Classic China Itinerary

Arrive Beijing and transfer to your hotel.

Breakfast is at the hotel.

Visit the Forbidden City, the Inner Sanctum and Palace where for centuries Chinese emperors ruled their world.

It has a 9000 room maze of courtyards, places, and ceremonial halls, where 24 emperors used to live. The Forbidden City was indeed a forbidden place, where commoners were kept out for nearly 500 years in the past. Tour the palace and imagine the mystery, intrigue and incredible power that reigned here.

Tiananmen Square is the symbolical heart of China and the gathering place for the masses. You will also see legendary landmarks including the Great Hall of the People and the towering 125 foot granite obelisk, Monument to the People’s Heroes, honoring those who died in the revolution.

Enjoy a lakeside boat ride on the lovely Kunming Lake, enjoy the magical views of the hills, bridges and pagodas that grace the palace grounds.

Breakfast is at the hotel.

Visit the Great Wall at Mutianyu, one of the most remarkable feats of mankind, whose segments were built as long ago as 500 B.C. Archaeologists estimate that the Wall once ran 6200 miles. Today, it is still impressive at 3,750 miles. Serious work began in 220 B.C, when China’s first emperor Qin Shihuang, conscripted millions of soldiers and peasants to participate in this dangerous undertaking. Construction continued over the centuries, with the most impressive portions built during the 14th century Ming Dynasty. Mutianyu section is a bit more rugged and slightly less crowded than the more famous Badaling. Moreover, 96% of Mutianyu is covered with greenery, more than any other section of the Great Wall. This section of the Great Wall holds a prominent place in Chinese military history. Now, it is equipped with a cable car.

Afterwards, visit Ming Tombs at Changling. The Ming Tombs are located about 30 miles northwest of Beijing at the foot of the Tianshou Mountains. Located here are the tombs of 13 of the 16 Ming Dynasty emperors. Dragon Hill lies to the east and Crouching Tiger Hill to the west. The first emperor to be buried here was Yongle who died in 1424. His tomb, Chang Ling, and that of Emperor Zhu Yijun, Ding Ling, who died in 1620, are the only two opened to visitors today.

Breakfast is at the hotel.

Visit Temple of Heaven. This temple was built in 1420 A.D., specifically for worship of heaven and prayers for good harvests during the Ming and Qing dynasties. It is much bigger than the Forbidden City and smaller than the Summer Palace with an area of about 2,700,000 square meters.

Fly to Xian. Upon arrival transfer to the hotel.

Breakfast is at the hotel.

Visit the Terra Cotta Army Museum. The Terra Cotta Warriors and Horses are the most significant archeological excavations of the 20th century, where work is ongoing at the site. UNESCO listed it in 1987 as one of the world cultural heritage sites. The State Council authorized a museum to be built on the site in 1975. Life size terracotta figures of warriors and horses arranged in battle formations are the star features at the museum.

Altogether over 7,000 pottery soldiers, horses, chariots, and even weapons have been unearthed from the site. Most of them have been restored to their former grandeur. They are replicas of what the imperial guard should look like in those days of pomp and vigor.

Big Wild Goose Pagoda was originally built in 652 during the reign of Emperor Gaozong of the Tang Dynasty (618-907). It functioned to collect Buddhist materials that were taken from India by the hierarch Xuanzang. Big Wild Goose Pagoda is a well-preserved ancient building and a holy place for Buddhists.

The 1st emperor of the Ming Dynasty ordered the city wall built initially during the old Tang dynasty (618 -907) to be enlarged creating the modern Xian City Wall. It’s the most complete city wall that has survived in China, as well as being one of the largest ancient military defensive systems in the world. The wall covers 8.5 miles in length with a deep moat surrounding it.

Breakfast is at the hotel.

Morning is at leisure. In the afternoon, fly to Guillin. Upon arrival, transfer to the hotel.

After breakfast, take the Li River Cruise with lunch on board. Disembark in Yangshuo in the afternoon and visit Yangshuo Market and West Street. Return to Guilin.

Breakfast is at the hotel.

In the afternoon, take the flight to Chongqing. Upon arrival, transfer to the pier to board the cruise ship. The Yangtze River extends for a colossal 3900 miles, generally the section between Chongqing and Yichang is the most popular.

Enjoy the cruise excursion to Shibaozhai, with its impressive wooden pagoda built without any nails, appropriately named “The Pearl of the Yangtze”. Depending on river conditions, the excursion may be substituted to Fengdu. Visit the new relocation village built for families who have moved as a result of the Yangtze’s rising waters brought about by the Three Gorges Dam.

All meals are included.

Sail through Qutang Gorge/Wu Gorge, excursion to Lesser Small Gorges or Shennong Stream.

Sail through the Three Gorges ship locks.

All meals are included.

In the morning, arrive in Yichang and visit the Three Gorges Dam Site. Afterwards, your guide will meet and transfer you to Wuhan airport for your departure to Shanghai. Transfer to the hotel upon arrival.

Breakfast is at the hotel.

Visit Shanghai Museum with the audio guide. Shanghai Museum is a large museum of ancient Chinese art with collections of over 120,000 items of cultural relics. The museum style and presentation surround visitors with artifacts demonstrating ancient wisdom and philosophy. The exterior design of the round dome and the square base symbolizes the ancient idea of a round heaven and a square land.

Visit Yu Garden, the only fully restored classical Chinese garden in Shanghai. It was inaugurated in the Ming dynasty and has a total area of 20,000 square meters.

Although the garden occupies less than five acres, it demonstrates perfectly the sophisticated art of combining several different elements to create a world in miniature ingeniously mingling pavilions and corridors, small hills and carefully selected and well-placed rocks, lotus ponds, bridges, winding paths, trees and shrubs.

Afterwards, visit the bazaar outside known among old-timers as “Old City God’s Temple Market”. It is a rising tourist and shopping center with many shops and restaurants.

Stroll along the Bund and Nanjing Road. The Bund is still evocative of Shanghai’s past where during the city’s riotous heyday, these buildings housed the great foreign enterprises. Your guide will point out the most prominent buildings of old Shanghai’s commercial heart including the former British and Russian Consulates, the former Jardine Matheson Company, the Hong Kong and Shanghai Bank and the Shanghai Club.

In the evening, enjoy a Huangpu River Cruise. Huangpu River, the most important shipping artery of Shanghai, wriggles like an undulating muddy dragon from the mouth of the Yangtze River in Wusong to the East China Sea. The yellow and ice free Huangpu River is 114 kilometers long, 400 meters wide and has an average depth of nine meters.

Transfer to the airport for your flight to Hong Kong. Upon arrival, the guide will meet and transfer you to the hotel for check in.

After breakfast, enjoy a half day island tour with a visit to Victoria Peak, Aberdeen Fishing Village to include a Sampan Ride, Repulse Bay and Stanley Market.

Rest of the day is free.

After breakfast, the day is free to explore Hong Kong on your own.

Breakfast is at the hotel.

Guided transfer to the airport for your departure.