9 days & 8 nights China Cosmopolitan Tour with Yangtze Cruise

Tour Code: COT-B-YZ-1
Activity Level: Easy - walking, light hiking
Itinerary Type: Regular itinerary
Highlights
Would you like to experience the China of yesterday, today and tomorrow? Take this 9 day China tour and you will witness its history, splendor and treasures in China's capital Beijing, witness the astounding changes of today by cruising down the Yangtze River, and see China's future by touring the cosmopolitan metropolis of Shanghai.

Beijing:
Day 1: Arrival in Beijing. Day 2: Beijing city tour to the Forbidden City & Temple of Heaven; evening show - Peking Opera. Day 3: Drive to outskirt of Beijing and visit the Great Wall & the Sacred Road; Peking Duck Dinner. Day 4: Visit the Summer Palace; fly to Chongqing; board the President No.4 and start your Yangtze River cruise.

Yangtze Cruise: Day 5: Shore excursion to Fengdu Ghost City or Shibaizhai. Day 6: Explore Shennong Stream by small vessels. Day 7: Morning visit to the Three Gorges Dam; disembark in Yichang; fly to Shanghai.

Shanghai: Day 8: Shanghai city tour; acrobatic show at night. Day 9: Final departure.

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.

Day 2 Beijing
Today you will first visit the historic Tiananmen Square, the largest city square in the world, followed by the magnificent Forbidden City, which is the largest palace structure in the world and the place where China's emperors ruled for over 600 years. In the afternoon, you will marvel at Beijing's splendid Temple of Heaven, where China's emperors annually went to pray for good harvests. In the evening you will enjoy Beijing's famous Peking Opera at the Liyuan Theatre, the biggest and most famous traditional Peking Opera theatre in China. Peking opera is not just a singing drama, but is an ancient ingenious and colorful combination of elements from many sources: traditional music, poetry, singing, recitation, dancing, acrobatics, and traditional martial arts.

Day 3 Beijing
Today you will have a visit to the majestic Great Wall (Badaling section) and Sacred Road, which is a path lined with stone statues of animals, mystical beasts and officials who will serve the emperor in the afterlife. On your way back from the Great Wall, you will drive around the main Olympic venues for the 2008 Beijing Olympics, the National Stadium (Bird's Nest) where the Opening and Closing Ceremonies were held, and the National Aquatics Center nicknamed "the Water Cube" for its unique design. Feel free to take some beautiful picture of these stadiums. Enjoy Beijing's most famous dish, Peking Roast Duck, for dinner.

Day 4 Beijing / Chongqing / Embark President No.4 Cruise Ship (Yangtze)
Transfer via: Domestic flight on our arrangement
After breakfast, you will visit the Summer Palace, the largest classic Chinese garden in the world, and then be escorted to airport where you will take the afternoon flight to Chongqing. Upon your arrival, your personal guide will meet you and escort you to board your four star ship-President No.4
Accommodations: On the ship

Day 5 Yangtze Cruising
Shore excursion to Fengdu Ghost City, a fantastic temple, where the devil is punished, and the good are rewarded, or Shibaozhai, an ancient 12 storey wood tower built into the cliff. The cruise line will choose which spot will be the excursion destination.

Day 6 Yangtze Cruising
On this day you will have an excursion to Shennong Stream, where you will drift along the river on a traditional sampan and be amazed by the scenery that unfolds around you.
Accommodations: On the ship

Day 7 Yangtze Cruise / Yichang / Shanghai
Transfer via: Domestic flight on our arrangement
In the morning you will disembark to visit the world famous Three Gorges Dam, the largest hydroelectric dam in the world After lunch, you will leave the ship at Yichang, where your personal guide will meet you and escort you to the airport for your flight to Shanghai. Upon arriving in Shanghai, your guide will meet you and escort you to your hotel.

Day 8 Shanghai
On this day you will travel around the cosmopolitan city of Shanghai. Your travel will include: the Shanghai Museum, famous for one of the largest and best collections of ancient Chinese art, the Bund, the financial center of Shanghai known as a"museum of buildings", Nanjing Road, one of China's premiere shopping districts, Yu Garden an ancient classical garden, and Yuyuan Market, a shopper's paradise filled with local arts and crafts. In the evening you will enjoy a wonderful Acrobatic Show, one of China's oldest performing arts, acrobatics have absorbed features of opera dance and martial art, making it a truly unique art form.

Day 9 Shanghai / Departure
You will be free to explore Shanghai, until your private guide escorts you to the airport for your flight to your next destination.
Service ends.