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Day 1 Beijing (D)
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 2 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 3 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 4 Beijing / Chongqing - Yangtze River Cruise (B L D)
Depart to Chongqing to check-in at your luxury Yangtze cruise ship, and enjoy your first fine dinner on board.
Day 5 Yangtze River Cruise (B L D)
It's up on deck this morning to begin your 3-day voyage through the most breathtaking portion of the Yangtze. Throughout your cruise you'll enjoy a wide range of upscale activities, comforts and entertainment on ship, dine on fresh cuisine in the elegant single-seating dining room, and enjoy carefully-planned excursions designed to maximize your experience of the 'Yangtze's dramatic scenery. Go ashore in Fengdu, the folkloric "devil city", with its eerie temple and ghostly depictions. Tonight the captain hosts a welcome dinner on board. |
Day 6 Yangtze River Cruise (B L D)
Continue through ever-changing rural panoramas into the first of the great Three Gorges, Qutang, considered the most beautiful with its gentle bluff banks line with ancient plank pathways. Sail on to the Daning River, a lush Yangtze tributary. Here you transfer to small boats for a journey into the Three Small Gorges, a swift-flowing passage through the aptly-named Dragon Gate, Misty and Emerald Gorges, flanked by tangled vegetation, rocky precipices, and peaks towering to the sky. return to ship for dinner with a view, as you continue downstream to the head of Wu Gorge.
Day 7 Yangtze River Cruise (B L D)
A thrilling final day of sailing begins with a passage through Wushan Gorge, whose rugged cliffs take on a magical aura when enshrouded in swirls of morning mist. The final gorge, Xiling, is a rushing passage of rapids embraced by emerald terraced hills. Shore excursions will feature ancient Jinzhou and its perfectly-preserved mummy, and the new Three Gorges Dam site, the world's largest construction project, set for completion in 2009. view the diversion channel, Xiling Bridge, and a small scale model, and visit the highest point for viewing the site.
Day 8 Yichang / Shanghai (B L D)
Disembark after breakfast and fly to Shanghai, the cosmopolitan port city near where the Yangtze spills into the East China Sea.
Day 9 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 10 Shanghai (B)
Departing for home on your select airline, bid China a found farewell. |
