Tour code: ET-CO

Tour highlights:
Beijing: the Great Wall, Forbidden City
Pingyao: best-preserved ancient town of North China
Xian: Terra Cotta Warriors and Horses Museum
Chengdu: Panda Breeding Center
Lijiang: Ancient town
Kunming: The Stone Forest
Guilin: Li River cruise
Yangtze River Cruise
Shanghai: the Bund and Yu Garden

Itinerary:
Day 1 Arrival in Beijing (no meal)
Arrive at Beijing. Our guide will meet you at the airport & transfer to your hotel. Free at leisure for the rest of the Day.
 
Day 2 Beijing (B, L)
Full Day trip to the Tian'anmen Square, the Forbidden City, the Temple of Heaven.
-  The Tian'anmen Square : The largest city square in the world.
-  The Forbidden City: The largest imperial palace in China for 24 emperors' reign during the Ming and Qing dynasties with a history of around 600 years.
- The Temple of Heaven: a masterpiece of architecture and landscape design where the ancient emperors used to pray for the God's bless of the whole nation.
 
Day 3 Beijing (B, L, D)
Full Day trip to the Great Wall, Ming Tomb and Sacred road. Enjoy a famous Peking Duck Banquet for dinner.
-  The Great Wall: One of the great wonders in the world and the symbol of China.
-  The Ding Tomb: an underground palace for a Ming-dynasty emperors' afterlife.
-  The Sacred Road: "the way leading to Heaven" which is guarded on both sides with 12 stone statues.
 
Day 4 Beijing/Taiyuan by train at soft sleeper class (B, D)
Free morning, pick up at the hotel after lunch time, transfer to visit Hutongs by rickshaw and Lamasery and Confucius Temple. Transfer to train station and take an overnight train to Taiyuan.
- Hutongs: the unique street design in Beijing - some crisscrossing old narrow paths with courtyard houses built on each side. It can be regarded as a window into Beijing folk life.
- Yonghe Lamasery: originally it was a prince mansion of Qing Dynasty , later changed to the head office of Lama administration.
- Confucius Temple: the second largest Confucius Temple in China housing Beijing Capital Museum.
 
Day 5 Taiyuan/Pingyao by car (B, L)
Be met and transfer to have breakfast, visit Jin Ancestral Temple, Family Qiao Courtyard House, proceed to Pingyao.
- Jin Ancestral Temple: First built in Northern Wei Dynasty in memory of the founder of the country - Shu Yu.
- Family Qiao Courtyard House: a masterpiece of folk architecture in North China.
 
Day 6 Pingyao/Taiyuan/Xian by flight (B, L)
Visit Ancient town, Double Forest Temple . Transfer to Taiyuan airport to take an afternoon flight to xi'an . Arrive at Xian. Be met & transferred to your hotel.
-  Pingyao Ancient Town: best preserved ancient town in China listed as Cultural Heritage by UNESCO.
-  Double Forest Temple: 1500 year history, famous for more than 2000 painted Buddhist sculptures, regarded as "the treasure of Oriental painted sculptures".
 
Day 7 Xian (B, L)
Visit the Terra-cotta Warriors and Horses, the Bell Tower and the Wild Goose Pagoda.
-  The Terra-cotta Warriors and Horses Museum: one of the most important archaeological finds in the 20 th century; an army of terra-cotta warriors and the bronze chariots entombed in vast underground vaults at emperor Qin's tomb since 2200 year ago.
-  The Bell Tower: first built in 1384, the largest and best preserved of its kind.
-  The Wild Goose Pagoda: the city emblem, which was first built in Tang Dynasty for the storage of Buddhist scriptures taken from India by Monk Xuanzang.




Day 8 Xian/Chengdu by flight (B, L)
Visit the Provincial Museum , Ancient City Wall and old city quarters. Take an evening flight to Chengdu . Be met & transferred to the hotel with your private guide & vehicle.
-  The Provincial Museum: One of the main museums in China boasting a large collection of unearthed cultural relics of China.
-  The Ancient City Wall: the best-kept and biggest city walls in China.
 
Day 9 Chengdu/Lijiang by flight (B, L)
Visit Dujiangyan Irrigation Project and Panda Breeding Center . Take an evening flight to Lijiang. Be met and transfer to hotel.
- Dujiangyan Irrigation System: 2200+ year old water conservation project, still in use for irrigation and flood-controlling.
- Panda Breeding Center: a perfect place to see lovely giant pandas at their hometowns.
 
 
Day 10 Lijiang (B, L)
Drive to Jade Dragon Snow Mountain to take a cable car to Yak Meadow. Then visit Yu Feng Lamasery and Baisha Mural.
-  Jade Dragon Snow Mountain: the holy mountain of local Naxi People, the soul of Lijiang.
-  Yu Feng Lamasery: first built in Qing Dynasty (1644-1911), a mixture style of Han, Naxi and Tibetan architecture.
-  Baisha Mural: It was painted in Baisha Town in Ming Dynasty (1368-1644), an interesting co-existence of Buddhism, Taoism and Lamaism in the artworks.
 
Day 11 Lijiang/Kunming (B)
Free morning for your own exploration. Transfer to airport and fly to Kunming . Be met and transfer to hotel.
 
Day 12 Kunming/Guilin by flight (B, L)
Full Day tour to Stone Forest and local Flower and Bird Market. Drive to airport and fly to Guilin . Be met and transfer to hotel.
- Stone Forest: the most famous tourist attraction in Kunming - a typical formation of Karst topography.
 
Day 13 Guilin/Yangshuo (B, L)
Take a leisurely cruise down Li River enjoying the stunning landscape, and arrive at Yangshuo for one hour free shopping at local market. Overnight at Yangshuo.
-  Li River cruise: a wonderful 3.5 hour cruise going down a clear river sided by picturesque scenery. Lunch on board.
 
Day 14 Yangshuo/Guilin/Chongqing by flight (B, L)
Bike ride to the countryside escorted by your private guide, then bamboo rafting down Yu Long River (great fun and mild adventurous!). Lunch at local restaurant. Drive to visit Reed Flute Cave and have a walk around central lake park. Take an evening flight to Chognqing, be met and transfer to board 4 star cruise.
- Reed Flute Cave: fantastic stalactites & stalagmites formation, known as " Natural Art Gallery ".

Day 15 Yangtze Cruise (B, L, D)
Cruise departs at 9: 00am, shore excursion to Fengdu - Chinese Ghost City.
 
Day 16 Yangtze Cruise (B, L, D)
Cruise, shore excursion to Shennong Stream or Lesser Three Gorges.
 
Day 17 Yichang/Shanghai by flight (B, L)
Shore excursion to Three Gorge Dam, disembark at Yichang. Be met and transfer to airport to fly to Shanghai . Be met and transfer to hotel.
 
Day 18 Shanghai (B, L)
Visit Oriental Pearl TV Tower, Yu Garden & Jade Buddha Temple.
- Oriental Pearl TV Tower: Best viewing spot of Shanghai located by the Huangpu River with 468 meters high.
-  Yu Garden: It used to be a private garden with 400 years' history, it features traditional architectural style of Yangtze Delta.
-  Jade Buddha Temple: Most popular Buddhist temple in Shanghai boasting 2 precious jade Buddha sculptures from Burma.
 
Day 19 Shanghai (B, L)
Tour to nearby ancient water town - Zhujiajiao, and transfer back to the Bund and Najing Road for shopping.
-  Zhujiajiao Town: an ancient water town featured with traditional lifestyle of Yangtze Delta.
-  The Bund: Shanghai 's famous waterfront to see new-erect modern skyscrapers and aged buildings of the colonial period.
-  Nanjing Road: the busiest shopping street in Shanghai.
 
Day 20 Shanghai departure (B)
Transfer to Shanghai Pudong airport for your flight to your next destination.
Service Ends.
 
The tour cost on a twin share basis starts from USD3100/pp (minimum 2 pax) Single supplement: USD850.

Featured 4 star hotels:
Beijing: Best Western Premier Hotel or Holiday Inn Temple of Heaven
Xian: Grand New World Hotel
Chengdu: Jinyu Sunshine Hotel
Lijiang: Jiannanchun Hotel
Kunming: Golden Dragon Hotel
Guilin: Bravo Hotel
Yangshuo: Paradise Hotel
Yangtze Cruise: Victoria Series (China)
Shanghai: Anting Villa Hotel