All Inclusive China Tour with Kung Fu Experience

You will arrive in Beijing today! Our guide will meet you at the airport and bring you to the hotel for a good rest. Beijing, located in the north of China, is a city with a history of three thousand years. Beijing once was the capital of six dynasties in Chinese history. Through long history, many magnificent buildings have been built, making Beijing the city with the largest number of imperial palaces, gardens, temples, and tombs in China. In the next three days, you will explore this cultural city with our guide! 

We are going to visit Tian’anmen Square as our first stop in the morning. Tian’anmen Square is at the center of Beijing. It is famous for its fabulous architectural art and irreplaceable status in history. Several famous sightseeing spots are near it, such as Monument to People’s Heroes, Great Hall of the People, and Chairman Mao Zedong Memorial Hall. Every day in the early morning, there is the solemn national flag-raising ceremony.

We can go through Tian’anmen Square and enter the Forbidden City (closed each Monday). Built in the Ming Dynasty (1368-1644), it once served as the palace where 24 emperors lived. The Forbidden City was built by Zhu Di, the third emperor of the Ming Dynasty. Before Zhu Di became the emperor, he was a prince who ruled Beijing. At that time, Beijing was not the capital. After he got the throne, he decided to move the capital to Beijing, where he was more familiar. He was an ambitious emperor and definitely wanted to build a majestic palace in Beijing for himself. It took over a decade to complete the construction of Forbidden City and cost most of the fiscal revenue at the time. Finally, this amazing palace was accomplished in 1420.

After lunch, we will pay a visit to the Temple of Heaven. It was a place for the emperors to worship heaven for a good harvest and peaceful years. There is a wall that may make you exclaim how amazing the craftsmanship it is hundreds of years ago. It is called the Echo Wall. The radian of the wall is regular and standardized. The wall itself is very smooth and neat, which makes it transmit sound well. If you stand beside the wall and your friend is at the other end of the wall, you can hear his voice clearly although he speaks in a very low voice. You can have this amazing and entertaining experience when you visit the Temple of Heaven.

Then we will move to the Summer Palace. It is the largest and best-preserved royal garden. Therefore, it is worth visiting. The Summer Palace was a birthday gift that Emperor Qianlong (1711-1799) built for his mother. The main attractions in the Summer Palace are Kunming Lake and Longevity Hill. On Kunming Lake, you will see a Marble Boat. Different from other buildings in the Summer Palace which are in traditional Chinese building style, the Marble Boat is in western style with colorful glass decorated. You may want to know why there is such a large boat on the lake. In Chinese culture, boats and water are always used as a metaphor for the emperor and his people. The boat can move on the water, and it can also be overturned by the water. Similarly, the emperor can rule his people and he can also be overthrown by his people. Therefore, the Marble Boat here is to remind all the emperors to love their people. 

After a whole day's visit, you will be transferred back to the hotel. 

Tian’anmen Square

Summer Palace

The first attraction we will drive you to visit is the Ming Tomb. It is 44 kilometers away from downtown. We will drive about one hour towards the northwest. You can get a good rest on the bus. The Ming Tomb is where 13 emperors of the Ming Dynasty were buried. If you know about the history of the Ming Dynasty, you may wonder why there are only 13 tombs while there were 16 emperors in the Ming Dynasty. The first two emperors died before the Ming Tomb was built and Emperor Zhu Di was the first emperor buried in Ming Tomb. And then the Emperor Jingtai, who fought for the throne with his brothers was finally demoted and lost the qualification to be buried in the royal tomb. Therefore, there are only 13 emperors were buried in the Ming Tombs. Today you will have a chance to visit the Ding Tomb. It is the only tomb that has been excavated. You will walk into the underground palace of the Ding Tomb and see the inner structure of the Chinese royal tomb. 

After lunch, we will drive about 40 minutes (35 kilometers) northwest to the Badaling Great Wall, an important section of the Great Wall. It is also the first section of the Great Wall that opened to tourists. As we know, the Great Wall is a military defensive project. There are 5 ancient cannons at the entrance of the Badaling Great Wall. The length of the largest one is 2.85 meters and its caliber is 105 millimeters. It can cause damage to objects one kilometer away, which made it one of the most advanced weapons at that time. Besides the ancient military installations here, you can also enjoy the majestic Great Wall itself and the beautiful scenery of northern China.

After that, you will be transferred to your hotel. 

Badaling Great Wall

Ming Tombs

Today we will go to Beijing Zoo to visit various animals. As we all know, the panda is the national treasure of China. It has won fans from all over the world due to its chubby body and its unique black-and-white color. Our Beijing all-inclusive tour provides an opportunity for you to get close to the panda! In the Panda House, you can see pandas eating bamboo and playing with the breeder. 

After lunch, our Beijing tour comes to an end. I believe that Beijing has impressed you! We will leave for Luoyang by the estimated train G663 15:45/19:39. You will meet the guide at the railway station. Our guide will take you to a local restaurant for dinner. A good way to know a city’s culture and customs is by tasting the local food. After this meal, you will be transferred to the hotel to have a good rest. We will visit Luoyang tomorrow!

Beijing Zoo

Beijing Zoo

Our first stop at Luoyang is White Horse Temple. Located 23 kilometers northeast of Luoyang City, White Horse Temple was founded in the Eastern Han Dynasty (25-220). Being the first temple built after Buddhism was introduced to China, it has a history of more than 1,900 years. There is an interesting tale about why the temple is built. It is said that one night in 67 AD, Emperor Liu Zhuang, the second emperor of the Eastern Han Dynasty, dreamed of a god surrounded by golden light flying from a distance and landing in front of the imperial palace. Emperor Liu Zhuang was very delighted. As soon as he met the ministers the next day, he told them his dream. A knowledgeable official told him, “I heard that there is a god in Tianzhu (now India), known as a Buddha, who can enter the dream of people. You probably dreamed of this Buddha.”Believing that this was an enlightment of the Buddha,so, Emperor Liu Zhuang sent 13 envoys to India to seek Buddhism. Three years later, they returned to Luoyang with two Indian monks and brought back several scriptures and Buddha statues. The emperor ordered the construction of the White Horse Temple in Luoyang to house the respected Indian monks and store the precious scriptures and statues. That is the origin of the White Horse Temple. 

And then, we will drive 84 kilometers southeast from White Horse Temple, which will take about 1.5 hours to reach our next station--Shaolin Temple. Built in the Northern Wei Dynasty (386-534), Shaolin Temple is famous for not only its ancient and mysterious Buddhist culture but also its superb Shaolin martial arts. This is the birthplace of Shaolin martial arts. There is an old saying in China that Shaolin martial arts are the best in the world. Our Luoyang all-inclusive tour will take you into the Shaolin Temple and get deep touch with Shaolin Kung Fu. When you enter the Shaolin Temple, you will pass through the Main Gate that was built in Qing Dynasty (1616-1911) and renovated in 1975. The Chinese name of Shaolin Temple – “少林寺” engraved on the forehead of the gate was written by Emperor Kangxi, the fourth emperor of the Qing Dynasty. The stone lions on both sides of the Main Gate were carved in the Ming Dynasty, which not only shows the majesty of the temple but also symbolizes the function of suppressing evils because, in Chinese culture, lions are the embodiment of righteousness. 

We will drive back to Luoyang to have dinner and then you will be sent to the hotel.

White Horse Temple

Shaolin Temple

This is our last day in Luoyang. Today we will drive 16 kilometers (20 minutes) south of Luoyang city to visit Longmen Grottoes. The Longmen Grottoes were first excavated around 494 A.D on the cliffs. About one kilometer from north to south, it houses more than 97,000 Buddha statues. The largest Buddha statue is 17.14 meters high and the smallest is only 2 centimeters. According to legend, in ancient times, there was a vast lake surrounded by mountains in the south of Luoyang. Villagers grazed sheep on the mountains and fished in the lake, living a peaceful life. A child in the village went to the mountain to herd sheep every day. He often heard the voice of “open or not?” from the ground. He told his mother about this weird voice. His mother told him that if he heard it again, just replied “open”. The next day, the boy heard the voice again, as soon as he uttered the word “open”, the mountain split from the middle. Numerous honeycomb-like holes appeared on the cliffs, and in the holes were all stone statues. And that is how the Longmen Grottoes formed. Of course, this is only a tale, but it shows people’s great curiosity about the Longmen Grottoes from ancient times. 

After lunch, we will leave for Shanghai by the estimated flight MU5390 16:50/18:45. Our guide will meet you at the airport. We will prepare a hearty dinner to welcome your arrival. I believe you will be familiar with our guide after this meal. He/she will lead you to travel to Shanghai in the next few days. After dinner, you will be sent to the hotel for a good rest. 

Longmen Grottoes

Longmen Grottoes

We will first visit Jing’an Temple. Jing’an Temple is located at Nanjing West Road. There are two distinctive differences between Jing’an Temple and other temples. Firstly, most of the temples are located in the quiet area or even on the mountain while Jing’an Temple is located on the most prosperous road- Nanjing Road in Shanghai. Secondly, most of the buildings in the temple look simple and austere. But the buildings in Jing’an Temple look ornate. When you walk into the temple, you will find most of the buildings here are decorated with copper such as the beams, roofs, and the beast statues on the roofs. That makes this temple look magnificent and brillante. Besides this, the Jing’an Tower in the temple is even more sumptuous. The Buddha statues on the tower are all gleaming. Because about 500,000 pieces of gold foil are pasted on these Buddha statues. It is because of this that Jing'an Temple is known as the most expensive Buddhist temple in China.

Then we will go to Yu Garden (closed each Monday). In China, gardens are divided into three categories: royal gardens, private gardens, and temple gardens. Yu Garden is a private garden. There are many construction skills in building Chinese gardens. Four basic factors are water, plants, pavilion, and rockery. Most of the private gardens are in the south of China because of the abundant water resources and more suitable stones for the rockery. Yu Garden was built during the Ming Dynasty more than 400 years ago by Pan Yunduan, a high-ranking official. He built this garden to please his parents and let them enjoy their twilight years. The huge rockery in Yu Garden is the oldest, most exquisite, and largest yellow stone rockery in China. This rockery is about 12 meters high and is made of 2000 tons of yellow stone. When you visit it, you will be amazed at its spectacularity.

After lunch, we will visit Oriental Pearl TV Tower. The two huge spheres on the tower are like two rubies, glittering and dazzling. Today you will go to the sightseeing hall on the Oriental Pearl TV Tower. It is 275 meters high and is a good place to overlook Shanghai. In addition, the lighting system of Oriental Pearl TV Tower has been designed by a French designer. It can present more than 1,000 lighting effects. In different festivals, the Oriental Pearl TV Tower will light up different colors lights to celebrate.

The next stop is the Bund, which is located at the bank of the Huangpu River. Unlike the high-rise buildings opposite the Bund, the buildings on the Bund are full of history. Most of them are buildings in the classical style built in the early 20th century. Walking on the Bund, you seem to see Shanghai 150 years ago. Remember to take pictures at the Bund, this is the favorite thing of most tourists.

After visiting the Bund, we will go for a walk on Nanjing Road. There are many time-honored food brands on Nanjing Road. Shen Dacheng is a famous food store established in 1875. Different cakes, shortcrust, pastries, and so on are all made by Chinese traditional skills. I will highly recommend you to taste the Qingtuan (sweet green rice ball). It is one of the most famous snacks in Shanghai. In addition, Tongren Tang (TRT) is also a celebrated brand of traditional Chinese medicine which enjoys a good reputation in the domestic and overseas market. It was found in 1669 and has a history of 352 years. You can visit there to know more about the traditional Chinese medicine culture. 

oriental pearl TV Tower

Nanjing road

Today we will drive southwest for about an hour (48 kilometers) to Zhujiajiao Water Town. Entering Zhujiajiao Water Town, we will first see the Tai’an Bridge, which is very beautiful and is said to symbolize peace and prosperity. It is said that if you make a wish on the Tai’an Bridge, your wish will come true soon. So you will see many tourists standing on the bridge with their hands folded and make wishes. In front of the Tai’an Bridge is the Fangsheng Bridge, which has been well preserved after a few centuries. With a length of 70.8 meters and a width of 5.8 meters, this bridge is the longest existing stone bridge in Shanghai. The name Fangsheng means free captive animals in Chinese. It is said that one day a fisherman caught a golden fish in the lake. But he was then told the golden fish is the embodiment of the king’s girl in this lake. After knowing this, the fisherman freed this golden fish and built a bridge here named Fangsheng Bridge. 

After lunch, we will drive back to Shanghai City and visit Tianzifang Market. It is a good place for shopping. You can buy authentic local foods such as dried pork, local White Rabbit toffee, and fruit tea. There are also some handicraft shops and perfume shops. Although the fragrance may not last as long as the famous brands' perfume, it is diverse and distinctive. You can come and choose your perfume.

After dinner, we will watch an acrobatic performance called SPIRAL. To be honest, watching acrobatic performance requires an additional fee in other travel agencies’ itineraries. But in our Shanghai all-inclusive tour, no extra fee is needed. Just prepare to enjoy the show. After this wonderful show, you will be sent to the hotel. 

Zhujiajiao Ancient Town

Zhujiajiao Ancient Town

Today we will arrive in Hong Kong by the estimated flight MU507 11:30/14:05. Our guide will pick you up at the airport and send you to the hotel. We will start the Hong Kong tour tomorrow!

We will spend half of the day visiting 3 attractions. First, we will go to Victoria Peak by the Peak Tram. The Peak Tower on the top of Victoria Peak boasts shops, restaurants, and a sightseeing terrace. There is a theme restaurant of Forrest Gump. You will see posters of Forrest Gump and various related items in the restaurant. It is a very distinctive restaurant in Peak Tower. In addition, the open-air restaurant here is also very popular. After all, no one can resist the temptation to enjoy delicious food while enjoying the beautiful scenery.

Second, we will visit Repulse Bay. Repulse Bay can be regarded as a big-name star in Hong Kong’s beaches. The delicate beach is surrounded by palm trees. You can spend a cozy time here by enjoying the beautiful sea view and the sea breeze. Walking along Repulse Bay, you will see several traditional Chinese-style buildings. One of them is the Tin Hau Temple. Because Hong Kong used to be a small fishing village. People here hope the sea can be calm and no danger when they fishing. The Tin Hua Temple was built to bless all the fishermen safe on the sea. 

Finally, we will go to Stanley Market. There are many outdoor restaurants and bars. Besides, you can find all kinds of handicrafts, souvenirs, and clothing accessories here. There are also small currency change stores in the Stanley Market. So, don’t worry that the good quality products may run out of the Chinese money in your pocket. Just choose something you like! If you come here in June, you may have a chance to watch the dragon boat race because the traditional Chinee Dragon Boat Festival is in this month. 

Stanley-Market

Repulse Bay

Today we will drive southwest about 34 kilometers to Lantau Island, which will take you about 40 minutes. We will take Ngong Ping 360 Cable Car to the top of the mountain. It will take you about 25 minutes to get to the mountain and you can enjoy the beautiful scenery of Lantau Island on the way. You will also have a chance to overlook the Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macau Bridge which is the world's longest sea-crossing bridge. There are two famous attractions called Big Buddha and Polin Monastery. The Big Buddha statue is about 34 meters high. It is the largest outdoor seated bronze Buddha statue in the world. It symbolizes prosperity and peace. Polin Monastery is the most famous monastery in Hong Kong. So it receives a lot of tourists every day. The vegetarian food here is also famous. If you want, you can try the mushroom noodles here. 

After lunch, we will visit Tai O Fishing Village. Tai O Fishing Village was once Hong Kong’s main fishing port. It has also been an important place for the salt industry for a century. With the development of Hong Kong, the fishing and salt industry are no longer the main industry in Hong Kong. But there are still a few fishermen living in the village. Today you will take a sampan to visit the old fishing village. If you are lucky enough, you may see the Chinese White Dolphin. The local salted fish and shrimp paste are excellent. You can buy some. 

We will offer the dinner and after that, you will be transferred to the hotel.

Lantau Island

Tai O Fishing Village

How time flies！It is time to say goodbye! Our guide will see you off at the airport. We are looking forward to seeing you again in China.

Author: Yuxin Yan

Proofreader: Betsy He