Program Route Map

Detailed Itinerary

Day 1 Departure USA
Departure on your connecting Trans-Pacific flights from the USA to Beijing.

Day 2 Arrival to Beijing 1
Arrive in Beijing. Upon arrival at Beijing’s International Airport, you will be met by our professional Chinese Tour Director and transferred to the Capitol Hotel. Time to refresh. Dinner. Capitol Hotel.

Day 3 Beijing 2
Full American Breakfast. Visit to the traditional Hutong area which has been the traditional way of living for centuries. A few Hutong areas survived and are now under protection. We will visit the kindergarten, the residential area and a home hosted Lunch is waiting. No visit to China is complete before one has stood on Tiananmen Square or walked the Forbidden City -- honors once reserved solely for the great Emperors. Walking in the footsteps of Royal Chinese history, enjoy viewing the living quarters, clock collection, jewelry and other fascinating museum treasures. Dinner in a local restaurant tonight. Capitol Hotel.

Day 4 Beijing 3
Full American Breakfast. Today's excursion will take us to the Great Wall of China, justly famed as a "Wonder of the World." At the most beautiful Badaling section, watch this area of the Wall winding up and down the mountainsides. Return to the hotel for time at leisure or to browse the lively shopping streets nearby. A Western style Dinner is served at the hotel tonight. Capitol Hotel.

Day 5 Beijing - Xi’an 1
Full American Breakfast, followed by a visit to the Temple of Heaven, known as the most perfectly harmonious building in China. Enjoy the activities in the surrounding park, people playing the Chinese game of "Mah jongg" or exercising the graceful movements of Tai Chi. Continue to the airport for the flight to Xi’an. Upon arrival in Xi'an airport, transfer to the Deluxe ANA hotel in the very heart of the city. Dinner at the hotel tonight. ANA Grand Hotel.

Day 6 Xi’an 2
Full American Breakfast. Drive to the Terra Cotta Museum on the outskirts of Xi'an to witness the wonder of the thousands of Terra Cotta Warriors. Begin the visit by watching the Circle Vision Film for an understanding of the historic setting of this phenomenon. Later, enter the exhibition and come face-to-face with one of mankind's greatest and most painstaking creations - no two soldiers are alike. Later, enjoy lunch in the historic area in the city, including the former Muslim Quarter. Return to the hotel in the afternoon. This evening is reserved for a fabulous experience: The Tang Dynasty Dinner Show. ANA Grand Hotel.

Day 7 Xi’an - Yangshuo 1
Full American Breakfast, followed by a transfer to Xi’an Airport and the flight to Guilin. Upon arrival in Guilin, enjoy lunch and a visit to the tea garden where we can learn about the famous Chinese drink. Before we continue to the poetic & colorful tiny town of Yangshuo. Enjoy the tranquil atmosphere and quaint streets as the sun sets. Dinner at the hotel. Paradise Hotel.

Day 8 Yangshuo 2
Full American Breakfast. Begin a full day in an unique environment of natural beauty, with hundreds of hills, and colorful water filled rice fields, blended with a quaint villages and friendly people. Many travelers tend to describe Yangshuo as “what I expected China to look like.” During the day we will travel to picturesque villages, visit some of the minority (tribal) groups of China and cruise the Li River to the traditional market in Fuli. Lunch will be served during the tour. In the afternoon, time to rest or to browse the lively streets next to the hotel. Western Dinner. Paradise Hotel.

Day 9 Yangshuo - Lijiang (via Kunming) 1
Full American Breakfast. Talk and Demo of Chinese Painting will be given by a professor in the local university. Transfer to the Guilin airport for the connecting flight to picturesque Lijiang. With its spectacular backdrop of mountains, Lijiang has retained a historic townscape of high quality and authenticity. Its architecture is a unique blend of elements from several cultures that came together over the course of centuries. Today, it is one of the most original and scenic towns in all of China and is known to have more than eleven minority groups, the best-known being the Naxi, Dongba and Tibetan peoples. Dinner, followed by an introduction to the Naxi and Mouso cultures. Grand Lijiang Hotel.

Day 10 Lijiang 2
Full American Breakfast. A full day to quietly enjoy Lijiang and the surroundings. In the morning, we will visit the Old Town and see the market with Naxi women and men in traditional dress. This famed 800 year-old Dayan town, designated by UNESCO as a "World Heritage" location, is wonderfully easy to explore and enjoy. After Lunch in a Naxi garden, pay a visit to the Yuhu village and the small museum for the American Scholar Joseph Rock who brought the fame of the isolated Naxi culture to the world. Continue to the Jade Peak Temple, with its 300 year old trees covering the grouds, before returning to the hotel. Enjoy a Western Dinner followed by a Xuanke Naxi Concert. Grand Lijiang Hotel.

Day 11 Lijiang 3
Full American Breakfast. This morning visit the Black Dragon Pool Park, with its stunning vista of the Jade Dragon mountain in the background, and the Dongba Cultural Museum. Continue to the Liuli and Dading Temples, built in traditional Ming architectural style, before a home hosted Lunch is served. Later, enjoy a spectacular cable car ride up the Yulong Snow Mountain (weather pending), whose peaks reach up to 18,000 feet. The visit offers fantastic vistas of the mountainous area. Return to Lijiang for a Western Dinner and a quiet evening. Grand Lijiang Hotel.

Day 12 Lijiang - Chongqing (via Kunming1)
Full American Breakfast. Time to say goodbye to the lands of Shangri La as we transfer to Lijiang airport for the short flight to Kunming, City of Eternal Spring in Yunnan Province. A 1-hour connecting flight will take us to the biggest city in the world -- Chongqing. City tour is arranged. We will stay in the heart of the exciting city, the Harbor Plaza Hotel.

Day 13 Chongqing - Board Victoria Cruises Ship 1
Full American breakfast. Vvisit the shy and charming Pandas and the Stilwell Museum for the Flying Tigers (WWII) for an introduction to the Japanese War.
Later visit the busy and stunning Old Chongqing Town. Enjoy a sumptuous Western Buffet Dinner at the Marriott Hotel before boarding and beginning our downstream Yangtze River adventure. Victoria Cruise Ship.

Day 14 Cruise to Shibaozhai 2
Breakfast. It is time to relax while the ship leaves Chongqing and gently moves downstream towards new adventures. Morning visit to Shibaozhai Temple, climb the beautiful red pagoda on the cliff by the river side. Return to the ship for a Chinese Calligraphy lesson. Dinner on board. Victoria Cruise Ship.

Day 15 Cruise to Wushan 3
Breakfast. This morning we will travel by modern Sampans up the spectacular Danning River. Fighting the currents, the Sampans slowly cruise between mountains and small villages. We will see hanging coffins and wild monkeys at the inner reaches of the river before returning to our ship for lunch. Talk on Chinese Painting, kite flying. Dinner on board. Arrive at the huge Three Gorge Dam project, pass through the 5-step ship locks. Victoria Cruise Ship.

Day 16 Yichang - Shanghai 1
Breakfast. Morning visit to the dam project. Return to ship and pass the old dam at noon time. Disembark the ship at Yichang city. Transfer to Yichang airport for the flight to China’s great commercial window to the world: Shanghai. The city is truly impressive, with its unique blend of traditional architecture and the super-modern constructions in the Pudong District. Check in at the Deluxe Peace Hotel located right on the famous Bund in the heart of Shanghai. The Peace Hotel was the property of one of Asia’s wealthiest families: the Sassoons.

Day 17 Shanghai 2
Full American Breakfast. For centuries, Shanghai has been China's dynamic economic center for trade, influenced by colonial powers. We begin our tour with a visit to the splendid Yu Gardens and the colorful markets in the Old Quarter. Continue to Longhua Buddhist Temple for an introduction to Buddhism, and Lunch. On return, we visit one of the Children's Palaces to learn about how China develops its extraordinary talents from an early age. Dinner on your own, followed by a truly spectacular Acrobatic Show, and return to the Peace Hotel.

Day 18 Shanghai 3
Full American Breakfast. Today's program has been exclusively reserved for the World Expo which lasts 6 months in the middle of 2010. Lunch during the Tour. In the evening, enjoy a special Farewell evening tour of Shanghai. First, a transfer to the Old Quarter at twilight for traditional tea at the famous Huxinting Mid-Lake Pavilion Teahouse. Continuing via illuminated landmarks such as the Shanghai Museum, Opera, Technion and the famous Nanjing Road, to our Western style restaurant near the hotel. At the famous Bund, be thrilled by the skyline of the Pudong area across the river, as we approach our local Western-style restaurant for our Farewell Dinner. Peace Hotel.

Day 19 Home flights to USA
Full American Breakfast. Later, transfer to Shanghai International Airport for the home flights to the USA.

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