Imperial China & Yangtze River Cruise

Overview：

This 13-day tour covers many classical destinations in China, making you better understand the inclusive history of China and appreciate Chinese treasures. Your tour begins in Beijing, the capital city of China. Here we will pay a visit to many spectacular imperial architecture--the Forbidden City, Temple of Heaven, The Great Wall and the Summer Palace.Then, let’s go to Xi’an, feel the prosperity of the ancient capital city and appreciate the wonderful Terracotta Warriors made by craftsmen thousands of years ago. Afterwards, let’s go to Chengdu to have a joyful encounter with giant pandas and feel the laid-back life of local people, and drive to Leshan to have a glimpse of the grandeur of Leshan Giant Buddha. Don’t hesitate-- join us and get a taste of historical China!

Highlights：

· Unveil the lives of China's royal family in their diverse palaces

· Climb up upon the Great Wall and enjoy the awe-inspiring landscape

· Cruise down the Yangtze River past the Three Gorges Dam

· Experience the prosperity of Tang Dynasty in person

· Have a close encounter with Giant Pandas

· Appreciate Leshan Giant Buddha from different angles

Itinerary：

· Day 1 Beijing Arrival

Upon arrival, your guide and driver will pick you up and transfer you to the hotel. If you arrive early, you can enjoy the relaxing afternoon at your leisure. For dinner, you will be in for a treat of Beijing Roast Duck.

· Day 2 Forbidden City-Temple of Heaven

Today we will visit the Forbidden City in the morning and the Temple of Heaven in the afternoon. Be ready to be amazed by the profound history and majestic architectures.

The Forbidden City, namely the Palace Museum, was once the Chinese imperial palace of the Ming and Qing Dynasties. It is known as the largest, best-preserved ancient timber-built palace complex in the world. The buildings are all covered with yellow glazed tile roofs with red columns and high walls beneath, symbolizing the noble status of the royal family. In addition to its magnificent appearance, the Palace Museum also houses numerous cultural relics and treasures. Visiting to the Palace Museum can help us travel for time and space and appreciate the time-honored Chinese culture.

The Temple of Heaven was built for emperors to pray for a good harvest, with an orderly arrangement showing Chinese nobility and regality. The temple of Heaven is a cultural museum of offering sacrifices to Heaven, which merges architecture, aesthetics, acoustics, astronomy, calendar, music and dance into an integral whole. It is an important window through which we can learn the history of China.

· Day 3 The Great Wall（Mutianyu Section）

In the morning, we will drive one and a half hour to Mutianyu, one of the best-preserved sections with gorgeous scenery along the way. Take your time strolling along the wall and look far into the distance to enjoy the splendid landscape.

· Day 4 Summer Palace-Bullet Train to Xi’an

This morning we will visit the Summer Palace, “the Museum of Royal Gardens”. With luxuriant Longevity Hill and vast Kunming Lake, the big garden was built for the imperial family to flee the summer heat. Nowadays, it is accessible for everyone to enjoy the view of beautiful scenery and have fun here.

After sightseeing, we will take the bullet train for four and a half hours to Xi’an. Once the imperial center of China for 2,000 years, Xi’an is now a vibrant, modern city dotted with interesting historical sites. After checking in, you can enjoy a relaxing afternoon in the hotel. In the late afternoon, your tour guide will take you to the Datang Night City Scenic Area, where you can take a stroll along the pedestrian street and enjoy an astonishing variety of performances, including the tumbler performance, light show, fountain show and live music show. The glitzy nightlife will make you amazed.

· Day 5 Terracotta Warriors

Today we will journey outside of Xi’an and visit the Terracotta Warriors, one of the man-made wonders of the world. After being buried for 2,000 years, the discovery of such a large-scale terracotta army makes the world surprise. These life-size clay models are distributed in three terracotta pits which in total cover an area of 19,120 square meters equivalent to 50 basketball courts. None of the seven thousand warriors look the same. They wear different clothes, each with the unique facial features. Come to see if there is a face that seems familiar to you!

· Day 6 Xi’an-Chengdu

Today we will visit Shaanxi History Museum.

Afterwards, we will visit the Shaanxi History Museum nearby. Known as “the pearl of ancient dynasties and house of Chinese treasures”, Shaanxi History museum gives a miniature overview of the thousands of years of Chinese history and the splendid ancient cultures of olden time. You can appreciate a large collection of precious cultural relics, such as sancai, bronzes, etc., giving you a deeper understanding of ancient Chinese history and culture.

In the late afternoon, we will catch the bullet train to Chengdu. It will take approximate four hours.

· Day 7 Leshan Giant Buddha

Travel by private car this morning to Leshan. After about two and a half hours, you will get to  Leshan Giant Buddha, the largest and tallest stone-carved Buddha statue in the world. Over 1,300 years ago, the Giant Buddha was built to bless the passing boats. For several decades, it has attracted flocks of travelers to witness the grand Buddha statue. When you arrive here, you can climb to the mountain top to have a closer look of the Giant Buddha or go on a cruise to catch a panoramic view of it.

· Day 8 Chengdu to Chongqing by bullet train, embark the cruise

Let’s start our journey in Chengdu by a visit to Chengdu Panda Breeding and Research Center. You can have a close encounter with adorable pandas here.Hopefully, you can catch the best time and witness them doing different things. It is a time-smart visit for you to understand pandas’ physical features and living habits.

then travel by train to Chongqing city (approximately three hours), the embarkation point for our Yangtze river cruise (after a 30-minute transfer to the dock). On arrival, we board our four-star cruise boat and settle into our cabins. We stay in air-conditioned twin-berth cabins with en suite bathrooms.

· Day 9 -10

Two full days cruising the Yangtze River, including the Three Gorges and dam

We spend two days cruising one of the great rivers, as we head down the Yangtze, passing towering cliffs and gorges,the scenery is breathtaking . To limit the impact of flooding, the government built a massive dam. This flooded the Three Gorges of Qutang, Wu and Xiling and a journey among these wonders is a must for any visitor to China. Nights are spent on the boat. There is also time for shore excursions, as the boat docks at smaller towns and villages, and to explore the lesser gorges on smaller boats, depending upon water levels.

The day-to-day schedule for the cruise can change with weather and river conditions, and the permissions of navigation authorities. Activity details will be explained in the briefing and the river guide can give you more information after boarding. The cruise will cover what is commonly considered as the essence of the Three Gorges, but some parts will be passed during the night. If water levels are okay, we cruise through a series of locks in the dam itself, but this cannot be guaranteed as it depends on the weather and river traffic.

· Day 11 Yichang: Disembark the Cruise, fly to Shanghai

Visit the Three Gorges Dam this morning before transferring from the cruise to Yichang airport to catch flight to Shanghai.a city with an international feel. In the evening, we take a walking tour of the Bund area, to see the illuminated buildings along the riverside. We can visit the Jin Mao Tower (optional), one of the tallest buildings in the world, which has a spectacular view of Shanghai from the observation deck.

· Day 12

Visit Xitang water town

We have an early start (around 7am) to avoid the crowds at the ancient water town of Xitang; famous for its cobbled streets and bridges arching over the many canals. There are several well-preserved buildings from the Ming (1368-1644) and Qing (1644-1911) dynasties, and the town is a delightful place to explore on foot. We lunch here before returning to Shanghai (around two hours) where the evening will be free.

· Day 13 Full day in Shanghai

We visit the Shanghai Museum this morning, followed by the Yu Yuan garden; the rest of the day is free to explore. Though it no longer warrants the title Paris of the East, many of the vestiges of its colonial past are still apparent. It is worth strolling along Nanjing Road (the main shopping street in Shanghai) or visiting Shanghai Tower (the tallest building in China at 2,073ft/632m high) or the smaller Oriental Pearl Tower to admire its Space Age design.

Optional activities this evening include the much-loved Shanghai Acrobatic show.

· Day 14 Departure

After breakfast, your guide and driver will send you off. If you want to extend your stay in China, we are willing to make customized tour plans for you.

Price includes:

Private air-conditioned

English speaking local guide

Activities, hotels, and meals listed in the itinerary

All required taxes, fees and entrance tickets

Price excludes：

Gratuity

Optional activities

Price varies depending on program, travel date, number of people and chosen hotel