Traditional China from Beijing to Taipei

Itinerary

• Day 1: Arrival - Beijing

  Touching down in Beijing, get warmly welcomed by your guide and proceed with an easy transfer to your downtown hotel. The rest of the day is yours to recover from jet lag.

  • Beijing

• Day 2: Beijing: The Forbidden City and Hutongs

  Get acquainted with China's capital city from Tiananmen Square, the emblem of modern China. Following it, walk into the powerhouse of ancient China between the 15^th and 19^th centuries to marvel at the magnificent imperial buildings with exquisite details.

  After an authentic Chinese lunch, stroll around a well-preserved Hutong and get on a rickshaw to discover the most traditional community of old Beijing.

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  • Beijing

• Day 3: Beijing: Temple of Heaven & Great Wall

  Start the tour today from the Temple of Heaven, where the emperors of feudal Ming and Qing Dynasties (1368-1912) offered sacrifices to Heaven and prayed for good harvests. Here, read its rigorous layout, peculiar structure, and profound cultural background and encounter the locals enjoying their leisure time.

  Then, drive about two hours out of Beijing and focus the rest of the day on the Great Wall. Take a cable car ascending and hike up further to see the winding defenses disappearing into the distance with majestic mountains.

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  • Beijing

• Day 4: Yonghe Lamasery & Confucian Temple, Fly to Xi'an

  Visit the Yonghe Lamasery after breakfast and watch the locals burning incense and praying for good luck. Nearby, learn ancient China's education system at the Confucian Temple and Guozijian, the highest institute of learning in ancient China with Beijing as the capital.

  In the afternoon, move on to Xi'an by air. On arrival, meet your local guide and take a private transfer to your hotel.

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  • Xi'an

• Day 5: Xi'an: Terracotta Warriors & Muslim Quarter

  Want to know what a mighty army the great emperor, who united China over 2,200 years ago for the first time, had? Today the tour of Emperor Qin Shi Huang's Mausoleum Site Museum will give you an idea. Spend two hours there browsing thousands of life-size Terracotta Warriors and reading the detailed expressions on their faces.

  Then, drive about an hour back to the city and take a walk around Muslim Quarter and the Great Mosque.

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  • Xi'an

• Day 6: Xi'an - Chengdu, Drum Tower & Chinese Art Experience

  Visit the 600-year-old Drum Tower after breakfast, with chances to enjoy an ancient musical performance and nice views over the historical city center. Then, at Tang Bo Art Museum, get a perfect introduction to traditional Chinese arts and participate in a calligraphy class.

  In the afternoon, embark on a bullet train to Chengdu. On arrival, be picked up and escorted to your hotel.

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  • Chengdu

• Day 7: Chengdu: Pandas and Wenshu Temple with Tea Experience

  The spotlights of the tour today are the pandas at Chengdu Research Base of Giant Panda Breeding. Get there in the morning to watch these cute creatures climbing up and down, rollicking around, and having their breakfast.

  Following an appetizing lunch with a Sichuan hotpot is a pleasing roaming around the Wenshu Temple. Find a seat at an open-air teahouse within the temple compound and enjoy tea time, a requisite relaxing and social moment for Chengdu people.

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  • Chengdu

• Day 8: Chengdu: Local Life Experience with Homely Cooking

  Follow your tour guide to experience how ordinary people go through their daily lives today. Visit a local family to learn how to make local dishes like Sichuan Boiled Fish, a classic Sichuan representative dish. Unwind in the bamboo world of Wangjiang Pavilion Park after lunch and step into the nearby Sichuan University for an insight into China's colorful campus life. As the night falls, have fun with locals at a community center, playing badminton, table tennis, or other physical exercises.

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  • Chengdu

• Day 9: Leisure in the Morning, Fly to Shanghai

  This morning is yours until flying to Shanghai. Sleep until waking up naturally or join the locals in public gardens, like the downtown People's Park, to experience their slow-paced life.

  Upon arrival, the tour guide in Shanghai will pick you up and escort you to the hotel for check-in.

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  • Shanghai

• Day 10: The Bund and Shanghai Propaganda Poster Art Center

  Take a morning stroll along the waterfront of the Bund to admire the colonial-era buildings against Shanghai's modern skyline. While the traditional Yu Garden at the heart of Old Town brings you serenity and elegance with its exquisite layout and beautiful scenery.

  Have a short break at a silk workshop and then visit Shanghai Propaganda Poster Art Center for a unique perspective into China's modern history during the Maoist period of communist China. Conclude the day with a panoramic view of the city from the Shanghai Tower.

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  • Shanghai

• Day 11: Shanghai: Day Trip to Xitang Water Town

  Spend a whole day exploring Xitang, about 1.5 hours away from Shanghai. This ancient water town is crisscrossed by nine rivers and linked by over 100 stone bridges. You can walk along the narrow lanes, relax on a bench under a covered corridor, sample tasty traditional snacks at a little extra cost, and enjoy the stunning townscape on a slowly-rowed boat.

  Return to the hotel in the late afternoon.

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  • Shanghai

• Day 12: Morning Time at Leisure, Fly to Taipei

  Enjoy the morning at your leisure. Check out of the hotel at noon and head to the airport for the flight to Taipei.

  Upon arrival, be picked up and transferred to the hotel for check-in and rest.

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  • Taipei

• Day 13: National Palace Museum and Baoan Temple

  Start the tour today from Chiang Kai-Shek Memorial Hall, the most iconic historical landmark in Taiwan in honor of Generalissimo Chiang Kai-shek. Stop to see the grand Presidential Office, followed by the National Palace Museum.

  Once stepping into this treasure house, you'll marvel at its vast collection of Chinese art ranging from the Neolithic age to the modern era. At the end of today, at the Baoan Temple, you will be wowed by its stunning architecture and read Ancient Chinese mythology through vivid frescos.

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  • Taipei

• Day 14: Pingxi and Jiufen Day Trip with Sky Lantern Experience

  Take a step back in time with a full-day tour of Pingxi and Jiufen, both of which are great for outings from Taipei. Wander the narrow cobblestone streets of Jiufen, take in the amazing views of the Golden Waterfall and Yin-Yang Sea, and release a sky lantern filled with your wishes in Pingxi. Street food here is also one of the highlights that is worth a try.

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  • Taipei

• Day 15: Taipei - Departure

  Time to say goodbye. Be escorted to the airport in time and board your homebound flight with wonderful memories.

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