Day 01: Arrival in Beijing
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.
Day 02: Beijing (B+L+D)
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 03: Beijing (B+L)
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 04: Beijing (B+L)
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.
After visiting Lama Temple, you will make a beeline for the airport to take a flight to Xian and transfer to the downtown hotel.
Day 05: Beijing – Urumqi (B+L)
Transfer via: FM flight
The morning is at your leisure before taking flight to Urumqi. Upon arrival, transfer to the downtown hotel. The rest time is free at disposal.
Day 06: Urumqi (B+L)
Get up early in the morning and drive about 110km to visit Heavenly Lake (Tian Chi). Surrounding the Heavenly Lake are snow mountains, glacier forests and grassland alpine lakes, featuring a vertical natural landscape belt. It is a beautiful place to take a stroll around. Then you will also visit Southern Pasture. One of the most spectacular spots here is the West White Poplar Gully. Traveling through this narrow verdant gully is a unique experience for sightseers who love snowcapped peaks, waterfalls, dragon-spruce trees and wild flowers.
Day 07: Urumqi – Turpan (B+L)
Transfer via: Private van
Get up early in the morning and drive about 380km to Turpan. After checking in at the hotel, you will visit Jiaohe Ruins, which has a long history of about 2,300 years. Jiaohe Ruins is the largest and best preserved ancient city built from compressed earth anywhere in the world.
After lunch, you will visit Karez Well, which is a delicate irrigation system devised by the smart Xinjiang people 2,000 years ago. Then you will head to Emin Minaret, the largest ancient Islamic tower in Xinjiang.
Day 08: Turpan – Dunhuang (B+L+D)
Transfer via: Evening train/Soft sleeper
After checking into the hotel, your first stop in this city is Gaochang Ruins, the largest set of ancient city ruins ever found in the Western Regions. Afterwards, you will visit Baizikeli Thousand Buddha Cave, one of the most important Buddha grotto relics in Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region. Then you proceed to visit Flaming Hill – the hottest place in China. After having dinner, you will take train to Dunhuang. Your home stay tonight is on the train.
Day 09: Dunhuang (B+L)
Upon your arrival in the morning, you will be met and transferred to the hotel. After checking in at the hotel, you will visit Echoing-Sand Dune and the Crescent Lake. Each time the wind blows, there is a sound from the mountain and when there is a breeze, the sound is like musical instruments, hence the name Echoing-Sand Mountain. Crescent lake is located in the arms of Echoing-Sand Mountain, appearing clear and beautiful.
Day 10: Dunhuang – Lanzhou (B+L)
Transfer via: FM flight
You spend today on the site of Mogao Caves, which is located 25 kilometers (about 15.5 miles) southeast of Dunhuang City. It is regarded as the premier Buddhist spot in China. After lunch, you will take flight to Lanzhou and transfer to the hotel. The rest time is free at disposal.
Day 11: Lanzhou (B+L)
You spend the day at Bingling Thousand Buddha Caves. There are 183 caves existing with 694 stone statues, 82 earth statues and murals of 900 square meters (9, 688 square feet).
On the way to Bingling Caves, there is a beautiful Liujiaxia Reservoir, where the crystal water lying among the yellow earth mountains is quite a sight.
Day 12: Lanzhou – Xiahe (B+L)
Transfer via: Private van
Get up early in the morning and drive about 280km to Xiahe County and check in at the hotel. Then you will visit the Sangke Grassland, an ideal natural rangeland. The rest of the day is on your own to explore the county.
Day 13 Xiahe – Lanzhou (B+L)
Transfer via: Private van
You spend the morning visiting the famous Labrang Monastery, which is one of the six largest monasteries of the Yellow Sect of the Lamaism. After lunch, you will drive back to Lanzhou.
Day 14 Lanzhou – Xian (B+L)
Transfer via: AM flight
Take flight to Xian and transfer to the hotel. Then you will 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.
Day 15: Xian (B+L)
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 16: Xian – Shanghai (B+L)
Transfer via: AM flight
Get up early in the morning and check out at the hotel, you will take flight to Shanghai and transfer to the hotel. After freshening up, you will visit the Yu Yuan garden, a former private garden, called work of art, designs with different styles of the traditional Chinese horticulture art. 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.
Day 17: Shanghai (B+L)
Today you will start the day with a trip to visit 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. 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.
Day 18: Leave for home (B)
The morning is at your leisure before boarding your flight back home.
