Start in: Beijing
End in: Shanghai
Special Experience: Hutong tour by rickshaw in Beijing, Terracotta Army in Xian, cycling tour in Yangshuo, Acrobatic Show in Shanghai
China Classic Tour with Guangzhou Break
Day-by-Day Itinerary
Day 1 Arrival/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.
In the film "The Last Emperor of China" . the Fobidden City, Beijing
Accommodations: Jianguo Garden Hotel
Meals: B
Sightseeing: Tiananmen Square,Temple of Heaven,Forbidden City
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.
- 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.
- 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.
Accommodations: Jianguo Garden Hotel
Meals: B
Sightseeing: Sacred Road,Ding Tomb,Great Wall
Today's full-day excursion will take you to the majestic Great Wall(Badaling section), the Ding Tomb of the thirteen Ming Tombs and Sacred road.
- 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.
- 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.
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 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.
Accommodations: Hotel Royal Garden
Meals: B
Sightseeing: Terracotta Warriors and Horses,Big Wild Goose Pagoda,Bell Tower
Today, you will enjoy a full-day excursion to the incredible life-size Terracotta Warriors and Horses, after lunch, the Big Wild Goose Pagoda and then 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.
- 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.
- 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: Guilin Park Hotel
Meals: B
Sightseeing: Shaanxi Provincial Museum,Ancient City Walls
Transfer via: China domestic flight arranged by us
After breakfast, you will have a city tour to the Shaanxi Provincial Museum and the Ancient City Walls before your onward 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. 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.
- 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.
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: New Century Hotel
Meals: B
Sightseeing: Yangshuo County,Yulong River
After breakfast, you will experience an interesting and enjoyable cycling tour along the road in Yangshuo.
- Yangshuo County: founded in 590 AD, Yangshuo County has been booming because of tourism. With so many beautifully shaped mountains surrounding this county, it is described as "the world of green lotus and jade bamboo shoots".
- 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.
Accommodations: The Landmark Hotel
Meals: B
Sightseeing: Reed Flute Cave,Fubo Hill,Elephant Trunk Hill
Transfer via: Guilin domestic flight arranged by us
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 Guangzhou. Arrive at Guangzhou. Be met and transfered to your hotel.
- 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.
Accommodations: The Landmark Hotel
Meals: B
Sightseeing: Chen Family Temple,Dr. Sun Yat-sen Memorial Hall
Full-day tour to Dr. Sun Yat-sen Memorial Hall, the Chen Family Temple, Local free market
- Chen Family Temple: Also known as Guangdong Folk Art Museum, It was used to be the study house of Chen family in 1890s, also the best decorated ancient architecture in Guangdong province.
- Dr. Sun Yat-sen Memorial Hall: A Chinese style building which was sponsored by Chinese to commemorate Dr. Sun Yat-sen, the great forerunner of Chinese revolution.
On the First Day of the Chinese New Year, Temple of Six Banyan Trees
Accommodations: Holiday Inn Shanghai -Downtown
Meals: B
Transfer via: China domestic flight arranged by us
Free at Leisure until to be transferred to the airport for your flight to Shanghai. Upon your arrival at Shanghai, 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
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: Holiday Inn Shanghai -Downtown
Meals: B
Sightseeing: Humble Administrator's Garden,Lingering Garden,Tiger Hill Park,The No.1 Silk Factory
One full-day tour to Suzhou (100km away from Shanghai), which has been known as the Venice of the East. After your arrival, be met by your local guide. Your tour in Suzhou includes: the classical Humble Administrator's Garden and the attractive Lingering Garden, the ancient Tiger Hill Park and the No.1 Silk Factory. Back to Shanghai after the tour in Suzhou.
- Humble Administrator's Garden: covers 10 acres and is the largest garden in Suzhou. It was built in 1509 during the Ming Dynasty and is divided into the eastern, middle and western parts. All of this centers upon the broad expanse of a lake to form the poetic and picturesque garden landscapes and waterscapes with exquisite buildings and luxuriant vegetation.
- 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.
- Tiger Hill Park: a symbol of the city, with a history of over 2,500 years, the Tiger Hill has had the reputation of being the No.1 sight of Suzhou, with a Song-dynasty leaning pagoda on top which was built in brick to imitate wood architecture.
- The No.1 Silk Factory: Suzhou is famous for its silk production. In the factory you can learn more about silk production and detailed steps of the silk making process, and you will have an opportunity to purchase some of the incredibly delicate works as well.
Meals: B
Transfer via: International flight on your own arrangement
Free in the day until our local guide meet you and escort you to the airport for the flight to your sweet home.
China domestic flights as specified in the itinerary 
Accommodations for 13 nights, including
11 nights at four star or higher hotels, 2 nights at three star hotels
15 meals, including 13 full breakfasts, 2 lunches and 0 dinners
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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