Compare Private Guided China Delights by Travel China Guide vs China – Panda Conservation Adventure by Discover Corps
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| Trip |
5 | Excellent
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5 | Excellent
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| Duration | 11 days | 6 days |
| Price From | $ 1,949 | $ 2,995 |
| Price Per Day | $ 177 | $ 499 |
| Highlights |
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| Trip Style | Private guided tour | Small group tour |
| Lodging Level | Premium | Standard |
| Physical Level |
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| Travel Themes |
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| Countries Visited | ||
| Cities and Attractions |
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| Flights & Transport | Ground transport included | Ground transport included |
| Activities |
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| Meals Included |
10 Breakfasts and 4 Lunches |
5 Breakfasts, 4 Lunches and 5 Dinners |
| Description |
Visit Badaling Great Wall, Sacred Way, Ming Tomb, Bird's Nest. Explore Summer Palace, Tiananmen Square and Forbidden City. Discover Terracotta Warriors Museum, Big Wild Goose Pagoda, Provincial History Museum. Day 11 Departure from Shanghai |
China’s 1.3 billion people have witnessed an extraordinary change of pace as the face of their country has seen rapid economic expansion. However, the pull of tradition remains strong. We’ll bring you together with residents of the bustling capital city of Beijing and go beyond the city boundaries to share a homemade meal with a welcoming local family. You'll also see China from two completely different points of view - the bustling metropolis of Chengdu and the conservation hub of Dujiangyan. |
Day 1 Arrival in Beijing
Meals: No meals and advice freely available
Our guide will meet you outside the customs of the Capital Airport after you retrieve your luggage and clear the customs, and then transfer you to the hotel with a private van. The rest of the day is free for you to have a good rest and get prepared for your 11 days China tour package.
Day 2 Beijing
Meals: American breakfast and A la carte lunch
In the morning, you will visit Tiananmen Square and the Forbidden City. As the largest city square in the world, Tiananmen Square has seen the country's development in the past 500 years and become an important venue for most of the national ceremonies. Walking through the square, you will come to the largest and best-preserved imperial palace complex - the Forbidden City. With 590 years of history, the Forbidden City will bring you back to the prosperous Ming and Qing dynasties by showing thousands of imperial architecture and precious culture relics.
To avoid the cheap tourist restaurant as the most are doing now, we will serve you an a la carte lunch (valued at CNY150.00 per person and included in our price) at a famous local Cantonese restaurant to taste the authentic Chinese food. Usually our a la carte meal price is three to four times higher than that of the eateries arranged by other agencies and our food quality is surely incomparable. After lunch, visit the Temple of Heaven, which is the imperial altar for the emperors of the Ming and Qing dynasties to worship the god of heaven.
Day 3 Beijing
Meals: American breakfast
Today your private visit will begin with the splendid Mutianyu Great Wall. As one of the most popular sections of the Great Wall, Mutianyu, likes a soaring dragon stretches along the mountain ranges. You will be deeply impressed by the wandering walls, spectacular passes and towers, and splendid mountain scenery. We will arrange the round-way cable car for you. For lunch today, we would leave it on your side. Our guide will help you to find a proper restaurant upon your request.
On the way back to downtown, drive by the Bird's Nest (Olympic National Stadium), the venue of 2008 Olympic Games. You will see the full view of the huge 'nest' at a distance. Take this chance to add one memorable photo in your album. Afterwards, we will head to a local market and leave you some free time to wander around.
Day 4 Beijing - Xi'an
Meals: American breakfast
This morning, you will firstly visit the existing largest imperial garden - the Summer Palace, which is an outstanding combination of Chinese classical landscape design and natural beauty. Then, you will have a Hutong tour to experience the original Beijing culture by taking a special rickshaw riding through the various Hutongs and to know about old capital's manners and customs. After visiting the 798 Art Zone, you will take a flight to Xi'an and our guide will be waiting for you outside the baggage claim area of the airport and transfer you to the downtown hotel.
Day 5 Xi'an
Meals: American breakfast
In the morning, visit the Eighth Wonder of the World, the Terracotta Army. You will not only be attracted by the life-sized warrior figures and horses, each of which has distinct facial expressions and positions, but also be astonished by various kinds of ancient weapons which reflect the highly advanced technology in weapon-making 2,200 years ago. We do not offer lunch today. You will arrange it on you own and get some suggestions from your guide upon request.
Then, visit the Giant Wild Goose Pagoda - the well-preserved 1,300-year-old Buddhist pagoda of Tang Dynasty. Just a few minutes' drive from the Giant Wild Goose Pagoda, you will come to the next stop - Provincial History Museum, which exhibits over 370,000 historical relics and is regarded as 'the best museum in the country'.
Day 6 Xi'an
Meals: American breakfast and Home-cooked a la carte lunch
A morning visit to City Wall, one of the best-preserved existing City Walls, to stroll around on the wall and you will have a bird's eye view of the city. You will then have a local family visit and a la carte lunch (valued at CNY120.00 per person and included in our price) will be arranged in the home of the family that you visit, to taste the authentic home cooked dishes. We also offer Chinese food cooking class to our valued guests for free in our family visit. If feel interested, you may learn to cook Chinese dishes with the hostess.
After lunch, visit the Great Mosque which was built in the year of 742 AD with a similar architecture style of Chinese temples. On your way to the mosque, you will walk across the famous snack street - Muslim Street, where you may find many delicious local snacks as well as interesting souvenirs.
Day 7 Xi'an - Guilin
Meals: American breakfast
In the morning, before heading to the airport, you will visit Xi'an Museum and the Small Wild Goose Pagoda. Xi'an Museum was opened to the public in 2007. It is well known for its cultural treasures displayed at the exhibition hall, the ancient pagoda of the Tang Dynasty, the morning bell chimes of the pagoda and the beautiful garden landscape. As a part of the museum, the Small Wild Goose Pagoda is one of the most important architecture of ancient Chang'an in the Tang Dynasty and now is a famous historic site in the city. Then take a flight to Guilin and we will transfer you to the hotel. Your luxury series hotel is located on the bank of the Li River, and you can stroll along the bank and enjoy the picturesque scene of the city.
Day 8 Guilin - Yangshuo - Guilin
Meals: American breakfast, Lunch
Enduring memories are created today as you cruise down the Li River to Yangshuo. The length of Li River is about 50 miles, and you can see picturesque scenery all the way during your cruise. Upon arrival in Yangshuo, take you to the countryside to enjoy the rural beauty of Yangshuo. You will also visit a local villager's home to experience the farmer's lifestyle there. After a whole day's excursion to Yangshuo, transfer back to Guilin in the late afternoon.
Tips: The cruise lasts around 4 hours and reaches terminal Yangshuo at about 14:00. Lunch is available on board, but the basic Chinese box lunch may fail to meet with your approval. So we recommend you prepare for the cruise with a generous breakfast at the hotel.
Day 9 Guilin - Shanghai
Meals: American breakfast
Today's excursion starts with one of the most famous attractions in the city, Reed Flute Cave, which is renowned for the varieties of stalactites, stalagmites, columns and lime-flowers which came into being about 700,000 years ago. Walking in the cave, you will also be impressed by the interesting names of the stalactites and stalagmites, such as Palace of Crystal, Dragon Pagoda and Flower & Fruit Mountain. Your next stop will be the Seven Star Park. Your city visit will end with the Elephant Trunk Hill. You must wonder how such a huge rock resembles an elephant drinking water on the riverside, and your guide will give you much information then. When finishing all the attractions in the city, you will take a flight to Shanghai and our guide will greet you at the airport and transfer you to the hotel in downtown area.
Day 10 Shanghai
Meals: American breakfast and A la carte lunch
After breakfast, you will visit Shanghai Museum and the Yu Garden. As one of the four largest museums in China, Shanghai Museum is famous for its vast storage of 120,000 of art relics, especially for the exhibition of bronze wares, porcelain wares, calligraphy and paintings. After learning about history, you will learn about the ancient Chinese gardening - visiting one of the most famous gardens in south of the Yangtze River, Yuyuan Garden. We will serve you an a la carte farewell lunch (valued at CNY150.00 per person and included in our price) at a fancy and famous local restaurant, which offers authentic Shanghai and Cantonese cuisines.
In the afternoon, we will transfer you to the Bund area, where you take a short cruise on the Huangpu River. On the banks of the river scattered almost all the major attractions of Shanghai, which symbolize the past, present and future of the city. After the cruise, you will visit the Bund area and then explore an old street.
Day 11 Departure from Shanghai
Meals: American breakfast
Your private guide will pick you up from the hotel and drive you to the airport so that you can board the flight back home loaded with pleasant memories of this 11 days guided tour of China.
Day 1: Arrive and Enjoy a Sichuan Hotpot
Meals: Dinner
A warm welcome awaits at Chengdu International Airport where we’ll introduce you to your Discover Corps group. We’ll then whisk you away to your four-star hotel in Dujiangyan for a traditional welcome dinner. Enjoy a free evening to recharge before the morning's activities.
Day 2: Visit the Dujiangyan Panda Breeding Research Center to Begin Volunteering
Meals: Breakfast, Lunch and Dinner
Your hands-on experience with the pandas begins today! We’ll introduce you to the conservationists at the Dujiangyan Panda Research Center who will introduce you to the pandas before your work begins. Your first task will be to help feed the pandas their bamboo breakfasts – an incredible way to start the day. After your own lunch, you will clean the fencing of the pandas gardens, clean their enclosures, break bamboo shoots for the pandas, and more to help the center. After volunteering, walk around the neighborhood before a local meal for dinner.
Day 3: Continue Lending a Hand at the Dujiangyan Panda Research Center
Meals: Breakfast, Lunch and Dinner
On your second day of volunteering, you’ll have the choice to help clean the enclosures before experiencing the magic of hand-feeding the pandas for a second time. These friendly animals will be familiar faces by now as you learn how to make special cakes for them and continue to provide the special care they need. Today, you’ll receive a certificate of recognition of your efforts.
In the late afternoon, head to the bustling city of Chengdu and enjoy dinner before a free night to explore the lively atmosphere of the city or relax in your hotel.
Day 4: Experience a Cooking Class with a Local Family
Meals: Breakfast, Lunch and Dinner
Spend today joining a local family in the nearby markets gathering ingredients before a cooking class in their home. Learn how to make a number of Sichuan favorites before enjoying your lunch together. In the evening, watch a performance of a traditional Sichuan act of face changing, as well as other local performances.
Meals: Breakfast, Lunch and Dinner
Day 5: Visit the Unforgettable Terracotta Warriors
Meals: Breakfast, Lunch and Dinner
Hit the road this morning for the 1.5 hour drive to the Terracotta Warriors. Marvel at the over 6,000 warrior sculptures, each with a different face, and learn more about their importance in teaching us about ancient China. For lunch, sample the unique flavores of Hui Muslim food before a bike ride around the top of Xi'an's ancient city walls.
Day 6: Depart from Xi'an or Continue on to The Great Wall of China Optional Extension
Meals: Breakfast
It's time for those on the six-day trip to say their goodbyes before being transfered to the airport for their flight home. If you're staying with us for The Great Wall of China extension, you'll hop on a flight to Beijing for your first adventure.
