Start in: Guilin
End in: Beijing
Special Experience: Guilin ethnic tour and Li River cruise, Yangtze River cruise, Shanghai acrobatic show, Suzhou gardens, Tang Dynasty show and cylcing on Xian Ancient City Walls
China In-depth Tour with Yangtze Cruise
Day-by-Day Itinerary
Day 1 Arrive Guilin
Accommodations: Guilin Park Hotel 
Transfer via: International Flight on your own arrangement
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.
Beautiful women of Zhuang people.
Accommodations: Guilin Park 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 city, 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.
West Street, Yangshuo. Spending an afternoon of leisure time in one of the western cafes or bars is very enjoyable.
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.
Inside this water-eroded cave is a spectacular world of various stalactites, stone pillars and rock formations created by carbonate deposition,Reed Flute Cave.
Accommodations: Holiday Inn Yangtze
Meals: B,L
Sightseeing: Elephant Trunk 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 and the Reed Flute Cave before your transfer to the airport for your flight to Chongqing. Upon your arrival at Chongqing, the largest city in Southwest China, our local guide will meet you and escort you to your hotel. The rest of the day is free at your own leisure.
- Elephant Trunk Hill : the symbol of Guilin, which resembles a giant elephant drinking water from the Li River.
- 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.
A graceful statue of Samantabhadra Bodhisattva, crowned as 'The Oriental Venus, Beishan Grottoes
Accommodations: Holiday Inn Yangtze
Meals: B,L
Sightseeing: Dazu Rock Carvings,Beishan Grottoes,Baoding Grottoes
Today, you will enjoy a full day tour to view Dazu Rock Carvings in Dazu County(about 2.5-hour-drive), then pay a visit to the two major sites--the Beishan (North Mountain) Grottoes and Baoding Grottoes. After the tour, drive back to Chongqing.
- Dazu Rock Carvings: The steep hillsides of the Dazu area contain an exceptional series of rock carvings dating from the 9th to the 13th century. They are remarkable for their aesthetic quality, their rich diversity of subject matter, both secular and religious, and the light that they shed on everyday life in China during this period. They provide outstanding evidence of the harmonious synthesis of Buddhism, Taoism and Confucianism. In 1999, Dazu Rock Carvings, mainly consisting of Beishan and Baoding Grottoes, was listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
- Beishan Grottoes: smaller than Baoding Grottoes, with nearly ten thousand statues, mainly donated by common folks on subjects that fall in 51 categories and mainly about esoteric Buddhism. Carvings here are famed for the refined and meticulous depicting, showing clearly the development and change of grotto art as well as the beliefs of common Chinese from the 9th to mid 13th century.
- Baoding Grottoes: constructed from 1179 AD to 1249 AD by Tantric monk Zhao Zhifeng, the subjects of carvings here are mainly illustrations of Buddhist sutras, aiming at a representation of familiar and secular life in content. The depicting style of these grottoes is quite different from other grottoes, and the thousands of statues here never repeat each other in subject matter.
Accommodations: On the Cruise
Meals: B,L
Sightseeing: Ciqikou Old Town,Stillwell Museum,Chongqing Zoo,Erling Park
Special Dinner: Hot Pot
After breakfast, you will enjoy the city tour including Erling Park, Stillwell Museum, Chongqing Zoo and Ciqikou ancient town before your transfer to get on board the ship. The local specialty--Hot Pot lunch will be arranged for you. Boarding Regal China Cruise.
- Ciqikou Old Town: it was Chongqing's old harbor and was once the home of many of Chongqing's rich merchants, where you can still see lots of Ming and Qing dynasty architecture, local shops, tea houses, local Sichuan street performance and so on.
- 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.
- Chongqing Zoo: the largest zoo in southwest China with over 1000 birds and 170 species of animals, where you can see charmly naive giant pandas, lesser pandas and their offspring, golden hair monkeys and South China tigers.
- 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).
Ciqikou Old Town used to be an important port town and had a flourishing economy, so it was also called "Small Chongqing".
Accommodations: On the Cruise
Meals: B,L,D
Sightseeing: Fengdu Ghost City
Departs Chongqing at 08:00AM. Shore excursion to Fengdu Ghost City.
- 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.
Since 1991, the Chongqing Municipal Government has turned it into a museum.
Accommodations: On the Cruise
Meals: B,L,D
Sightseeing: Shennong Stream
Shore excursion to Shennong Stream by smaller vessels.
- 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.
Besides rafting and a sampan tour, you will also be dazzled by the spectacular riverside scenery, Shennong Stream.
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.
Accommodations: Holiday Inn Shanghai -Downtown
Meals: B,L
Transfer via: China domestic flight on our arrangement
Disembark the ship in Wuhan at 11:30AM. Upon your arrival at Wuhan pier, our local guide will meet you and escort you to airport for flight to 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.
Lovely smiling buddha in Victoria park, Shanghai
Accommodations: Holiday Inn Shanghai -Downtown
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 Portman 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.
Watching a Chinese acrobatic show will strongly impact you both mentally and physically.
Accommodations: Bamboo Grove Hotel
Meals: B,L
Sightseeing: Garden of the Master of Nets,Tiger Hill Park, Grand Canal,Pan Gate,The No.1 Silk Factory
After breakfast, you will start your journey to Suzhou (100km away from Shanghai), which has been known as the Venice of the East. Upon your arrival, be met by your local guide, and your tour in Suzhou today includes: the intimate Garden of the Master of Nets, the ancient Tiger Hill Park, cruise on the Grand Canal, then the Pan Gate and the No.1 Silk Factory. Overnight at Suzhou.
- Garden of the Master of Nets: a miniature garden built around a pool and first laid out in 1140, its outstanding feature is that it combines living quarters with the landscape garden and is claimed as the best example of illustrating how the few surpasses many.
- 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.
- 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.
- Pan Gate: the only remaining city gate dating from the 12th century. It is built over Suzhou's former moat.
- 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.
The Grand Canal greatly improved the defense and administration of China.
Humble Administrator's Garden in Suzhou. Every spring and summer, the garden hosts the Azalea Festival and the Lotus Festival.
Accommodations: Hotel Royal Garden
Meals: B,L
Sightseeing: Humble Administrator's Garden
Transfer via: China Domestic flight on our arrangement
In the morning, you will visit the classical Humble Administrator's Garden beofore you head back to Shanghai. Afterwards, take flight to Xian. Upon your arrival, our local guide will meet you and escort you to your hotel when you arrive in Xian.
- 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.
Accommodations: Hotel Royal Garden
Meals: B,L
Sightseeing: Big Wild Goose Pagoda,Shaanxi Provincial Museum
You will have a city tour to the Shaanxi Provincial Museum and the Big Wild Goose Pagoda.
- 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.
Sunshine in Big Wild Goose Pagoda, Xian
Accommodations: Hotel Royal Garden
Meals: B,L,D
Sightseeing: Terracotta Warriors and Horses,Ancient City Walls
Special Dinner: Dumpling Dinner
Gala Event: Tang Dynasty Show
Today, you will enjoy a full-day excursion to the incredible life-size Terracotta Warriors and Horses. After lunch, enjoy cylcing on the Ancient City Walls (about 1.5 to 2 hours). 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.
- 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.
Dumpling dinner in Xian
Children play around the Tiananmen Square with the Chinese national flag in hand.
Meals: B
Sightseeing: Bell Tower,Great Mosque
Transfer via: China domestic flight on our arrangement
You will visit the Bell Tower and then the Great Mosque. If you feel like, you can spend some time strolling along the backstreets of the mosque which have been home to the city's Muslim community for centuries. Our local guide escorts you to the airport for your onward flight to Beijing.
- 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.
- Great Mosque: the largest mosque in Xi'an and one of the four grand Islamic mosques in China with more than 1200 years' history. The mosque possesses not only traditional Chinese architectural style, but also features peculiar to Islamic mosques and now it is a major spot for religious activities of 50,000 Muslims in Xi'an.
China domestic flights as specified in the itinerary 
Accommodations for 15 nights, including
10 nights at four star or higher hotels, 1 night at three star hotels, 4 nights at five star yangtze cruise ship
33 meals, including 15 full breakfasts, 14 lunches and 4 dinners
(including Hot Pot, Dumpling Dinner)
2 gala evening events--Acrobatic Show in Shanghai,Tang Dynasty Show in Xian 
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
Lovely children of Yao people in Guilin
We would like to let you know that we thoroughly enjoyed our time in Guilin. Libby was fantastic and we really enjoyed spending time with her. Her English was excellent and she was able to find out the answers to some of our strangest questions! The driver was also great-much safer than the other tours we took in Beijing and Chengdu.
- Karen and Michael,Canada
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