Relaxing Honeymoon Tour with Yangtze River Cruise

Welcome to China! Today, you will arrive in China and get off your flight at Beijing airport. Our kind guide will wait for you at the reception hall. After meeting you, you will be transferred to the hotel. On the way back to hotel, the guide will introduce something about Beijing. Beijing, the capital of China, has a history of over 2,000 years. It is a good start of your happy marriage, creating a cherished memory for your honeymoon tour. In Beijing, you will visit the famous Chinese Great Wall, the biggest city square, some royal palaces and traditional Beijing residence, etc. No attractions are arranged for you today, so you can have a good rest in your room.

Free Time Suggestion:

If time allowed and you want to experience Beijing in advance. You are recommended to visit Houhai Lake. You can relax and admire the scenery around the lake. If boating is allowed, you can rent a small boat to spend a quiet and private romantic moment with your love on the lake. Besides, you may also rent a tandem bicycle to have a ride around the lake.

After breakfast, we will go to the Tian’anmen Square. It has a history of over 500 years and is the largest city square in the world. The famous Tian’anmen Gate Tower, the Great Hall of the People, the National Museum, the Monument to the People’s Heroes are all located here. Besides, various large-scale celebrations are held here, such as the military parade for the 70th anniversary of the founding of the People’s Republic of China. In addition, the flag-raising ceremony every morning attracts numerous visitors. The flag-raising time is set according to the time the sun rises. If you want to watch the flag-raising ceremony, you need to get up earlier and get to the square before dawn.

Leaving the Tian’anmen Square, we will head to the Forbidden City (closed on Mondays). It is a royal palace of the Ming and Qing Dynasties (1368-1912) in China, covering an area of 720,000 square meters. There are more than seventy large and small palaces with more than nine thousand houses in the Forbidden City. When you visit the Forbidden City, you can not only appreciate its colorful architectural art but also admire its precious cultural relics displayed inside the palaces. You may see various treasures exhibited in the Treasure Gallery. Among these treasures, a set of golden and silver armor covered with 16 vivid dragons flying among the cloud is especially attractive. It is said that more than 40,000 man-hours were spent in making this armor. When you stand before this armor and look at it carefully, you will be shocked at its superb craftsmanship.

Later, we will arrange a local restaurant for lunch. After that, we will go to the Summer Palace directly. The Summer Palace is a royal garden in the Qing Dynasty (1636-1912) and it is located in the western suburbs of Beijing. It is mainly composed of Longevity Hill and Kunming Lake with the Western Mountains as the background. You may take a boat to admire the natural scenery around the Kunming Lake and appreciate the characteristic Chinese traditional buildings and temples on the Longevity Hill. About these temples, many mysterious stories have been spread among the people. There was a Buddha statue in the Tower of Buddhist Incense on the Longevity Hill. Some years later, the Buddha statue inexplicably disappeared. Later, the body of the Buddha statue appeared in a temple in downtown Beijing. And the head of the Buddha statue was found in Kunming Lake. Through professional measurement, the experts found that the two parts can connect perfectly. No one knows why they were separated. To today, it is still an unsolved mystery.

Forbidden City

Summer Palace

After breakfast, we will drive about 1.5 hours (73KM) to the Mutianyu Great Wall, which is located in the north of Beijing. Upon arrival, we will arrange taking the chairlift for you and your love to get to the top of the Great Wall. On the way up, you can have a romantic private time with your wife/husband, admiring the amazing scenery around the Great Wall. When you reach the top and overlook the Great Wall, the Great Wall seems like a huge dragon lying among the mountains, which is magnificent. At that moment, you can take some beautiful pictures or make some videos, which will be very popular on your YouTube. If you want to leave something on the Great Wall in memory of your honeymoon tour, the guide will take you to a specially-developed graffiti area, allowing you to write your love words or draw some pictures. But it should be noted that the other areas of the Great Wall are prohibited to write, draw or carve, etc., otherwise, you will be punished seriously. I’m sure that visiting the world-famous Chinese Great Wall will be the highlight of your China honeymoon tour.

Later, we will go to a local authentic restaurant for lunch. After that, we will drive back to downtown Beijing to visit Chinese traditional Hutongs. Hutongs refer to the narrow alleys, lanes or small streets in the traditional Beijing dwelling district. We will arrange the romantic rickshaw for you and your love to experience the Hutongs. You may see some neighborhood residents gather together, chatting, playing chess or playing Mahjong in Hutongs. This cozy and leisurely scene will make you relaxed. If you are interested in the daily life of a local Beijing family, our guide can take you to visit their home. Many elder Beijingers had worked in the Forbidden City. Perhaps, the host of the family you visit was the royal chef serving the emperor. You may hear some interesting stories that happened in the Forbidden City.

Hutong

Mutianyu Great Wall

After breakfast, we will go to the Beijing Zoo. Beijing Zoo is located in the Xicheng District of Beijing and is the earliest zoo in China with a history of more than 100 years. This zoo is divided into three zones: East Zone, South Zone and North Zone. In the zoo, you can not only see precious animals from China, such as giant pandas, golden monkeys, Siberian tigers and cranes but also can see representative animals from all over the world, such as Africa chimpanzees, Australian kangaroos, jaguars, Mexican manatees, European bison, etc. In addition, there is also an amphibian reptile exhibition hall in the zoo, where more than 100 kinds of reptiles are exhibited from all over the world. In this hall, you can see the largest crocodile- bay crocodile in the world today. The length of most male adult bay crocodiles is about 5 meters. According to the record, the longest male adult bay crocodile in history can reach up to 7 meters.

After visiting these animals, we will go to the Panda House to see the chubby pandas. The Panda House was built in 1989, with a building area of 1,452 square meters, besides, its outdoor sports field covers an area of 2,000 square meters. The entire Panda House is built in the shape of a bamboo shoot interspersed with 11 pairs of arch rings, which seem like the bamboo joints outside the bamboo shoot. When you visiting, you may see the panda eating the bamboo leaves leisurely, the panda sleeping on the ground or trees soundly, the panda playing with a ball or the panda stretching his foreleg. Each panda is so cute that attracts a lot of tourists coming here every day. You can take pictures with these pandas or make some videos to post to your Facebook, which will receive a lot of followers. But remember to turn off your cellphone or camera’s flash to avoid frightening the pandas. These cute pandas will definitely be one special memory for your Beijing honeymoon tour.

After lunch, you will take the Estimated train G87 14:00/18:09 to Xi’an. Your Xi’an guide will wait for you at the train station and then transfer you to the hotel.

Beijing Zoo

Panda House

This morning, we will drive about 1 hour (40KM) to the Terra Cotta Warriors and Horses Museum, which is located in the northeast of Xi’an. The Terra Cotta Warriors and Horses Museum refers to the burial pits of the Mausoleum of the First Qin Emperor, which is known as the Eighth Wonder of the World. At present, there are three burial pits that have been excavated. Among the three pits, pit No. 1 is the most well-restored one, where you can see a large-scale army of terracotta warriors standing in this pit in various forms. If you watch carefully, you will find that each warrior is lifelike, from the armor to the expressions, from the weapons to the palm prints, all of which are amazing. It is said that there are more than thirty kinds of mustache styles for these terracotta warriors.

After lunch, we will go to visit the Big Wild Goose Pagoda. The Big Wild Goose Pagoda, located in the southern suburb of Xi’an, is a pavilion-style brick pagoda. The pagoda is 64 meters high with seven floors and there are stairs inside the pagoda, along which you can get to each floor. You can have a different sight of the Xi’an city through the windows on each floor. The Big Wild Goose Pagoda was built under the charge of Xuanzang, and it took 2 years to complete. It is said that there is an underground palace underneath the Big Wild Goose Pagoda, where the precious Buddhist scriptures, gold and silver small Buddha statues and more than ten thousand Buddhist relics that Xuanzang brought back from India have been preserved. Although no one has seen the underground palace, this mysterious palace has attracted many experts’ attention.

Leaving the Big Wild Goose Pagoda, we will go to the Muslim Street. The Muslim Street is a famous food and cultural district with a long history of more than a thousand years. It is one attractive place that the domestic and foreign visitors cannot miss when they come to Xi’an. When you walk into the Muslim Street, you will feel the strong Muslim culture and atmosphere. The buildings on both sides of the street are mostly built in Muslim style, and the street vendors are dressed in Muslim costumes, hawking their delicacies on their stalls. You can choose your favorite foods meeting your taste. Several most popular local specialties, such as Steamed Cold Noodles, Pita Bread Soaked in Lamb Soup, Peppery Beef Ball Soup, etc. are highly recommended. You can also buy some local snacks such as the Rice and Jujube Cake, dried nuts and preserved fruits to take home.

Muslim Street

Big Wild Goose Pagoda

Today, you will take the Estimated train G4113 10:10/16:29 to Chongqing. The guide will wait for you at the train station and then transfer you directly to the port for the Yangtze River Cruise. The rooms of the cruise ships we choose for you are of national four-star standard and above. There are different types of rooms on the cruise. We can arrange suitable rooms for you according to your needs to ensure that you and your love could have a happy and romantic honeymoon trip on board. If you choose the room equipped with a private sightseeing platform, you can enjoy the beautiful scenery on both sides of the Yangtze River without stepping out of your room. The catering on the cruise is mainly a combination of Chinese and Western buffet, which can provide you with delicious and nutritious food. You can choose what you like according to your taste without worrying about whether the food is satisfying. During the whole cruise tour, the bars and coffee shops are also open normally and you can spend a private romantic time with your love anytime. We believe that these comprehensive services will make you and your love be satisfied with this honeymoon cruise.

Chongqing

Yangtze River

Today, your Yangtze River Cruise will start officially and you will have your three meals on board. On the way to the dining hall for breakfast, you may see the persons practicing Tai Chi on deck if the weather is good. If you are interested in Tai Chi, you can learn some actions. And it is also a good chance to know the traditional Chinese culture. The first attraction we will pass by is the Fengdu “Jade Emperor” and we will disembark for an excursion. The whole scenic area of Fengdu “Jade Emperor” is built on the Heaven Mountain. Before entering the scenic area, you will see a huge building in the shape of the head of Jade Emperor (Jade Emperor is the ruler of the Heavenly Palace) on the top of this mountain. When you climb up to the top of the mountain, you can have a bird’s-eye view of the Fengdu county, as well as a close appreciation of the Yangtze River and the overall view of Fengdu Ghost City. Besides, there are more than thirty buildings and 208 carefully sculpted statues of immortals in different forms in the scenic area. Among these buildings, the most interesting one is the Yuxian Bridge (‘Yuxian’ means meeting the immortal). It is said that Wang Fangping, an ancient Chinese Taoist priest, met the immortal here and learnt from the immortal. Finally, he became an immortal and flew to the heavenly palace. To commemorate this event, the descendants built this bridge here.

Option: Fengdu Ghost City Tour

There is another interesting place you cannot miss, that is Fengdu Ghost City. If you are brave enough and want to have a look at the so-called “Ghost City”, which is built according to the hell in Chinese mythology, you can visit the Fengdu Ghost City. Walking in this “Ghost City”, you will see many architectures which only appear in the hell, such as the “Ghost-Torturing Hall”(the hall for judging the dead), “Ghost Gate” (the gate separating the two worlds that the human beings and the ghosts live in) and “Eighteen-Level Hell”(the bottom of the hell), etc. In addition, you can also see a variety of strange and bizarre images of ghosts, as well as the terrifying and chilling instruments of torture appearing in hell. It may not be a sweet experience, but it is a unique experience on a honeymoon tour.

Fengdu “Jade Emperor”

Fengdu Ghost City

Today, the ship will pass through three gorges and the first is Qutang Gorge. It is the shortest gorge of the Three Gorges of the Yangtze River. It is famous for its towering and steep mountains on both sides. Passing through this gorge, you will see many interesting attractions along its shoreline, such as the breathtaking Ancient Plank Road, the mysterious Bellows Gorge (Feng Xiang Xia), the Chalk Wall (Fen Bi Qiang) with inscriptions, and the legendary Helmet Cave. In addition, not far from the downstream Bellows Gorge , there is a strange-shaped peak that juts out of the south shore and it is known as the “Rhinoceros Looking At the Moon”. Qutang Gorge can be said to be the most spectacular section among the Three Gorges.

Later, you will pass through the Wu Gorge. It is named after the Mount Wu. The Wu Gorge, also known as the Great Gorge, stretches for more than 40 kilometers. Insides the Wu Gorge, you will see the clouds, fogs and drizzles all year round. Moreover, the gorge is deep and long, with grotesque peaks standing on both sides and a meandering river passing through in the middle. Entering the Wu Gorge seems like entering a beautiful landscape gallery, and you, as if becoming one attraction in the gallery. Don’t forget to take some pictures or make some videos to record this treasured and romantic moment, which will be an unforgettable experience for your China honeymoon tour.

The next gorge you will pass through is the Xiling Gorge. With a total length of 76 kilometers, it is the longest gorge of the Three Gorges of the Yangtze River. Xiling Gorge is known for the feature of being precipitous. Passing through the gorge, you will see many turbulent rapids, dangerous shoals and numerous reefs, making it the most dangerous section of the Three Gorges. When you pass through this gorge, you can admire these grotesque peaks and rocks with your unlimited imagination. Under your imagination, you will see these peaks presenting different shapes, such as dragons, elephants, dogs, swords, etc.

Wu Gorge

Xiling Gorge

Today, the ship will pass through the world-famous Three Gorges Dam. We will disembark to admire the splendid Three Gorges Dam. The Three Gorges Dam is a large-scale hydro-junction project and hydroelectric power station. The attractions open to public in the dam tourism area include Tanziling, the 185 Viewing Platform , and the Interception Memorial Garden. Standing on the top of the Tanziling, you can overlook the whole dam. This site is the best position to have a panoramic view of the Three Gorges Dam. The 185 Viewing Platform is 185 meters high, where you can see the Three Gorges Dam horizontally. The Interception Memorial Garden is located at the downstream Three Gorges Dam, which is the best place to taking photos with the dam. In addition, there is an exhibition hall in the Interception Memorial Garden, where you can know more about the Three Gorges Dam through the textual and graphic documents. No matter which site you are located at, you will see a magnificent Three Gorges Dam, which definitely will leave you a profound impression on your honeymoon tour.

In the afternoon, you will take the Estimated train D954 14:06/20:25 to Shanghai. The Shanghai guide will wait for you at the train station and then transfer you to the hotel.

Three Gorges Dam

Three Gorges Dam

After breakfast, we will go to the Yu Garden (closed on Mondays). The Yu Garden, located in the northeast of Shanghai, is a classical garden in the south of the Yangtze River, covering an area of 20,000 square meters. Originally it is a private garden in the Ming Dynasty (1368-1644), with a history of more than 400 years. There are more than 40 ancient buildings in Yu Garden, such as the Deyue Building, the Tingtao Pavilion, the ancient theater, and the Mid-lake Pavilion. There is a very interesting story about the name origin of Deyue Building (‘De’ means getting or touching, ‘Yue’ means the moon). When the moon hangs high in the sky at night, you can clearly see the reflection of the moon in the water in the front of Deyue building, as if you can get or touch the moon easily. Therefore, people named the building Deyue Building.

Later, we will go to the Jade Buddha Temple. The Jade Buddha Temple is located in the Putuo District and it is famous for the Jade Buddhas enshrined in the temple. Although it is located in the bustling downtown area, the temple is quiet inside, so it is described as a piece of pure land in central Shanghai. There are many ancient statues, paintings, treasures and over 7,000 volumes of Buddhist texts, making it one well-preserved temple for collecting scriptures in China. Among them, the seated and reclining statues of Shakyamuni carved in white jade are two famous and popular attractions among all the tourists. So, you cannot miss them on your Shanghai honeymoon tour.

Leaving the Jade Buddha Temple, we will have lunch first and then head to the Shanghai Tower. Shanghai Tower is located in the core financial and trade area of Lujiazui, Pudong district. The total height of the building is 632 meters with 127 floors above ground and 5 floors underground. At present, it is the tallest building in China and the second tallest in the world among the completed projects. The sightseeing hall of Shanghai Tower is located on the 118th floor, with the oversized floor-to-ceiling transparent glass curtain wall. You can take the world’s fastest elevator at a speed of 20.5 meters per second to climb up to the 546-meter viewing platform, where you can get a 360-degree view of Shanghai and admire the city’s skyscrapers and other buildings, such as the Oriental Pearl TV Tower, Jin Mao Tower and Shanghai World Financial Center.

Later, we will go to the Nanjing Road. Nanjing Road is the earliest commercial street in Shanghai, with a total length of 5.5 kilometers. It starts from the Bund in the east and ends at Yan’an West Road in the west, spanning Jing’an district and Huangpu district. It is divided into two sections: East Nanjing Road and West Nanjing Road. The Nanjing Road is the gathering place for department stores with a wide range of products. So, it is called “the paradise for shoppers” and you can buy almost anything you want. Walking on the Nanjing Road, you will see many creative city sculptures and famous buildings, such as the Century Square and the Peace Hotel. Besides, there are also plenty of chairs in the middle of the street for visitors to have a rest, which is really nice after a long-time walking.

After visiting the Nanjing Road, you can go to the Bund directly. The Bund is just to the east direction to the Nanjing Road. The Bund is 1.5 kilometers long, closely to Shanghai’s mother river, the Huangpu River, on which many giant ships pass by every day. If you stroll from the south to the north of the Bund, you will see the wide Zhongshan Dongyi Road on your left-hand side, lined with dozens of buildings in different styles. In addition to these characteristic buildings, the river view of the Bund and the famous Waibaidu Bridge also make the Bund one of the most romantic attractions in Shanghai. Many newlyweds choose to take their pre-wedding photos here. If you are lucky, you may meet some newlyweds there. I believe that visiting the Bund will be one unforgettable memory for you two on this China honeymoon trip.

Yu Garden

Shanghai Tower

Today, you are going to say goodbye to Shanghai and you will take the flight that you booked to go home. Although the whole China honeymoon tour ends today, the beautiful memory in China will never end. China Tour Star looks forward to your next China tour soon.

Author: Yan Liu

Proofreader: Carrie Zhang