Start in: Beijing
End in: Guilin
Special Experience: Great Wall hiking at Simatai section, Peking Duck and Beijing Hutong tour by rickshaw, Xian Dumpling dinner and Tang Dynasty show, Shanghai Acrobatic Show
China Golden Tour Route with Grand Canal Cruise
Day-by-Day Itinerary
Day 1 Arrive Beijing
Accommodations: Jianguo Garden Hotel 
Transfer via: International Flight on your own arrangement
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.
Tiananmen Square, the largest square in the world, which is recognizable instantly by the huge portrait of Mao Zedong hanging on the Tiananmen Gate.
Accommodations: Jianguo Garden Hotel
Meals: B,L
Sightseeing: Tiananmen Square,Forbidden City,Summer Palace
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.
Archway ( Paifang ) in the Summer Palace. Beijing.
Accommodations: Jianguo Garden Hotel
Meals: B,L,D
Sightseeing: Simatai Great Wall
Special Dinner: Peking Duck Dinner
Today you will have a vist to the Great Wall at Simatai after 3 hours driving. Enjoy a famous Peking Duck Banquet for dinner.
- Simatai Great Wall: The Simatai section of the Great Wall is located in the northeast of Miyun County,120 kilometers from downtown Beijing.
- 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: Hotel Royal Garden
Meals: B,L
Sightseeing: Hutongs
Transfer via: China domestic flight on our arrangement
After breakfast, you will visit Hutongs by rickshaw, and 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 take the afternoon flight to Xi'an. 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.
- 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.
Walk inside Hutong with strong Beijing's folkway, visit ordinary people's quadrangles, and fing out people's living custom.
Accommodations: Hotel Royal Garden
Meals: B,D
Sightseeing: Terracotta Warriors and Horses,Bell Tower,Ancient City Walls
Special Dinner: Dumpling Dinner
Gala Event: Tang Dynasty Show
Today,you will first visit 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.
- 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.
- 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.
- 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.
Bell Tower in Winter. Xi'an.
Enjoy the charm of Tang Dynasty Show, an exquisite cultural show in the style of the prosperous Tang Dynasty.
Accommodations: Holiday Inn Shanghai -Downtown
Meals: B,L
Sightseeing: Big Wild Goose Pagoda,Shaanxi Provincial Museum
Transfer via: China domestic flight on our arrangement
After breakfast, you will have a city tour to the Big Wild Goose Pagoda before your onward flight to the next destination--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 at your own leisure.
- 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.
- 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. Xi'an.
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 tour of incredible Shanghai will include: Shanghai Museum, the Bund and the Nanjing Road, Yu Garden and Yuyuan Market. Enjoy a wonderful 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.
Acrobatic Show. Shanghai.
Accommodations: Bamboo Grove Hotel
Meals: B,L,D
Sightseeing: Zhouzhuang,Ancient Memorial Archway,Twin Bridge,Hall of Shen's Residence,Quanfu Temple
In the morning, drive to Zhouzhuang (130km away from Shanghai), there you will pay a visit to the Ancient Memorial Archway, Quanfu Temple, the Hall of Shen's Residence and the Twin Bridge. Drive back to Suzhou afterwards. Overnigh in Suzhou.
- Zhouzhuang: meaning Zhou's village was named after Zhou Digong in the Song Dynasty (960-1127 AD) who donated more than 13-hectare of his land as the field for the Quanfu Temple. Famed as No.1 water village in China with a 900 year history, Zhouzhuang is an ancient town featuring great cultural traditions and unique architecture surrounded by water with many tributaries. You will visit stone bridges and old residences left from Ming and Qing Dynasties, where you can have a glimpse of particular charisma of Jiangnan(meaning south of Yangtze River).
- Ancient Memorial Archway: an archway made of stone and standing upright at the junction of the old and the new town, it is the symbol of Zhouzhuang.
- Twin Bridge: indicating two bridges -- the Shide Bridge and the Yong'an Bridges which were built between 1513 and 1619 AD and connect with each other. One bridge is in the direction of north-south, while the other east-west with one square and one round opening. As they look like an ancient key, the twin bridge is also known as key bridge.
- Hall of Shen's Residence: consisting of seven courtyards and five archways, it is the top of the residences with the unique local style of Jiangnan (meaning south of Yangtze River).
- Quanfu Temple: standing on the bank of the Baixian Lake, built in 1086 AD in Song Dynasty on the land donated by Zhou Digong, it is a good combination of Buddhist culture with architectural arts.
Zhouzhuang. It is through over 900 years old, yet it remains as it was.
the local show in Zhouzhuang
Accommodations: Lakeview Hotel
Meals: B,L
Sightseeing: Grand Canal,Lingering Garden
Today, you will cruise on the Grand Canal and then visit Lingering Garden before go to bus station for your bus to Hangzhou. After 3.5 hours, upon your arrival at Hangzhou, our local guide will meet you and escort you to your hotel. The rest of the day is free at your own leisure.
- Grand Canal: commenced in the Sui Dynasty (605-616 AD), 1794 kilometers long from Beijing to Hangzhou, the Grand Canal has created a bountiful agricultural region and served as a major transportation artery between north and south.
- Lingering Garden: is one of the four most famous gardens in China and was constructed in 1593 during the Ming Dynasty. It is famous for its artistic way of dealing with the spaces between various kinds of architectural forms and garden courts.
the Grand Canel.Suzhou
Accommodations: Guilin Park Hotel
Meals: B,L,D
Sightseeing: West Lake,Feilai Peak (Peak Flying From Afar),Lingyin Temple,Six Harmonies Pagoda
Transfer via: China domestic flight on our arrangement
The city tour in this beautiful city will include: West Lake by boat, Lingyin Temple and Feilai Peak and Six Harmonies Pagoda. Then you will be transfered to airport for your flight to Guilin. Upon your arrival at Guilin, the most scenic city in China, our local guide will meet you and escort you to your hotel.
- West Lake: There are 36 West Lakes throughout China, but the one in Hangzhou is the inspiration for them all. The name of the West Lake originated during the Tang Dynasty from its lying to the west of Qiantang County. Another saying is that the lake is also named after Xi Shi, a famous ancient beauty, because of the apt comparison made between the two by the famed poet Su Dongpo (1037-1101AD). Originally a lagoon, the lake was dredged in the 8th century and later diked. The entire lake is ringed on three sides by mountains and one side by the city proper. With the green hills, willow trees, elegant bridges and clean spring water around, the view of the West Lake is simply enchanting.
- Feilai Peak (Peak Flying From Afar): opposite the Lingyin Temple, 209 meters (about 700 feet) high,it is a hill covered with inscriptions and reliefs carved into the rock dating from the 10th to 14th centuries.
- Lingyin Temple: a celebrated Chan (Zen) Buddhist temple founded in 326AD, despite being destroyed and rebuilt 16 times, it remains one of Hangzhou's main attractions. The current structure dates from the late Qing dynasty. Its highlights are the Great Hall with its 65 foot camphor-wood statue of the Buddha and the FeilaiPeak opposite the temple.
- Six Harmonies Pagoda: first built in 970 AD in the Northern Song Dynasty (960-1127) to calm down the tide of the Qiantang River, it is a pavilion-style tower made of brick and wood with a height of 59.89 meters. The name "six harmonies" comes from the six Buddhist ordinances, meaning "harmonies of the heaven, earth, east, west, south and north".
The West Lake in Hangzhou. There would always be a beautiful hsitory and story behind an ancient temple, an old tree, a tablet, a stone carving, an old well...
Accommodations: New Century Hotel
Meals: B,L
Sightseeing: Li River Cruise,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. 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.
- 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.
Daily Farming Life in Yangshuo.Guilin
Meals: B
Sightseeing: Reed Flute Cave,Fubo Hill,Elephant Trunk Hill
Transfer via: International Flight on your own arrangement
Today's excursion will bring you to the Elephant Trunk Hill, the Fubo Hill and the Reed Flute Cave. Our local guide escorts you to the airport for your onward flight to your next destination.
- 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.
- 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.
- Elephant Trunk Hill : the symbol of Guilin, which resembles a giant elephant drinking water from the Li River.
Miao Grils in the Yangshuo County. Guilin
China domestic flights as specified in the itinerary 
Accommodations for 11 nights, including
10 nights at four star or higher hotels, 1 night at three star hotels
25 meals, including 11 full breakfasts, 9 lunches and 5 dinners
(including Peking Duck Dinner, Dumpling Dinner)
2 gala evening events--Tang Dynasty Show in Xian,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
The largest number of zoomorphic cornaments is found on the Taihedian Throne Hall or the Hall of Supreme Harmony of the Forbidden City. Beijing
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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