China Off the Beaten Track

Itinerary

• Day 1: Arrival, Shanghai

  Welcome to Shanghai, the most cosmopolitan city in China! Your personal tour guide will meet you at the arrival hall and escort you to your hotel in downtown. The rest of the day is yours to relax.

  • Shanghai

• Day 2: Shanghai

  Start your Shanghai tour with an in-depth exploration of the Bund to get a microcosm of old Shanghai and its spectacular international architectures. The Bund tour includes a heritage tour in the historic Peace Hotel. After that, head to Yu Garden to appreciate the traditional Chinese garden and lounge around the bustling Yuyuan Market outside it, and then visit a silk workshop to see how small cocoons be transformed into elegant silk. Finally, finish today's tour with a relaxing roam around the former French Concession.

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  • Shanghai

• Day 3: Shanghai - Huangshan

  After breakfast, take the high-speed train departing from Shanghai. Arrive in Huangshan after 3 hours, be picked up and led to visit Hongcun, one of the most charming ancient villages that has been listed in the UNESCO World Heritage List. Overnight in a characteristic countryside hotel nearby.

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  • Huangshan

• Day 4: Huangshan - Mt. Huangshan

  Have some leisurely time in the morning and then proceed to Huangshan Scenery Area (the Yellow Mountain). Take a cable car up and then walk around 30 minutes along the stone path to get to the hotel. Settle down at the hotel and visit the West Sea Area in the afternoon.

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  • Mt. Huang Shan

• Day 5: Huangshan - Hangzhou

  Get up early and have a chance to catch the spectacular sunrise. Later, check out the hotel and explore the Beihai Area before taking the cable car down for the 3 hours' high-speed train to Hangzhou. Arrive in Hangzhou in the late afternoon, be greeted and transferred to your hotel by the local tour guide.

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  • Hangzhou

• Day 6: Hangzhou

  It is an easy day for you to discover the enduring beauty of Hangzhou with its poetic West Lake, fabulous green tea plantation, and the affable Hu Qingyu Traditional Chinese Medicine Drugstore. Here, you can see a busy scene that is closely related to the lives of ordinary people for hundreds of years ago.

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  • Hangzhou

• Day 7: Hangzhou - Kunming

  Leisure morning to do further exploration in the city on your own. In the afternoon, take 3.5 hours' flight to Kunming, meet local tour guide and then move to the hotel near downtown.

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  • Kunming

• Day 8: Kunming - Dali

  Today, you will firstly visit the famous Stone Forest - a bizarre rock formation created over millennia erosion of rain and wind, and then take the high-speed train to Dali. Get to Dali in the early evening, and then be welcomed by local tour guide and driver.

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  • Dali

• Day 9: Dali

  A cycling day along Erhai Lake today! The biking tour will take around 5 hours, and you will pass through beautiful farmlands and many Bai minority villages, such as Yangbo, Zhongzhuang, and Haishe. Stop here for taking photos or tasting local food. Finally, ride back to the old town along the coming road, or another way along the National Highway 214.

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  • Dali

• Day 10: Dali - Shaxi - Lijiang

  Drive 3 hours forward the northwest for a visit of Shaxi Ancient Town, an important stop on the ancient tea-horse road, which still maintains the oldest features. After the tour in Shaxi, drive to Lijiang by another 2 hours. After arriving in Shuhe Old Town of Lijiang in the late afternoon, check into the hotel and relax on your own.

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  • Lijiang

• Day 11: Lijiang

  It is a free day for your own exploration.

  You may just ramble around in the old town, or take an optional tour to the Jade Snow Mountain or Baisha Village. Whatever is necessary, please feel free to ask for advice with your travel consultant.

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  • Lijiang

• Day 12: Lijiang

  Today, you will have a trekking tour in the countryside north of Lijiang and enjoy the stunning scenery of the Tiger Leaping Gorge.

  Firstly, drive to Qiaotou where you will start the trekking until the Tea Horse Guesthouse. The trekking tour will take around 4 to 5 hours, depending on your physical strength.

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  • Lijiang

• Day 13: Lijiang - Shangri-La

  Continue trekking about 2-3 hours to Tina's Guesthouse where your private driver will pick you up and transfer you to Shangri-La (3 to 4 hours will be needed on the road), which will easily evoke your imagination of the mysterious Orient. Being so high with the average elevation of 3,200 m, you may feel some altitude sickness while in Shangri-La. Good rest and slow paces are highly recommended.

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  • Shangri-la

• Day 14: Shangri-La - Chengdu

  Free time for you to refresh from the previous days' trekking and get adjust to the high altitude. Late in the afternoon, take a flight to Chengdu. After arrival, be transferred to the downtown hotel by your Chengdu guide.

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  • Chengdu

• Day 15: Chengdu

  Today, you will visit the Chengdu Research Base of Giant Panda Breeding firstly to see the adorable pandas, followed by a trip to the Wenshu Temple where you can spend some time sitting in its tea house and enjoying a cup of traditional Chinese tea and absorb the special atmosphere of Chengdu. Your tour today will end by Jinli Old Street.

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  • Chengdu

• Day 16: Chengdu - Xi'an

  Head to Xi'an by the high-speed train. When arriving in Xi'an after 4 hours, your private guide will pick you up and escort you to the hotel. Take a short break at the hotel and then have a bicycle tour on the top of the Ancient City Wall to enjoy the old city panorama.

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  • Xi'an

• Day 17: Xi'an

  This morning, drive about one hour to visit the legendary Terracotta Warriors and marvel at the thousands of vivid life-size clay armies. In the afternoon, get back and explore the city by exploring Muslim Street and the Great Mosque.

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  • Xi'an

• Day 18: Xi'an - Beijing

  Say goodbye to the ancient capital of Xi'an and then take the high-speed train to Beijing - China's present capital and another historical city of China.

  After arriving in the early afternoon, be met and escorted to visit the imperial Summer Palace. Later on, check into the hotel.

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  • Beijing

• Day 19: Beijing

  Your discovery in the city will start from Tiananmen Square, the badge of the Chinese political centre. From there, you can proceed to the Forbidden City. Walk from the Meridian Gate to East Flowery Gate, you will not only feel the mysterious ambience in the royal palace, but also see the Imperial Ancestral Temple where royal members worshiped their ancestors. Afterward, go on with a tour to the Temple of Heaven, which is a holy place the emperor would visit annually to pray for good harvest for his empire.

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  • Beijing

• Day 20: Beijing

  Today's journey will take you to the magnificent Great Wall - a must see site in China.

  To avoid the crowds and get a better view, Jinshanling Great Wall is recommended for you and it will take about 2.5 hours to drive from the city. This is one of the best-preserved sections which keeps many original features. You can do a hike on it for around 3 to 4 hours according to your interests.

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  • Beijing

• Day 21: Beijing, Departure

  Farewell time now! When you are ready, the guide and driver will transfer you to the airport for your international flight back home.

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