CC-18 Beijing-Xi'An-Guilin-Shanghai ( 12D11N )

Day 02: Beijing
Today you will see some of the contrasting sights of Beijing, our capital city. Your first stop will be at Tian’anmen Square, the largest public square in the world. Dominating the north side of the square is the massive red Tian’anmen Gate through which you will pass into the fabled Forbidden City and another age, where you will be shown the home to the members of the royal family and their court in China’s Ming and Qing Dynasties. After lunch you will visit the imposing Temple of Heaven where the Emperor came each year to intercede with the Gods for a good and plentiful harvest. To round off a memorable start to your tour, you will have Beijing Duck Dinner at the most famous and century-old Quan Ju De restaurant followed by the fascinating Peking Opera performance. (B+L+D)

Day 03: Beijing
After breakfast, you will make your way to the Badaling Great Wall where you will have the opportunity to not only see one of the most impressive sections of the Great Wall of China but you will be able to take a walk along it. After lunch you will travel some 30 miles (50 kilometers) northwest of Beijing to the Sacred Way with its fabulous stone animals. It leads you to the Ming Tombs in the shadow of Longevity Mountain. A visit to the Underground Palace of Dingling, will allow you to see imperial coffins, burial artifacts and treasures. We arrange you to have a fresh and a gourmet dinner in your hotel after you have a big day to the Great Wall and the Ming tombs. (B+L+D)

Day 04: Beijing/Xi’an
This morning you will visit the favourite haunt of the Dowager Empress, the Summer Palace. Walking in this veritable museum of classical Chinese garden architecture that the royal family could relax away from the formal ceremony of the court is quite a pleasant experience. There are a number of pavilions as well as the Long Corridor that is now a popular place for people to spend the day on. After lunch, we take an internal flight to the ancient former capital city of Xi’an. Visit the ancient Xi’an City Wall from the 14th century, one of the most important city walls in China on your way downtown to the 5-star Hyatt Regency Hotel that is to be your home for the next two nights. To celebrate your arrival in Xi’an you will enjoy a local speciality, the Dumpling Dinner, the popular food in the Chinese Lunar New Year. (B+L+D)

Day 05: Xi’an
Following breakfast in the hotel, you set out for yet another highlight of your tour; the Terracotta Warriors Museum. The thousands of life size soldiers and horses were created to guard the tomb of Qin Shi Huangdi, the first Emperor to unite China under his firm rule. The royal tomb itself has yet to be opened but the rank upon rank of Warriors is a sight that is unrivalled anywhere in the world. After lunch, you will visit the Provincial History Museum with its richest collection of artifacts in China. Your last visit for the afternoon will be to the Big Wild Goose Pagoda. The square, seven-storey pagoda was built in 652 AD and is a fine example of Tang Dynasty Buddhist architecture. Tonight, you will attend the deluxe Tang Dynasty Dinner Show at the famous Tang Dynasty Palace where fine food and spectacular entertainment bring another outstanding day to a close. (B+L+D)

Day 06: Xi’an
To start your morning, you will have a unique chance to approach the mysterious and ancient art of Tai Chi Chuan, a 300-year old traditional Chinese martial arts, also known as shadow or Chinese Tai Chi Boxing. Now it is a popular exercise for Chinese to keep health. Gain the real experience of playing Tai Chi with local Chinese before your exploration of some of the sights. Freshly stimulated in body and mind, drive 70 miles west of Xi’an and you will then visit Qianling, the joint mausoleum of Emperor Gaozong and Wu Zetian, the only woman to rule China in her own right and Qianling Museum. While the main tomb has never been excavated, the tomb of Princess Yongtai, granddaughter of Empress Wu, has been opened and is of great interest. As a contrast you visit the farmers’caves before you move on to Xianyang Terracotta Museum. Situated on the site of the capital of the Qin Dynasty that unified China in 221 BC, the exhibits include a model of the first emperor’s palace as well as other artifacts from the site. Then you are transferred back to Xi’an. Having visited the sites and the family, you are served the most famous Xian local food named Yang Rou Pao Mo for your dinner. After the dinner, you must have a thorough understanding of this old city as well as its people. (B+L+D)

Day 07: Xi’an-Guilin
Visit the Forest of Stone Steles Museum. The museum housed in the Temple of Confucius has the largest collection of its kind in China with a collection of over 3,000 inscribed stones steles. Next comes the Great Mosque built in 742 during the Tang Dynasty (618-907). The traditional Chinese style architecture makes this mosque quite a unique one from its Arab counterparts. Take an afternoon internal flights to Guilin and transfer to the 5-star Sheraton Hotel Guilin for two nights’ stay. (B+L+D)

Day 08: Guilin-Yangshuo
After breakfast, take a short drive to join a cruise that will take you on a voyage of discovery along the Li River. The river wends its way through the unique scenery of Karsts (limestone mountains) that have strange and fabulous shapes. Admire the shapes and try to guess their names - Crown Rock, Conch Hill, Jade Lotus Peak and Snow Lion Peak are just a few while enjoying lunch on board. Finally arrive at Yangshuo and check in the best hotel in town named Yangshuo Paradise Resort for one night. This afternoon, we start cycling into rural China! Our guide will accompany you to go to Licun Village by bicycle to experience the peasants’ life there. You enjoy the sunset behind the farm fields along the winding Li River with the cooking smoke rising over the local village while riding in the countryside road. (B+L+D)

Day 09: Yangshuo-Guilin
Today, you will have the morning free, intending to be totally relaxed. After breakfast at the hotel, you might be able to explore the town and its immediate surrounds. You can choose to hire a bicycle enjoying along the countryside road with the breathtaking scenery around the town or wonder along the West Street or having a pot of tea in a sidewalk cafe, There are many cafes and western and Chinese style restaurants in Yangshuo where you can try local specialties or more familiar dishes for your lunch finding a tiny and enigmatic world. Our guide will pick you up at the hotel lobby at about 13:00. Drive back to Guilin. Visit the Reed Flute Cave, named after the reeds used in the manufacture of flutes that grow near it. The cave system has a stunning array of natural limestone formations that are made all the more impressive by the clever use of coloured lighting. Then you go to the delightful Seven Star Park before you visit one of the many unusual rock formations that have been carved out by water erosion over thousands of years, Elephant Trunk Hill, as its name implies is quite a remarkable example of the hand of nature upon the landscape. Again accommodation at the Sheraton Hotel Guilin. (B+L+D)

Day 10: Guilin-Shanghai
Following breakfast you will fly to Shanghai and transfer to the 5-star Hua Ting Hotel & Towers, which was formerly the Sheraton Hotel for two nights’ stay. The afternoon is free. We suggest you take a walk in the vehicle-free Nanjing Road, the most bustling shopping center in Shanghai or have a free exploration of a collection of old buildings dating from the 1930’s along the Bund. Dinner is on your side. (B+L)

Day 11: Shanghai
Shanghai is a city that must be seen to be appreciated. You will see something of its history at the Shanghai Museum on People’s Square with its fine collection of cultural relics. Then you go to the Yuyuan Garden. Laid out in the 16th century by a Ming official, this small (2 hectares) garden is a delight of pools, pavilions and rock gardens. Strolling through the bazaar surrounding the garden, you will find lines of stores that sells traditional Chinese arts and crafts. Next comes The Bund, one of the most famous thoroughfares in China and here you will see a collection of buildings dating from the 1930’s displaying their western influence and fulfilling the role of the commercial heart of Shanghai. Leaving the ancient for the modern you visit the TV Tower of the Oriental Pearl situated in the thriving Pudong area of the city dominated by the 88-storey Jin Mao building. This evening you will mark the end of your tour with a Farewell Dinner at the famous Seagull Palace, which allows you to enjoy gourmet food while appreciating the fascinating view of both the old Bund and the new Shanghai. Upon returning to the Hotel our tour guide will see you in the lobby to say a last goodbye. (B+L+D)

Day 12: Exit
After breakfast you will go to the airport for your homeward flight by yourselves. If you have no plans to go home right away, we would suggest you choose optional private city tours to extend your adventure! (B)