China Yangtze River Cruise Tour

Upon arrival at the Beijing airport, your excellent China tour will begin! Our professional guide will be holding your name sign and waiting for you at the arrival hall according to your flight schedule. Afterward, you will be transferred to the hotel in Beijing. You are free to arrange your time for the rest of the day, whether to have a good rest at the hotel or to stroll around to get some impression of the city.

Option: We could also arrange some other extra service for you in the airport, such as welcome flowers, a luxury car and so on. If you want to get a private check-in at your hotel, it can also be realized. So just tell us your need, and we will make it come true.

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 one of the top 10 sceneries in Beijing. Tiananmen Square is the most important square in China. It covers an area of 440,000 square meters and is the venue for many large-scale events in China. There will be a flag-raising ceremony here every day. This is also the purpose of many tourists visiting Tiananmen Square. Some tourists will wait in front of Tiananmen Square around three o’clock in the morning, just to have a good position to watch the flag-raising ceremony.

And then you will enter the Imperial Palace, known as the Forbidden City (closed each Monday), it covers an area of 720,000 square meters, with a construction area of about 150,000 square meters. It is the largest palace-type building in the world in existence was selected into the list of "World Cultural Heritage" in 1987. In 600 years, it has witnessed the lives of 24 Chinese emperors. It has also changed from a heavily guarded royal palace to a national museum open to the public. There are more than 1.8 million cultural relics in the Forbidden City including jade, bronze, calligraphy and painting, oracle bone inscriptions, porcelain, and so on. It will help you know more about China's history.

In the afternoon, you will go to visit the Summer Palace, which is a royal garden of the Qing Dynasty in China. It is mainly composed of Wanshou Mountain and Kunming Lake, and there are more than 3,000 ancient rooms. The entire Summer Palace is divided into the living area, leisure area, and office area. Because the ancient emperors would spend the summer here, this layout allows them to have a place to handle government affairs while relaxing. There is a long corridor about 700 meters in the Summer Palace. This is the longest corridor in China's gardens. It ensures that the ancient emperor can enjoy the beautiful scenery in the garden no matter what the weather is. Even if it rains, it will not be affected.

Option: If you want to enjoy the nightlife in Beijing, we will recommend you to visit the Houhai. It has been a prosperous commercial area since the Yuan Dynasty. Now, this is the famous bar street in Beijing. Here you can still see Beijing's traditional courtyard-style buildings. You can eat authentic Beijing stewed snacks here, or choose a bar to enjoy the night here while drinking.

Forbidden City

Summer Palace

Today, you will have an experience of visiting the Great Wall. First, we will drive for about 1 hour (45 km) to visit the Ming Tombs which is in the northwest of Beijing city center. Whether building houses or constructing cemeteries in the past even now, the Chinese attach great attention to Feng Shui, because some of them are very superstitious. The emperors in ancient times are even more superstitious. There are totally 16 emperors of the Ming Dynasty, and 13 emperors were buried here. This can indicate that this is a treasured place of great Feng Shui. The entire tomb group is surrounded by mountains and there is a small river in front of it. The environment is very quiet. We will take you to visit the Ding Tomb. It is the only tomb that opens its underground palace to the public. Before entering the underground palace, you have to walk down the stairs from the entrance, which is about 5-story building deep. After entering the underground palace, you will find that it is very large. The coffins of the thirteenth emperor of the Ming Dynasty and his two empresses were stored here. There are the front hall, the middle hall, back hall, and left and right side halls in the underground palace. This structure is the same as the Forbidden City. This also shows that the ancient emperor wanted to get the same treatment after death as before.

In the afternoon, we will drive about an hour (40 km) to the Great Wall. The Great Wall has always been a symbol of China. The Great Wall, which stretches for thousands of miles, is not only an important military project to resist the Mongolian enemy, but also a symbol of the courage of the Chinese people. You will take a cable car or cable chair up to the Great Wall. The most common Great Wall brick is 39 cm long, 18 cm wide, and 9 cm thick. These bricks were transported to the mountain by manpower at that time. If you have enough energy to walk on the Great Wall for a little longer, you will find that there are many beacon towers in every few hundred meters. The soldier set fire at night and set wolf dung smoke in the day on the all high Beacon Towers to send the war singal to the General. This is a useful way to report the news to the leader if you have no telephone. Your guide will show you some good place to take photos. It will be your good memory in the future.

On the way back to the hotel, you will have a picture stop at the Bird’s Nest and Water Cube. In 2008, Beijing, China hosted the 29th Olympic Games that attracted worldwide attention. The opening and closing ceremonies of this Olympic Games were held in the Bird's Nest. At the same time, the Bird's Nest and Water Cube were also important venues for sports events at that time. There are still some competitions, concerts, and large conferences held here.

Option: Peking Opera is the quintessence of Chinese opera. Do you want to enjoy a Peking Opera performance in Beijing? We can arrange it for you at night. Liyuan Theater is a famous Peking Opera performance venue in Beijing. It has won the title of Best Night Event Place in Beijing for 7 consecutive years. The theater consists of three parts: a performance hall, an exhibition hall, and a souvenir selling hall. You can taste various Beijing snacks and famous tea at the VIP seats. In the exhibition hall, you will know more about the history of the Peking Opera. In the souvenir selling hall, you can buy Peking Opera crafts as a gift for your friends, and you can also wear Peking Opera costumes or do a face painting like the Pecking Opera actors and take pictures.

Great Wall

Bird’s Nest

In the morning, you will visit the Temple of Heaven. It covers an area of 2.73 million square meters which is four times the size of the Forbidden City. It is a place for the ancient emperors to worship the god of heaven and pray for a good harvest during the Ming and Qing dynasty. The ancient Chinese believed that the sky was round and the earth was square. Therefore, the wall of the Temple of Heaven is square on the south side and round on the north side. Nowadays, the Temple of Heaven is a park for people to spend their leisure time. You can see many retired people playing chess or doing Tai Chi here. If you are interested in Tai Chi, you can also join them and maybe learn one or two moves. Then you will be transferred to the train station and take the estimated train: G87 14:00/18:20 to Xi’an. When you arrive in Xi’an, our professional local guide will wait for you at the train station and then transfer you to the hotel. 

Option: Do you want to have a deeper local touch? We could change the Temple of Heaven visiting into Hutong visiting. Hutong is the name of Beijing's small alley. There are quadrangle courtyards here, and the authentic Beijingers live here. You will have the opportunity to take a rickshaw and travel through these small alleys and feel the culture of traditional Beijing buildings. You will also walk into a local house to have a tea conversation with the host and listen some local stories. If you are interested in Chinese food, we can also arrange a cooking class for you here. The host will teach you how to make dumplings. What a memorable experience!

Temple of Heaven

Hutong

Today you will explore Xi’an city, a world-famous historical city. It is known as Chang'an in ancient times. It used to be the capital city for 13 dynasties. So it is one of the four ancient capitals of China. Now it is the capital of Shaanxi Province. This morning, our guide will pick you up at the hotel and drive for about 1 hour (37 km) to visit the Terracotta Warriors and Horses Museum, which is located in the tomb of the first emperor Qin Shihuang. It has been listed in the world heritage and is known as the " the Eighth Wonder of the World". The terracotta warriors were made in proportions to real people in the Qin Dynasty. So it's as big as a real person. But the terracotta warriors are not manufactured in large quantities according to one mold. On the contrary, each terracotta warrior is individually carved. So every terracotta warrior is different. These soldiers lined up neatly in armor and silently guarded the tomb of Qin Shihuang for 2000. If you want to get some mini terracotta warriors, you can go to the souvenir shop to pick them.

After lunch, we will drive back to visit the Big Wild Goose Pagoda. It is a 64-meter-high brick tower. Master Xuanzang brought back many Buddhist scriptures from India. In order to keep these scriptures intact for later generations, under the management of Master Xuanzang, people here began to build the Big Wild Goose Pagoda. The square around the Big Wild Goose Pagoda is called the Big Wild Goose Pagoda Square. Master Xuanzang once explain scriptures brought back from India here. Now, this square is the largest Tang Dynasty theme cultural square in China and the largest fountain square in Asia. If you are lucky enough, you may see the beautiful light and music fountain show here.

Option: if you want to get a Chinese Calligraphy Class, we can exchange the Big Wild Goose Pagoda in the itinerary into Small Wild Goose Pagoda (closed each Tuesday). The Chinese Calligraphy Class is held there. The Small Wild Goose Pagoda has a history of more than 1,300 years. This tower has experienced several earthquakes. But the magical thing is that an earthquake caused the pagoda to split a 1-foot-wide crack from the top to the bottom. However, decades later, after another earthquake, the crack closed on its own. You can't even see the traces of previous cracks on the pagoda.

Terracotta Warriors and Horses Museum

Big Wild Goose Pagoda

This morning, our guide will pick you up at the hotel, then you will be transferred to the airport and take the estimated flight: 3U8879 14:25/15:55 to Chongqing. Our professional local guide will be holding your name sign and waiting for you at the airport, then you will go to the pier and embark. The cruise will depart Chongqing at 9:00 pm. The Yangtze River is the longest river in Asia and the third-longest river in the world. It is also the longest river which is completely within a single country in the world.  

The Yangtze River cruise ship is called a mobile resort. The cruise ship is well-equipped, and the rooms are clean and comfortable. There are various performances on the cruise ship like the fashion show. Yangtze River cruise ships are classified into president cruise ships, century cruise ships, goddess cruise ships, ordinary cruise ships, and so on. Whether you want to choose a luxury cruise ship or an economic cruise ship, you can find the right choice here.

Today you will take a shore excursion to Shibaozhai. This pagoda is located on the north bank of the Yangtze River. It is known as the "The Pearl of the Yangtze". It’s one of the 30 best new tourist landscapes of the Three Gorges of the Yangtze River, and one of the seven wonders of China on the American Discovery Channel. It is famous for its strange architecture. Shibaozhai is built on the mountain, from the entrance to the top of the pagoda, you will reach the top of the mountain directly. Here you can overlook the scenery of the Yangtze River. The pagoda gate is a masonry structure with a height of 6 meters. There are various exquisite embossments on the gate. The pagoda is a wooden structure, about 56 meters high. There are also various sculptures in the tower, telling traditional Chinese stories. 

Option: Tai Chi exercise in the morning. Arouse the appetite for breakfast with traditional Chinese morning exercises. You can follow the Tai Chi master to do all the moves on the outdoor viewing deck or indoors (depending on the weather conditions).

Shibaozhai

Shibaozhai

Today you will enter the Three Gorges. The Three Gorges of the Yangtze River is the general name of Qutang Gorge, Wu Gorge and Xiling Gorge. Today you will pass through the Qutang Gorge and Wu Gorge. Qutang Gorge is the shortest and narrowest one in the Three Gorges of the Yangtze River. Here you will see a weirdly shaped mountain, like a rhino looking up at the moon. In addition, you can see a pink rock wall. It is not only famous for the color of the rock wall, but also because of the many stone carvings left on the rock wall, which are still clearly visible. Wu Gorge is 42 kilometers long, and the famous scenic spot is the 12 Peaks. These peaks have different shapes. Among them, Fairy Peak is the most famous. It looks like a fairy standing on the bank of the Yangtze River. The Wu Gorge is deep and narrow, with short sunshine hours, the moisture in the gorge is not easy to disperse, and it is easy to form clouds and fog. That makes the Fairy Peak looks very dreamy.

Three Gorges

Three Gorges

In the morning, you will visit the Three Gorges Dam at Sandouping, which is the most magnificent hydroelectric project in the world. You can not only see the spectacular scenery of the dam here but also visit the exhibition hall to learn more about the Three Gorges Water Conservancy Project. After that, you will arrive in Yichang in the late morning and disembark. Then you will be transferred to the Three Gorges Tourist Center in Yichang downtown, and our local guide will meet you there, and accompany you to the train station. Then you will take the estimated train: D954 14:06/20:27 to Shanghai. Upon arrival, our local guide will pick you up at the train station and transfer you to the hotel in Shanghai downtown.

Three Gorges Dam

Three Gorges Dam

After breakfast, you will visit the Yu Garden (closed each Monday). Yu Garden was originally a private garden in the Ming Dynasty. And it opened to the public in 1961. Yu Garden fully embodies the characteristics of traditional Chinese gardens. There are lakes, pavilions, bridges, ancient stage, iron lions, and various ancient trees. And, if you look closely at the carved flowers on the pavilion, you will find that they are very delicate. Some carved designs are plum, orchid, bamboo, and chrysanthemum, and they are called the Four Gentlemen of Flowers. They are the favorite pattern of literati in ancient China.

Then you will have a local experience by strolling around the nearby Shanghai Old Street, which is with a total length of 825 meters. There are more than 30 characteristic shops rich in Chinese ethnic customs, covering four categories of household products, craft gifts, festive products, and traditional specialty commodities. If you want to get some souvenirs, you can choose the chopsticks, Chinese silk and so on.

After lunch, you would take a walk at The Bund, on which stands 52 classical Renaissance buildings with different styles. This is the best place to take photos in Shanghai. You can use high-rise buildings such as the Oriental Pearl TV Tower and Shanghai Center as your photo background, which is the symbol of modern Shanghai. You can also take pictures of the Nation Building Complex as the background, which is the history of Shanghai.

And then, you will visit Nanjing Road, the busiest shopping area in Shanghai or even across the whole China. There are more than 1,200 well-known brands gathered here, and more than 750 international brands. More than 90% of the top brands have flagship stores or specialty stores here, and it deserves to be the most high-end and most comprehensive shopping place in Shanghai. There is also Dingding Car running on the street. If you are tired or if you travel with your child, you can take the car for sightseeing.

Then we will see the Oriental Pearl TV Tower, which is located in Lujiazui, Pudong New District, Shanghai, which is 478 meters high. It takes only 49 seconds for the elevator to reach the sightseeing floor at 263 meters. Every March 8th, the Oriental Pearl TV Tower lights up pink lights, calling on the whole society to care for women; every April 2nd, the Oriental Pearl TV Tower lights up blue lights, calling on Social concern for autistic patients

Option: Shanghai dim sum has a long history from Southern Song Dynasty, and gradually developed and became more and more exquisite. Shanghai's Crab Roe steamed bun is a delicacy not to be missed. Its steamer is about the same size as our usual bowl, and each steamer only steams one steamed bun. The crab roe is mixed with soup which is wrapped in a bun. When eating, first insert a straw on the bun, drink the soup inside, and then eat the bun. If you are interested in Shanghai Dim Sum, we will arrange it as your dinner. 

Yu Garden

Oriental Pearl TV Tower

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.