Day 1: Arrive Beijing (L/D)
Arrive in Beijing. Meet your guide and transfer to the city. Your tour starts at the Tiananmen Square, the largest in the world, then the Forbidden City, a 9,999-room compound, where the 24 emperors of the Ming and the Qing Dynasties ruled the Middle Kingdom for nearly 500 years (1420-1911). In the afternoon, tour the idyllic Summer Palace, enjoy a boat ride on Kunming Lake.
Day 2: Beijing (B/L/D)
Take a scenic drive to the most renowned monument 每 the Great Wall and one of the 13 Ming Tombs. In the evening, savor a specially prepared meal of Beijing Duck. ???????
Day 3: Beijing 每 Xian (B/L/D)
Experience the world of Beijing＊s Hutongs, via rickshaw. See the locals as they go about their daily activities. Highlights include visits to a local kindergarten, to the 800-year-old Drum Tower and to a traditional courtyard style home. This unique tour concludes with a meal served at the home of a local family. After lunch transfer to the airport for a flight to Xian. Meet your local guide and transfer to your hotel. In the evening, enjoy a specially prepared Dumpling Banquet. ???
Day 4: Xian (B/L/D)
Today＊s excursion will take you to modern China＊s greatest archaeological discovery 每 The Terra Cotta Warriors and Horses, after lunch at a local restaurant tour the Shaanxi History Museum. Enjoy Tang Dynasty Cultural Show in the evening.??????
Day 5: Xian-Yichang-Yangtze Cruise (B/L/D)
This morning, tour the Wild Goose Pagoda, take a walk on the City Wall. It is one of the best preserved city walls in the country. In the afternoon, transferred to the airport for a flight to Yichang. Met by local guide and transferred to port, board on Yangtze cruise vessel, settle into your cabin and check out the numerous amenities on board. The ship will stay in port during the night and will sail early in the morning. ???
Day 6: Yangtze Cruise (B/L/D)
The cruiser will make a stop at Sandouping, the site of the construction of Three Gorges Dam and its hydroelectric power plant. Relax as your cruise continues. Choose your vantage point as the ship transits the five-stage shiplock and enters the spectacular Xiling Gorge 每 the first of the magnificent Three Gorges. For the next 150 miles, the Yangtze forces its way through a spectacular barrier of solid limestone ridges known as the Three Gorges. Attend the Captain＊s Welcome Banquet in the evening.????????
Day 7: Yangtze Cruise (B/L/D)
Another day of incredible views awaits you upon entering Wu Gorge, which has been the inspiration of Chinese painters and poets throughout the centuries. Transfer to a smaller motorized sampan for an excursion either to the Lesser Three Gorges or to the fabled Shennong Stream, depending on their water levels. The contrasting heights of these gorges and the narrowness of the river make this area one of the most dramatic scenes in the world. Tonight enjoy a dinner featuring local cuisine and onboard entertainment. ???????
Day 8: Yangtze Cruise (B/L/D)
Your cruise continues into Qutang Gorge, the shortest and narrowest of the Three Gorges. Your boat then docks at Shibaozhai, a rural river town, for a shore excursion. Tonight, enjoy a Farewell Banquet and a cultural show onboard. ????????
Day 9: Chongqing 每 Shanghai (B/L/D)
Your remarkable Yangtze cruise ends at the mountain city of Chongqing, China＊s wartime capital in WWII. Take a brief city tour and then fly to Shanghai, take a walk along the Bund, the elegant riverside promenade which symbolized European and foreign influence and affluence in the 1930s. then tour the city＊s holy spot 每 the saffron-colored Jade Buddha Temple with its jewel-encrusted white jade Buddha. ???
Day 10: Shanghai (B/L/D)
Begin your tour in the heart of old Shanghai at the 16th century Yu Garden. Enjoy a stunning view of Shanghai from the 88th floor of the Jinmao Tower, the tallest building in China. In the afternoon, visit Shanghai Museum, an unique and inspiring piece of architecture, home to more than 120,000 cultural relics of ancient China. After dinner, attend an unforgettable performance of the Shanghai Acrobats.???????
Day 11: Suzhou Excursion (B/L/D)
After breakfast, take a 45-minute train ride to fabled water town of ※Venice of the East§-Suzhou. It was designated a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1997. Upon arrival, you will cruise on the Grand Canal, the world＊s longest canal, built 1,500 years ago. Then tour the Silk Spinning Mill, where you will learn how silk is created from the mulberry-munching silk worms to produce thread and fine cloth. In the afternoon, visit the Garden of the Master of Fishing Nets and experience all of the elements of a classical Chinese garden. After dinner, take the train back to Shanghai and return to your hotel. ???????
Day 12: Journey home (B)
Your morning is free to rest, to pack or to do some last minute shopping. Then transferred to the airport for your return flight home. ??
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