13 Days Best of China incl. Chengdu & Yangtze Tour

Day 1Arrive in Beijing

Welcome to Beijing! Our private English-speaking tour guide & driver will pick you up in time at Beijing airport and transfer you to your hotel in downtown Beijing. A paper board with the sign of YangtzeTour.com and your name will be held high by the guide at exit of the airport. The rest of day is free at your own leisure.

Day 2Beijing ( B, L )

After breakfast, our tour guide will pick you up at your hotel and drive to visit Tiananmen Square, Forbidden City in the morning. Tiananmen Square is the largest city square in the world and of great historical significance, where you could see the symbol of China – the ancient majestic Tiananmen Tower. Nearby the Square is the Forbidden City, which is the largest and best-preserved ancient imperial palaces group with 500 years history in the world.

After lunch at a Chinese-style restaurant, you will be transferred to visit Temple of Heaven, which is the largest ancient imperial worship architecture group in the world where the ancient Emperors held the grand sacrificial and prayed for peace and harvest. After today’s sightseeing, transferred back to your hotel.

After dinner, you are arranged to see the Kung Fu Show at Red Theatre or Liyuan Theatre. The show is great and breathtaking.

Day 3Beijing ( B, L, D )

After breakfast at your hotel, our tour guide will pick you up at your hotel and drive to visit Ming Tombs and its Sacred Way. Ming Tomes is the imperial mausoleum of the Ming Dynasty, where 13 emperors and their wives were buried. As the major road to the Ming Tombs, the Sacred Way was believed to be the route leading to heaven in ancient times.

After a Chinese lunch, head to Mutianyu Great Wall; less crowed with the most spectacular views. The wall is the most beautiful section of the all five sections of the Great Wall in Beijing. The day’s sightseeing will come to an end after taking pictures at the Bird’s Nest and Water Cube.

In the evening, you are arranged to have a Peking Roast Duck dinner in a Beijing featured Restaurant. Then transferred back to your hotel.

Day 4Beijing – Xian ( B )

After breakfast, you will be transferred to visit Summer Palace, which is the largest and most beautiful Chinese imperial garden. It is regarded as a museum of gardens in China. In the Summer Palace, there are many pavilions, vividly painted corridors, temples, among lakes and surrounded by hills.

In the afternoon, our tour guide will escort you to the airport and take flight to Xian. In Xian airport, our English-speaking tour guide & driver will meat you and transfer to the hotel in downtown Xian.

Day 5Xian ( B, L, D )

After breakfast at your hotel, our guide will pick you up and drive to the Terra-cotta Warriors and Horses, which is your lifetime viewing of extraordinary 2200-year-old history. These 6000 life-size painted Terra-cotta Warriors and Horses individually sculpted from real life models and arranged in battle formation and they have been protecting the mausoleum of the first emperor in Chinese history – emperor Qinshihuang.

After lunch at a local restaurant, you will be transferred to visit Xian Ancient City Wall, which is a symbol of great significance of the famous historic cultural city of Xian. Then head to visit Big Wild Goose Pagoda, which is a symbol of the old Xian and a well-preserved ancient building and a holy place for Buddhists. Tonight, you will feast your eye on the famous Tang Dynasty Music and Dance Show after you enjoy the local Dumpling Dinner.

Day 6Xian – Chengdu ( B )

After breakfast at hotel, you will be transferred to visit the Great Mosque, which is the biggest and most preserved complete Chinese existent mosque. It is a good place to get a glimpse of Muslim’s life.

In the afternoon, our tour guide will escort you to take a flight to Chengdu. In Chengdu airport, our English-speaking tour guide & driver will pick you up and transfer to your hotel in downtown Chengdu.

Day 7 Chengdu - Leshan - Chengdu ( B, L )

After breakfast, our tour guide & driver will pick up from your hotel and transfer to see the lovely Giant Panda in the Chengdu Panda Breeding and Research Centre. The centre has been constructed and imitated the pandas’ natural habitat. You can see pandas almost in their natural environment.

After lunch at a Chengdu featured restaurant, you will be transferred to Leshan and visit Leshan Giant Buddha, which is carved out of a cliff face more than 1,000 thousand years ago. You will see each detailed part of the Buddha and visit Lingyun Temple and cruise on the Minjiang River to get a panorama of the Buddha. Then you will be transferred back to your hotel in Chengdu.

Day 8 Chengdu – Chongqing ( B )

After breakfast at your hotel, our tour guide & driver will pick you up and transfer to visit the Wenshu Temple where you can spend some time sitting in its Tea House to enjoy a cup of tea and absorb the special atmosphere of Chengdu.

After the tour, you will be escorted to railway station and take a train to Chongqing. In Chongqing, our tour guide & driver will meet you and transfer you to your Yangtze Cruise Ship for starting your Yangtze River trip, overnight on the ship.

Day 9Cruise on Yangtze River ( B, L, D )

In the morning, the ship sets sail. Today you will be arranged to have a shore excursion to Fengdu Ghost City. With a history of nearly 2,000 years, Fengdu has formed a special culture of ghosts and the afterlife, well-known as the resting place of the spirit of the dead. The whole place makes an eerie feeling with deserted streets, tower buildings, empty shops and banks. It is a good place to learn about Chinese ghost culture.

Day 10Cruise on Yangtze River ( B, L, D )

The ship continues to sail. Today entering the Qutang Gorge, Cruise Ship carefully pilots its route trough the narrow course. Standing on the deck, you will see the peaks on both sides as steep as cliffs. At Wushan, disembark the ship and board a smaller vessel to explore the Lesser Three Gorges: Dragon Gate Gorge, Misty Gorge and Emerald Gorge. Then reboard the ship and sail through the Wu Gorge. ( Or firstly the ship sails into Wu Gorge, and you board a smaller vessel to explore the Shennong Stream, which is renowned for its stunning canyon scenery, boat tracker, suspended coffins, stalagmite caves and the Tujia ethnic culture.)

Day 11Yingchang – Shanghai ( B, L )

In the morning, the ship passes through the Xiling Gorge. You will take a short excursion to visit the stunning Three Gorges Dam site, which plays an important flood control role. Then take your time to check out. Our local guide & driver will meet you on board, and take you to have lunch. Then they escort you to Yingchang airport and take a flight to Shanghai. In Shanghai airport, our local tour guide & driver will meat you and transfer you to the hotel in the downtown Shanghai.

Day 12 Shanghai ( B, L )

After breakfast, our tour guide will pick you up and drive to visit Yuyuan Garden. Yuyuan is the famous classical garden in Shanghai, built in 1577. The pavilions, halls, rockeries, ponds and cloisters all have unique characteristics.

After lunch at a nice local restaurant with the authentic Chinese food, you will take one hour cruising on Huangpu River. Then you visit the west side of the river that has many skyscrapers and the Bund that has many outstanding foreign buildings of the early 20th century. Then back to your hotel.

Day 13 Depart from Shanghai ( B )

After breakfast at your hotel, you will drive to Pudong New District – Lujiazui, where there the futuristic, avant-garde building: Oriental Pearl Tower, Jinmao Building, Bank of China Tower, etc. You will have time to take the 88-storey Observation Deck of Jinmao Tower where you will have a spectacular view of the whole city.

In the afternoon, your private guide and driver will escort you to the airport in Shanghai for departure on your own. Your pleasant trip ends.