Start in: Beijing
End in: Shanghai
China Classic Kaleidoscope Tour
Day-by-Day Itinerary
Day 1 Arrive Beijing
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.
Sightseeing: Forbidden City,Summer Palace ,Temple of Heaven,Tiananmen Square
Gala Event: Peking Opera Show
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, and then the Summer Palace. Enjoy the Peking Opera Show at Liyuan Theatre in the evening.
- 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.
- 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.
- 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.
- Peking Opera Show: a kind of singing drama which is an ingenious and colorful combination of elements from many sources: traditional music, poetry, singing, recitation, dancing, acrobatics, and martial arts.
Sightseeing: Ding Tomb,Great Wall,Sacred Road
Special Dinner: Peking Duck Dinner
Today you will vist the majestic Great Wall (Badaling section), the Ding Tomb of Ming Tombs and Sacred road. Enjoy a famous Peking Duck Banquet for dinner.
- 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.
- 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.
Sightseeing: Hutongs,Big Wild Goose Pagoda,Shaanxi Provincial Museum
Transfer via: Domestic Flight on our arrangement
After breakfast, you will first visit Hutongs by rickshaw, lunch will be served in one of the local people's home during the tour. And then our local guide escorts you to the airport for your onward flight to your next destination--Xi'an. Upon your arrival, our local guide will meet you and escort you to your hotel. In the afternoon, you will have city tour to the Shaanxi Provincial Museum and Big Wild Goose Pagoda.
- 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.
- 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.
Sightseeing: Ancient City Walls ,Bell Tower,Terracotta Warriors and Horses
Gala Event: Tang Dynasty Show
Today you will first visit the incredible life-size Terracotta Warriors and Horses, after lunch, visit the Ancient City Walls and the Bell Tower. Complete the day with a savory dumpling dinner and the Tang Dynasty show both at Shaanxi Grand Opera Theatre.
- 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.
- 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.
- 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.
- 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.
Transfer via: Domestic Flight on our arrangement
Be free until our guide meets and helps you transfer 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.
Sightseeing: Barkhor Street,Jokhang Temple,Potala Palace
Your sightseeing today will include the Lhasa's cardinal landmark- Potala Palace, Jokhang Temple and flourishing Barkhor Street.
- 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.
- 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.
- 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.
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.
Transfer via: 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 your arrival at Chongqing Airport, our local guide and private vehicle will pick up you and escort you to the pier for your ship to Yangtze River Cruise. Pre-boarding Regal China Cruise.
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.
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.
Sightseeing: The Three Gorge Dam
Shore excursion to Three Gorges Dam site.
- The Three Gorge Dam: spanning the Yangtze at Sandouping, Yichang, Hubei province, China, construction began in 1994, it 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, and by then the water level will rise to 135 meters above sea level. The reservoir began filling on June 1, 2003, and will occupy the present position of the scenic Three Gorges area, between the cities of Yichang, Hubei; and Fuling, Chongqing Municipality.
Transfer via: Domestic Flight on our arrangement
Disembark the ship in Wuhan at 11:30AM. Upon your disembarkation at Wuhan Pier, our local guide and private vehicle will pick up you and escort you to airport for onwards 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.
Sightseeing: Elephant Trunk Hill ,Fubo Hill,Reed Flute Cave
Transfer via: Domestic Flight on our arrangement
Today's excursion will bring you to the Elephant Trunk Hill, the Fubo Hill and the Reed Flute Cave before your transfer to the airport for your 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.
- 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.
- 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.
Sightseeing: Nanjing Road,Shanghai Museum,The Bund ,Yu Garden,Yuyuan Market
Gala Event: Acrobatic Show
Today your tour of incredible Shanghai will include: Shanghai Museum, the Bund and the Nanjing Road, Yu Garden and Yuyuan Market. Enjoy a wonderful Acrobatic Show tonight.
- Nanjing Road: known as "China's No.1 Shopping Street" with a huge selection of merchandise on sale.
- 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.
- 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.
You will have a free day to explore this modern city by yourself or visit some of your friends and colleagues freely.
Sightseeing: Humble Administrator's Garden,Lingering Garden,The No.1 Silk Factory,Tiger Hill Park
Today you will have city 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. Be driven 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.
- 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.
- 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.
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 next destination.
China domestic flights as specified in the itinerary 
Accommodations for 18 nights, including
0 meals, including 0 full breakfasts, 0 lunches and 0 dinners
(including Peking Duck Dinner)
3 gala evening events--Peking Opera Show in Beijing,Tang Dynasty Show in Xian,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
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