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Day 1: Arrival in Beijing

Accommodation: The Great Wall Hotel Beijing  - the former Sheraton

Upon arrival at Beijing Airport, please clear yourself through customs. Our English-speaking guide will meet you at the arrival hall, after which we will drive you to the hotel. Have a good rest to restore yourself for the following 16 days China tour. Or, you can take a short walk around on your own.

Day 2: Beijing

Meals: Breakfast and Lunch

After breakfast, your guide will offer a brief introduction to the group. The morning excursions will be the famous Tiananmen Square and the Forbidden City. As a palace for 24 emperors during the Ming and Qing dynasties, it has a mysterious aura. An a la carte welcome lunch (valued at CNY150.00 per person and included in our price) at a nicely decorated and noted local restaurant will follow allowing you to taste diversified Chinese food and Peking Roast Duck.

In the afternoon we will visit the Temple of Heaven, a delicate ancient architectural complex where emperors once offered sacrifices to the God of Heaven. Later, we'll lighten up the evening with an exciting Chinese Kung Fu Show at the Red Theatre.

Day 3: Beijing

Meals: Breakfast

No Beijing tour is complete without visiting the Great Wall. This morning, we will set off to the suburban Mutianyu Great Wall. The cable car will take you up and down since it is an energy-consuming climb. The most important thing for you is to enjoy walking on the wall and appreciate the amazing wonder.

The restaurants nearby offer poor meals that do not meet our service standard. We therefore suggest you have a sufficient breakfast at the hotel and have some fast food for lunch by yourself.

Get back to Beijing in the afternoon and have a photo stop in the Olympic sports venue, the National Stadium (also the Bird's Nest). The remaining time of the day will be arranged for you to explore a traditional local market. After that we will drive you back to the hotel.

Day 4: Beijing - Xi'an

Meals: Breakfast and Llunch

Accommodation: Sheraton Hotel

For first-time visitors, the Summer Palace, a former imperial summer resort, is one venue you should not miss. It is the largest and best-preserved imperial garden as well as a world-famous tourist resort. The next stop is the Hutongs. It is fantastic to experience the area by rickshaw and get an insight into the old Beijing culture. You will also have a chance to try your hand at Chinese Paper Cutting.

A la carte lunch (valued at CNY150.00 per person and included in our price) will be scheduled at an elegant local restaurant.

After lunch, you will be transferred to the airport for your flight to Xi'an. Our professional guide will meet you outside the baggage claim area of the airport and transfer you to the hotel.

Day 5: Xi'an

Meals: Breakfast, Lunch and Dinner

We will visit the amazing Terracotta Army this morning to appreciate the undeniable excellent ancient craft works of the Qin dynasty. The site mostly has cheap tourist restaurants nearby, so we would like to drive you back to the city center to have a real home-cooked a la carte lunch (valued at CNY120.00 per person and included in our price) at a local family home.

After lunch, a visit to the Small Wild Goose Pagoda & Xi'an Museum is scheduled. Also a delicious dumpling dinner will be served tonight along with the Tang Dynasty Music and Dance Show.

Day 6: Xi'an

Meals: Breakfast and Lunch

The City Wall Park is a good place to experience more of the local Xi'an lives, so today your first stop will be spending some leisure time in the park. We also have a special arrangement for you here. That is learning to practice Tai Chi with a master. Then ascend the ancient City Wall and have a panoramic view of the city while strolling on it. The brick road on top of the wall is broad and you can rent and ride bicycles for fun if you like.

Around noon, enjoy an a la carte lunch (valued at CNY120.00 per person and included in our price) at a famous local restaurant.

In the afternoon, we continue to visit Shaanxi History Museum and the Great Mosque. On the Muslim Street where the mosque is located you will also find delicious Muslim food and interesting souvenirs.

Day 7: Xi'an - Guilin

Meals: Breakfast

Accommodation: Sheraton Hotel

Catch a morning flight to Guilin. Upon your arrival, our guide will meet you outside the baggage claim area. Your Guilin sightseeing starts with the famous Reed Flute Cave, which is a 240 meter karst cave that has various shapes of stalactites and stalagmites. Then we head to the Elephant Trunk Hill. The shape of the hill is just like a giant elephant boozing water from the river with its long trunk, hence got the name. After that, we will transfer you to the hotel.

Day 8: Guilin - Yangshuo – Guilin

Meals: Breakfast and Lunch

After breakfast at the hotel, we drive to the pier to appreciate the picturesque scenery of Li River by cruising down from Guilin to Yangshuo. As the lunch on the ship is the basic Chinese box lunch, it cannot be up to your taste, we suggest you have a big breakfast at the hotel this morning.

Disembark at Yangshuo in about 4 hours, you will take a stroll on the famous West Street. Then we transfer you to enjoy the countryside scenes of rural Yangshuo. On the way, you also have a chance to visit a local peasant home and get a close touch with the country life. Finally, we drive you back to Guilin.

Day 9: Guilin - Chengdu

Meals: Breakfast

Accommodation: Holiday Inn Chengdu Oriental Plaza

After breakfast, catch a morning flight to Chengdu. Upon your arrival, our guide will be waiting for you outside the baggage claim area and transfer you to the hotel. We will leave you free time for lunch and rest for the remaining time of the day, and our guide is glad to offer advices of nice restaurants.

Day 10: Chengdu

Meals: Breakfast

Today we will have a pleasant date with China's national treasure giant pandas at the Research Base of Giant Panda Breeding. The pandas are very active in the morning. You will sure be entertained when you see the cute and chubby panda bears eating bamboo shoots or playing with each other. Then, continue to the Broad and Narrow Alleys where old houses and alleys of the Qing Dynasty have been turned to tea houses, restaurants, shops and bars. Lunch is arranged on your own. You might try some local snacks in the alley or choose a courtyard restaurant to enjoy your lunch.

In the afternoon, visit Jinsha Site Museum, a significant relic of the ancient Shu civilization discovered in 2001. The Gold Sun God Bird unearthed from the site has been selected as the logo of China Cultural Heritages. After the museum, you will come to the most popular Renmin Park. Have a pot of tea there and live like a local.

Day 11: Chengdu - Chongqing

Meals: Breakfast

We remain the whole morning free for you. You can take time to explore this pleasant city further and have lunch by yourself.

In the afternoon, our guide will drop you off at the railway station and help you board a bullet train to Chongqing. It is a two hours trip. Upon your arrival, our guide in Chongqing will meet you at the station. Explore Jiefangbei CBD and Ci Qi Kou Ancient Village, where you may have dinner by yourself. Tonight, you will board a 5-star Yangtze cruise ship, which sets sail at 21:30.

Day 12: Yangtze River Cruise

Meals: Breakfast, Lunch and Dinner

The ship arrives at Zhongxian at about 14:00. We will disembark and visit the Shibaozhai. The onshore visit will enable you to witness the majestic and delicate wooden tower along with the giant rock. The unique tower, first built in Wanli reign of Ming Dynasty, is regarded as a fairy land in Yangtze River. Re-embark and continue the cruise. This evening, you will be invited to join in the Captain's Welcome Party. Have fun!

Day 13: Yangtze River Cruise

Meals: Breakfast, Lunch and Dinner

In the morning, the ship will reach Qutang Gorge and Wu Gorge. The cruise guide on-board is expected to make a formal presentation. Get your camera ready! After lunch, we will disembark to experience an interesting excursion to the Shennv Stream by boat which will add much joy to the marvelous day. It lasts 3 to 4 hours. Back to the ship and cruise down the western section of Xiling Gorge.

Day 14: Yichang - Shanghai

Meals: Breakfast and Lunch

Accommodation: Crowne Plaza Century Park Shanghai

The Three Gorges Dam, the world's largest hydro-electric project is your last excursion stop on Yangtze. Pack your belongings for disembarking before the visit. Afterwards, the cruise ship company will drive you to the Three Gorges Tourist Center and our local guide will meet you there. After lunch, visit Yichang Museum if time permits, then you will be taking a flight to your last scheduled destination, Shanghai. On landing in Shanghai airport, you will be met by the guide and transferred to the hotel.

Day 15: Shanghai

Meals: Breakfast and Lunch

After breakfast, you will start your trip from Shanghai Museum, one of the top four museums in China. Then head to the ancient Yu Garden, where you can see traditional Chinese architecture, beautiful artificial hills and ponds. We will leave you some free time there to explore the surrounding Yu Bazaar.

Around noon, you will enjoy an a la carte farewell lunch (valued at CNY120.00 per person and included in our price) at a popular local restaurant.

Your afternoon trip will begin with a walk in the Former French Concession. Afterwards, you will be transferred to the city's landmark site, the Bund, and take a one-hour cruise tour along the Huangpu River - the mother river of Shanghai. As the symbol and a microcosm of the city, the river has witnessed the glory, humiliation, despair and prosperity of Shanghai. After the whole day of sightseeing, our guide will transfer you back to the hotel and bid farewell to you.

Day 16: Departure from Shanghai

Meals: Breakfast

Today you will check out of your hotel after breakfast, and find your own way to the airport according to your flight schedule. We will be of your assistance at any time you need. Wish you a nice journey home!

Day 1: Arrival and sightseeing in Beijing

After your arrival at the Beijing airport you will be greeted by our guide who will drop you off at your hotel. After checkingin, you will have the rest of the day to tour Beijing. With more than 3000 years of history, Beijing has rich assortment of well-preserved cultural and imperial relics. Today we tour Tian’anmen Square, which is an extensive open area in central Beijing. Then walk north into the Forbidden City. For five hundred years, it served as home for the emperors of China. Later we visit the Summer Palace which was constructedfrom 1749 to 1764 and is the grandest imperial playground in China with elaborate Qing-style pavilions, bridges, walkways, and gardens scattered around the immense Kunming Lake.Overnight in Beijing.

Day 2: Fly to Xian and tour Xi'an Ancient City Wall and Shaanxi History Museum

After flying to Xian in the morning, you will spend the rest of the day visiting the city’s beautiful landmarks. The City Wall of Xian represents one of the oldest and best preserved Chinese city walls and also is one of the largest ancient military defensive systems in the world. Next, visit the Shaanxi History Museum, regarded as “the pearl of ancient dynasties and house of Chinese treasures”. It gives a miniature overview of the thousands of years of Chinese history and the splendid ancient cultures of olden times. Overnight in Xi’an.

Day 3: Sightseeing in Xi’an

Believed to be the most significant archaeological excavations of the 20th century, the Terra Cotta Warriors and Horse Museum includes Pit 1, Pit 2 and Pit 3 as well the exhibition hall of the chariots and horses. After completing the tour at the museum, visit the Big Wild Goose Pagoda, which is a well-preserved ancient building and a holy place for Buddhists. Later visit another archaeological site, Banpo, discovered in 1953, which contains the remains of several well organized Neolithic settlements carbon dated to 5600–6700 years ago. In the evening, enjoy the Tang Dynasty Song and Dance Show at Tang Yuegong Theatre. Overnight in Xi’an.

Day 4: Fly from Xi'an to Zhangye

Today we fly to Zhangye and tour its famous landmark, the giant Buddha temple which is a complex consisting of the Giant Buddha Hall, the Buddhist Classics Hall, and a Clay Pagoda. The Giant Buddha statue of 34.5m lying in the middle of the hall is the temple’s main attraction. It is also believed that the famous Italian traveller Marco Polo was very impressed by the magnificent architecture of the Giant Buddha Temple and by the prosperity of Zhangye city and lived here for more than a year. Overnight in Zhangye.

Day 5: Morning sightseeing then take a train to Duhuang

Today we visit the famous Matisi grottos or caves. The Thousand Buddha Caves are just inside the entrance gateway to the Matisi Scenic Area, and walking up the road is a pleasant experience, with the river rushing past on one side, and the decaying niches studding the cliff face on the other. Later we visit the temple of the legendary King Gesar. In the evening, you get to witness the excellent sunset over the picturesque landscape of Danxia. Later, take a train to Duhuang to spend the night.

Day 6: Sightseeing in Duhuang: Hechang Military Depot: 95km, 3-4 hours

Today we visit Hechang Military Depot, which is located in the northwest part of Dunhuang, about 20km away from Yumen Pass. The military depot was used to store food and clothing when fighting with the nomadic Xiongnu people during the Han dynasty. Overnight in Duhuang.

Day 7: Sightseeing in Duhuang: Crescent Lakeand Mogao Grottoes

We begin the day by visiting the beautiful Crescent Lake, which is a small pool of spring water between two large sand dunes. We even enjoy the beauty of the area with a camel safari. Next, you will tour Dunhuang’s famous Mogao Grottoes also known as the Dunhuang Grottoes. The site showcases China’s largest collection of Buddhist grottoes, the oldest ones dating back to as early as a thousand years ago. While touring the site you will also get to marvel at the murals that have Buddhist stories, folk culture, farming, and hunting as their main themes. Take a train to Yumen and finally to Turpan to spend the night.

Day 8: Sightseeing in Turpan

Begin sightseeing in Turpan with a visit to the Suleiman’s Minaret also known as the Sugong Pagoda. Built in Uighur architectural style, the Pagoda is an old brick tower dating back to 1778, almost as old as the United States! Next, visit the grape valley, a small paradise with a thick maze of grape trellises. Today you will also tour the Karez channels, which is a unique underground water system, invented and built by ancient farmers from various ethnic minorities of Turpan. Another highlight of today would be visiting the Astana Tombs from where thousands of priceless historical relics have been unearthed. End the tour by passing through the legendary Flaming Mountain, believed as the hottest place on earth.

Day 9: Drive to Urumqi

Drive to Urumqi after breakfast and visit the Terai Camp followed by Nanshan Grassland, both beautiful natural sites. Nanshan Grassland, also known as Mount Nan Pasture, is a large pasture region with many beautiful streams and a waterfall. While in Urumqi you can also enjoy a traditional meal of ethnic Kazakhs, who were traditionally nomadic, tribal shepherds and ranchers of cattle, sheep, goats, and horses.

Day 10: Fly to Kashgar

After checking in at your hotel in Kashgar, you will visit the Etigar Mosque, a famous mosque, which is well known among muslims in central and west Asia with the name of “Little Mecca”. Also visit the Tomb of Abakh Khoja, a much revered muslim leader and prophet of the 17th century. Next, enjoy strolling in the world’s livelest market in Kashgar, an oasis in the centuries-old Silk Road before calling it a day.

Day 11: Sightseeing in Kashgar: Karakuli Lake

You will spend the whole day enjoying the beauty of Karakuli Lake which is popular among travellers for its beautiful scenery and the clarity of its reflection in the water, whose color ranges from a dark green to azure and light blue. The lake lies at an altitude of 3,600m, and is the highest lake of the Pamir plateau, near the junction of the Pamir, Tian Shan and Kunlun mountain ranges. Surrounded by mountains which remain snow-covered throughout the year, the three highest peaks visible from the lake are the Muztagh Ata (7,546m), Kongur Tagh (7,649m) and Kongur Tiube (7,530m). Overnight in Kashgar.

Day 12: Final departure

Your journey on the Silk Road ends today. You will fly to Beijing and board an international airplane to fly home. On the way, you can reminisce on your incredible journey on the Silk Road.