Start in: Guilin
End in: Beijing
Special Experience: Guilin Li River cuise and countryside excursion in Longsheng, Xian Terracotta Army, Shanghai acrobatic show, Beijing Hutong tour by rickshaw
China Impression tour with Ethnic Journey in Guilin
Day-by-Day Itinerary
Day 1 Arrival/Guilin
Accommodations: Guilin Osmanthus Hotel 
Transfer via: International flight on your own arrangement
Upon your arrival at Guilin airport, our local guide will meet you and escort you to your hotel. The rest of the day is free at your own leisure.
Accommodations: Guilin Osmanthus Hotel
Meals: B,L
Sightseeing: Longji,Zhuang People,Yao People
Today, you will enjoy a full-day tour to Longsheng Autonomous County and drive back to Guilin after the tour (about 2-hour drive). 90kms northwest to Guilin, the County lives many different ethnic minority groups such as Zhuang, Yao, Miao and Dong etc. In recent years, this county has gradually become a popular destination for photography enthusiasts and people who are interested in minority culture. On this tour you will not only enjoy the wonderful view of terraced rice paddies--the most famous section is called"Longji", lush bamboo groves and small villages on the hillside along the way, but also be amazed by the rich culture of the Zhuang and Yao people.
- Longji: means "Dragon's Backbone". When climbing to the top of it and looking down on the nearby terraced rice fields, you will have the feeling that you are standing on the dragon's back as the terraced rice paddies look like the shining scales of the dragon.
- Zhuang People: with over 17 million people, Zhuang is the largest ethnic minority group in China.
- Yao People: Yao is another major ethnic group living in the Guilin area that has a population over 2 million all over China. Yao women are believed to have the longest hair in the world.
Accommodations: New Century Hotel
Meals: B,L
Sightseeing: Li River Cruise
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. Free time in the afternoon after checking in the hotel in Yangshuo.
- 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.
Accommodations: Orient Hotel Xi an
Meals: B,L
Sightseeing: Elephant Trunk Hill ,Fubo Hill,Reed Flute Cave
Transfer via: China domestic flight on our arrangement
Today, drive back to Guilin (1.5-hour drive) and have a city tour of the Elephant Trunk Hill, the Fubo Hill and the Reed Flute Cave before your transfer to the airport for your flight to Xian. Be met and escorted to the hotel.
- Elephant Trunk Hill : the symbol of Guilin, which resembles a giant elephant drinking water from the Li River.
- Fubo Hill: where you can see lots of Buddha statues left about 1000 years ago in the Returned Pearl Cave and have a birds' eye view of the whole city after climbing up to the very top.
- 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: Orient Hotel Xi an
Meals: B,L
Sightseeing: Terracotta Warriors and Horses,Ancient City Walls ,Bell Tower
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.
- 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.
Accommodations: Jiulong Hotel Shanghai
Meals: B,L
Sightseeing: Shaanxi Provincial Museum,Big Wild Goose Pagoda
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--Shanghai. Upon your arrival our local guide will meet you and escort you to the hotel.
- 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: Jiulong Hotel Shanghai
Meals: B,L
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 Acrobatic Show 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: Beijing Peixin hotel
Meals: B
Transfer via: China domestic flight on our arrangement
You will have a free day today to explore this modern city by yourself. Then be transferred to the airport for your flight to Beijing. 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.
Accommodations: Beijing Peixin hotel
Meals: B,L
Sightseeing: Tiananmen Square,Forbidden City,Summer Palace
Special Dinner: Peking Duck Dinner
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.
- 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 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.
Accommodations: Beijing Peixin hotel
Meals: B,L,D
Sightseeing: Great Wall,Sacred Road,Ding Tomb
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.
- 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.
- 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.
- 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: Hutongs,Xiushui Street,Temple of Heaven
Transfer via: International flight on your own arrangement
After breakfast, you will visit Hutongs by rickshaw. Lunch will be served in one of the local people's home during the tour, when you can learn how to make dumplings. And then do some shopping at Xiushui Street and visit Beijing's splendid Temple of Heaven. Then be transferred to the airport for your international flight to your next destination.
- Hutongs: the old narrow paths with lots of courtyard homes where common people are living. They are like villages within a megalopolis. Through the hutongs' teeming maze of alleyways, you will see the old houses and learn about the daily life of ordinary Beijing citizens.
- Xiushui Street: a market near the embassy area and known as Silk Street market among foreigners. The main commodities include garments, silk products and tourist souvenirs. You can enjoy bargaining with the vendors and may have a pleasant surprise of finding a real treasure if you are lucky enough. Since early this year, an indoor five-story building with three underground stories claimed as the new Xiushui Market has been opened to substitute the old outdoor one.
- 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 10 nights, including
10 nights at three star hotels
19 meals, including 10 full breakfasts, 8 lunches and 1 dinners
(including Peking Duck Dinner, Peking Duck Dinner)
1 gala evening events--Acrobatic Show in Shanghai 
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
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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