|
Day 1 Beijing (D)
Arrive in Beijing, the capital and cultural center of China, where virtually every boulevard and building exudes an air of importance, Transfer on arrival to your plush hotel.
Day 2 Beijing (B L D)
Enjoy a full-day tour of the sights that make Beijing a spectacular destination: the sprawling Forbidden City, home to 24 Ming and Qing emperors and now a repository of precious art and antiques; the Temple of Heaven, famous for its elegance and symmetry; and the Summer Palace, an oasis of tea gardens, pavilions, painted corridors, and shimmering Kunming Lake with Empress Dowager's eccentric marble ship.
Day 3 Beijing (B L D)
One of the world's most awe-inspiring sights, the Great Wall snakes along nearly 4000 miles of impossibly steep hills and harsh, rugged plains. Today's excursion will give you ample time to explore it in leisure and marvel at the manpower that went into building the world's longest structure entirely by hand. Continue to the Ming Tombs, the graveyard of 13 emperors, before returning to Beijing for an imperial-style Peking Duck dinner.
Day 4 Beijing / Shanghai (B L D)
Fly to Shanghai, the largest and most cosmopolitan city, as modern as any in the world. You are greeted on arrival and escorted to your world-class hotel in a prime setting near many popular shops and restaurants.
Day 5 Shanghai (B L D)
Your full-day tour presents Shanghai's eclectic nature, from the riverfront Bund where foreign traders left a legacy of European-style buildings, to the Yuyuan Gardens with its quintessential Chinese zigzag bridge, rockeries, and pavilions. Visit the Children's Palace where school kids study traditional arts, and the dazzling new Shanghai Museum where the development of the arts is traced back thousands of years. Complete the day at a thrilling show by the Shanghai Acrobats.
Day 6 Shanghai / Yichang (B L D)
Fly to inner China, Yichang to board your Yangtze cruise ship. Settle into your stateroom and enjoy dinner on board.
Day 8 Yangtze River Cruise (B L D)
A thrilling day features a tour of the Three Gorges Dam site, now under construction; and passage through rushing Xiling Gorge and the Twelve Peaks of Wu Gorge, enshrouded in Chinese lore. Tonight the captain hosts a welcome dinner on board.
|
Day 9 Yangtze River Cruise (B L D)
Experience the lush unspoiled nature of the Daning River on today's excursion aboard small boats. Re-aboard ship and sail the most scenic of the great Three Gorges, Qutang.
Day 10 Yangtze River Cruise (B L D)
You will enjoy a land excursion today which includes a smaller cruise to the smaller Three Gorges. Pass through Qutang Gorge in the afternoon.
Day 11 Yangtze River Cruise (B L D)
Your final day of cruising is marked by pastoral scenes and a visit of the "Ghost City" of Fengdu.
Day 12 Chongqing / Xi'an (B L D)
Arrive in Chongqing this morning. Meet / transfer for some city tour following disembarkation and drive to airport to catch the flight to Xi'an, a vital center of history, culture and archaeology.
Day 13 Xi'an (B L D)
It is impossible to overstate Xi'an's importance in China's history. Here began the fabled Silk Road, here a string of dynasties made their capital, here a Neolithic culture built a village 6000 years ago, and here lies a highlight of your trip: the excavation site of 8000 terra cotta soldiers, buried around the tomb of Emperor Qin, builder of the Great Wall and other massive endeavors. Round out your tour with stops at the old City gate, Provincial Museum, Big Wild Goose Pagoda.
Day 14 Xi'an / Guilin (B L D)
Fly to the watercolor landscapes of Guilin and settle in at your plush hotel on the stunning Li River. This afternoon enjoy an orientation tour of the city, and a visit to Reed Flute Cave.
Day 15 Guilin (B L D)
Few could fail to be enraptured by the beauty of the Li River, with its delicate karst formations, beautiful rural scenery, and lush green hillsides with bizarre rock formations and caves. Centuries of poets and artists have immortalized the very scenes you'll savor on a full-day air-conditioned cruise along this unique and tranquil waterway.
Day 16 Guilin (B)
With new insights and found memories of China, you embark on your homebound journey aboard your select airline.
|
