Panorama China Tour with Yangtze River Cruise

Upon your arrival in Beijing, you will be met by our local tour guide and escorted to your downtown hotel by a comfortable vehicle. Welcome to your 16 days’ Panorama China tour with Yangtze River Cruise. Beijing is the first stop in your half-month-long tour in China. With a history of over 3,000 years, Beijing owns the most historical and cultural sites in the world. UNESCO World Heritage Sites like the Forbidden city, the Great Wall and the Ming Tombs are included in our tour itinerary. So, you will be able to enjoy and appreciate these masterpieces that have accumulated the great wisdom of ancient people. Then, if you get hungry, the Peking Roast Duck, the soya bean paste noodles and the old Beijing hot pot can serve as a good meal, all of which are the most representative flavors of Beijing.

Today, we will start our trip by visiting the Tian’anmen Square. It is about 880 meters long and 500 meters wide. With an area of 440,000 square meters, it can hold 1 million people for a grand gathering. If you come here early, which means before sunrise, you will be able to see the flag-raising ceremony. Here is a fun fact of one architectural detail about the flag-raising in the Tian’anmen Square. The height that the flag will rise to is exactly 28.3 meters. Do you know why? In fact, the Communist Party of China was founded in July, 1921. The founding time of new China is on November 1st, 1949. There is a time difference of 28 years and 3 months between the two dates. Therefore, the fag will rise to a height of 28.3 meters.

The Forbidden city (closed each Monday) has witnessed the reign of 24 emperors with a total history of 600 years. The complex consists of around 70 palaces, encompassing more than 9,000 rooms. There are so many things to see in the Forbidden City, wherein the Palace of Heavenly Purity is one of the most famous. The Palace of Heavenly Purity is the place where emperors of the Ming Dynasty (1368-1644) used to live. Emperors Shunzhi and Kangxi of the Qing Dynasty (1636-1912) also lived here. The Palace of Heavenly Purity is also the place where the emperors of Ming and Qing Dynasties held banquets, such as for celebration of the Mid-Autumn Festival or the Lantern Festival. In front of the palace, we can see a pair of bronze lions with flipperty-flopperty ears and sharp eyes. The experts stated that in the Qing Dynasty, the imperial family deterred the courtiers’ entrance into the inner court where the concubines live, and prohibited women’s interference with state affairs that are discussed in the outer court. These two lions with flipperty-flopperty ears was built to alarm the inner court concubines and court ladies that they’d better care about the state affairs as little as possible. 

The Jingshan Park lies closely with the Forbidden City. Situated in the center of Beijing, Jingshan Park is a beautiful royal landscape garden in the Ming and Qing Dynasties. The hill inside Jingshan Park has five summits, and there is a pavilion on each summit. Among the five pavilions, the 43-meter-tall Wanchun Pavilion (Ten Thousand Spring Pavilion) takes the highest point. From this pavilion, you can see the magnificent Forbidden City and appreciate the view of Beijing city. You can take a few nice pictures of the Fobidden City here.

If you come to Beijing, it is a pity if you leave without visiting the Hutong. So let’s come and see the authentic Hutong of old Beijing. You can go around those hutongs by rickshaw (a three-wheeled passenger cart). Sitting on the rickshaw, you can enjoy the scenery leisurely. While on your tour, we can take you to a well-preserved courtyard house in the hutongs to give you an inside view of these traditional homes.

The Summer Palace is the biggest and best-preserved imperial garden in China. It is said that the palace was built by Emperor Qianlong to celebrate his mother’s 60th birthday. There are so many attractions in it. But you wouldn’t regret having a walk at the Long Corridor, which is the longest corridor in the world. It is famous for its rich painted decoration (more than 14,000 paintings). The paintings depict episodes from Chinese classical literature, folk tales, both historical and legendary figures, and famous Chinese buildings and landscapes along with flowers, birds, fish, and insects. We are now going to introduce a story presented in one of the paintings. There was a boy, Kong Rong, living in the Eastern Han Dynasty (25-220). One day, his father brought some delicious pears home and asked Kong Rong to share them with his brothers. Kong Rong gave his brothers the bigger ones and pick the smallest one for himself. His father asked, “why did you give your brother the bigger pears?” He replied, “I am younger than my elder brothers, so they should have the bigger pears.” His father then asked again, “If that is so, how about your younger brother? He is the youngest in the family. Shouldn’t he have the smallest pear?” Kong Rong replied, “Since I am older than my younger brother, I should take care of him by giving him the bigger and better pear.” His father laughed and praised Kongrong’s behavior. Nowadays, this story is still popular in China. People would like to use Kong Rong’s act of giving as a perfect example to educate children on the importance of loving and caring for one another.  

Jingshan Park

Hutong

Today, the first attraction we have arranged for you is the Ming Tombs. Starting our journey from the downtown areas, we will drive northwest for one and a half hours to get there. The Ming Tombs were built from 1409 to 1645 and cover an area of about 40 square kilometers. Having 13 emperors of the Ming Dynasty buried in here, it is with no doubt the imperial mausoleum complex with the largest scale.

The Sacred Way stretches for 7.3 kilometers. It is the leading path into the mausoleum complex. There are a series of statues along the way. In the past, the emperors believed that the dead people need everything that they own when they are still alive, such as clothes, residence, and guardians. So they tried to reproduce the scenes in daily lives in the building of tombs. As for guardians, there are 12 statues of human figures (including the general, civil official and meritorious official) and 24 statues of animals like lion, camel, elephant, xiezhi (a mythological unicorn), qilin (one of the four "divine animals, the other three are dragon, phoenix, and tortoise), and horse. These stone statues were set there to guard and protect the tombs.

Chang Tomb is the largest of the Ming Tombs. Built in 1409, it covers a total area of 120,000 square meters. Among the 13 tombs, Chang Tomb is the largest and the best-preserved. It is the tomb of the third emperor of the Ming Dynasty, Zhu Di. Zhu Di, also called Emperor Yongle, was born in May, 1360 and died in August, 1424. During his 22 years’ reign, he had made enormous contributions to the development of the country. He maintained the unity of the country and the stability of northern border areas. He had appointed Zheng He to voyage to the Western Oceans for 6 times and the Maritime Silk Road was opened.

In the afternoon, we will drive further northwest for about 40 minutes to visit the Badaling Great Wall, about 37 kilometers away from the Ming Tombs. It is one of the steepest sections. And it is the most important part of the Great Wall, the great defense project of ancient China. The Badaling Great Wall is divided into south section and north section. The south section is very steep with splendid views. Also, there are less tourists in the south section. It is said that the south section is usually the first choice of those foreign state leaders when they come to the Badaling Great Wall. If you would like to climb the Great Wall on foot, it will take about half a day to reach the top. We will arrange cable cars for you to save the climbing time.

Ming Tomb

Badaling Great Wall

The last attraction you will visit in Beijing is the Temple of Heaven, which situated in the south of the city and covers an area of 273 hectares. Such an amazing scale, isn’t it? It is pretty much four times the size of the Forbidden City. It was the holy place for emperors to pay homage to heaven and to pray for good harvests. Temple of Heaven is divided by two encircling walls into an inner part and outer part. The most magnificent buildings are the Circular Mound Altar (Huanqiutan), the Imperial Vault of Heaven (Huangqiongyu) and the Hall of Prayer for Good Harvest (Qiniandian) from south to north. As our ancestors are longing for the good harvests, their worship towards the heaven started at an early time. They looked up to the powerful heaven and started to offer all kinds of sacrifices to pray for the favorable climatic weathers and the blessings from the heaven. Emperors do have much respect to the heaven as well. Emperors considered themselves as the son of the heaven. They believed the heaven has given them rights to ascend the throne. They would come to the Hall of Prayer for Good Harvest every year and offer sacrifices. 

Then, you will take a high-speed train G57 14:00/18:24 to our next destination Xi’an.

In history, the rulers of 13 dynasties have set up their capitals in Xi’an, such as the Qin Dynasty (221BC-207BC), Han Dynasty (206BC-220) and Tang Dynasty (618-907). Here, you can see Xi’an city wall, one of the oldest, largest, and best-preserved Chinese city walls; you will visit the Terra Cotta Warriors and Horses Museum that accommodates “the Eighth Wonder of the World” ; and you will have your stomach satisfied in the Muslim Quarter. Roujiamo (Chinese hamburger), Liangpi (cold noodles), and Bingfeng (local carbonated beverage) are waiting for you to have a taste.

Temple of Heaven

Temple of Heaven

In the morning, we will drive northeast for about 45 minutes to visit the well-known Terra Cotta Warriors and Horses Museum, about 40 kilometers away from the city center. It was unearthed near the mausoleum of Emperor Qin Shi Huang, the first emperor of the first unified dynasty of China. Up to now, three main pits have been excavated. Estimates from 2007 were that the three pits held more than 8,000 clay figures of soldiers, 130 chariots with 520 horses, and 150 cavalry horses. The most unique feature about these clay figures is that they are the same size as real horses and people. And if you take a close look, you might discover that every warrior figure is unique with different facial expressions. There is no other sculpture engineering on such a huge scale in the world. Therefore, it is hailed as the Eighth Wonder of the World.

In the afternoon, we will first visit the Big Wild Goose Pagoda. Originally built in 652 during the reign of Emperor Gaozong of the Tang Dynasty (618-907), Big Wild Goose Pagoda functioned to collect Buddhist scriptures and statues that were taken from ancient India by the eminent monk Xuanzang. A legend tells, on the way to ancient India, monk Xuanzang was once stuck in the desert. When he was in this dilemma, he was guided by wild geese and finally found water to survive. After returning to Chang’an (the ancient name of Xi’an), Xuanzang prayed and expressed his gratitude by building the Big Wild Goose Pagoda in order to thank the the geese that helped him in the desert.  

The Great Mosque is a thousand-year-old ancient great mosque for Muslims in Xi’an. It was firstly built in the year 742 AD. With pavilions, exotic flowers and rare herbs everywhere, the Great Mosque is the only garden-style mosque in China. And it has also been listed as one of the world’s Islamic cultural relics by UNESCO. The mosque combines a traditional Chinese architectural form with Islamic functionality. You can see that the buildings are not in the typical Muslim style with round shape and spires but in Chinese-style. However, the scriptures carved on the columns are clear demonstrations of the Muslim culture.

Then, we will take you to the Muslim Quarter, a famous snack and commercial street in China. Except for the above-mentioned food, there are also other famous snacks, such as the Zeng Gao (rice and jujube cake), the Persimmon Osmanthus, and the Mutton Soup. They are worthy of a taste.

Terra Cotta Warriors and Horses Museum

Great Mosque

Today, you will arrive in Guilin by taking your flight 3U3269 14:45/18:10. Your local guide will meet you at the airport and transfer you to the hotel. Welcome to Guilin, an international tourist city and world-famous city for its good scenery. The epithet “By water, by mountains, most lovely, Guilin” is often associated with the city. Nowadays, the mountains and waters are still worthy of the compliments and keep drawing tourists to visit.

In the morning, our guide will take you to Mopanshan Pier. It is in the southwest of Guilin and it takes about an hour to drive there. You will take the three-star Li River Cruise that we have arranged for you. Taking the cruise is the best way to enjoy the gorgeous panorama of the Li River. It will be a journey about four hours to appreciate beautiful mountains and waters in Guilin. You can enjoy the time on the cruise and have a look of the landscapes on both sides. There might be some professional photographers on the ship explaining the implied meanings of attractions along the way for you. Lunch of boxed Chinese food is included on the cruise ship.

After 4 hours’ cruise, we will finally arrive at Yangshuo. The Yangshuo West Street is a must-go pedestrian street. Situated in the center of the Yangshuo ancient town, it is a good place to enjoy the traditional culture and customs of the local residents and appreciate the local traditional buildings. Here, you can explore some traditional snacks, buy some souvenirs, and relax yourself while drinking some tea or other beverages.

Li River Cruise

Yangshuo West Street

Today, you will leave Guilin and take the estimated flight FM9182 & MU9984 10:00/15:20 to our next stop, Yichang. Upon arrival, your local guide will meet you and then escort you to the Yichang Three Gorges Center Cruise Terminal for a shuttle bus to Maoping port. You will take the Yangtze River Cruise from here. You are surely guaranteed a once-in-lifetime-experience in China with a Yangtze River cruise.

Here are some tips that might be useful for you:

1. Documents: You need to bring along your valid ID - passport. If your passport is expired or invalid, you may be refused to board the ship.

2. Itinerary: Please print out the itinerary confirmed by the travel agency and the contents included, so that you can check it with the ship's schedule after boarding.

3. Clothing: You’d better pack mainly casual and relaxed clothing; we recommend you to prepare light shoes because of the long walking time when visiting ashore. Summer: In the Three Gorges area, the temperature is pretty high in summer and the sunshine time is relatively long, so it is better to prepare hats, sunglasses, sunscreen and other sun-protective items. Spring and Autumn: sweaters, jackets and rainproof, hooded windbreakers. Winter: It is quite cold outside when you are on the cruise ship, so you should prepare rainproof coats and cold-proof clothes, etc.

4. Consumption: The cruise ships generally accept credit card consumption. Yet it is also recommended to prepare a small amount of cash, preferably in ten or twenty yuan banknotes, the total amount between 500-1000 yuan, in order to prepare for the incidental expenses of the shore visit, such as cable cars, snacks and drinks, payment of tips, etc.

If you are an early riser, it’s a good choice to practice Taichi in the morning. There will be guidance from Taichi masters on the cruise ship. If you are interested in it, feel free to join the activity. The moves of Taichi are in slow motions, so it won’t be very difficult for a starter to catch on. It seems like a light exercise, but the benefits that it will bring to your body are enormous.

In the afternoon, there will be a shore excursion to visit the Three Gorges Dam Site, the world’s largest water conservancy project in the world. During the sailing, you will pass through the fabulous Three Gorges Dam and witness this project. Because the dam cuts the running Yangtze River half in the middle. There is a 113 meters’ difference in water level between the two sides of the dam. After the founding of the People’s Republic of China, the government has devoted to building it. The workers in China spent around 40 years doing a series of simulated destruction experiments to ensure the dam is solid enough. In 2006, the Three Gorges Dam finally made its appearance to the world. It has represented the wisdom and hard work of Chinese people.

At night, there will be a Captain’s Welcome Reception for you all. A buffet dinner will be offered at the party.

Three Gorges Dam Site

Three Gorges Dam Site

In the morning, we will switch to a small boat to go down the Shennong Stream. Seeing the mountains passing by, touching the lucid water of the stream, you can admire the natural beauty hidden deep in the mountains. Come here and you can have a zero-distance experience of this gift given by the nature.

In the afternoon, we will be passing by two gorges in the Three Gorges of the Yangtze River, the Wu Gorge and the Qutang Gorge. The 46-kilometer-long Wu Gorge is mostly famous for its serene scenery. It is the longest gorge among the Three Gorges.

The Qutang Gorge is the shortest gorge among the three, yet it’s the most precipitous and magnificent one. It is mostly famous for its majestic landscapes with steep mountains aside. The mountains are almost perpendicular to the water surface, as if being cut by human force. In fact, they are purely made by nature rather than some artificial works.

Wu Gorge

Qutang Gorge

In the morning, you are free to choose any activities you like. In the afternoon, we will visit the Fengdu Jade Emperor. The whole attraction was built aside the mountains, taking the image of the Jade Emperor (the Supreme Deity of Taoism) as its building model. The whole attraction has presented a sense of sacredness and solemnity of Taoism.

If interested, you can pay an extra fee on site to visit the Fengdu Ghost City, the only ghost town in China. Legend has it that this is the place where the souls of the dead would rest. If you are familiar with old Chinese novels, you will feel as if the scenes about the afterworld you have read in the books have come to life. At night, a Captain’s Farewell Banquet will be waiting for you.

Fengdu Jade Emperor

Fengdu Ghost City

Today, you will be transferred to the airport and then you will head towards Shanghai by taking the estimated flight CA1944 13:25/15:50 to Shanghai. Welcome to Shanghai, the Magic City of China. Here in Shanghai, you can not only see the skyscrapers in tight rows, but also enjoy traditional and classic buildings left about one hundred years ago. It is the beauty of Shanghai, a combination of high-speed development and the tradition. On our tour, you are about to see the delicately designed classic garden and the tallest building in Shanghai. You can take a walk and go shopping in the most prosperous shopping street. Shanghai has always been attracting people from home and abroad to visit, and you definitely wouldn’t want to miss it.

Today, our first stop is the Jade Buddha Temple. The Jade Buddha Temple is famous for consecrating jade Buddhas. In 1882, an old temple was built to keep two jade Buddha statues which had been brought from Burma by a monk named Huigen. The temple was destroyed during the revolution that overthrew the Qing Dynasty. Fortunately, the statues were saved and a new temple was built on the present site in 1928. It was named the Jade Buddha Temple. Then, another monk Zhenchan, invited another big reclined jade Buddha from Singapore in 1989. This one is about 4.05 meters long and weighs 6 tons. It lies down on the right side with the right hand holding the head and the left hand placing on the thigh. The Buddha’s facial expression is serene and calm, showing the auspicious image. It is said that this reclined Buddha is presenting the state of entering the realm of nirvana. The Buddha statues in this temple give the tourists a sense of calmness and tranquility, always attracting tourists to stop and admire the statues.

The Yu Garden (closed each Monday) is the most celebrated classical Chinese garden, a land of idyllic beauty surrounded by many high buildings. When you walk into the garden, you will have the feeling of peace and relaxation in an instant. If you walk around casually, you will find that every spot is full of good views, the delicately carved wooden chair, colorful goldfish, and some white ducks in slow moves in the pond. The Yu Garden is a nice place for taking pictures and every corner can make a good post on your social media.

Getting out of the Yu Garden, you will visit the Shanghai Old Street. Walking on the Shanghai Old Street, it’s like traveling back to the prosperous Shanghai fair about 100 years ago. The old buildings here are well-kept, so you can have a glimpse of the traditional Shanghai style. If you want to experience the most popular dishes and snacks in Shanghai, this is also the place to go. The foods here are delicious and at reasonable prices.

After lunch, we will go to the Shanghai Tower. The 632-meter tower is the world’s fourth-tallest and China’s tallest building. It owns the world’s fastest elevators at a top speed of 20.5 meters per second. Standing on the observation deck, the “Top of Shanghai Observatory”, you can enjoy the superb panorama of the whole city.

Once you step on the Bund, the first thing that will come into your eyes might be more than 30 different and elegant buildings in European style, which are collectively called the “Exotic Building Clusters”. The Bund is regarded as the most “international” place in Shanghai and is the must-visit place for visitors. You will have some free time to stroll around by yourself.

The Nanjing Road is the most popular shopping street among tourists in Shanghai. Today’s Nanjing Road comprises two sections, East Nanjing Road and West Nanjing Road. For shopping convenience, its eastern end has an all-weather pedestrian arcade. Many luxury goods, as well as fashion and sport brand boutiques are located on West Nanjing Road.

Jade Buddha Temple

Nanjing Road

Today, you will take the estimated flight HX237 11:55/14:45 to Hong Kong. Adjoining Guangdong province, Hong Kong is the third-largest financial center in the world. It ranks the third in the first-tier cities worldwide, right after New York and London. There lived more than 7.48 million people in this land of 1106.66 square kilometers. With us, you will go to the most famous attractions here. And in your free time, you can do some shopping or taste the various kinds of snacks as Hong Kong is known as the paradise for shoppers and foodies.

Free Time Suggestion:

We are not planning any activities for you this afternoon, so if you are interested, feel free to explore these two famous spots.

1. Ladies’ Market is one of the most popular street markets in Hong Kong. With over 100 stalls stretching over a kilometer along Tung Choi Street, you’ll find clothes, bags, accessories, toys, cosmetics and so on in this market. The market was most famous for womenswear (hence its name) in the old times. But nowadays, their products are all-inclusive as stated above with a cheap price but good quality.

2. Lan Kwai Fong is one of Hong Kong’s most popular places to enjoy the nightlife of the city. It is favored by local people, foreigners, and even celebrities. Even at 1:00 am, the street will still be bustling with excitement. Lots of people would like to go there after work. They would have some delicacies or just to ramble and explore. This place is full of exotic feelings and many movies’ scenes were shot here. If you are a night person, you wouldn’t regret visiting this place.

Today, we will start our trip by visiting Victoria Peak. You can reach the peak via the Peak Tram. During the 10 minutes’ slow ride, you can see different views on both sides. Standing on the top, you can enjoy the superb panorama of Hong Kong Island. You will see the boats moving around on the Victoria Harbor, and the skyscrapers rise straight from the ground, which present the most splendid scenery. There are also some restaurants, snack shops, and souvenir shops on the peak. So besides enjoying the scenery, you can also spend some quality time shopping or trying local food.

Next, we will take you to Repulse Bay. Situated in the south of the Victoria Peak, Repulse Bay is the most popular bay in Hong Kong and a good place to get rid of tiredness. It is known as “The Best Bay in the World”, as well as having the reputation for being the ‘Oriental Hawaii’. Surrounded by the sea and mountains, its splendid scenery attracts many celebrities and rich people to purchase houses here. The water here is warm and usually calm, and the sand is soft. A lot of local families would like to have a short vacation and leisure time here. Here in Repulse Bay, you can’t feel the fast speed in Hong Kong city but only relaxation.

Situated closely to the Repulse Bay, the Stanley Market is one of the most popular open-air markets in Hong Kong. It is a great place to purchase both Western and Chinese clothing as well as typical Chinese souvenirs like paintings, chopsticks, cards, seals, etc. 

That is the end of our half-day’s trip. We will send you back to the hotel and it’s free for you to explore the city on your own in the afternoon.

Afternoon Free Time Suggestion:

It’s suggested that you have a visit to the Harbor City, which is the largest shopping center in Hong Kong. It has become one of the most favorite sightseeing and shopping attractions among tourists from home and abroad. Harbor city is a one-stop shopping paradise, it features many branded boutiques. It also offers dining, entertainment, and sightseeing options as a major attraction in Hong Kong. 

Victoria Peak

Repulse Bay

Today, your 16 days’ Yangtze cruise tour will come to the end. Your tour guide and driver will escort you to the airport according to your flight schedule. Our service ends here.

Author: Yang Yawen

Proofreader: Li Yiwen