Well-selected China Train Tour

Today, you will arrive in Beijing. Your tour guide is waiting for you and will drive you to the hotel for a rest. Beijing is located in north China, with a permanent population of 21.89 million. As the capital of China, Beijing has a developed economy, convenient transportation, and rich tourism resources. I hope the China train tour from Beijing can help you feel the charm of Chinese culture.

This morning, you will visit Tian’anmen Square. Located in the center of Beijing, Tian’anmen Square covers an area of 4800 square meters, and it is 500 meters wide from east to west and 880 meters long from north to south. About 463 meters to the south is the famous Monument to the People’s Heroes, which is built by the government to commemorate the revolutionary martyrs in China’s history. The monument consists of three parts with a total height of 37.94 meters. And the front (north side) of the monument is a whole block of granite, which is 14.7 meters long and 2.9 meters wide. It is engraved with the inscription in gold foil which means the heroes of people are immortal. The two sides of the monument are decorated with embossed garlands combined with five stars, pines, and flags, symbolizing the eternal survival of the great spirit of the people’s heroes. The whole monument is built by more than 17,000 blocks of granite and white marble, which looks very spectacular.

Going further north is the Forbidden City (closed each Monday). Covering an area of 720,000 square meters, the Forbidden City is located at the center of Beijing’s central axis. There are more than 70 palaces of different sizes and more than 9,000 rooms. The Forbidden City is one of the best-preserved ancient wooden structures in the world. It is also famous for its sophisticated drainage system. The roofs of buildings in the Forbidden City are all sloped roofs, which can make the rainwater run down quickly. Drainage tiles on roof ridges and eaves are laid to prevent rainwater from seeping into the rooms. As you can see, the palaces generally sit on three-layer base platforms, which can not only reflect the majesty of the palace building but also serve as the building’s moisture-proof part. Around the three-layer base, there are stone components similar to dragon heads called Drainage Beasts. They are connected to the ground, helping the rain flow forward. In addition, there are many copper-coin-shaped scuppers and blind ditches in the Forbidden City. So even it is heavy rain, there will be no surface ponding.

After lunch, you will continue to visit the Temple of Heaven. Covering an area of about 2.73 million square meters, the Temple of Heaven is the world’s largest imperial worship building complex. Among them, the Circular Mound Altar is the place where the Winter Solstice Ceremony is held. It is a three-story open-air round platform. There is a total of 3,403 stone slabs on the Circular Mound Altar. If you carefully count the stone slabs on each story. You will find that their numbers are all 9 or a multiple of 9. Why? In ancient China, the number 9 was regarded as the largest number, symbolizing imperial power. And it is considered to be the most auspicious number to worship heaven. 

Next, you will go to the Summer Palace. Covering an area of about 3 square kilometers, the Summer Palace is a large landscaped garden, known as the Royal Garden Museum. Both Longevity Hill and Kunming Lake are famous sightseeing points here. The Bronze Ox is a sculpture on the east bank of Kunming Lake. There is a legend about this Bronze Ox. Legend has it that, on July 7th of a year, the Bronze Ox suddenly came alive, plunged into the lake, and never came out again. Later, a replica of the Bronze Ox was placed here and locked with an iron chain. However, on July 7th of the following year, this replica Bronze Ox moved again. Several strong men saw that the chain did not work, so they went to catch the ox. Finally, the ox was caught but its tail was ripped off due to excessive force. So, for a long time, the Bronze Ox here was with a broken tail. When the Summer Palace was rebuilt, craftsmen restore the broken tail. Therefore, now you can see an intact Bronze Ox. 

Forbidden City

Temple of Heaven

The Hutong in Beijing is the place where traditional Beijingers live in and it is also the feature of old Beijing. It records the traditional Beijinger’s lifestyles and the development of Beijing. This morning, the rickshaw driver will take you through the Hutong, and you can also have a chance for a family visit. Families in the Hutong live very close so people often get together to chat or play chess. When you enter the family in the hutong, you will find that they live in a traditional quadrangle courtyard. The yard is surrounded by houses on four sides. Three generations of a family can live in this quadrangle courtyard. Because most of the Hutongs in Beijing are not far from the Forbidden City, many people who live in Hutongs know many anecdotes about the emperors. If you are interested, the host is also happy to tell you these interesting stories. 

The sightseeing spot you will visit in the afternoon is Mutianyu Great Wall, which is 71 kilometers away from the city center. We will drive you north for about an hour and twenty minutes to reach the destination. Mutianyu Great Wall is in Huairou District of Beijing. It is like an elder man quietly guarding Beijing and the people. We have arranged Cable Cars for you, which means you will have enough time and energy to enjoy the beautiful scenery on the Mutianyu Great Wall. The landscape in each season here will bring you a totally different experience. Surrounded by blooming flowers in spring, it looks like a charming bride dressed up for marriage, beautiful beyond description. In summer, the Mutianyu Great Wall shows its great vitality against the background of verdant cypresses and pine trees. It is like a young teenager who proves to the globe the miracle of the world created by Chinese ancestors with ingenuity. When it comes to Autumn, the Mutianyu Great Wall will be shrouded in fallen leaves. It will be even more beautiful if you come in winter. The Mutianyu Great Wall will be covered with white snow and looks even more magnificent.

After visiting the Great Wall, we will drive back to the city center. On the way, we will pass the Bird’s Nest and Water Cube, and you can get off to take some pictures outside.

Mutianyu Great Wall

Bird’s Nest

Your trip to Beijing ends today. We will drive you to Beijing North Railway Station to take the estimated train G2509 10:32/12:54 to Datong. China high-speed train between Beijing and Datong opened at the end of 2019, which has brought great convenience to the citizens of the two cities. And this has also driven the development of the tourism industry in these two places. Upon arrival, your local guide will pick you up and take you to have lunch.

In the afternoon, you will visit Hanging Temple. The Hanging Temple on Hengshan Mountain is nearly 86 kilometers away from the urban area of Datong and we will drive southeast for an hour and twenty minutes. Built more than 1400 years ago, it is the only temple that combines Buddhism, Taoism, and Confucianism in China. The Hanging Temple is about 60 meters high from the ground and with a total of 40 halls. From the outside, it looks like those halls are supported by dozens of wooden pillars. It is said that there were no wooden pillars when the Hanging Temple was first built. It is one of the reasons why it is called the Hanging Temple. But when people came to visit the temple, they saw that there was no support. Fearing that visitors may be afraid of the temple’s collapsing. So, workers placed some wooden pillars at the bottom of the temple to make people feel safe. Surviving floods, earthquakes, and other disasters for more than a thousand years, the Hanging Temple is still well preserved. It is indeed a miracle among the ancient buildings!

Hanging Temple

Hanging Temple

Today, you will visit Yungang Grottoes - one of the four great grottoes in China. It is with a history of 1,500 years. Located 16 kilometers west of Datong City, Shanxi Province, it only takes half an hour to get there by car. The Yungang Grottoes stretches about 1 kilometer from east to west and there are 45 main caves and 209 subsidiary caves. The sculpture area is more than 18,000 square meters, and there are more than 59,000 statues in different sizes. Among them, the tallest statue is 17 meters high while the smallest is only 2 centimeters. If you look closely, you will find that there are small holes on many of the Buddha statues. Why? There are 2 opinions. Some people think it is because the Yungang Grottoes have been renovated many times in the Qing Dynasty (1636-1912). And all the holes were left at that time. Some other people think that there were originally gems decorated on the statues. But As time passed, the gems fell off and formed these small holes. When you visit the Yungang Grottoes, you can ask your guide about it. 

After lunch, we will drive you to the railway station and you can take the estimated train D5371 16:35/20:06 to the next destination: Pingyao Ancient Town. Your local guide will arrive at the station early and pick you up with your name sign. Then, you will be transferred to the hotel for a rest. 

Yungang Grottoes

Yungang Grottoes

Today you will visit Pingyao Ancient Town. Pingyao Ancient Town, located in the central part of Shanxi Province, has a history of more than 2,700 years. It retains the basic style and features of the county in the Ming and Qing (1369-1840) dynasties. With many historical and cultural attractions worth visiting, Pingyao Ancient Town was included in the World Cultural Heritage List in 1997.

Among those sites, Rishengchang Draft Bank is very famous. Founded in 1824, Rishengchang Draft Bank was the first bank in China. Its branches spread across more than 30 cities and important commercial towns throughout China and as far as America, Southeast Asia as well as Europe at that time. Moreover, there was an anecdote. In the late Qing Dynasty, an old widow held a draft of 12,000 taels (the ancient China currency) and went to the Rishengchang head office to withdraw money. The person in charge found that this draft is from a branch of Rishengchang Draft Bank and it has been 30 years since the money was saved. It turned out that the old lady’s husband went to another city to do business in his early years. And he saved money into Rishengchang’s branch in that city. However, he died before he went back to Pingyao City. It was not until more than twenty years later that the old lady found this draft by accident. Even it has passed by 30 years, the Rishengchang Draft Bank head office still cashed this draft for this old lady. After that, Rishengchang became much more famous because of its integrity and reliability. The birth and development of Rishengchang Draft Bank not only set a precedent for China’s national banking industry but also effectively promoted the national financial circulation at that time.

You can choose local specialties for lunch, and after that, you will go to the Ancient County Yamun. Located in the center of the Pingyao Ancient Town, the whole yamun sits north facing south and covers an area of more than 26,000 square meters. In ancient times, the Chinese county Yamum played a role as the government office and also a court. The officers here will help people solve the dispute. In the hall inside the county Yamun, visitors can see performances every day. This is where an actor plays the role of county magistrate and settles different cases in the yamun. Such performances sometimes combine modern words, which cause the crowd to burst into laughter. The wise judgment skills and meticulous reasoning make people admirable. And the performance is aimed at highlighting the theme of pursuing governance for the people, punishing evil, and promoting good.

Then, you will continue to visit the Old City Wall. The old City Wall was built in 827 - 728, with a circumference of 6157.7 meters and a height of 6-10 meters. You can see that there is a short wall on each side, called Girl’s Wall. Then, why is it called Girl’s Wall? There is a folk story: Once a day, an old man was taken to build the City Wall, and his little granddaughter came with him to the wall every day, sitting by and watching. One day, an exhausted worker walked to the edge of the city wall in a daze. The little girl was afraid that he would fall down, giving him a strong push inward. Unexpectedly, the worker was saved, but the little girl fell to death due to using too much strength. Therefore, those workers built short walls called Girl’s Wall to commemorate the girl.

Pingyao Ancient Town

Rishengchang Draft Bank

Today, you will leave for the next city - Xi’an. You can take the estimated train D2583 11:13/14:13 after breakfast. Xi’an is 543 kilometers southwest to Pingyao Ancient Town. But if you take the high-speed train, it will only take you 3 hours to transfer between the two cities. You can take a nap on the train, or you can enjoy the natural scenery along the way if your seat is beside the window. The tour guide in Xi’an will pick you up on time and introduce you to the following travel arrangements on the way back to the hotel.

This morning, you will visit the Terra Cotta Warriors and Horses Museum in the northeast of Xi’an. It may take us about 50 minutes to drive 41 kilometers to arrive at the museum. The Terra Cotta Warriors and Horses Museum is composed of more than 8,000 pottery warriors and horses. However, each pottery warrior has distinctive features from clothing to facial expressions. It is so vivid that many people think there are real people inside. Is that really the case? Archaeologists gave the answer. They used magnetic resonance imaging and CT scan and found that the terra cotta warriors were hollow. There was nothing inside. In addition, some of the terra cotta warriors and horses had been broken when they were excavated, and the inside of the broken ones was also empty. Experts also tested the broken terra cotta warriors and found no evidence of human tissues on that. Therefore, the only reason why the terra cotta army is so life-like is that the craftsmanship at that time reached an extremely high level. 

Next, you can go to the Big Wild Goose Pagoda. The pagoda is 64.5 meters high, covering an area of 2,061 square meters. According to historical records, Master Xuanzang, an eminent monk in China, used to studied Buddhism in India and returned to Xi’an in 645. He brought back lots of Buddhist scriptures and statues. Then, with the approval of the emperor, Master Xuanzang personally presided over the construction of the Big Wild Goose Pagoda to store the Buddhist scriptures, statues, and other treasures. However, nowadays no one knows where the treasures are. Therefore, some researchers speculated that, like other ancient pagodas, there might be an underground palace under the Big Wild Goose Pagoda. And it is likely where the Buddhist treasures were stored. In 2007, the relevant departments used the ground-penetrating radar to detect the internal structure of the Big Wild Goose Pagoda, showing that there is a large cavity under the pagoda and they thought it is the underground palace. But the underground palace still hasn’t been excavated yet. So, you can only visit the pagoda on the ground now. 

Your journey in Xi’an is not over yet. The well-known Muslim Street is 7.8 kilometers away from the Big Wild Goose Pagoda. Muslim Street is famous for its food and souvenir. Local residents have always regarded it as the main place for eating snacks and shopping, so it is definitely a sought-after tourist spot. It will be a pity if you come to Xi’an but forget to eat Rougamo, the Chinese hamburger. This is one of the special foods of Xi’an. Cut up the stewed meat and sandwich it in steamed pancake, and then you can get a Rougamo. You might think it sounds simple, but in fact, the making process of Roujiamo is very strict, especially for the number of ingredients and cooking time of the stewed meat. Otherwise, the Rougamo will lose the authentic taste. If you love spicy food, you can add some chili inside. It will be more delicious. I’m sure you will want more after tasting it.

Terra Cotta Warriors and Horses Museum

Muslim Street

After finishing breakfast, you will take the estimated train D2853 9:47/15:03 to Chongqing. The next journey will be a brand new experience! The tour guide in Chongqing will pick you up at the train station and take you directly to the dock. You can board the Yangtze River Cruise ship today.

In the morning, do some exercise with sunrise and breeze will be a nice choice. You can play Tai Chi on the deck. Tai Chi is a form of Chinese martial art with a long history. Because of its slow speed and gentle movements, no matter you are 10 years old or 80 years old, you can play Tai Chi. It plays an important role in promoting the physical and mental health of people. There will be a Tai Chi Master on the cruise ship to demonstrate and teach some Tai Chi movements. I am sure you will get a good appetite after the morning exercise. 

Then, you will visit Shibaozhai Pagoda, which is located in Zhong County, Chongqing, on the north bank of the Yangtze River. Known as the “Pearl on the River”, Shibaozhai Pagoda is famous for its peculiar architecture and many interesting legends. The pagoda is built leaning the mountain. And it is listed as one of the world’s eight fantastic buildings. What is worth mentioning is the Duck Cave on the top of the mountain. The cave looks like a sealed well. It is said that the entrance of this cave was always shrouded by clouds and mist, so everyone was curious about it and wanted to know where it led. Therefore, people chose a duck, marked its leg, and then put it in the cave. It wasn’t long before the marked duck appeared on the Yangtze River. In other words, the cave is directly connected to the Yangtze River. So, people call this cave Duck Cave. Later, geologists came to explore and found that the cave would affect the whole structure of Shibaozhai Pagoda. There were some safety hazards, so the cave was sealed as you see it now. Follow your guide and discover and interesting stories about the Shibaozhai Pagoda. 

The next site is Fengdu Ghost City, and it is an optional tour that requires extra fees if you want to visit. Fengdu Ghost City is a famous historical and cultural attraction that has a history of nearly 2,000 years. It was hidden in the mountains along the shore, adding a sense of mystery.

Shibaozhai Pagoda

Fengdu Ghost City

Today, the cruise ship will pass through the Three Gorges of the Yangtze River, which consists of Qutang Gorge in Chongqing, Wu Gorge in Chongqing, and Xiling Gorge in Yichang. The total length of the Three Gorges is 193 kilometers.

Qutang Gorge is the shortest and narrowest one among the Three Gorges. It is only 8 kilometers long and the width is less than 100 meters, but it has the most magnificent scenery. Cliffs stand on both sides hundreds of meters high. The river here is deep and turbulent. That attracts millions of tourists to come and adventure. The entrance of the Qutang Gorge is called Kuimen Gate. The image of Kuimen Gate appears on the back of China’s fifth set of 10 yuan banknotes. Therefore, you will see that many tourists take photos at Kuimen Gate with 10 yuan banknotes in hand. How memorable it is!

Next, you will come to Wu Gorge. Wu Gorge is 46 kilometers long and is known as the most beautiful one among the Three Gorge. There are deep gorges, winding rivers, and peaks on both sides with different characteristics. One of the huge stones, like a beautiful lady, is named Goddess Peak. Legend has it that during the flooding years, a fairy named Yaoji came to Wu Gorge but saw the evil dragon making flood here. So, the kind-hearted Yaoji asked her 11 sisters to come and killed this evil dragon together. They also helped people successfully control the flood. To ensure there will be no flood in the future, the twelve goddesses finally became twelve beautiful mountains guarding on both sides of the Wu Gorge. The mountain of Yaoji, the highest and the most obvious one, is known as the Goddess Peak.

The last stop is Xiling Gorge. Historically, it is famous for its rapids. Many explorers like visiting here. But many small ships met with mishaps here because of the dangerous shoal. After years of waterway management and the completion of Three Gorge water conservancy projects, the river of Xiling Gorge has become gentle, but its landscape is still beautiful as before.

Wu Gorge

Xiling Gorge

Today you will visit the Three Gorges Dam as your last attraction along the Yangtze River. Covering an area of 15.28 square kilometers, it is the largest water conservancy project in the world. The total length of the dam is about 2309 meters, and the height of the dam is 185 meters. It took nearly eleven years and five months to complete the construction. The Three Gorges Dam is built for hydroelectric power, so as to further realize sustainable development. Many tourists want to use unmanned aerial vehicles to take photos of the spectacular scenery here. But please be informed, China has strictly stipulated that all kinds of flying activities are prohibited in this area, including flying kites, hot air balloons, paragliders, unmanned aerial vehicles, light helicopters, model airplanes, and so on. 

After lunch, the guide will drive you to the train station to take the estimated train D354 14:46/22:21 to Shanghai, a center of international trade, shipping, and technological innovation. The China fast train passed through Hubei, Anhui, and Jiangsu provinces before reaching Shanghai. On the train, you can feel how distinctive the natural scenery is of those provinces. Your guide will pick you up and drive you to the hotel.  

Three Gorges Dam

Three Gorges Dam

This morning, you can visit Yu Garden (closed each Monday). Yu Garden is a classical garden, covering an area of more than 20,000 square meters. Built in the Ming Dynasty (1368 - 1644), it has a history of more than 400 years. There are not only ancient buildings but also lush old trees. After opening to the public in 1961, Yu Garden has attracted countless people every year. There is a stone-paved veranda in the garden. You can sit here and enjoy the natural scenery. You will see a stone standing in the middle of the veranda, which is about 2.3 meters high. People call it “Beauty’s Waist” because its curve resembles a girl’s waist. This also makes it a peculiar attraction in Yu Garden.

Six kilometers to the southwest of Yu Garden is Jing’an Temple. It only takes us about 20 minutes to drive there. Jing’an Temple covers an area of 22,000 square meters, and its history can be traced back to 247AD. The Bell Tower in Jing’an Temple is a nice sightseeing point. It is divided into two floors, and the bell hangs on the upper floor. The bell is 3.3 meters high, 2.1 meters wide, and 7.3 tons in weight. It was cast in bronze. Every Chinese New Year’s Eve, 666 people who did contribute to Jing’an Temple will be invited to come and ring the bell. This is the New Year blessing activity.

After lunch, you can go to Shanghai Tower. It is a landmark skyscraper in Shanghai. The main body of the building has 118 floors, with a total height of 632 meters. With parking space located underground, it can park 2,000 vehicles. Before entering the Shanghai Tower, you can see that the outer layer of the building is a layer of glass, and there is a certain distance from the inner space, between 3 feet and 33 feet (about 90 centimeters to 10 meters). Why is it designed that way? In fact, the glass can insulate the building from overheating and overcooling, which can to some degree reduce the use of air conditioners. So this is an environmentally friendly design. Today you will have a chance to stand on the 118th floor of the Shanghai Tower and overlook Shanghai City. 

Then, your tour guide will take you to Nanjing Road. With a total length of 5.5 kilometers, it is a commercial street spanning two districts. More than 100 years ago, Nanjing Road was just an inconspicuous road. But people continued to expand it and the commerce on both sides began to flourish. Now, there are many flagship stores on this street that are not available in other cities, such as the LEGO Shanghai Flagship Store, the M&M’s World Store, and so on. The M&M’s World Store in Shanghai is the largest M&M’s flagship in Asia and it also has the world’s longest M&M’s candy wall. Now, it has become a favorite place for tourists. Besides, you can also buy the M&M’s related products here such as T-shirts and exquisite daily necessities.

The Bund is located on the bank of the Huangpu River, and it has a total length of 1.5 kilometers. In the 20th century, a variety of high-rise buildings sprang up like mushrooms on the Bund due to the development of construction technology and the growth of the economy. These buildings have become the symbol of Shanghai. Taking a photo with the Bund in the background has become a must-do thing for all travelers. 

Yu Garden

The Bund

Today, we will drive west to Suzhou, 97 kilometers away from Shanghai. It will take about 1.5 hours. Upon arrival, you can visit the Humble Administrator’s Garden, which covers an area of about 52,000 square meters. It is divided into four parts: the east part, middle part, west part, and residential part. When you walk in the garden, you will feel the scenery here is poetic. That goes to the designer-Wen Zhengming. According to the record, Wen Zhengming couldn’t speak until he was 11 years old. But he did have great talent in painting and poetry. When the garden was first built, Wen Zhengming discovered that the geology of this place was soft and it was not suitable for building too many buildings. So, he designed the Humble Administrator's Garden into a garden with water as the main body. According to legend, the wisteria in the garden was planted by Wen Zhengming.

We will prepare classic Suzhou dishes for you for lunch. After that, you will continue to visit Suzhou Silk Museum (closed each Monday). Suzhou Silk Museum is China’s first museum specializing in silk. Founded in 1991, the museum covers an area of 9,500 square meters and houses six exhibition halls. The museum shows China’s 6000-year-old silk history to tourists. Here you will see how silk is produced, how people dyed silk in ancient times and many contemporary silk exquisite displays. If you want to buy some silk products as gifts for your family, you can go to the souvenir center.

The last scenic spot of your whole trip is Tiger Hill. Located in the northwest corner of the ancient city of Suzhou, Tiger Hill has a long history of more than 2,500 years. Why is it called Tiger Hill? It is said that 2,400 years ago, the king of Wu was injured in an offensive against Minyue, an ancient kingdom in 496 BC, and he died soon after. Three days after the king of Wu was buried, people found a white tiger crouching on the mountain. They believed the tiger is the embodiment of the king. Therefore, they named the mountain Tiger Hill.

Tiger Hill

Suzhou Silk Museum

Today your 15-days China train tour comes to an end. Your tour guide will accompany you to the airport. Then you can board your flight back home.

Author: Jiaqi Liu

Proofreader: Betsy He