Start in: Beijing
End in: Guangzhou
Special Experience: Peking Duck Banquet in Beijing, Hot Pot dinner in Chongqing and Imperial summer holiday in Chengde
China Imperial Tour with Yangtze 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.
Accommodations: Jianguo Garden Hotel
Meals: B,L
Sightseeing: Tiananmen Square,Forbidden City,Temple of Heaven
Today you will first visit the historic Tiananmen Square, and then the magnificent Forbidden City. In the afternoon, you will marvel at Beijing's splendid Temple of Heaven.
- 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.
- 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.
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.
Forbidden City in winter.
Accommodations: Jianguo Garden Hotel
Meals: B,L
Sightseeing: Summer Palace ,Fragrance Hills Park,Beijing Zoo
Full day trip to the exquisite Summer Palace, the Fragrance Hills Park and Beijing Zoo.
- 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.
- Fragrance Hills Park: Situated 28 kilometers northwest of downtown Beijing, this park is famous for its beautiful red maple leaves in autumn. Many visitors come to the hill to enjoy the crisp and refreshing autumn.
- Beijing Zoo: the largest zoo in China, where there are several examples of China's rarities such as notably pandas and Golden Monkeys.
Accommodations: Jianguo Garden Hotel
Meals: B,L
Sightseeing: Hutongs,Beihai (north lake) Park,Lama Temple(Yonghe Lamasery)
Today you will visit Hutongs by rickshaw. Lunch will be served in one of the local people's home during the tour. And then visit the Lama Temple and the Beihai park.
- 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.
- Beihai (north lake) Park: the oldest ancient imperial garden in Chinese history, built around the bei hai (north lake), the park's charms include pavilions and gardens, a stunning Tibetan-style pagoda and an elaborate Nine-Dragon Screen.
- Lama Temple(Yonghe Lamasery): the largest preserved lamasery in Beijing, a Buddhist lamasery of the Yellow Hat sect, a sect that's mainly associated with Tibet, it is an extravagant building of some beauty. Inside the temple, in the center of the Hall of Infinite Happiness (Wanfuge), stands a grand statue, an 85-foot-tall Tathagagata (Maitreya) Buddha made from a single Tibetan sandalwood tree.
Accommodations: Jianguo Garden Hotel
Meals: B
Free in the day to explore this old city by yourself.
Accommodations: Qianyang Hotel
Meals: B,L
Sightseeing: Imperial Summer Villa
Transfer via: Soft-seat train on our arrangement
In the morning, our local guide will help you transfer to the railway station for your train to Chengde. Upon Arrival at Chengde, you will be met and escorted to the hotel. The tour this afternoon will bring you to the Imperial Summer Villa.
- Imperial Summer Villa: started to be built in 1703 and finished in about 90 years, it is now the biggest Imperial Garden in China covering 590 hectares. The area, encircled by a splendid 10km wall, was where the emperors and dignitaries in Qing Dynasty (1644-1911 AD)retreated from the summer heat, and where they would also handle political affairs and meet envoys during their stay, so the Villa actually served as the second political center of the Qing government. Set in a mountain valley, with its own lakes, pine forests, hunting ground and pavilions, now it is a great place to wander around.
Accommodations: Jianguo Garden Hotel
Meals: B,L
Sightseeing: Putuozongcheng Temple,Puning Temple
Transfer via: Soft-seat train on our arrangement
Enjoy a half-day visit to Puning Temple and Putuozongcheng Temple before your train back to Beijing. Our local guide in Beijing will meet you at railway station and escort you to the hotel.
- Putuozongcheng Temple: built in 1767 for visiting minority group leaders from all over China to celebrate Emperor Qianlong's 60th birthday, it is a replica of Lhasa's Potala Palace and the largest of the eight remaining outer temples in Chengde with an area of 220,000 square meters. The temple is set against a backdrop of piney hills offering a stunning view from the top.
- Puning Temple: puning means "universal tranquility", mixing Chinese and Tibetan styles, it was built by Emperor Qianlong in 1755 AD to commemorate his victory over Mongolian tribes. The huge Mahayana Hall of the temple houses an enchanting golden statue of Guanyin, the Bodhisattva of Mercy , which is made from five different types of wood (pine, cypress, elm, fir and basswood) and is the highest of its kind in the world at 22 meters (about 67 feet). The statue has 42 arms with an eye carved into the palm of each hand.
Accommodations: On the Cruise
Meals: B,L,D
Sightseeing: Stillwell Museum,Erling Park
Special Dinner: Hot Pot
Transfer via: China domestic flight on our arrangement
After breakfast,our local guide escorts you to the airport for your onward flight to your next destination--Chongqing. Upon your arrival at Chongqing, the largest city in Southwest China, our local guide will meet you and escort you to the city to have a half day city tour including Erling Park, Stillwell Museum. Enjoy a hot pot dinner before your transfer to get on board the ship. Pre-boarding Regal China.
- Stillwell Museum: the private residence of General Stillwell - the commander of the China-Burma-India Theater during World War II, now it is a museum displaying the wartime heroics of the Flying Tigers and honoring the US participation against Fascist in World War II.
- Erling Park: one of the old private gardens in Chongqing, built in late Qing Dynasty around 1909 AD, due to its relatively high altitude, there you can have a bird's eye view of the whole city.
- Hot Pot: The hot pot (huoguo) has a long history in China. It originated in the north, where people have to fend off the chill early in the year. It spread to the south during the Tang dynasty (A.D. 618-906).
Accommodations: On the Cruise
Meals: B,L,D
Sightseeing:
Departs Chongqing at 08:00AM. Shore excursion to Fengdu Ghost City or Shibaozhai. The ship company will choose one of the scenic spots as your excursion destination.
- Fengdu Ghost City: constructed on the Mingshan Hill by the river bank, it is so called because of the legend which goes that about 1,700 years ago, two officials, Yin and Wang (the combination of their surnames means "Ghost King ") became Taoists here and eventually Immortals. Now with fantastic temples of underworld demons and gods, it shows the Chinese ghost culture and is a place for punishing the devil and awarding the good.
- Shibaozhai: a gem of Chinese architecture, literally means Stone Treasure Fortress in English. It is a 12-storey red wood tower which was first built in Qing Dynasty with a history of 300 years. It was built against a rectangular rock with sheer cliffs on the river bank, 56 meters high, on the top of which you can enjoy a panoramic view of the rapid river and the surrounding countryside.
Accommodations: On the Cruise
Meals: B,L,D
Sightseeing:
Shore excursion to Shennong Stream or Lesser three gorges by smaller vessels.
- Lesser Three Gorges: indicating three separate valleys along the Daning River, the chief tributary of the Yangtze River, they are called "Dragon-Gate Gorge", "Misty Gorge" and "Dicui (Emerald) Gorge" respectively. You can take a small boat to enjoy the spectacular views and experience a water-borne sensation you have never had before when the natural scenic wonders unfold in front of you with clear water flowing fast through the gorges, sheer cliffs and steep mountains rising on either side to create one fine art gallery.
- Shennong Stream: a small tributary of the Yangtze River is 60 kilometers long and is famous for its picturesque scenery. Shennong Stream is beautiful and ancient. When you take a sampan drifting along it, which is not without risk yet exhilarating and a challenge to battle with the nature. You will be attracted and surprised by its crystal clear steam flowing swiftly from north to south through deep gorges, steep ridges and peaks, thick vegetation and wild flowers, flying birds and a plank road built along a cliff and ancient hanging coffins. Sweet love songs will be presented to you by the local ethnic people.
Accommodations: On the Cruise
Meals: B,L,D
Sightseeing: Three Gorges
Shore excursion to Three Gorges Dam site.
- Three Gorges: spanning the Yangtze at Sandouping, Yichang, Hubei province, China. Construction began in 1994, and the 'Three Gorges Dam' is now the largest hydroelectric dam in the world. The Dam will be 2,335 meters long, 18 meters wide, and its bottom will be 130 meters wide after completion in 2009. When completed, the water level will rise to 135 meters above sea level. The reservoir began filling on June 1, 2003, and it will occupy the present position of the scenic Three Gorges area, between the cities of Yichang, Hubei, and Fuling, Chongqing Municipality.
Meals: B
Transfer via: Flight to Guangzhou on our arrangement
Disembark the ship in Wuhan at 11:30AM. Then you will be escorted to airport for your onward flight to Guangzhou.
China domestic flights as specified in the itinerary 
Accommodations for 12 nights, including
8 nights at four star or higher hotels, 4 nights at five star yangtze cruise ship
27 meals, including 12 full breakfasts, 10 lunches and 5 dinners
(including Peking Duck Dinner, Hot Pot)
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
I had a wonderful trip to China! I very much am looking forward to returning for another visit, perhaps in2008. Meanwhile, I will tell everyone I know/meet that China Odyssey Tours is an outstanding travel/tour agency.
- Bruce Alan Wallce,USA
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