CITS USA, Inc.

Best Yangtze Tour I | Best Yangtze Tour J

Day 1 Shanghai
Arrive in Shanghai, the cosmopolitan port city near where the Yangtze
spills into the East China Sea. Upon arrival, meet / transfer by local guide to
your hotel in Shanghai for 3 nights with daily buffet breakfast. Balance of
the day at your leisure.

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. Enjoy the well-known Shanghai
acrobatic show following dinner at local restaurant.

Day 3 Shanghai / Suzhou / Shanghai (B, L)
Depart Shanghai for Suzhou by express train (one hour). Upon arrival, meet
/ transfer by local tour guide for full-day sightseeing: Garden of Master
Nets, Grand Canal (with a ride), Silk Factory and Tiger Hill. Return to
Shanghai by express train in late afternoon. Upon arrvial, meet / transfer back to
your hotel.

Day 4 Shanghai / Beijing (B)
Check out and transfer to Shanghai Pudong Airport. Depart Shanghai by air
for Beijing, the capital and cultural center of China, where virtually every
boulevard and building exudes an air of importance. Upon arrival, meet /
transfer on arrival to downtown hotel in Beijing for 3 nights with daily
buffet breakfast. Balance of the day free.

Day 5 Beijing (B, L)
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.

Day 6 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 7 Beijing / Yichang (B, L, D)
Morning tour of Hutong with rickshaw ride and local home visit, followed by
your flight Beijing / Yichang, the starting point of your upstream Yangtze
cruise. Upon arrival, meet / transfer by local guide for some city tour in
Yichang including the local museum and other sights before boarding your
Yangtze cruise ship. Settle into your stateroom and get ready fo this memorable
cruise.

Day 8 Yangtze River Cruise (B L D)
Visit the Three Gorges Dam Site 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 9 Yangtze River Cruise (B L D)
Today you will take the shore excursions to Small Gorges along the Daning
River (or Shen Nong Stream). Continue this afternoon through Qutang Gorge and
Wu Gorge and see the fabled Twelve Peaks.

Day 10 Yangtze River Cruise (B L D)
Today you will take shore excursion to Fendu, the "Ghost City" and view the
temples at Mingshan Hill (alternatively, the cruise may visit Wanzhou or
Shibaozhai).

Day 11 Chongqing / Xian (B L)
Arrive in Chongqing this morning. Upon disembarkation, meet / transfer by
local tour guide for some city tour in this biggest city in China: World War
II Museum, Erlng Park and local zoo. Then transfer to the airport for your
flight to Xian, the ancient capital of China. Upon arrival, meet / transfer
by your local guide to downtown hotel in Xian for 2 nights with daily
breakfast. Afternoon tour in Xian: Bell Tower / City Wall and Muslim quarters and
Great Mosque.

Day 12 XIAN (B, L, D)
Full-day tour: Terra-Cotta Army Museum, Wild Goose Pagoda and Shaanxi
Provincial Museum. A special Tang Dynasty dinner show tonight.

Day 13 Xian / Guilin (B, L)
Transfer to airport and depart Xian for Guilin by air. Upon arrival, local
CITS meet / transfer to downtown hotel in Guilin for 2 nights with daily
breakfast. Afternoon tour: Reed Flute Cave, Elephant Trunk Hill and other sights.

Day 14 Guilin / Li River / Guilin (B, L)
Few could fail to be enraptured by the beauty of the Li River, with its
delicate karst formations, beautiful rural scenery, and lush green hillsides
with bizarre rock formations and caves. Centuries of poets and artists have
immortalized the very scenes you'll savor on a full-day air-conditioned cruise
along this unique and tranquil waterway. At end of the cruise, take a short
tour in Yangshuo before your guide drives you back to Guilin and back to
your hotel.

Day 15 Guilin / Hong Kong (B)
Day at your leisure. Then transfer to airport and depart Guilin for Hong by
late afternoon flight. Bid a fond farewell to China and end of your trip.

Meals Symbol: B = Breakfast L = Lunch D = Dinner