Day 1 Shanghai (D)
Arrive in Shanghai, the cosmopolitan port city near where the Yangtze spills into the East China Sea.
Day 2 Shanghai (B L D)
The sights and contrasts of China's most vibrant city fill your day. Stroll the riverfront Bund with its European-style buildings; retreat to the green oasis of the 500-year-old Yuyuan Garden; meet local school kids at the Children's Palace after-school program; and gain new appreciation for Chinese art at the magnificent new Shanghai Museum.
Day 3 Shanghai / Suzhou (B L D)
Embark on a coach to Suzhou, jewel of the Song Dynasty of China's golden age. Crown the day with a classic music and dance corner amid the lantern-lit Garden of the Master of Nets. Return to Shanghai after sightseeing in Suzhou in the late afternoon.
Day 4 Suzhou / Yichang (B L D)
Embark on a coach to Shanghai to catch the flight to inner China - Yichang to board your Yangtze cruise ship. Settle into your; stateroom and enjoy dinner on board.
Day 5 Yangtze River Cruise (B L D)
Visit the Three Gorges Dam in the morning. Then pass the shiplock and continue on the cruise. Sail through the Xi Ling Gorge. Tonight the captain hosts a welcome dinner on board.
Day 6 Yangtze River Cruise (B L D)
Today you will take the shore excursions to samll Three Gorges along the Daning River (or Shen Nong Stream). Continue this afternoon through Qutang Gorge and Wu Gorge and see the fabled Twelve Peaks.
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Day 7 Yangtze River Cruise (B L D)
Today you will take shore excursion to Fengdu, the "Ghost City", and view the temples at Mingshan Hill (alternatively, the cruise may visit Wanzhou or Shibaozhai).
Day 8 Chongqing / Beijing (B L D)
Disembark and drive to airport to catch the flight to Beijing, the capital and cultural center of China, where virtually every boulevard and building exudes an air of importance, Transfer on arrival to your plush hotel.
Day 9 Beijing (B L D)
Enjoy a full-day tour of the sights that make Beijing a spectacular destination: the sprawling Forbidden City, home to 24 Ming and Qing emperors and now a repository of precious art and antiques; the Temple of Heaven, famous for its elegance and symmetry; and the Summer Palace, an oasis of tea gardens, pavilions, painted corridors, and shimmering Kunming Lake with Empress Dowager's eccentric marble ship. Lunch with a view at the lofty revolving restaurant.
Day 10 Beijing (B L D)
One of the world's most awe-inspiring sights, the Great Wall snakes along nearly 4000 miles of impossibly steep hills and harsh, rugged plains. Today's excursion will give you ample time to explore it in leisure and marvel at the manpower that went into building the world's longest structure entirely by hand. Continue to the Ming Tombs, the graveyard of 13 emperors, before returning to Beijing for an imperial-style Peking Duck dinner.
Day 11 Beijing (B)
Bid welfare to Beijing and depart for home on your select airline. |
