China Escorted Tours Including Hong Kong and Sanya

Upon arrival, you will meet your guide at the arrival hall. Then you will be escorted to the hotel. With a total area of about 1,100 square kilometers, Hong Kong has a population of over 7.5 million. In Hong Kong, you will find a wide collection of food that you have never seen before, such as pineapple bun, Cha siu bao, and Cantonese preserved sausage. Cha siu bao is a kind of steamed bun stuffed with distinctive Hong Kong barbecued pork. When you take a bite of this soft bun, you will feel the special sauce spilling out into your mouth.

Option: With several free hours, you can also stroll around Star Avenue, an avenue modeled on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. It is designed to honor celebrities who made great contributions to the Hong Kong film industry. You can find more than 100 plaques with the handprints and autographs of those superstars, such as Bruce Lee, Jackie Chan, and Jet Li. When scanning the QR code on one plaques, you can watch a short video about the corresponding celebrity. In 2005, a 2.5-meter-tall bronze statue of Bruce Lee, a world-famous Kung Fu star, was established on Star Avenue.

After having breakfast in hotel, you will head to first stop in Hong Kong, Wong Tai Sin Temple. Completed in 1945, it is located in the north of Kowloon. Unlike conventional Taoist temples in China that worship Taoist gods like the Jade Emperor, Wong Tai Sin Temple is built for a Taoist hermit named Wong Cho Ping, whose Taoist name is Wong Tai Sin, in the Eastern Jin Dynasty(317-420). On the first day of each Chinese lunar year, the temple is swarmed with prayers, who come here in the early morning for a fortune-telling opportunity (by shaking a wooden or bamboo cup storing a number of sticks, each of which implies different fortune). According to many prayers, what they prayed for here is what they get later.

Your next stop in Hong Kong is Victoria Peak, a 554-meter-high peak situated in the western part of Hong Kong Island. On arrival, you will take a Peak Tram to the top of Victoria Peak, where the Peak Tower is located.     After entering the Peak Tower, you will be led to Sky Terrace 428, the highest point of Hong Kong Island, to have a panoramic view of Hong Kong. Standing on the viewing platform, you will find everything under your feet so small. Cars crawling bumper to bumper are like queues of ants edging their way along the groove-like roads.

Your guide will drive you to the hotel after visiting Victoria Peak. Then you can decide whether to have a good rest or spends some hours in other places of Hong Kong.   

Victoria Peak

Peak Tram

After breakfast, you will go to visit the Lantau Island. You need to take the Ngong Ping 360 Cable Car (Standard Cabin) to the top of this island. Covering an area of 147 square kilometers, Lantau Island is the largest island in Hong Kong, about twice the size of Hong Kong Island.

When we arrive at the top of the Lantau Island, we will go to visit Ngong Ping Village, a quaint village featuring a walking street running through its center. The old-fashioned street was built after the model of old Hong Kong streets. You can buy authentic Hong Kong food here, such as fish balls, Hong Kong-style milk tea, and Ginger milk curd. Among them, the Hong Kong-style milk tea is especially popular. This kind of milk tea is also nicknamed “silk stocking” milk tea, distinguishing itself from conventional milk teas by its special way of filtering the tea leaves. The reason why it is called “silk stocking” milk tea is that the sackcloth bags used as filters look similar to silk stockings in terms of texture and shape. The milk tea made in this way is smoother, with a good taste and texture.   

Then you will visit the Po Lin Monastery, a Buddhist monastery located on the foothill of Lantau Peak. Po Lin Monastery is recognized as the quietest monastery in Hong Kong due to its remote location. Monks in Po Lin Monastery live a self-sufficient life. They need to do farm work except for the senior ones. Besides, the vegetarian food in Po Lin Monastery is very popular among visitors from both home and abroad, such as bean curd, spring rolls((a thin sheet of pancake stuffed with vegetables, then be rolled up and fried), and fried noodles. As a must-try dish, bean curd will be different from any kind of tofu you have ever tasted. It retains the natural flavor of soybean to the maximum.

Then you will visit Big Buddha, a huge bronze Buddhist statue established in 1993. The 26.4-meter-tall Buddha statue is composed of 207 bronze pieces, weighing more than 250 tons. You need to climb as many as 268 steps to approach the Buddha. His raised right hand symbolizes the removal of affliction and his left hand on his lap shows a gesture of generosity. Opposite to conventional Buddha statues that face south, Big Buddha faces north. Besides, there is a large bell with patterns of Buddha in the exhibition hall of this statue. This large bell is controlled by a computer to strike 108 times a day, which implies the 108 kinds of human vexations.

After that, you will be escorted to the hotel to have a good rest for your flight tomorrow.

Po Lin Monastery

Big Buddha

After breakfast, your Hong Kong guide will escort you to the airport, where you will take a flight to Sanya, Hainan Province (in southern China). The local guide will be waiting for you in the arrival hall. After the guide meets you, you will be escorted to the hotel.

After breakfast, you will head to your first stop, Yanoda Rainforest, about 40 kilometers northeast of the Sanya city. It takes you about an hour to get there. The moment you get off the car, you will marvel at the fresh air in Yanoda Rainforest. You can immerse yourself in this natural ‘oxygen bar’.      

After lunch, you will explore Luhuitou Scenic Area, a beautiful park northwest of the Sanya. Covering a total area of more than 0.82 square kilometers, Luhuitou Scenic Area faces the sea on three sides. It got its name from a romantic legend. There used to be a handsome hunter of the Li ethnic group (one of the 56 ethnic groups in China) living with his mother. One day, his mother became ill and her illness could only be cured by a pair of antlers. The young hunter hadn’t found any trace of a deer until a few months later. When he was searching anxiously in the forest, a deer with a pair of nice antlers caught his attention. He tried to get close to this deer. When he was only 3 meters away from this deer, an unexpected sneeze scared the deer away. He tried his best to chase after the deer. After crossing 99 rivers and climbing 99 mountains, the determined young man cornered the deer at the cliff of the a mountain, which is one of the five mountains in the Luhuitou Scenic Area. When the young hunter was about to shoot, the deer turned its head back and turned into a beautiful girl holding a pair of antlers. The girl gave this pair of antlers to the hunter. And then the hunter came home and cured his mother with the antlers. For this story, this mountain is called Luhuitou Mountain and this area is called Luhuitou Scenic Area(Luhuitou means deer turning its head back).      

Then you will visit the First Market, a favorite haunt of seafood lovers. In the First Market, you can buy the freshest seafood in Sanya. Every single one of them is guaranteed to be fresh. You can either order some cooked seafood in the nearby restaurants or buy seafood to cook in one of the restaurants. It is worth mentioning your guide will help you select the best yet the most cost-effective seafood. And you are suggested to take some photos of the mouth-watering seafood and post them on your Instagram. These pictures will surely get many thumb-ups from your friends. After your visit to the First Market, your guide will drive you back to the hotel.

Yanoda Rainforest

Luhuitou Scenic Area

After lunch, you will explore Wuzhizhou Island in the northern part of Sanya. You will take a ferry to this gorgeous island. A round-trip ferry ticket will be included. You can stroll around the island freely when getting there. There are a variety of water activities available, such as diving, banana boat, and motorboat. All water activities are not included in the tour we provide for you. In addition to these activities, you cannot miss the attractions, like Goddess Matsu Temple, Lover’s Bridge, Sunrise Rock, Lover’s Island, etc. After this tour, your guide will escort you to the hotel. And you can have a good rest for your flight tomorrow.

Wuzhizhou Island

Wuzhizhou Island

After breakfast, your guide will remind you to check your belongings and help you check out. Then you will be escorted to the airport and take the estimated flight MF8394 12:35/16:15 to Beijing, a charming city in your escorted tours in China. On arrival, you will meet your Beijing guide in the arrival hall. Then your guide will drive you to the hotel and help you check in.

Free Time Suggestion:

After check in the hotel, if you have nothing to do, you are suggested to have a visit to Wangfujing Street. It is an 1,818-meter-long snack street, where you will find a wide collection of mouthwatering local food, including Tanghulu (Chinese snack made by stringing wild fruits with bamboo sticks and dipping them with maltose), Beijing Roast Duck, and Zhajiangmian (noodles served by mixing with fried ground pork mixture and fresh vegetables). Among them, Beijing Roast Duck is the best-known dish, which features duck meat with thin, crisp skin. Different from any other duck-related dishes in China, it is often eaten with cucumber, pancakes, spring onion, and sweet bean sauce. Apart from the dish itself, watching how the chef prepares the duck is also a feast for eyes.   

You will go to visit the world-famous Tian’anmen Square after breakfast. As one of the largest squares in the world, Tian’anmen Square covers an area of over 440,000 square meters, large enough to accommodate 1 million people for gatherings. On the Tian’anmen Square erects a pair of marble pillars, whose main bodies are engraved with Chinese dragons and upper parts are decorated with cloud patterns that symbolize auspiciousness. Notably, there is a carved creature named “Hou” in Chinese (a kind of monster in ancient Chinese mythology) on the top of each marble pillar. Both the two creatures are designed with their faces facing south (the direction opposite to the imperial palace). This pair of creatures actually served as the reminder to the emperor that he should pay more attention to state affairs rather than entertainment outside the imperial palace.

Your next stop this morning will be the Forbidden City (closed each Monday), the imperial palace where once 24 emperors of the Ming and Qing (1368-1912) dynasties lived. It is one of the largest imperial palaces across the world, covering a total area of over 0.72 square kilometers, nearly twice the size of the Vatican. There are a lot of stone and bronze lion statues in the Forbidden City. Among them, a pair of bronze lion statues in front of the Palace of Heavenly Purity are different as the two lions are lop-eared. It is said that the lop-eared lions are designed like that is to warn the imperial concubines not to hear or ask anything about the state affairs.

After lunch, you will take a walk around the Temple of Heaven, an imperial temple covering 2,730,000 square meters, nearly four times the size of the Forbidden City. The Temple of Heaven was built during the reign of Emperor Zhu Di, the third emperor of the Ming Dynasty (1368-1644). Rumor has it that Zhu Di wrested the power from his his nephew, Zhu Yunwen, the second emperor of Ming Dynasty(1368-1644) in a military coup. To declare his authority and get the blessing of Chinese god in heaven, Zhu Di ordered to build the Temple of Heaven, where the emperor could worship the Chinese god and pray for good harvest for the country.

Your last stop this afternoon will be the Summer Palace, an imperial garden covering about 3 square kilometers. With about three fourths of it occupied by water areas, the Summer Palace was built in the style of the West Lake in Hangzhou of Zhejiang Province (in southeastern China). It mainly consists of Kunming Lake and Longevity Hill. Besides, there are many other attractions, such as Bronze Ox, Long Corridor, Marble Boat, Grand Theater, Seventeen-Arch Bridge, etc. We will also arrange to take a dragon boat to admire the charming landscape around the Kunming Lake.

After your visit to the Summer Palace, your guide will drive you back to your hotel, and you are free to decide whether to take a walk around or have a good rest.    

Temple of Heaven

Summer Palace

After your breakfast at the hotel, you will head to Ming Tombs, which is about 50 kilometers northwest of Beijing. It will take you about an hour to get there. The Ming tombs are a collection of mausoleums where 13 out of the 16 emperors of the Ming Dynasty were buried. We will arrange to visit the Chang Tomb where Emperor Zhu Di and his Empress Xu were buried. “Chang” bears the meaning of “long-lasting”, which reflects Zhu Di hoped that the Ming Dynasty would last forever.

When you finish your lunch, we will drive for about 40 minutes to Badaling Great Wall, about 30 kilometers northwest of Ming Tombs. The Chinese Great Wall is world-famous and its history can date back to as early as Qin Dynasty (221BC-207BC). The Badaling Great Wall, as the most popular section of Chinese Great Wall, extends more than 3,740 kilometers. And it was built during the Ming Dynasty. When science and technology were still under-developed, it was extremely difficult to complete such a grand project as the Great Wall. As the Great Wall are built with many heavy stones. You may wonder how builders managed to carry so many heavy stones to build the great walls. It is said that those wall builders would pour water on the road in cold weather. When the water froze, they would place heavy stones on the smooth icy road and push them to the site close to the Great Wall. But about how they transferred so many heavy stones to such a high location, no exact answer has been found yet. After the Badaling Great Wall tour, you will be escorted to your hotel to have a good rest.

Optional Dinner:

Finishing the Great Wall tour marks your China escorted tour will come to an end. If you want to reward yourself by having a big dinner, Haidilao Hot Pot will be a perfect choice. Haidilao Hot Pot is well-known for its considerate service. You will definitely be surprised by the enthusiasm of its waiters and waitresses. For instance, they will even pump the hand lotion and turn on the faucet for you if you want to wash your hands. When you are waiting for your dishes, they will help you kill the time by offering some free services, such as manicures, hand care, and even shoe cleaning. As for its hot pot, more than 10 kinds of flavors are available for you. The ingredients they use are the freshest and cleanest. You can have a pleasant hot pot experience in China.

Chang Tomb

Badaling Great Wall

After breakfast, your guide will remind you to check your belongings in case you leave anything important behind. And your guide will help you check out and drive you to the airport. We are looking forward to seeing you again in China.

Author:Yuxin Zhou

Proofreader:Yan Liu