shibaozhai or Wan County.
Day08: Chongqing – Xian (B+L)
Sightseeings: Ciqikou Ancient Town/ Eling Park
Transfer via: FM flight
Disembarks at Chongqing at 9 a.m. and have some tours around the city. Firstly, you will take stroll along the Ciqikou Ancient Town, with a history of more than 1700 years. While visiting, you will find the local residents dedicated to their traditional way of life, unaffected by modern influences to be found in the larger towns and cities. After lunch, you will visit Eling Park, which was built in 1909. There you will find numerous special plant species. In addition, there is a newly built tower (Liangjiang Pavilion) providing the view of the entire city. After lunch, take flight to Xian and transfer to the downtown hotel.
Day 09: Xian (B+L)
Sightseeings: the Terracotta Warriors and Horses Museum / Big Wild Goose Pagoda/ Bell Tower
Today you will visit what has been called the 8th Wonder of the World the Terracotta Warriors and Horses Museum. It is one of the most important archaeological excavations and culture findings in the 20th century. After lunch, you will drive back to downtown city to visit the Big Wild Goose Pagoda. The Big Wild Goose Pagoda is one of symbols in Xian and a remarkable milestone of the Chinese architecture. Afterward, you will head to visit Bell Tower. Originally built in 1348, the Bell Tower in Xian is situated in the very heart of the city and is the most well-preserved and best-known one in China.
Day 10: Xian – Beijing (B+L)
Sightseeings: the Provincial History Museum/ City Wall
Transfer via: FM flight
Starting the day early, you visit the Provincial History Museum, which houses a large collection of historic and cultural artifacts unearthed in Shaanxi Province. Later you mount the City Wall. It was restored in the Ming dynasty and is considered as the largest and most intact Ming Dynasty castle in the world. From there you can have a good view of Xian. In the mid-afternoon, you will take a flight to Beijing and transfer to the hotel. The evening is on your own to explore the city.
Day 11: Beijing (B+L+D)
Sightseeings: Tiananmen Square/ Forbidden City/ Temple of Heaven/ Peking Duck Dinner
Today you will visit the Tiananmen Square which is considered as the largest square of the world. Subsequently, you visit the Forbidden City, the most complete imperial palace in China. And later you will also pay a visit to the Temple of Heaven. Temple of Heaven was built in the year 1420 and symbolized the meaning that the emperor can contact with the sky through it.
Tonight, enjoy a Peking Duck Dinner in a famous restaurant.
Day 12: Beijing (B+L)
Sightseeings: Badaling Great Wall / Spirit Way / Ming Tombs
After breakfast, you will visit the Badaling Great Wall where you will experience at first hand the wonder of the Great Wall. For lunch you’ll sample some delicious fare in a local restaurant. Afterwards, take a short drive to visit the Spirit Way and one of Ming Tombs. Spirit Way is an impressive marble archway as well as the entrance to the Ming Tombs equipped with many animals and people statues on the left and on the right of the avenue.
Ming Tombs are the representative royal tombs of the Ming Dynasty tombs. 13 emperors of the Ming dynasty from 1368 to 1644 were buried there.
Day 13: Beijing (B+L)
Sightseeings: Summer Palace / Lama Temple
Transfer via: FM flight
Today you will start the day with a trip to the Summer Palace, which has a history of over 800 years. All the man-made hills, halls, pavilions and temples, including Kunming Lake and Longevity Hill, blend together harmoniously in spite of their individual styles. After lunch, you will also pay a visit to the Lama Temple. It is a typical Tibetan Monastery in Beijing and reveals various architectural styles from Han, Mongolia, Manchuria and Tibet, and the impressive 60-foot Maitreya Buddha, carved form a single sandalwood tree.
Day 14: Leave for home (B)
The morning is at your leisure before boarding your flight back home.
