13 days & 12 nights Historic and Modern China Tour with Yangtze Cruise

Tour Code: COT-S-013-B
Activity Level: Easy - walking, light hiking
Itinerary Type: Loose itinerary
Highlights
This fantastic China trip was carefully designed to capture the very best of each destination. Your personal guide will take you to all of the must-see sights in each city. You will witness the oldest performing art in the world, the spine-tingling acrobatics of Shanghai, see the awe-inspiring Terracotta Army and the Ancient City Wall of Xian, and cruise down the magnificent Yangtze River with many specially designed shore excursions that will enhance your cruise itinerary. In Beijing you will visit such unforgettable sites as the Forbidden City, the Great Wall, the Temple of Heaven, and you will feel like an emperor as you feast on Beijing's famous Peking Duck Dinner.

Shanghai:
Day 1: Arrival in Shanghai. Day 2: Shanghai city tour; acrobatic show at night.

Yangtze Cruise: Day 3: Fly to Wuhan; board the China Regal and start your Yangtze River cruise. Day 4: All day sailing. Day 5: Pay a visit to the Three Gorges Dam. Day 6: Special shore excursion to the Shennong Stream or the Lesser Three Gorges by small vessels. Day 7: Shore excursion to Wan County. Day 8: Disembark in Chongqing and fly to Xian.

Xi'an: Day 9: Visit the Terracotta Army; Xian city tour. Day 10: Xian ancient culture tour; fly to Beijing.

Beijing: Day 11: Beijing city tour to the Forbidden City & Temple of Heaven. Day 12: Drive to outskirt of Beijing and visit the Great Wall & the Sacred Road; Peking Duck Dinner. Day 13: Visit the Summer Palace; final departure.

Day-by-day Itinerary

Day 1 Arrive / Shanghai
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 for you to rest, or head out and explore the city on your own.

Day 2 Shanghai
Today you will first visit the Shanghai Urban Planning Exhibition Center, which will show you the past present and future of Shanghai, the Bund, the financial center of Shanghai known as a"museum of buildings", Nanjing Road, one of China's premiere shopping districts, Yu Garden an ancient classical garden, and Yuyuan Market, a shopper's paradise filled with local arts and crafts. In the evening you will enjoy a wonderful Acrobatic Show, one of China's oldest performing arts, acrobatics have absorbed features of opera dance and martial art, making it a truly unique art form.

Day 3 Shanghai / Wuhan / Embark China Regal Cruise
Transfer via: Domestic flight arranged by us
You will be free to explore Shanghai, until your personal guide escorts you to the airport for your flight to Wuhan. Upon arriving in Wuhan, your guide will meet you and escort you to your five star ship-China Regal. The ship leaves Wuhan at 7:00pm. Please remember that dinner is unavailable onboard this night.
Accommodations: On the ship

Day 4 Yangtze River Cruise
Sail down China's longest river as its amazing landscape unfolds before you.
Accommodations: On the ship

Day 5 Yangtze River Cruise
On this day you will have a shore excursion to visit the world-renown Three Gorges Dam, the largest dam in the world.
Accommodations: On the ship

Day 6 Yangtze River Cruise
On this day you will have an excursion to Shennong Stream, where you will drift along the river on a traditional sampan and be astounded by the natural Scenery that surrounds you, or have an excursion to the Lesser Three Gorges, where three smaller gorges will give visitors a sense of awe as the natural scenic wonders unfold in front of you. The ship company will decide which excursion you will take.
Accommodations: On the ship

Day 7 Yangtze River Cruise
This morning you will have a shore excursion to Wan County, founded almost 2,000 years ago, Wan County became a treaty port in 2902 and is known as the Eastern Gateway to Sichuan Province.
Accommodations: On the ship

Day 8 Yangtze River Cruise / Chongqing / Xian
After breakfast, you will disembark in Chongqing, where your guide will escort you to the airport for your flight to Xian. Upon arriving in Xian, your personal guide will meet you and escort you to your hotel. The rest of the day is yours to relax, or head out into the city for an adventure on your own.

Day 9 Xian
Today, you will visit the unbelievable Terracotta Warriors. After lunch, you will visit the Xian's ancient City Walls, the oldest and largest city walls in the world, followed by a trip to the Bell Tower, built in 1582 and standing in the center of the city. The bell tower is a marvel of engineering and houses an ancient iron bell that was used to ring out the time.

Day 10 Xian / Beijing
After breakfast, you will visit Big Wild Goose Pagoda, which houses Buddhist sutras brought back from India by a famous Chinese monk, and the Hanyang Tombs, which are imperial tombs, built in the Han Dynasty and is often called an"underground treasure house of cultural relics".

Day 11 Beijing
Today you will first visit the historic Tiananmen Square, the largest city square in the world, followed by the magnificent Forbidden City, which is the largest palace structure in the world and the place where China's emperors ruled for over 600 years. In the afternoon, you will marvel at Beijing's splendid Temple of Heaven, where China's emperors annually went to pray for good harvests.

Day 12 Beijing
Today you will have a visit to the majestic Great Wall (Badaling section) and Sacred Road, which is a path lined with stone statues of animals, mystical beasts and officials who will serve the emperor in the afterlife. On your way back from the Great Wall, you will drive around the main Olympic venues for the 2008 Beijing Olympics, the National Stadium (Bird's Nest) where the Opening and Closing Ceremonies were held, and the National Aquatics Center nicknamed "the Water Cube" for its unique design. Feel free to take some beautiful picture of these stadiums. Enjoy Beijing's most famous dish, Peking Roast Duck, for dinner.

Day 13 Beijing / Departure
After breakfast, you will visit the exquisite Summer Palace, the largest classic Chinese garden in the world. In the afternoon you will be escorted to the airport for our flight to your next destination.