Classic China Train Tour

Our professional local guide will wait for you at the airport according to your flight schedule. After picking you up, you will be transferred to check in your hotel in Beijing downtown to have a good rest.

After breakfast, our tour guide and driver will pick you up at your hotel according to the appointed time. First, you will go to see the famous Tian'anmen Square, which is located on the central axis of Beijing, and is the largest city center square in the world. Many famous buildings such as the Tian’anmen Gate Tower, the Great Hall of the People, the National Museum, and the Monument to the People's Heroes are located here. Various large-scale national celebrations are also held here, such as military parades and flag-raising ceremonies. The flag-raising ceremony held in the Tian’anmen Square every morning has attracted countless tourists to come and pay their respects. 

Then you will visit the Forbidden City (closed on each Monday). The Forbidden City was built in 1406 AD by Emperor Zhu Di of the Ming Dynasty. It is located in the center of Beijing, where 24 emperors lived. The palace buildings of the Forbidden City are the largest and most complete ancient architectural complex in China, with a total area of more than 720,000 square meters. It is known as one of the five largest palaces in the world, which includes the Forbidden City in Beijing, Versailles in France, Buckingham Palace in the United Kingdom, White House in the United States, and Kremlin in Russia. Next, you will have lunch at a local restaurant.

After a short rest, you will be transferred to visit the Summer Palace.The Summer Palace, an ancient royal garden in Beijing, formerly known as the Qingyi Garden, is located in the western suburbs of Beijing, about 20 kilometers from Tian’anmen Square, covering an area of about 290 hectares. There are many spectacular attractions in the Summer Palace, such as the Long Corridor, the Marble Boat, and the Kunming Lake, among which my favorite one is the Marble Boat. The Marble Boat is located in the northwest corner of Kunming Lake and close to the western foot of Longevity Hill at the Summer Palace. The hull of the boat is carved out of huge stones and is 36 meters long. It is a very fantastic western-style architecture in the Summer Palace. At last, you will be transferred back to your hotel to have a good rest.

Forbidden City

Summer Palace

In the morning, we will drive for about 1 hour to visit the Ming Tombs. Located northwest of Beijing city, it is about 48 kilometers away from the city center. 

Upon arrival at the Ming Tomb, you will first visit the Sacred Way, which is the first scenic spot of the Ming Tombs. With a total length of about 7.3 kilometers, the Sacred Way was built in the early years of the Ming dynasty(1368-1644).

Next, you will see the Chang Tomb. As the head of the thirteen tombs, the Chang Tomb is the joint tomb of Emperor Yongle and Empress Xu. Up to now, the Chang tomb has been the most magnificent and best-preserved imperial tomb of the Ming dynasty.

Then we will drive about half an hour to the Great Wall and you will have an opportunity to climb up to the Great Wall. The Great Wall was built during the reign of Qin Shi Huang- the first emperor in China. But the Great Wall built by Qin Shi Huang was collapsed during the wars, so it has been rebuilt in successive dynasties. Almost all sections of the Great Wall we can see now was built during the Ming Dynasty.

On the way back to the hotel, you will have a picture stop at the Water Cube. The Water Cube was the venue for swimming and diving events at the 2008 Olympic Games. The building style of the Water Cube is very spectacular. It looks like water molecules. At night, the colorful lights are gorgeous and it is a great place to take photos.

Sacred Way

Great Wall

In the morning, our local guide will pick you up at your hotel, and accompany you to the train station and you will take an estimated train G2503 08:10/09:56 to Datong.

Upon arrival, our friendly local guide will wait for you at the train station and transfer you to visit the Yungang Grottoes. The Yungang Grottoes are located at the southern foot of Wuzhou Mountain, 17 kilometers west of Datong City. Carved  in the Northern Wei Dynasty, the Yungang Grottoes have a history of more than 1,500 years. The caves are excavated on the mountain and stretch for 1 kilometer from east to west. With over 51,000 carved statues, the Yungang Grottoes are one of the largest ancient grottoes in China, and are known as one of China's four great grotto art treasures, together with the Mogao Caves in Dunhuang, the Longmen Grottoes in Luoyang and the Maiji Mountain Grottoes in Tianshui. Then you will have lunch at a local restaurant.

In the afternoon, you will visit the Huayan Temple. Huayan Temple, covering an area of 66,000 square meters, was first built in the Liao dynasty(907-1125). It is one of the best-preserved Liao and Jin temple complexes existing in China. There are many famous attractions in the Huayan Temple, among which the Huayan Pagoda is the most important one you should not miss when you visit Huayan Temple. Huayan Pagoda is the second largest pure wooden tenon and mortise structure after Yingxian Wooden Pagoda in China, which is 43 meters high.  There is a 500-square-meter underground palace under the pagoda, which was constructed with 100 tons of copper.

Next, you will see the Nine Dragon Wall. Located in Heyang Street, Pingcheng District, Datong City, the Nine Dragon Wallwas built in the 25th year of Hongwu in the Ming Dynasty (1392). It is the front wall of the residence of the 13th son of Emperor Zhu Yuanzhang of the Ming Dynasty. The wall is 8 meters high, 2.02 meters thick and 45.5 meters long, with 9 delicate flying dragons engraved on the wall. The nine dragons are all different in shapes, sizes, and facial expressions. Datong Nine Dragons Wall is the earliest, tallest, largest, and most majestic one among the three existing Nine Dragons Walls in China. Then you will be transferred back to your hotel to have a good rest.

Yungang Grottoes

Nine Dragon Wall

In the morning, our guide will pick you up from your hotel. Then you will be transferred to the train station and take an estimated train D6367 12:05-14:57 to Pingyao. Your English guide will wait for you at the train station.

After your arrival at Pingyao, you will be transferred to visit the Ancient City of Pingyao. With a history of more than 2700 years, it was built in the Xuanwang period of the Western Zhou Dynasty (827 BC-782 BC). In the early years of the Ming Dynasty (1368-1644), the Pingyao city walls were built to defend Pingyao from invaders in the south, and in the third year of the Hongwu Dynasty (1370 AD), the old walls were rebuilt and expanded. With a total perimeter of 6,163 meters and a height of about 12 meters, the wall separates the 2.25 square kilometer Pingyao Ancient City into two very different worlds. The streets, stores and buildings within the city wall are preserved in the form of Ming and Qing dynasties, while the area outside the city wall is called the New Town with modern city characteristics. The Ancient City of Pingyao is one of the "four best-preserved ancient cities" in China, and there are just two ancient cities in China that are listed as World Cultural Heritage Sites.The Ancient City of Pingyao is one of them, and the other one is Lijiang Ancient Town in Yunnan Province. At last, you will be transferred to your hotel to have a good rest.

 Ancient City of Pingyao

 Ancient City of Pingyao

In the morning, our guide will pick you up from your hotel according to the appointed time. Then you will be transferred to visit the Shuanglin Temple, which is located in the Qiaotou Village about six kilometers  to Pingyao Ancient City. Rebuilt in the second year of Wuping in the Northern Qi dynasty (571 AD), the Shuanglin Temple has a history of about 1,400 years. There are more than 2,000 painted clay sculptures of the Song, Yuan, Ming and Qing dynasties in Shuanglin Temple, each of which is a rare treasure.

Shuanglin Temple is an ancient temple included in the "World Heritage List" along with Pingyao's ancient City Wall and Zhenguo Temple. Then you will be transferred to the train station and take an estimated train D1903 15:14-18:15 to Xi’an. Welcome to Xi’an! Xi'an was the capital city of 13 dynasties and one of the seven ancient capitals of China, and it is also known as the "four ancient capitals in the world" together with Athens, Cairo and Rome. Xi’an is an ancient city with a long history. It is said that " If you want to see the 500 years history of China, please go to Beijing, but if you want to see the 5,000 years history of China, please go to Xi'an". Xi'an was known as Chang'an in ancient times. It is a city where you can feel the historical development of China over thousands of years. Our local guide will wait for you at the train station. After picking you up, you will be transferred to your hotel to have a good rest.

Shuanglin Temple

Shuanglin Temple

In the morning, our local guide will pick you up at your hotel. You will start an excellent day by visiting the Terracotta Warriors and Horses Museum- the No.8 wonder in the world. It is about 42 kilometers away from the Xi’an City Wall and it will take about 1 hour to get there by car. The Terracotta Warriors and Horses were accidentally discovered in 1974 by a few farmers in Xiyang Village while drilling a well, which has been hailed as "one of the great discoveries in the history of archaeology in the twentieth century".   

After that, you will have lunch at the local restaurant. In the afternoon, you will visit the Big Wild Goose Pagoda. As a landmark building in Xi'an, Big Wild Goose Pagoda is a well-preserved ancient building and a holy place for Buddhists. It built in 652 during the reign of Emperor Gaozong of the Tang Dynasty (618-907) to collect Buddhist materials that were taken from India by the master Xuanzang. The Big Wild Goose Pagoda is  located in the Da Ci’en Temple, which was built in the 22nd year of Emperor Taizong of the Tang Dynasty and has a history of over 1,300 years. When Li Zhi was the crown prince of the Tang Dynasty, he built the temple to repay the kindness of his mother, Empress Wende.

 At last, you will visit the City Wall, which was built in the Ming dynasty (1368-1644).  Located in the central area of Xi'an, the City Wall is rectangular in shape with a perimeter of about 13.79 kilometers, 12 meters high, 12 to 14 meters wide at the top, and 15 to 18 meters wide at the bottom. You can choose to walk around or rent a bike to enjoy the beautiful views along the wall. Then you will be transferred back to your hotel.

Terracotta Warriors and Horses Museum

City Wall

After breakfast, our guide will pick you up from your hotel. Then you will be transferred to the train station and take an estimated train G3154 08:57 -17:12 to Shanghai. Our local friendly local guide will wait for you at the train station. After picking you up, you will be transferred to your hotel to have a good rest.

After breakfast, you will visit the Yu Garden (closed each Monday). Yu Garden is located in the northeast of the old urban area of Shanghai, by Fu You Road in the north, An Ren Street in the east, and Shanghai Old City God’s Temple in the southwest. It is the classical garden in the south of the Yangtze River. It was built in the Jiajing and Wanli reign of the Ming Dynasty (1368-1644), covering an area of 20,000 square meters.

Then you will have a local experience by strolling around the nearby Shanghai Old Street. You can buy some souvenirs for your friends and family here. When entering the street, the prosperity comes into sight, and you may feel that you have traveled back to the old Shanghai 100 years ago. Adjacent to Yu Garden, the Old Street is a unique area centered on tourism, shopping, entertainment and cultural exhibition, where you can find the lifestyles of old Shanghai. I am sure you will have fun spending some leisure time here.

After lunch, you will be transferred to visit the Shanghai Tower. Shanghai Tower is a landmark building located in Lujiazui, Pudong New District, Shanghai. With a total height of 632 meters, Shanghai Tower surpasses the nearby 492-meter Shanghai World Financial Center and the 420-meter Jinmao Tower, making it the tallest skyscraper in China and the second tallest one in the world. Shanghai Tower has a spiraling appearance, symbolizing the traditional Chinese symbol of the dragon. For the first-time tourists to Shanghai, a visit to Shanghai Tower can be said a once-in-lifetime experience. It is highly recommended to climb to the 'Top of Shanghai Observatory', which is the world's highest indoor observation deck. From this height, you can enjoy a 360-degree panoramic view of the Huangpu River, the Bund on the west bank, and several other skyscrapers like the Jin Mao Tower and the World Financial Center on the east bank.

Next, you would take a walk at The Bund. Located on the west bank of the Huangpu River in the heart of Shanghai, the Bund is a must-see destination for tourists visiting the city. There are 52 classical revival buildings with different styles on the Bund, which is known as the Bund World Architecture Exhibition Group. It was once a financial center in the old Shanghai period, and has always been regarded as a landmark in Shanghai. 

And you can also visit Nanjing Road, which is the busiest shopping area in the metropolis or even across the whole China. At last, you will be transferred back to your hotel to have a good rest.

Shanghai Tower

Nanjing Road

Your wonderful China tour will come to an end today. Your professional local guide will pick you up at your hotel and transfer you to the airport.