Start in: Hongkong
End in: Shanghai
Tour Map
Grand China Sightseeing Tour
Day-by-Day Itinerary
Day 1 Arrive Hong Kong
Transfer via: International flight on your own arrangement
Upon your arrival at Hong Kong, a vibrant metropolis, our local guide will meet you and escort you to your hotel. The rest of the day is free at your own leisure.
There is a beautiful jade in Jade Market, Hong Kong.
Meals: B
You will enjoy free time today to explore this dynamic metropolis all by yourself, you may do some shopping in this shopping paradise if you feel like.
Meals: B
Transfer via: Flight from Hongkong to Guilin on our arrangement
Free in the day until our local guide escorts you to the 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.The rest of the day is free at your own leisure.
Meals: B
Sightseeing: Li River Cruise,Yangshuo County
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. 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.
- 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".
West Street in Yangshuo are well kept in the original style, presenting the simple and primitive atmosphere of the ancient town.
Meals: B
Sightseeing: Moon Hill,Big Banyan Tree
In the morning, you will have an excursion to the Moon Hill and the Big Banyan Tree Park,along the route a serene pastoral view of fantastic limestone mountains, peaceful farming villages with long stretch of rice fields and roaming water buffaloes spreads in front of you, you will also have the chance to pay a visit to one of the local farmers,home en route, the rest of the day is yours to explore this lovely county.
- Moon Hill: viewed from different places, the moon takes on different shapes, sometimes full moon, sometimes half-moon and sometimes crescent, forming a marvelous spectacle in Yangshuo. Climbing about 800 steps up to the very top, you will have a fantastic view of the whole county.
- Big Banyan Tree: more than 1500 years old, with its crown covering more than half a hectare, it was once the spot where Third Sister Liu, the folk song singer of Zhuang people, sang beautiful melodies according to the legend.
There is a hole in its peak in the shape of a half moon through which the sky can be seen.
Meals: B
Sightseeing: Elephant Trunk Hill ,Reed Flute Cave
Transfer via: Flight from Guilin to Kunming 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 Kunming.Upon your arrival at Kunming,"the Spring and Flower City", 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.
Reed Flute Cave got its name by the reeds used for making flutes and pipes growing at its entrance, the cave is regarded as the largest and most impressive cave in Guilin city.
Meals: B
Sightseeing: Stone Forest
Full day trip to Stone Forest.
- 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.
The Stone Forest, located in Lunan County, is known as the "First Wonder of the World" for its natural landscape.
Meals: B
Sightseeing: Xizhou Bai Minority Village,Three Pagodas,Dali Ancient Town,Butterfly Spring
Transfer via: Flight from Kunming to Dali on our arrangement
Fly to Dali.Full day trip to Three Pagodas, Butterfly Spring. Visit housing architecture of the Bai ethnic minority and the old town.
- Xizhou Bai Minority Village: a photogenic village 20km north of Dali, where Bai minority people are living and where you will can get some ideas of the Bais' flair for architecture and elegant living.
- Three Pagodas: at the foot of the Zhonghe Peak of the Cang Mountain, part of Chongshen Monastery, they are an emblem of the city's venerated history. The tallest of the trio, which is 69.13 metres tall, was built in 836 AD, while two smaller ones were built during a later period. No visit to Dali is complete without a call at these three pagodas.
- Dali Ancient Town: first established in 1382 AD, with a moat surrounding it. This old town has a typical layout like a chessboard, old-timey roofed buildings with dark blue tiles and the white and gray tall walls.
- Butterfly Spring: In spring when the trees put forth fragrant flowers, thousands of butterflies flutter among the branches and over the spring water forming a dazzling "Kingdom of Butterflies".
When the flowers blossom, their intoxicating fragrance draw countless butterflies to the Butterfly Spring, creating a spectacular scene.
Meals: B
Sightseeing: Black Dragon Pool Park,Lijiang Ancient Town
Be transferred to Lijiang. Full day trip to Lijiang old town and Black Dragon Pool Park.
- Black Dragon Pool Park: where you can see the Jade Dragon Snow Mountain from afar and the reflection of the mountain in the pool in a clear day. This park is the source of the water system of the Old Lijiang Town as the clean spring from Jade Dragon Snow Mountain gathers here.
- 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."
Black Dragon Pool Park is the source of the water system of the Old Lijiang Town as the clean spring from Jade Dragon Snow Mountain gathers here.
Meals: B
Sightseeing: Baisha Mural Paintings
Full day trip to Yak Meadow by cable lift,Yufeng Lamasery and Baisha Murals.
- Baisha Mural Paintings: located in Baisha Township, 8km north of Lijiang, there are altogether 53 groups of mural paintings in different temples with fine and smooth lines, bright colors,vivid patterns and harmonious composition. Painted from the early days of the Ming Dynasty (1368-1644) to the early Qing Dynasty (1644-1911),these mural paintings are an artistic representation of the different religious cultures such as Buddhism, Lamaism, Daoism and the Naxi Dongba religion.
This is a baisha mural painting on the walls in temples.
Meals: B
Sightseeing: Tiger Leaping Gorge,First Bend of the Yangtze River
Be transferred from Lijiang to Zhongdian. Visit the Tiger Leaping Gorge, Stone Drum, First Bend of the Yangtze River on the way and pasture of Xiao Zhongdian on the journey.
- 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.
Tiger Leaping Gorge with a splendid view of the swift turbulent current of the Golden River is created through constant cutting by the waters between Jade Dragon Mountain and Haba Mountain.
Meals: B
Sightseeing: Bita Lake,Napa Lake,The Songzanlin Lamasery,Zhongdian
Full day trip to the Bita Lake, Napahai grassland, Songzanlin Lamasery and Tibetan familily.
- Bita Lake: 35km away from the County, meaning "the place where roburs become felts", it is a lake surrounded by mountains with clear water and abundant fish resources. Due to the road condition, you need to walk 7km on your own or ride a horse before you can get to the lake.
- Napa Lake: 8km away from the County, meaning "the lake beside the forest", it is a lake on the plateau in the depths of the Yila Grass with mirror-like water and lots of precious fowls.
- The Songzanlin Lamasery: the most important Lamasery of Tibetan Buddhism in Yunnan province.
- Zhongdian: The beautiful "Shangri-la" described in "The Lost Horizon" is, in fact, the city of Zhongdian, located in the Diqing Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture of Yunnan Province. Even today, Zhongdian County remains an untainted natural paradise.
The air is fresh, and the scenery sublime, Zhongdian.
Meals: B
Transfer via: Flight from Zhongdian to Tibet on our arrangement
Today you will be free until you will be met and escorted to the airport. Then you will fly to Tibet.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.
The complex, comprising the White and Red Palaces with their ancillary buildings,the Potala Palace.
Meals: B
Sightseeing: Potala Palace,Jokhang Temple,Barkhor Street
Your sightseeing today will include the Lhasa’s cardinal landmark -- Potala Palace, Jokhang Temple and 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.
Buddhist statuary inside the Jokhang Temple in Lhasa.
Meals: B
Sightseeing: Norbulingka Park,Sera Monastery,Tibetan Family
The whole day tour will first bring you to the Norbulingka Park, and then the Sera Monastery. Pay a visit to a Tibetan Family.
- 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.
- 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".
- Tibetan Family: where you will be greeted and warmly welcomed by common Tibetan people in their traditional way and entertained with their typical food.
A Tibetan woman is walking in the Sera Monastery.
Meals: B
Transfer via: Flight from Lhasa to Chengdu
Free in the day until our local guide escorts you to the airport for your onward flight to your next destination--Chengdu.When you arrive at Chengdu airport, please have a rest at the airport, then you will flight to Hangzhou.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.
West Lake is one of the most beautiful sights in Hangzhou.
Meals: B
Sightseeing: West Lake,Lingyin Temple,Feilai Peak (Peak Flying From Afar),Dragon Well Tea Plantation,Six Harmonies Pagoda
The city tour in this beautiful city will include: West Lake by boat, Lingyin Temple and Feilai Peak, Dragon Well Tea Plantation and Six Harmonies Pagoda.
- 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.
- 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.
- 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.
- Dragon Well Tea Plantation: Dragon Well Green Tea is one of the most famous brands in China. In this Tea Plantation you can pick the tea leaves, taste a nice cup of tea and learn the history and processing procedure of tea.
- 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".
Six Harmonies Pagoda is one of the famous ancient pagodas in our country.
Meals: B
Sightseeing: Humble Administrator's Garden,Tiger Hill Park,The Grand Canal,Pan Gate,The No.1 Silk Factory
Transfer via: Train from Hangzhou to Suzhou on our arrangement
Free in the day until our local guide escorts you to the railway station, then you will take train to Suzhou.Upon your arrival,be met by your local guide, your tour in Suzhou today includes: the classical Humble Administrator's Garden, the ancient Tiger Hill Park, have a cruise on the Grand Canal and then visit the Pan Gate, and the No.1 Silk Factory.Overnight at 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.
- 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 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.
Humble Administrator's Garden is dotted with sheer hills, green grasses, dense garden bamboo and pine forests and winding streams.
This is a beautiful silk product made by No.1 Silk Factory.
Meals: B
Sightseeing: Ancient Memorial Archway,Quanfu Temple,Hall of Shen's Residence,Twin Bridge
In the morning, drive to Zhouzhuang (30km away from Suzhou), 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 Shanghai afterwards (about one-hour drive).
- 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.
- 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.
- 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).
- 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.
The REAL Venice of the East,Zhouzhuang.
Meals: B
Transfer via: International flight on your own arrangement
Free in the day until our local guide escorts you to the airport for your flight to your sweet home.
China domestic flights as specified in the itinerary 
Accommodations for 19 nights, including
19 meals, including 19 full breakfasts, 0 lunches and 0 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
At the entrance to the Butterfly Spring Park there is a huge Monarch Butterfly model mounted on a cliff beside the gate.
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