20 days & 19 nights China Sampler Tour with Tibet Extension

Tour Code: COT-B-021-B
Activity Level: Easy - walking, light hiking
Itinerary Type: Regular itinerary
Highlights
This is a China tour specifically designed for people who are interested in Chinese history and culture, and who appreciate amazing natural beauty, and landscapes. It is a journey that will take visitor across China. They can experience the China of today i n Beijing, learn about its history in Xian, marvel at its most magnificent landscape along the Yangtze River, discover its ethnic minorities amazing cultures in Lhasa and Yunnan, and witness how bizarre and beautiful nature can be by visiting picturesque Guilin's Karst topography. Visitor will leave China knowing how vast this country is and how different each of its cities is!

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 Xian.

Xian: Day 5: Visit the Terracotta Army; Xian city tour; Dumpling Dinner with Tang Dynasty Show. Day 6: Xian ancient culture tour; fly to Lhasa.

Lhasa: Day 7: Lhasa city tour to the Potala Palace & Barkhor Street.
Day 8: Explore Lhasa Monasteries; visit a Tibetan family.

Yangtze Cruise: Day 9: Fly to Chongqing; board the China Regal Cruise. Day 10: Depart Chongqing; shore excursion to Fengdu Ghost City.
Day 11: Explore Shennong Stream by small vessels. Day 12: Morning visit to the Three Gorges Dam. Day 13: Disembark; fly to Kunming.

Kunming: Day 14: Drive to visit the Stone Forest.

Lijiang: Day 15: Fly to Lijiang; visit the Ancient Town. Day 16: Visit the First Bend of the Yangtze River; admire the Tiger Leaping Gorge.
Day 17: Free time; fly to Guilin

Guilin: Day 18: Li River cruise to Yangshuo; drive back to Guilin.
Day 19: Guilin City Tour. Day 20: 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 will be 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 / Xian
Transfer via: Domestic flight arranged by us
After breakfast, you will visit Beijing's exquisite Summer Palace, the imperial summer resort, and largest classical Chinese garden in the world. In the afternoon you will be escorted to the airport for your afternoon flight to Xian. Upon your arrival at Xian, your personal guide will meet you and escort you to your hotel. The rest of the day is free at your own leisure.

Day 5 Xi'an
On this day, you will visit the incredible Terracotta Warriors, guarding China's first emperor for over 2,000 years.  After lunch, you will take a trip to visit Xian's Ancient City Walls, the best preserved ancient city walls in the world, and the Bell Tower. Complete the day with a savory dumpling dinner and the Tang Dynasty show both located at Shaanxi Grand Opera Theatre.

Day 6 Xi'an / Lhasa
Transfer via: Domestic flight arranged by us
After breakfast, you will visit the Big Wild Goose Pagoda, a temple which houses sutras brought back from India, and the Hanyang Tombs, imperial tomb of the Han Dynasty, called an"underground treasure house of cultural relics". You will then be escorted to the airport for your flight to your next destination; Lhasa. Upon arriving in Gonggar Airport, you personal guide will meet you and escort you to your hotel in Lhasa city. On the way you will view the Giant Stone Buddha carved into the side of a mountain. Upon arriving at your hotel you will be free to rest and adjust to the high altitude.

Day 7 Lhasa
Your sightseeing today will include the Lhasa's cardinal landmark, the Potala Palace, home to the Dalai Lama for centuries. In the afternoon you will visit Jokhang Temple, a gigantic temple complex started in 647 AD, and flourishing Barkhor Street, an excellent place to get Tibetan arts and crafts rarely seen outside this amazing province.

Day 8 Lhasa
On this day you will first visit Norbulingka Park, the Dalai Lama's summer palace, and then the Sera Monastery, one of the largest monasteries in Tibet built in 1419. In the late afternoon you will get a chance to visit a Tibetan Family, and enjoy the hospitality that Tibetan people are famous for.

Day 9 Lhasa / Chongqing / Embark China Regal cruise ship
Transfer via: Domestic flight arranged by us
You will be Free in the morning until your personal guide escorts you to the airport for your flight to Chongqing. Upon arriving in Chongqing, be met by a guide, who will help you board your China Regal Cruise ship (5 stars).
Ship Calendar 2008 of China Regal Cruises (sailing date)

Day 10 Yangtze Cruise
In the morning you will depart Chongqing to begin your unforgettable Yangtze River cruise. In the afternoon you will have a shore excursion to Fengdu Ghost City, a fantastic temple, where the devil is punished, and the good are rewarded.
Accommodations: On the ship

Day 11 Yangtze Cruise
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 12 Yangtze Cruise
In the morning you will disembark to visit the world famous Three Gorges Dam, the largest hydroelectric dam in the world.
Accommodations: On the ship

Day 13 Yangtze Cruise / Wuhan / Kunming
Transfer via: Domestic flight arranged by us
In the morning you will leave your ship in the city of Wuhan, where your guide will escort you to the airport for your flight to Kunming. Upon arriving in Kunming, your personal guide will escort you to your hotel.

Day 14 Kunming
Today, you will have a tour of Kunming city, and then be escorted to the bizarre and picturesque Stone Forest, which is a 270 million year old limestone karst formation.

Day 15 Kunming / Lijiang
Transfer via: Domestic flight arranged by us
After breakfast, you will be escorted to the airport for your flight to Lijiang. Upon arriving in Lijiang, a UNESCO World Cultural Heritage Site, your personal guide will meet you and escort you to your hotel. In the afternoon you will be taken to the Ancient Town, which features over 800 years of history, canals, cobble streets and over 22 different ethnic minorities, and Lion Hill, famous for its ancient pines and cypresses.

Day 16 Lijiang
After breakfast, you will visit the spectacular First Bend of the Yangtze River and Iron Chain Bridge in the Shigu (Stone Drum) Town, famous for its ancient terraced rice fields and Stone Drum Pavilion, and then visit Tiger Leaping Gorge, an extremely deep natural gorge, with amazing scenery. In the late afternoon you will return to Lijiang County.

Day 17 Lijiang / Kunming / Guilin
Transfer via: Domestic flight arranged by us
You will be free until your private guide escorts you to the airport for your flight to Guilin.

Day 18 Yangshuo
After breakfast, you will be driven to Zhujiang Pier to begin your unforgettable boat cruise down the picturesque Li River. The cruise will take you to the ancient village of Yangshuo. After roaming Yangshuo's famous West Street, an ancient road filled with local arts and crafts, you will be driven back to Guilin City.

Day 19 Guilin
Today, you will visit the amazing and ancient city of Guilin. You will visit the city's symbol, Elephant Trunk Hill, Fubo Hill, where you can see ancient Buddhist carvings and get a panoramic view of the city, and Reed Flute Cave, known as a"Natural Palace of Art"for its bizarre stalagmites, and stalactites.

Day 20 Guilin / Departure
Transfer via: International Flight arranged by you
Your private guide will escort you to the airport for your flight to Beijing to connect to your international flight to your next destination.
Service ends.