Wonderful Amusement Park Family Tour

Welcome to Beijing! Your guide will hold your name sign and wait for you at the airport arrival hall. Then you will be transferred to the hotel in the downtown area. You may arrange activities by yourself for the rest of the day or have a good rest at the hotel.

With a history of more than 3,000 years, Beijing has been the capital city of different dynasties. Since the Yan State (1044 BC - 222 BC), many imperial buildings had been built here, making Beijing the city with the largest number of imperial palaces, gardens, temples, and mausoleums. It has been listed by Forbes as the eighth city with the best food in the world for snacks here are wide in variety, special in material, delicate in cooking, and excellent in taste. Besides, Beijing is also regarded as “the capital of museums” because there are over 151 registered museums.

Free Time Suggestion: 

You may go to Wangfujing Street if you are interested. It is a business street with a history of hundreds of years. Quite a few time-honored brands in China are founded here and many famous brands all over the world are gathered here. For example, established in 1902 and settled here in 1932, Tongshenghe Shoe Store is famous for making leather shoes according to customers’ special needs and requirements. Chairman Mao Zedong, Premier Zhou Enlai, and many other Chinese high-level officials had their shoes made here. Now, this modern business street has become a sister street with Champs-Elysees in France, which has significantly increased its international standing.

After breakfast, your guide will pick you up at the hotel and escort you to Tian’anmen Square situated in the center of Beijing. Covering an area of 440,000 square meters, it can accommodate a million people for a grand gathering. From the north to the south along the central axis stands the national flagpole, Monument to the People’s Heroes, Chairman Mao Memorial Hall, and Zhengyang Gate. On October 1, 1949 when the People’s Republic of China was founded, the founding ceremony was held here during which Chairman Mao pressed the button to raise the national flag here for the first time. Since June 1, 2004, a flag-raising ceremony has been held here in the early mornings. What is more, all of the grand gatherings of the Chinese nation, such as military parades and celebrations for some special anniversaries, are also held here.

Then you will go through Tian’anmen Square and enter the Forbidden City (closed every Monday). The Forbidden City was the royal palace in the Ming Dynasty (1368-1644) and the Qing Dynasty (1636-1912). Covering an area of 720,000 square meters, the Forbidden City took one million laborers 14 years to complete. All materials to build the Forbidden City were the best selected from different areas in China. Because of the difficulty in transporting the materials by land, they took full advantage of the Beijing-Hangzhou Grand Canal and shipped the materials to Beijing. There is a special building in the Forbidden City named the Crystal Palace, also known as “Water Hall”. It is said that one of Emperor Guangxu’s concubines intended to build a western-style three-story building standing in a huge water pool. The surrounding wall of its first layer underwater was made of glass and fishes were fed there and also in the pool so that they could appreciate the fishes and algae clearly. Unfortunately, the Qing Dynasty collapsed before this palace was completed, so the building was left unfinished.

Lunch will be arranged at a local restaurant. After a short break, you will visit the Summer Palace. Based on Kunming Lake and Longevity Hill, the Summer Palace was built by referring to the West Lake in Hangzhou and other gardens in the south of the Yangtze Delta. With a length of 728 meters, the Long Corridor in the Summer Palace is the longest in Chinese gardens. It was affirmed as the longest corridor in the world in 1992 and was collected in the Guinness World Records. Every beam in the corridor was decorated with colored paintings of natural landscapes, flora and fauna, famous people, and stories in ancient Chinese masterpieces. The bridge across Kunming Lake is called Seventeen-Arch Bridge as it has seventeen archways. More than 500 different stone lion sculptures sit on its handrails. Every year around the Winter Solstice, the golden light of the sunset comes across the Seventeen-Arch Bridge and lights up all the seventeen archways, forming a magnificent view in the Summer Palace and attracting plenty of shutterbugs and tourists.

Option:

If you are still energetic at night, you may go to the Red Theatre to watch the Legend of Kung Fu Show, which begins at 19:30 and lasts for about 1.5 hours. In peak season, an extra show in 17:15 will also be optional. Most audiences from foreign countries have commended that it is worth a visit to Beijing just to watch the Legend of Kung Fu Show in the Red Theatre.

The Forbidden City

Tian'anmen Square

You will have breakfast at the hotel in the morning. Then your guide will pick you up and drive for about 1.5 hours to Ding Tomb, which is situated about 53 kilometers away in the northwest of Beijing. Ding Tomb is the mausoleum of the 13th emperor in the Ming Dynasty (1368-1644) and his two empresses. Beginning in 1584, it took 6 years to complete the construction. Upon completion, the emperor was only 28 years old so it was left unused for 30 years until 1620. In 1958, the Chinese government announced to the public that Ding Tomb was excavated, together with numerous precious articles made of gold, silver, and jade, and exquisite brocades and clothes. On one piece of the empress’ clothes, 100 lively boys in different postures and all kinds of auspicious patterns were embroidered, meaning longevity and flourishing in population.

After lunch, we will drive for about an hour to Mutianyu Great Wall. It is located in northeast of the Ding Tomb and is about 40 kilometers far away from it. Advanced cable cars are equipped here. You may choose to take totally enclosed cable cars (more recommendable for the aged groups) to climb the Great Wall or choose to take open-air chairlifts. You can also choose to take a chairlift for going up and a toboggan for going down, which will be more interesting. Former British Prime Minister John Major, former US President Bill Clinton, and many other foreign leaders have visited here. What is more, to avoid damage by tourists, graffiti areas have been set up in the scenic area have for tourists to inscribe their autographs and graffiti since March 4, 2014.

You will pass by the Olympic Village on your way back to the hotel and you can see Bird’s Nest and Water Cube. You will have a photo stop here. Bird’s Nest is the nickname of the National Stadium, which was the main stadium of the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games and could accommodate 91,000 spectators. Its grid structure looks like a bird’s nest made of branches from the outside, so it is usually called Bird’s Nest. Except for sports events, some other large-scale activities, such as artistic performances, may also be held here. Water Cube is China’s National Aquatics Center. It was also built for the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games. Now, the water park with various recreation facilities in the Water Cube is the largest one in China, and it welcomes all tourists to enjoy a wonderful journey in the water. From December 26, 2018, it has been transformed into the Ice Cube to fulfill the needs of the Beijing 2022 Winter Olympics and Paralympics.

Free Time Suggestion:

You may go to Sanlitun Bar Street at night if you like. In the 1960s, Premier Zhou Enlai designated the nearby area as the second embassy district of Beijing and with a lot of embassies moving in, this street became prosperous gradually. The first bar in Beijing was opened in the south of the street in 1983. Most of the consumers here are foreigners. Every night, especially after 9 o’clock, many people will come here to meet their friends and relax.

Water Cube

Bird Nest

After breakfast, you will go to the Temple of Heaven, which was inscribed on the World Heritage List as a cultural heritage in 1998. The temple was the very place for the emperors of the Ming and Qing Dynasties to worship the god in heaven and pray for a good harvest. One of the interesting places here is Triple Echo Stones. It is comprised of three stone slates. When you stand on the first slate and clap once, only an echo can be heard; when you stand on the second slate and clap once, two echoes can be heard; when you stand on the third slate and clap once, three echoes can be heard. A round wall called Echo Wall is another famous attraction in the temple. When a person stands close to one end of the wall and speaks, people can hear clearly at the other end of the wall although they are hundreds of meters apart. Besides, the Temple of Heaven is also a place for citizens to relax, such as practicing Tai Chi, dancing, and playing poker. You may join them if you want.

Then your guide will lead you to sightsee Old Beijing Hutong. Rickshaws are available if you want to have a special experience. One of the most famous Hutongs is Nanluoguxiang, which is also one of the oldest streets in Beijing with a history of more than 740 years. Here used to be a prosperous district gathering plenty of mansions of dignitaries in the Ming Dynasty and the Qing Dynasty. There are also many special Hutongs with former residences of celebrities located on both sides and various stores selling local specialties, clothes, and traditional handicrafts, attracting tourists from all over the world. A quadrangle courtyard is the traditional residential architecture usually for a whole family to live in. Looking from the outside, all sides of the yard are walls and only one gate is for getting in and out. You can see a delicate screen wall at the entrance. Your guide will lead you to a local family living in the Hutong and the family will show you around their house and tell you some stories that happened in the Hutong. If you have children with you, a lesson to learn to write brush calligraphy and make kites can be arranged for your children.

You will have lunch with the family and they will treat you to authentic Beijing cuisines. After a short rest, you will take an estimated flight MU5118 16:00/18:15 to Shanghai. Upon arrival, your guide in Shanghai will meet you at the airport and transfer you to the hotel. You may have a good rest after checking in.

Free Time Suggestion:

You may go to Xintiandi by yourself at night. Based on the traditional Shanghai architecture – Shikumen, Xintiandi has become a business street gathering foods, businesses, entertainment, and cultures. Although the buildings here are in old Shanghai style, you can enjoy foods, performances, wine, music, and artworks from different countries.

You may also go to Tianzifang Market. Tianzifang got its name from a famous Chinese artist. If you are interested in creative products, galleries, photographic exhibitions, or handiworks, Tianzifang Market is your best choice.

Temple of Heaven

Hutongs

You will have breakfast at the hotel. Then your guide will drive you to Yu Garden (closed every Monday). Yu Garden is a private garden built in the Ming Dynasty (1368-1644). Now, thousands of calligraphic works, paintings, furniture, ceramics, and other cultural relics are preserved here. Activities such as flower shows, lantern shows, calligraphy exhibitions, and painting exhibitions are often held here. Chrysanthemum is usually the major role in the flower shows while orchids and plum blossom are also common in the show. People bring their potted flowers to join the exhibitions and compete for the best award. In the Qing Dynasty (1636-1912), the streets and alleyways around Yu Garden were decorated with lanterns, and some of the rich families donated hundreds of lanterns to Yu Garden. Gradually, watching lanterns in Yu Garden on the evening of the Lantern Festival has become a local custom.

Shanghai Old Street used to be an important place for foreign trade and petty trade in Shanghai. It comprises two parts: the east part and the west part. The east part retains the residence with the characteristics of the late Qing Dynasty and the early Republic of China (1912-1949), such as lattice windows, doors with a row of planks, and cornices. The houses in the west part imitate the architecture of the Ming and Qing Dynasties to highlight the folk customs of the old Shanghai with grey tiles, white walls, upturned eaves, and red columns. There will be Pingtan performance (storytelling and ballad singing in Suzhou dialect) in the tea house on weekends and cheongsam exhibition in Old Shanghai Tea House.

Lunch will be arranged at a local restaurant. In the afternoon, your guide will lead you to Shanghai Tower. With a total height of 632 meters, this 127-story building is a vertical commercial district involving shopping areas, office areas, hotels, and viewing platforms. The elevator at a speed of 18 meters per second can reach the sightseeing platform on the 119th floor in 55 seconds. The exterior of Shanghai Tower is spiraling upward from the bottom to the top. Light shows will be displayed accordingly on normal days, weekends, holidays, and other special days. Besides, it also glints with the landscape lights of the building complex around it and the classic buildings on the Bund and regularly displays a landmark light show.

Nanjing Road in Shanghai is the earliest commercial street established after Shanghai became an international trade center. Known as the No. 1 commercial street in China, the road is dotted with a variety of time-honored shops and shopping malls in Shanghai. There are several time-honored food stores specialized in retailing desserts, sliced ducks, smoked fishes, and fresh-meat moon cakes. Many stores are still the must-choice for Shanghainese to do their own New Year’s shopping. Besides, the Jingling Cars are available here for tourists to go sightseeing. There is no doubt that Nanjing Road is a paradise for travelers and food lovers.

The Bund is located on the bank of the Huangpu River in the Huangpu District of Shanghai. After Shanghai was opened as a commercial port, foreign banks, business institutions, and newspaper offices began to gather here, so the Bund became the financial center of the whole country. Along the Bund, there are many buildings with various styles of different countries, and this is why it is known as the “World Architecture Expo”. The Jardine Matheson Building, for example, is a Renaissance-style building. From the outside, the wall of the whole building paved with granite is conspicuous, the door and window frames on the first and the second floors are built with semicircle arch stones, and a sheep head relief is decorated over the main entrance. The third to the fifth floors are support by Roman Corinthian Columns, showing a strong classical western European style.

Option:

If you are interested in the night scenes on the banks of the Huangpu River, Huangpu River Night Cruise is suggested. You can enjoy the wonderful light shows of the international building complex on the Bund along the west bank of Huangpu River as well as the Oriental Pearl TV Tower, Jin Mao Tower, Shanghai World Financial Center, and Shanghai Tower on the other bank. You may also pass by other famous tourist attractions in Shanghai, such as the Yangpu Bridge and the Waibaidu Bridge. You will have a better experience if you stay on deck during the cruise.

The bund

Nanjing Road

After breakfast, your guide will pick you up at the hotel and escort you to Shanghai Disneyland, and you will go sightseeing by yourself for a whole day. Shanghai Disneyland, located in Pudong New Area, was officially opened on June 16, 2016. It is the first Disney theme park in China’s mainland that integrates with unique Chinese elements. Centered on the Enchanted Storybook Castle, seven theme parks are distributed around, namely Mickey Avenue, Garden of Fantasy, Adventure Island, Treasure Cove, Tomorrowland, Dreamland, and Disney·Pixar Toy Story.

Disney’s creative team decided to make “Mickey Avenue” the welcoming entrance to Shanghai Disneyland, replacing the traditional design of taking American Small Town as the main theme. In addition, Chinese elements can be found everywhere in the design of various attractions in the park. For instance, the Enchanted Storybook Castle has spires decorated with traditional Chinese patterns such as clouds, peonies, lotus, and magnolia, the city flower of Shanghai. The Chinese restaurant Wandering Moon Restaurant inherits the traditional Chinese architectural style, choosing the five elements of mountain, ocean, desert, forest, and river as the theme. In the Garden of Fantasy, Disney’s iconic carousel is crafted by Chinese artisans and is beautifully interwoven in 72 brilliant colors.

At Shanghai Disneyland, all the people, no matter young or old, can enjoy entertainment activities, various performances, all kinds of foods, and the charm of creativity, adventure, and excitement! At night, your guide will meet you at the entrance according to your schedule and drive you back to the hotel.

Shanghai Disney Resort

Shanghai Disney Resort

You will have breakfast at the hotel and then take an estimated flight HX237 11:55/14:45 to Hong Kong. You will have your lunch on the plane. Upon arrival, your guide will pick you up at the airport and help you check in at the hotel. For the rest of the day, you may arrange activities for yourself.

Free Time Suggestion:

In the afternoon, you can go to several places for shopping and sightseeing. The first one is Nathan Road. Along Nathan Road, you can walk from Mongkok to Tsim Sha Tsui. There are many world-famous brands along the way, as well as many cosmeceuticals and skincare products shops, which are women’s favorites. Many snack shops can also be found in the street. You can choose one to sit down and have a rest when you are tired. Besides, countless creative advertisements are shown here and many bands play here, making it one of the busiest streets in Hong Kong.

The second one is Central. Central is the political and commercial center of Hong Kong. Many banks, multinational financial institutions, and foreign consulates are located here. Central is one of the most famous shopping centers in Hong Kong, with many flagship stores of famous Chinese and foreign brands, and large shopping malls, such as Prince’s Building. There are many different types of bars and restaurants, where guests can taste the cuisines of different countries.

The third one is the Ladies’ Market. Ladies’ Market is a commercial street formed after the implementation of the Approved Hawker Zone Scheme by the City Council of Hong Kong. It is commonly known as Ladies’ Market because the early stalls on the street mainly sold women’s clothing and products. The items on sale now tend to be diversified, such as various household items, all kinds of clothing, cosmetics, handbags, watches, toys, and so on. Because of the low price and good quality of the goods, it attracts a large number of people to visit and shop here.

The fourth one is Temple Street Night Market. Temple Street got its name because there is a temple in the middle part of the street. It is the most famous outdoor market in Hong Kong with many special snack stalls. Many unexpected stalls at night, such as opera-singing, divination, fortune-telling, and medicine-selling stalls, may surprise you. There is also busking here. Traditional street buskers will appear occasionally to sing Cantonese songs for passers-by. In this street, you can fully enjoy the culture and customs of Hong Kong.

Victoria Peak is one of Hong Kong’s premier tourist attractions. You need to take the Peak Tram, which is the earliest cable car system in Asia, to reach the top. Designed by renowned British architect Terry Farrel, the distinctive bowl-shaped Peak Tower for sightseeing, entertainment, and shopping, standing on the top of Victoria Peak, is a must-see in Hong Kong. There are quite a few outdoor viewing platforms, and the highest one is Sky Terrace 428 on the top of Peak Tower. It is very popular among tourists because they can not only have a clear view of Victoria Harbor in Central and Kowloon on the opposite bank but can also enjoy a panoramic view of the whole Hong Kong Island.

Madame Tussauds Hong Kong is a museum dedicated to wax figures of celebrities. It opened in 2000 in Peak Tower and features about 100 wax figures of celebrities of different nationalities. Former Chinese President Hu Jintao, Chinese basketball star Yao Ming, soccer star David Beckham, famous entertainers Jay Chou and Andy Lau, as well as the departed superstars such as Teresa Teng, Leslie Cheung, and Anita Mui, are all included.

Your lunch will be arranged at a local restaurant. After a short break, you will visit Repulse Bay. Repulse Bay is a crescent-shaped bay known as the “Hawaii of the East” and it is the most representative bay in Hong Kong. Its stunning views attract many rich people to live here, including Hong Kong tycoon Li Ka-Shing. Therefore it is one of the most famous upscale residential areas in Hong Kong. There is a garden on the beach close to the sea. Inside the garden here stand two giant 10-meter-high statues of Goddess Mazu and Avalokitesvara. Goddess Mazu is the patron saint of fishermen. It is said that she used to travel around the sea on a reed mat to save drowning people, so they venerated her as the goddess of sea and built temples in her honor. As fishing industry was the leading industry of Hong Kong in the past, there are many temples dedicated to Goddess Mazu here.

Stanley is a beautiful seaside village in the south of Hong Kong Island. There is a very beautiful story about the origin of its Cantonese name – Chek Chue. It is said that once there was a huge kapok tree in this small fishing village. When kapok bloomed, it looked like a red wooden pillar from a distance, so people named the village Chek Chue, which means “red pillar” in Chinese. Stanley Market is a great place for tourists and locals because it is full of small shops selling a wide range of goods, including Chinese handicrafts, watches, souvenirs, and clothes made of leather, silk, wool, and cotton. The price is not very high here and you can bargain as you like.

Murray House here is one of the largest redevelopment projects in Hong Kong. It is the last remaining piece of ancient European Victorian architecture in Hong Kong. The building has three stories and is built mainly of giant granites. Its architectural style combines eastern and western features, with a replica of the ancient Greek circular stone columns and a sloping roof with Chinese tiles.

After you finish today’s visit, your guide will drive you back to the hotel.

Stanley-Market

Repulse Bay

After breakfast, your guide will drive you to Hong Kong Ocean Park, a world-class theme park that involves land and sea animals, various games, and large-scale shows. It is also one of the most popular theme parks in the world. There are many programs include dolphin shows and high diving. Besides, you can watch seals, penguins, birds, sharks, and butterflies, and see rare animals such as red pandas, giant salamanders, and Chinese alligators. If you like exciting activities, the roller coaster will be a good choice. A large-scale water-curtain show about two dragons is also waiting for you in the park. Music fountain shows will be shown every 15 minutes during the day, and starting at 7 p.m., the 10-minute water-curtain performance designed with fountain jets, LED lighting and water cannons will be staged. What’s more, opened on April 10, 2006, the Sea Jelly Spectacular is the largest independent jellyfish hall in Asia, and the oval aquarium is the largest in the world. You will meet over one thousand kinds of sea jellies here. Light effects are used to show the movements of the sea jelly.

Visitors are not allowed to bring in any food or drink (except food for babies). The in-park food market offers a wide range of food, such as hot dogs, hamburgers, French fries, Japanese ramen, egg puff, and various drinks. Your guide will pick you up at the entrance according to your schedule and escort you to the hotel.

Hong Kong Ocean Park

Hong Kong Ocean Park

On the last day, your guide will pick you up at the hotel after breakfast and take you to the airport according to your boarding time. We wish you a safe and pleasant journey back home.

Author: Qiyue Hou

Proofreader: Vivian Zhou