Start in: Shanghai
End in: Beijing
Special Experience: Li River cruise and cylcing in Yangshuo, Acrobatic show in Shanghai, dumpling dinner and Tang Dynasty show in Xian, Peking duck dinner and Peking Opera in Beijing
China Impression Tour (Route A)
Day-by-Day Itinerary
Day 1 Arrive Shanghai
Accommodations: Holiday Inn Shanghai -Downtown 
Transfer via: International Flight on your own arrangement
Upon your arrival at Shanghai, China's most cosmopolitan city, our local guide will meet you and escort you to your hotel. The rest of the day is free at your own leisure.
Accommodations: Holiday Inn Shanghai -Downtown
Meals: B,L,D
Sightseeing: Shanghai Museum,The Bund ,Nanjing Road,Yu Garden,Yuyuan Market
Gala Event: Acrobatic Show
Today, your full-day excursion of incredible Shanghai will include: Shanghai Museum, the Bund and the Nanjing Road, Yu Garden and Yuyuan Market. Enjoy a wonderful Portman Acrobatic Show at the Shanghai Centre Theatre tonight.
- Shanghai Museum: often ranked as China's best museum, it is the biggest museum in China with a fine collection of over 120,000 pieces of Chinese artifacts.
- The Bund : where the great trading houses and banks had their headquarters in the 1920s and the 1930s. The Bund is about about a mile long, it is the city's fulcrum.
- Nanjing Road: known as "China's No.1 Shopping Street" with a huge selection of merchandise on sale.
- Yu Garden: located in the Old Town of Shanghai and laid out in 1559 AD by a powerful Ming official, Yu Garden recreates a beautiful landscape of pagodas, pavilions, rockeries, fountains, ancient trees and precious flowers.
- Yuyuan Market: outside the Yu Garden, a bustling market with different snacks and trinkets.
- Acrobatic Show: Chinese Acrobatics is one of the oldest performing arts with its history tracing back to Neolithic times, during its development in the history, it has been absorbing plentiful merits from the opera, dance and Chinese Kungfu, and formed its own artistic features. In Portman Acrobatic Show, in a very typical Shanghainese setting and atmosphere, you will enjoy many breathtaking and stunning programs such as Calvaria Skills, Silk Suspending, Hoop Diving and so on performed by very skillful performers, you will truly have an unforgettable experience of your life.
Accommodations: Guilin Park Hotel
Meals: B,L
Transfer via: China domestic flight on our arrangement
Free in the day until our local guide escorts you to the airport for your flight to your next destination--Guilin. Upon your arrival at Guilin, the most scenic city in China, our local guide will meet you and escort you to your hotel. The rest of the day is free at your own leisure.
Accommodations: New Century Hotel
Meals: B,L
Sightseeing: Li River Cruise,Moon Hill,Yulong River,West Street(Yangshuo)
After breakfast, drive to Zhujiang Pier (about 40-minute drive) to start the boat cruise along the tranquil Li River, the highlight of your sightseeing tour in Guilin, until you get to Yangshuo County. After checking in the hotel in Yangshuo, cycle to the Moon Hill by taking the countryside road partly along the picturesque Yulong River. Pay a visit to one of the local farmers' home en route.
- Li River Cruise: Along the river, you will be inspired by the breathtaking views of peaks and pinnacles, crystal-clear water and reflections in the water together with the serene pastoral views of rice paddies and water buffaloes.You will certainly feel like you are walking into a traditional Chinese painting by cruising on this wonderful river.
- Moon Hill: viewed from different places, the moon takes on different shapes, sometimes full moon, sometimes half-moon and sometimes crescent, forming a marvelous spectacle in Yangshuo. Climbing about 800 steps up to the very top, you will have a fantastic view of the whole county.
- Yulong River: a tributary of Li River, it is like a green ribbon winding peacefully through the rice fields and small villages. The unique-shaped pinnacles, the bamboo groves, the rice fields and the roaming water buffalos are all combined together to create a charming countryside picture.
- West Street(Yangshuo): a busy and exotic slate street in Yangshuo County, about 2km long crammed with shops, pubs, cafes and hotels, where you can relax yourself and do some souvenir shopping.
Accommodations: Hotel Royal Garden
Meals: B,L
Sightseeing: Elephant Trunk Hill ,Reed Flute Cave
Transfer via: China domestic flight arranged by us
Today, drive back to Guilin (1.5-hour drive) and have a city tour of the Elephant Trunk Hill and the Reed Flute Cave before your transfer to the airport for your flight to Xian. Upon your arrival, our local guide will meet you and escort you to your hotel. The rest of the day is free at your own leisure.
- Elephant Trunk Hill : the symbol of Guilin, which resembles a giant elephant drinking water from the Li River.
- Reed Flute Cave: 5 kilometers away from the city center, famed as "A Natural Palace of Art", in which you can see lots of stalactites & stalagmites illuminated by the lights of different colors. You will also learn how they were formed.
Accommodations: Hotel Royal Garden
Meals: B,L,D
Sightseeing: Terracotta Warriors and Horses,Ancient City Walls ,Bell Tower
Special Dinner: Dumpling Dinner
Gala Event: Tang Dynasty Show
Today, you will enjoy a full-day excursion to the incredible life-size Terracotta Warriors and Horses. After lunch, visit the Ancient City Walls and the Bell Tower. Complete the day with a savory dumpling dinner and the Tang Dynasty show both at Shaanxi Grand Opera Theatre.
- Terracotta Warriors and Horses: discovered in 1974 by local farmers digging a well, this is one of the most significant archeological finds of the 20th century. These 6,000 life-size painted Terracotta Warriors and Horses --individually sculpted from real-life models and arranged in battle formation have been protecting the mausoleum of the first emperor in Chinese history--Emperor QinShihuang for 2,200 years ago.
- Ancient City Walls : built during the 14th century on Tang dynasty foundations and they date from the Ming dynasty. The walls are the largest and best-preserved ancient fortress in the world. There is a gate in each of the four sides, and the gate towers built over each gate look lofty and magnificent and form a tight defence engineering system.
- Bell Tower: standing in the center of the city and built in 1582, the Bell Tower is a three-story wooden structure with traditional Chinese architectural features. It is so called because an iron bell is hung in the tower to give the correct time.
- Dumpling Dinner: Dumpling or Jiaozi in Chinese is a traditional and popular food in China, especially in the north. At the dinner, nearly 20 varieties of dumplings that are steamed and stuffed with different delicious fillings such as vegetables, meats and seafood are served. These dumplings are not only tasty, but also characteristic with their colors and fragrance, style and culture meanings. All these make the dinner so unique that you should not miss it when traveling in Xi'an.
- Tang Dynasty Show: the Tang Dynasty (618-907 AD) was one of the most glorious dynasties in China's history, and Xi'an was the capital during the Tang Dynasty and called as Chang'an. Tang Dynasty Show is a performance of Chang'an music and dances in Tang Dynasty style laid out according to various historical records and ancient arts and relics discovered in Xi'an. During the show, the musicians present the music with the Tang-Dynasty-style musical instruments and the dancers dance by wearing a Tang-Dynasty-style robe with long white silk sleeves, and you will certainly enjoy this national art that reflects the glory and richness of the Tang Dynasty era.
Accommodations: Jianguo Garden Hotel
Meals: B,L
Sightseeing: Shaanxi Provincial Museum,Big Wild Goose Pagoda
Transfer via: China domestic flight on our arrangement
After breakfast, you will have a city tour to the Shaanxi Provincial Museum and the Big Wild Goose Pagoda before your onward flight to the next destination--Beijing. Upon your arrival at Beijing airport, our local guide will meet you and escort you to your hotel. The rest of the day is free at your own leisure.
- Shaanxi Provincial Museum: opened in 1991, the largest comprehensive museum in the province. The museum exhibits over 3,000 historical relics which is just a fraction of their collection. Most of the exhibited items are rare treasures, showing you the splendid Chinese culture.
- Big Wild Goose Pagoda: regarded by many as a symbol of the city Xian, the pagoda was built in 652 A.D. in the Tang Dynasty to house the sutras brought back from India by the famous monk Xuan-zang.
Accommodations: Jianguo Garden Hotel
Meals: B,L
Sightseeing: Tiananmen Square,Forbidden City,Summer Palace
Gala Event: Peking Opera Show
Today you will first visit the historic Tiananmen Square, and then the magnificent Forbidden City. In the afternoon, you will marvel at the exquisite Summer Palace. Enjoy the Peking Opera Show at Liyuan Theatre in the evening.
- Tiananmen Square: the largest city square in the world and the spiritual heart of China, where the national flag is raised exactly at sunrise everyday.
- Forbidden City: located in the center of Beijing, used to be the imperial palace of the Ming and Qing dynasties with a history of around 600 years, it is the grandest integral palace complex still remaining in China.
- Summer Palace : Located on the northwestern outskirts of the city, it was an imperial summer resort of the Qing Dynasty. With its perfect layout, magnificent buildings and enchanting landscape, it is the most splendid classical garden in China.
- Peking Opera Show: a kind of singing drama which is an ingenious and colorful combination of elements from many sources: traditional music, poetry, singing, recitation, dancing, acrobatics, and martial arts.
Accommodations: Jianguo Garden Hotel
Meals: B,L,D
Sightseeing: Great Wall,Ding Tomb,Sacred Road
Special Dinner: Peking Duck Dinner
Today's full-day excursion will take you to the majestic Great Wall (Badaling section), the Ding Tomb of Ming Tombs and Sacred road. Enjoy a famous Peking Duck Banquet for dinner.
- Great Wall: the most famous symbol of China and one of the world's most remarkable architectural wonders, it was built over 2,000 years ago and stretches about 6,700km.
- Ding Tomb: the burial site of the emperor Wanli, the 13th emperor of the Ming Dynasty who ruled for 48 years until his death in 1620, it is the only underground tomb of the thirteen Imperial Ming tombs ever excavated.
- Sacred Road: the path lined with stone statues of animals, mystical beasts and officials who are supposed to serve the emperor in his afterlife, through which the sitting emperors would go to perform memorial rituals for the ancestors once a year.
- Peking Duck Dinner: Peking Roast Duck is regarded as one of the most delicious dishes throughout the world. A Peking Duck Dinner is usually a fixed item on any Beijing tour itinerary. At time-honored restaurants such as Quan Ju De, you can savor the mouth-watering traditional Beijing specialty, and at the same time the chefs will show you how they cuts the meat into exactly 108 slices from one duck, each having a piece of skin.
Meals: B
Sightseeing: Temple of Heaven
Transfer via: International Flight on your own arrangement
After breakfast, you will visit Beijing's splendid Temple of Heaven. And then take the afternoon flight to your sweet home.
- Temple of Heaven: the place which was visited yearly by the emperors who performed intricate rituals to insure a good harvest for the whole nation at ancient times.
China domestic flights as specified in the itinerary 
Accommodations for 9 nights, including
8 nights at four star or higher hotels, 1 night at three star hotels
20 meals, including 9 full breakfasts, 8 lunches and 3 dinners
(including Dumpling Dinner, Peking Duck Dinner)
3 gala evening events--Acrobatic Show in Shanghai,Tang Dynasty Show in Xian,Peking Opera Show in Beijing 
Round-trip transfers---between airports, hotels and scenic spots in each city by private air-conditioned motor coaches with experienced drivers
A local English-speaking guide in each city
Entrance fees to scenic spots listed in the itinerary
Luggage transfers between airports and hotels
China Life Tourist Accident/Casualty insurance
Government taxes and service charges except tips for tour guides and drivers
Fancy Lanterns - a "Dragon" in the Yu Garden, Shanghai
We both found the Reed Flute Cave stunningly fascinating, made even so more so by the fact that we were along as the last ones to go through. We were very glad we went with the Longsheng rice paddies option even though it was the wrong time of the year. It was still beautiful with the Dragon's Backbone clearly visible-it was one of our favorite places. The Li River boat cruise was very enjoyable too.
- Adele and Giles Harding,South Africa
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