Historic Capitals & Yangtze - from $2199

Day 01Arrival in Beijing Our guide will greet you outside the customs of the airport after you retrieve your luggage and clear the customs, and then transfer you to the hotel. The remaining time of the day is free for your individual activities. For dinner on your own arrangement, we have some suggestions around our luxury hotel. Meals: No meals Accommodation: Crowne Plaza Day 02Beijing In the morning, after a short stay on the world's largest city square, Tiananmen Square, you will visit the famous Forbidden City, namely the Palace Museum, where you will be fascinated by the gorgeous imperial architecture and cultural relics of more than 600 years ago. To ensure that you can taste the authentic and diversified Chinese food, we will serve you an a la carte lunch at a famous local restaurant. That's quite a different experience than having lunch at the cheap tourist eateries as the most are doing now. For our a la carte meals, we will pay at least 3 to 4 times' price higher than that of the tourist food. In the afternoon, continue your visit to the Temple of Heaven, the altar where the emperors of the Ming and Qing dynasties worship for gods of heaven. After finishing the whole day sightseeing, a lively Chinese Kung Fu Show at the Red Theatre is waiting for you. The show, Legend of Kung Fu, adopting acrobatics and dancing, will give you a better understanding of Chinese Kung Fu. Meals: American breakfast, A la carte lunch Day 03Beijing Today you will visit one of the greatest world heritage sites - the Badaling Great Wall. As one of the best-preserved sections of the Great Wall, Badaling gained its fame for its solidity and strategic importance. When walking on Badaling, you will be impressed by the winding but majestic walls. After visiting a Jade Factory, we will drive you to have a pleasant lunch of Sichuan cuisine at the best local restaurant, which is to avoid the shopping site restaurants near the Great Wall. Usually most agencies arrange the lunch at the shopping site restaurants with a much cheaper price, but after you have lunch there, you still need to stay for another 40 minutes in the shopping area of the restaurant so that the agencies could get some commissions. In the afternoon, continue your visit to the Sacred Way and Ming Tomb, where 13 Ming-dynasty emperors and their wives and sons were buried. As the main path to the Tombs, the two sides of the Sacred Way are lined with all shaped statues, both officials of the time and auspicious animals, which served as the guards of the tombs as well as important decorations. On the way back to downtown, you can see the full view of the Bird's Nest (Olympic National Stadium). It's the major venue for 2008 Olympic Games. Meals: American breakfast, Lunch Day 04Beijing - Xian This morning, visit the Summer Palace and the Pearl Store. In this 800-year-old but well-preserved imperial garden, you will be fascinated by the examples of the ancient art, graceful landscapes and magnificent constructions. Then you will have a Hutong tour to experience the original Beijing culture by taking a special rickshaw riding through the various Hutongs and to know about old local manners and customs. Around noon, you will have an a la carte lunch at a nice local restaurant. The restaurant is well-decorated, which makes clients feel like dining at home. Later in the afternoon, you will fly to Xian. Upon your arrival, our local guide will meet you outside the baggage claim area and transfer you to the appointed hotel. Meals: American breakfast, A la carte lunch Accommodation: Shangri-la Golden Flower Hotel - South Wing Day 05Xian In the morning, you will explore the World's Eighth Wonder, the Terracotta Warriors and Horses Museums and drop by a Pottery-making Factory. You would be deeply impressed when you find out that all the figures and horses have distinct facial expressions and positions. After viewing that, you will have an a la carte lunch at the best local restaurant rather than having the mass-produced food at the tourist restaurants near the warrior site. Nearly most of the clients will be taken to have lunch at the tourist restaurants by their agencies. You can never imagine the food quality and dining environment there. It differs not a little, but much greatly from our a la carte meals. In the afternoon, you will visit one of the symbols of the city, the Big Wild Goose Pagoda. It is a 64.5-meter (211 feet) high square cone-shaped tower, which was built 1,300 years ago to house the Buddhist statues, relics and scriptures from India. The next stop will be the Provincial History Museum, to learn about our history of the past 1,000,000 years from the vast storage of cultural relics. In the evening, a delicate Tang Dynasty Music and Dance Show at Shaanxi Opera Theatre (Addr: No. 165, Wenyi Road) will bring you back to the dreamy and prosperous Tang Dynasty in the 7th century. You could also enjoy the local speciality Dumpling Dinner. Meals: American breakfast, A la carte lunch, Dumpling dinner Day 06Xian Today's schedule will start from the City Wall. If time permits, you can either walk or rent a bicycle to ride around the wall, discovering the history of this ancient capital of 13 dynasties from every brick and tile. Around noon, you will have a local family visit and a la carte lunch will be arranged in the home of the family that you visit, to taste the authentic home cooked dishes. If interested, you may join our Chinese food cooking class and learn to cook one or two dishes with the host for free. In the afternoon, continue to visit the Great Mosque, which is one of the four most famous Islamic mosques in our country. It perfectly compromises the merits of Chinese and Islamic culture and is said to be the only Islamic mosque in Chinese style in the world. Meals: American breakfast, Home-cooked a la carte lunch Day 07Xian - Chongqing In the morning, you will visit Xian Museum and the Small Wild Goose Pagoda. Xian Museum is composed of three parts, which are Museum, Jianfu Temple and Small Wild Goose Pagoda. In the museum, there are many cultural and historical relics exhibited. The Small Wild Goose Pagoda is a famous well-preserved Buddhist pagoda of the Tang Dynasty. The extant pagoda has thirteen stories and it still keeps the primitive features. With delicate appearance, it is reputed to be the exquisite artistic heritage of Buddhist architecture in the Tang Dynasty. Surrounded by tranquil environment, this museum has become a historic garden for leisure activities and cultural appreciation. Then you will go to the airport to take a flight to Chongqing. Upon your arrival, our local guide will meet you with a comfortable transfer service. If time permits, you will have a brief city view to the Panda House in Chongqing Zoo to have a close meet with the adorable Chinese Giant Pandas. Then on-board the luxurious President Ship. As the ship departs from Chongqing at about 22:00, your relaxing tour begins. Meals: American breakfast Accommodation: President No. 1 Day 08Chongqing - Shibaozhai After breakfast, the river guide will give you a brief introduction of the cruise and the schedule. Then you will disembark and visit Shibaozhai, which is famous for its fanciful architecture and many interesting legends. With the reputation of 'Pearl on the River', Shibaozhai has received 220,000 visitors from home and abroad every year since opened to the public in 1979. Now it has become the 'little Penglai' for visitors to overlook stunning riverviews. The Captain's Welcome Party will be held tonight. Meals: Western buffet breakfast, Lunch, Dinner Day 09Badong - Xiling Gorge - Sandouping The highlight part of your cruise is coming today. You will appreciate the unique scenery of the Three Gorges. As you sail on, there is the famous Shennong Stream on the border between the Wu Gorge and the Xiling Gorge, where you will disembark and take an interesting sampan adventure. Sitting on the special local wooden boat, you will travel along the zigzagging watercourses and enjoy the grotesque rocks and picturesque scenery along the banks, accompanied by the folk songs from the trackers. The Shennong Stream adventure will last about 3 to 4 hours. Then sailing into the Xiling Gorge, which is the longest gorge among the three and renowned for the numerous shoals, swift currents and grotesque peaks. The ship will pass the Five Level Ship Lock of the Three Gorges Dam in the evening. Meals: Western buffet breakfast, Lunch, Dinner Day 10Yichang - Shanghai Today your amazing ship journey will end with an excursion to the Three Gorges Dam, which is the major construction of the Three Gorges Project, the world largest irrigation project. When embark again, it's time to say goodbye to your memorable Yangtze cruise experience. After lunch, visit the Yichang Museum if time permits. Then you will head for Shanghai by flight. Upon your arrival, our local guide will expect you outside the baggage claim area and transfer you to the hotel. Meals: Western buffet breakfast, Lunch Accommodation: Renaissance Shanghai Yuyuan Hotel Day 11Shanghai Today, your visit starts with the Shanghai Museum, which houses large collections of historical items. Then you will visit one of the most famous gardens in the Southern part of our country, Yuyuan Garden, which is well known for the delicate buildings, exquisite layout and beautiful landscapes. After a Silk Museum, you will enjoy your a la carte farewell lunch of the authentic Shanghai and Cantonese cuisine at a fancy and famous local restaurant. After lunch, your will take a short cruise on Huangpu River. The huge mansions on the east bank of the river and the old western buildings on the west bank will show you the history and the modernness of the city simultaneously. Then you will visit an old street. Meals: American breakfast, A la carte lunch Day 12Departure from Shanghai Today you will prepare for your homebound flight. Our guide will meet you in the hotel at the appointed time and see you off at the airport. If you wish to stay on in China, please contact your travel consultants for an extension vacation. Meals: American breakfast