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Day 1 Shanghai (D)
Arrive in Shanghai, the largest and most cosmopolitan city, as modern as any in the world. You are greeted on arrival and escorted to your world-class hotel in a prime setting near many popular shops and restaurants.
Day 2 Shanghai (B L D)
You will sightsee from the riverfront Bund where foreign traders left a legacy of European-style buildings, to the Yuyuan Gardens with its quintessential Chinese zigzag bridge, rockeries, and pavilions. Visit the Children's Palace where school kids study traditional arts, and the dazzling new Shanghai Museum where the development of the arts is traced back thousands of years. Complete the day at a thrilling show by the Shanghai Acrobats.
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 / Beijing (B L D)
Step into Suzhou's intimate garden havens today, and see silk weavers at work in the Embroidery Institute, before flying to Beijing. Transfer to Shanghai and connect the flight to Beijing. Arrive in 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 5 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. |
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 / Xi'an (B L D)
Wing on to Xi'an, a vital center of history, culture and archaeology.
Day 8 Xi'an (B L D)
It is impossible to overstate Xi'an's importance in China's history. Here began the fabled Silk Road, here a string of dynasties made their capital, here a Neolithic culture built a village 6000 years ago, and here lies a highlight of your trip: the excavation site of 8000 terra cotta soldiers, buried around the tomb of Emperor Qin, builder of the Great Wall and other massive endeavors. Round out your tour with stops at the old City gate, Provincial Museum, Big Wild Goose Pagoda.
Day 9 Xi'an / Guilin (B L D)
Fly south tot he green hills of Guilin, whose ethereal landscapes have been immortalized by poets and painters through the ages. This afternoon, tour the city sights and the immense Reed Flute Cave, filled with impressive grottos, pillars, and inscriptions over 1000 years old.
Day 10 Guilin (B L D)
A full day cruise on the crystalline Li River will immerse you in the special natural beauty of this unique area. Sail in air-conditioned comfort as every turn yields new views of towering stone pinnacles, unusual rock formations, quiet country villages, and fishermen casting their nets or bringing in the catch the traditional way, with cormorants. Return ashore in the late afternoon.
Day 11 Guilin (B)
With new insights and found memories of China, you embark on your homebound journey aboard your select airline. |
