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 Min 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 Min Tombs, the graveyard of 13 emperors, before returning to Beijing for an imperial-style Peking Duck dinner.
Day 4 Beijing / Xi'an (B L D)
Wing on to Xi'an, a vital center of history, culture and archaeology.
Day 5 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 6 Xi'an / Lanzhou (B L D)
Fly to Lanzhou, the geographic central city of China. The former last metro on the route into the Gobi desert, today still one of the most important industrial cities in China.
Day 7 Lanzhou / Dunhuang (B L D)
Depart Lanzhou for a flight to Dunhuang, so called 'a diamond inlayed on the belt' of the Silk Road. Arrive at the exciting starting point for your Silk Route adventure. Your hotel is a comfortable place to rest. Afternoon sightsee the so called 'Mt Sounding' - Sand Dune, and Crescent Lake, a rare scene in the Gobi Desert.
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Day 8 Dunhuang (B L D)
This morning, you will explore the Mogao Grotto, the world-renowned cultural finding, which include a numerous sculptures and murals created in the dynasties from Sui (581- 618 AD) till Qing (1640 - 1911). Each of them reflects a certain style of the art form in the dynasties and development of the art form in the history. After lunch, you will be coached to visit the own of Yang Guan and the ancient city of Sha Zhou.
Day 9 Dunhuang / Jiayuguan Pass / Lanzhou (B L D)
Mort coach to Jia Yu Guan Pass, the ancient military stronghold which was intended to ward off the invasion of nomads from the north, even from ancient Iran. The magnificent as well as ancient city gate and city wall, though thousands years old and rebuilt during the dynasties, still looks formidable in today. The murals left in Wei and Jin Dynasties tells people this is not a place to hold the invaders back, but also a place which linked the world culturally. Embark on the train back to Lanzhou in the evening.
Day 10 Dunhuang / Lanzhou (B L D)
Morning arrive in Lanzhou. After breakfast, you will be escorted for a cruise ride for the Bing Lin Temple, a Dao's temple. Return to Lanzhou in the late afternoon.
Day 11 Lanzhou / 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 12 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. Complete the day at a thrilling show by the Shanghai Acrobats.
Day 13 Shanghai (B)
With new insights and found memories of China, you embark on your homebound journey aboard your select airline. |
