Start in: Beijing
End in: Beijing
Special Experience: Tibetan adventure, Yangtze River cruise, ethnic culture in Yunnan, Li River cruise in Guilin
Essential China Tour (with Yangtze cruise and Tibet)
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,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.
Accommodations: Hotel Royal Garden
Meals: B
Sightseeing: Sacred Road,Ding Tomb,Great Wall
Transfer via: China domestic flight on our arrangement
Today's full-day excursion will take you to the majestic Great Wall, Ming Tomb and Sacred road. Fly to Xi'an by an evening flight. 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.
- 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: Terracotta Warriors and Horses,Banpo Museum,Bell Tower
Today, you will first visit the incredible life-size Terracotta Warriors and Horses, after lunch, the Banpo Museum 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.
- Banpo Museum: discovered in 1953, it is the actual archaeological village representing 6000-year-old Neolithic Yangshao culture that is renowned for its colorful ceramics.
- 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: Hotel Royal Garden
Meals: B,L
Sightseeing: Shaanxi Provincial Museum,Big Wild Goose Pagoda,Ancient City Walls
After breakfast, you will have a city tour to the Shaanxi Provincial Museum, the Big Wild Goose Pagoda and the Ancient City Walls.
- 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.
- 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: Hotel Royal Garden
Meals: B,L
Sightseeing: Great Mosque
You will visit the Great Mosque, and 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.
- 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.
Accommodations: Tibet Hotel
Meals: B
Sightseeing: Lhasa
Transfer via: China domestic flight on our arrangement
You will be transferred to the airport for your flight to Lhasa. Upon your arrival at Gonggar airport, you will be met by your local guide and transferred to the hotel in Lhasa city (2-hour drive). You will view the Stone Giant Buddha engraved in the mountain face en route. After checking in the hotel, rest in the afternoon to get adapted to the high altitude.
- Lhasa: the capital of the Tibet Autonomous Region with an elevation of 3650 meters (12,000 feet) above the sea level, is nicknamed Sunlight City. It is the highest city in the world. This ancient sprawling city, settled 1,300 years ago, is the region's political, economic and cultural center as well as a sacred place of Tibetan Buddhism.
Accommodations: Tibet Hotel
Meals: B,L
Sightseeing: Potala Palace,Jokhang Temple,Barkhor Street
Your sightseeing today will include the Lhasa's cardinal landmark -- Potala Palace, Jokhang Temple and the flourishing Barkhor Street.
- Potala Palace: the symbol of Lhasa, perched upon Marpo Ri Hill, 130 meters above the Lhasa Valley, it is the greatest monumental structure in Tibet and one of the most famous architectural works of the world. The construction was started in 641 AD and it was rebuilt by the Fifth Dalai Lama in three years, while the Thirteenth Dalai Lama extended and repaired it into what it is now. As the religious and political centre of old Tibet and the winter residence of Dalai Lamas, the palace witnessed the life of the Dalai Lamas and the important political and religious activities in the past centuries. The Potala Palace also houses great amounts of rare cultural relics including the gold hand-written Buddhist scriptures, valuable gifts from the Chinese emperors and a lot of priceless antiques.
- Jokhang Temple: located in the center of the old section of Lhasa, built in 647 AD by Songtsen Gampo and his two foreign wives, and later extended by successive rulers. It has now become a gigantic architectural complex and it is the spiritual center of Tibet.
- Barkhor Street: a circular street around the Jokhang Temple in the center of the old section of Lhasa, it is the oldest street in a very traditional style in Tibet, where you can enjoy bargaining with the local Tibetan vendors for the handicrafts which are rarely seen elsewhere in the world. Barkhor Street is one of the most important religious paths along which pilgrims walk around Jokhang Temple while turning prayer wheels in their hands. They have been doing this for countless centuries. Buddhist pilgrims walk or progress by body-lengths in a clockwise direction. This walk can continue all day and well into the night.
Accommodations: Tibet Hotel
Meals: B,L
Sightseeing: Tibetan Family,Sera Monastery,Norbulingka Park
The whole day tour will first bring you to the Norbulingka Park, and then the Sera Monastery. Pay a visit to a Tibetan Family.
- Tibetan Family: where you will be greeted and warmly welcomed by common Tibetan people in their traditional way and entertained with their typical food.
- Sera Monastery: Sera means "Wild Rose Garden" in Tibetan because lush wild rose woods once grew around it. The monastery is one of the three largest monasteries in Tibet. Located at the northern outskirts of Lhasa, it was built in 1419 AD by Jamchen Choje (or Sakyayeshe), one of the eight disciples of Tsong Khapa who was the founder of the Gelugpa Sect. The Sera Monastery houses three colleges built in the 15th and 16th centuries, and it is famous for the "Buddhism Scriptures Debating".
- Norbulingka Park: Norbulingka means "Jeweled Garden", built in 1751 AD as a summer palace for the Dalai Lama where they handled political affairs and practiced religious activities. It is now a large-scale palace complex and garden in Tibetan style covering an area of 40 hectares. The whole complex 370 rooms of different sizes and lawns shaded by green trees and enclosed by various flowers. Before 1959, commoners had no access to this park. Nowadays, on festivals and holidays, the local people in their colorful costumes come here with food and tents to sing and dance overnight.
Accommodations: On the Cruise
Meals: B
Transfer via: China domestic flight on our arrangement
Free in the day until our local guide escorts you to the airport for your onward flight to your next destination--Chongqing. Upon arrive at Chongqing, be met and transferred to get on board the Regal China Cruise(5 stars).
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.
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.
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: Kunming Hotel
Meals: B
Transfer via: China domestic flight on our arrangement
Disembark the ship in Wuhan at 11:30AM. And then be met and transfered to airport to take flight to Kunming. Upon your arrival, our local guide will meet you and escort you to your hotel.
Accommodations: Kunming Hotel
Meals: B,L
Sightseeing: Stone Forest
Today, you will have a city tour to the Stone Forest which is about 90km to the south of Kunming.
- Stone Forest: a 270-million-year-old limestone karst formation of tightly bundled gray rocky outcrops, a natural wonder acknowledged as "World Karst Landscape Museum", the Stone Forest shows a variety of unique shapes, such as sword, mushrooms, tower, pillar and castle, representing the greatest miracle that nature can present to human beings.
Accommodations: Jiannanchun Hotel
Meals: B,L
Sightseeing: Lijiang Ancient Town,Lion Hill
Transfer via: China domestic flight on our arrangement
After breakfast, you will be transferred to the airport for your flight to Lijiang. Upon your arrival at Lijiang County, an UNESCO World Cultural Heritage site, our local guide will meet you and escort you to your hotel. In the afternoon, you will have an excursion to the Ancient Town and the Lion Hill.
- Lijiang Ancient Town: also called Dayan Town, built in the late Song dynasty and the early Yuan dynasty with a history of more than 800 years. This ancient town consists of clean streams flowing freely through the road network, the colorful cobbled streets, age-old swaying willow trees, age-old buildings and stone bridges. There are over 22 different ethnic minorities making Lijiang their home. Now and then you may see local folks in their own tradtional dress. Strolling around this charming ancient town, you will be attracted by the unique atmosphere and surprised by its ancient yet simple sense of "Harmony of Heaven and Man."
- Lion Hill: the name is derived from its resemblance of a lion playing a ball. The mountain is best known for its vast and green pines and cypresses planted mostly in Ming Dynasty with over 500 years old. From the Tower of Eternity (Wangoulou) on the top of the mountain, you can enjoy a bird's eye view of the ancient town and the Jade Dragon Snow Mountain far away.
Accommodations: Jiannanchun Hotel
Meals: B,L
Sightseeing: Tiger Leaping Gorge,First Bend of the Yangtze River
After breakfast, you will first visit the First Bend of the Yangtze River and Iron Chain Bridge in the Shigu (Stone Drum) Town, and then Tiger Leaping Gorge. Get back to Lijiang County afterwards.
- Tiger Leaping Gorge: This gorge is located 92 km north of Lijiang County, between peaks of over 3,000 meters above the Jinsha River (upper course of Yangtze River). The legend goes that tigers often leap to the other side of the river by a huge rock lying in the middle of the river at the entrance of the Gorge, hence the name. This 17-kilometer-long Gorge is honored as the deepest and one of the most marvelous gorges on the earth.
- First Bend of the Yangtze River: formed by the Yangtze River rushing down from the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau with a sharp turn of 45 degrees at Shigu (Stone Drum) Town before the river continues running on to northeast.
Accommodations: Guilin Park Hotel
Meals: B
Transfer via: China domestic flight on our arrangement
Upon you arrive at Guilin, our local guide meet you and escort you to the hotel. The rest of the day is on your own leisure.
Accommodations: Guilin Park 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 which is the highlight in Guilin until you get to Yangshuo County. Along the river, you will be inspired by 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 are certainly walking into a traditional Chinese painting by cruising on it. At Yangshuo, after roaming through the West Street.after the tour in Guilin then you will drive back to Guilin (1.5-hour drive).
- 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.
Accommodations: Guilin Park Hotel
Meals: B,L
Sightseeing: Reed Flute Cave,Elephant Trunk Hill ,Fubo Hill
Today,you will have a city tour of the Elephant Trunk Hill, the Fubo Hill and the Reed Flute Cave.
- 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.
- 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.
Meals: B
Transfer via: China domestic flight on our arrangement
You will be transferred to the airport for your flight to Beijing to connect your international flight back to your sweet home.
China domestic flights as specified in the itinerary 
Accommodations for 20 nights, including
16 nights at four star or higher hotels, 4 nights at five star yangtze cruise ship
37 meals, including 20 full breakfasts, 14 lunches and 3 dinners
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
Georges and I had an amazing time in China...thanks to you and all of the guides and drivers working for your company.
We will definitely recommend your company to friends looking to go to China in the future.
Best of luck with the upcoming Olympics!
- David,USA
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