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Day 01 Arrive at Beijing ( Meals: -/-/- )
Arrive at Beijing, the capital of China. To be met at the airport then transferred to your hotel. Free at leisure on your own for the rest of the first day.
Day 02 Beijing ( Meals: B/L/- )
Sightseeing: Badaling Great Wall / Ming Tombs / Spirit Way
Depart from your hotel after breakfast. Spending about 1.5 hours to be transferred outside the city to the surrounding countryside to visit the Great Wall at Badaling part, one of the most remarkable feats of mankind, built over 2,000 years ago. You will be able to climb and walk one of the best preserved sections of the ancient wall, admiring the splendid mountain scenery.
After lunch at a local restaurant, visit the fabled Ming Tombs, the resting places of thirteen emperors and their splendid treasures. Passing down the Spirit Way, a road lined with statues of dignitaries, as well as huge elephants, lions, camels and horses, you will encounter the marble tombs of the Ming Dynasty emperors. Visit one of the spectacular tombs-Dingling-featuring an underground palace.
Day 03 Beijing ( Meals: B/L/- )
Sightseeing: Tiananmen Square / Forbidden City / Temple of Heaven / Summer Palace
Depart from your hotel in the morning to have city tours to visit Tiananmen Square, the symbolical heart of China and gathering place for the masses. It is the biggest public square in the world, which can hold one million people. Have a free walk there, imagining the great historic events of the 20th century that took place there. You will also see legendary landmarks including the Great Hall of the People and the towering 125 foot granite obelisk, Monument to the People's Heroes, honoring those who died in revolution.
Walking across the Golden River Bridge, enter the Forbidden City, the inner sanctum and palace where for centuries Chinese emperors ruled their world. It has a 9000-room maze of courtyards, palaces, and ceremonial halls, where 24 emperors used to live. The Forbidden City was indeed a forbidden place, where commoners were kept out for nearly 500 years. Tour the palace and imagine the mystery, intrigue and incredible power that reigned here.
After having lunch at a local restaurant, visit the Summer Palace. Built in 1888, it was once a summer retreat and thrre imperial for emperors. Have a lakeside cruise on lovely Kunming Lake, enjoy the magical views of the hills, bridges and pagodas that grace the Palace grounds.
To be met & transferred back to your hotel.
Day 04 Beijing Xi'an ( Meals: B/L/- )
Sightseeing: Beijing Hutong tour.
Have a Hutong tour in the morning. To be transferred to the airport for flight to Xi'an in the afternoon. Arrive at Xi'an, be met at the airport & transferred to your hotel. Free at leisure for the rest of the day.
Day 05 Xi'an ( Meals: B/L/- )
Sightseeing: Full day private tours to Terra-cotta Warriors and Horses / Huaqing Hot Springs / Big Wild Goose Pagoda / Tang Dynasty Show
Today will be your highlight in Xi'an. Depart from your hotel after breakfast. To be transferred outside the city to visit the Terra-cotta Warriors and Horses. The Terra-cotta Warriors and Horses are the most significant archeological excavations of the 20th century. It has been regarded as THE 8TH WONDER OF THE WORLD! Over 2,200 years ago, the first emperor of China, Qin Shi Huang, in search of immortality, ordered the construction of a vast army of 8,000 life-sized Terra-cotta warriors and buried them with him to protect his empire after his early death. They were discovered accidentally in 1974 by farmers digging a well. For history lovers, the sight is truly breathtaking.
After lunch at a local restaurant, visit the Huaqing Hot Springs. Located 35 kilometers east of Xi'an at the foot of Lishan Mountain in a large park where there are a number of public baths and some modern palaces built in the Tang style, the hot springs, rich in minerals, were highly regarded more than 3,000 years ago.
After coming back to the city, have another tour to the Big Wild Goose Pagoda. Situated in the south of Xi'an,as one of the main constructions in the famous Buddhist Da-Ci-En Temple, the pagoda is one of the most distinctive and outstanding landmarks of Xi'an.
Day 06 Xi'an Shanghai ( Meals: B/L/- )
Sightseeing: Xi'an-Shanxi Provincial Museum / Ancient City Wall
Visit the Shanxi Provincial Museum, which is the largest comprehensive museum in the province. It is also the first national-level grand museum equipped with modern facilities. It exhibits primarily historical relics of past dynasties and displays precious art treasures and stone carvings of the Han and Tang dynasties. Walking through the exhibits in the museum is like walking through the 3000 years of China history.
After having lunch at the local restaurant, visit the Old City Wall. It is the most complete city wall survived in China as well as one of the largest ancient military defensive systems in the world. The wall was built in the Tang dynasty (618 -907) and enlarged in the Ming dynasty (1368-1644).
Then be transferred to airport for flight to Shanghai. Be met & transferred to your hotel in Shanghai. Free at leisure for the rest of the day.
Day 07 Shanghai ( Meals: B/L/- )
Sightseeing: Full day private tours to the Bund / Nanjing Road / Yu Garden / Jade Buddha Temple / Shanghai Museum
Depart from your hotel in the morning to visit the Bund. Have a stroll along the waterfront to experience the smells, sights and sounds of the old "Wall Street" of Shanghai. Banks, trading houses, residences, hotels and clubs all had a view of bustling Huangpu River traffic as they shared in the city's rising and falling fortunes. Then walk along the famous shopping street-Nanjing Road. It is said that shopping in Shanghai is the most varied and rewarding in China
Then visit the Yu Garden. This delightfully restored labyrinth of tiny specialty shops, tea and snack houses centered around a Ming -dynasty mandarin Suzhou-style garden is a fascinating spot to people-watch over a pot of tea, to shop for unique souvenirs and to get a feel for Old Shanghai. It is well worth a meander through the Yu Garden, which has many scenic courtyards decorated with baroque rockery, pools and flora, all connected by corridors and passageways.
Follow with the Jade Buddha Temple. Built in 1911, it is the most famous and one of the most active Buddhist temples in Shanghai. Named for its two bejeweled white jade Buddha, one is 1000kg, 1.9 meter-high figure carved from Burmese jade brought to China in 1882, and a smaller reclining Buddha, the temple receives thousands of visitors and worshipers daily. Although Chinese New Year and the Buddha's birthday are the most popular time to visit the temple for the faithful, it is possible to witness ceremonies at other times.
After having lunch at a local restaurant, visit the Shanghai Museum. As a museum of ancient Chinese art, the Shanghai Museum possesses a collection of 120,000 precious works of art. Its rich and high-quality collection of ancient Chinese bronze, ceramics, paintings and calligraphy is specially celebrated in the world. The present Shanghai Museum has eleven galleries and three special temporary exhibition halls.
Day 08 Shanghai Guilin ( Meals: B/L/- )
Sightseeing: Guilin- Reed Flute Cave / Elephant Trunk Hill / Fubo Hill
Take morning flight to Guilin. Be met at Guilin then have a city tour beginning at Elephant Trunk Hill. Located on the west bank of the Li River by a small branch called Peach Blossom River, the hill resembles a huge elephant standing on the bank of the river, sucking up water with its long trunk. The trunk is particularly striking and lifelike when viewed from either nearby or afar. A circular foot cave called Shui Yue Dong (Moon-In-the Water Cave) separates the trunk and the body. A 3-story Ming Dynasty (1368-1644 A.D) brick pagoda rises from the top of hill.
Then visit Fubo Hill, which is famous for its picturesque shape and beautiful caves. Located in the northeastern part of the city, it stands by the Li River, with half of its eastern foot submerged in water. It is known for its Tang and Song Dynasty Buddhist carvings in the foot cave named Returned Pearl Cave, all accessible by steps leading up and down the east and west side.
Finally visit Reed Flute Cave. A ten-minute drive (half hour bike ride) from downtown, the cave is one of the largest known examples of what each tropical karst cone conceals within it. The script writers and set designers for Star Trek would have a field day in this cavernous underground stalactite/stalagmite maze-style theater. The dripping water is rich and the dripstones vary in shape and size, displaying a wonderful cave world. This cave was called "The Art Gallery of Mother Nature." Colored fluorescent lights cast shadows and illuminate shapes of imaginary animals, fruits and vegetables, completing the unworldly effect. Free at leisure for the rest of the day.
Day 09 Guilin ( Meals: B/L/- )
Sightseeing: Full day Li River Cruise to Yangshuo
Depart from your hotel in the morning. The Li River is by far the main reason to visit Guilin. Double-decker and triple-decker river boats weigh anchor from a pier at Zhujiang, about 40 minutes from Guilin by bus, and meander through the sleepy countryside offer a relaxing way to enjoy the superlative river scenery and life along its banks. In contrast to the burgeoning cities of the north, it is quiet here; the rural scenery is magnificent. You will enjoy the picturesque mountains, peaceful green fields, farms and villages with water buffalo and cows wandering around on both sides of the river bank.
After about 4.5 hours, the one-thousand-year-old town of Yangshuo, the disembarking point, comes into sight. It is well worth browsing around this quaint town and its environs. Have a short exploration of the old town before being transferred back to Guilin.
Day 10 Guilin Guangzhou, Guangzhou - Hong Kong via afternoon jet boat ( Meals: B/L/- )
Sightseeing: Guangzhou- Sun Yat-sen Memorial Hall / Memorial Hall of the Chen Family / Temple of Six Banyan Trees / Hong Kong
Take morning flight to Guangzhou. Be met at Guangzhou, then have city tours to visit the Sun Yat-sen Memorial Hall, which is the most symbolic building of Guangzhou, and a key venue for large-scale meetings and performances as well. It was built in 1931 in memory of Sun Yat-sen, the pioneer of China's bourgeois democratic revolution. The memorial hall, occupying an area of 12,000 square meters with a height of 46 meters, has magnificent exterior and elegant interior decorations. The whole building, octagonal in shape, is designed in a typical Chinese architectural style.
Then visit the Memorial Hall of the Chen Family, also known as Guangdong Folk Art Museum, built in the 1890s. It is now the largest and best preserved and decorated ancient architecture existing in Guangdong province. The decoration combines wood carving, brick carving, stone carving, clay sculpture, ash sculpture, a brass and iron foundry, a grotto, etc. The special historical, artistic, and scientific aspects of the temple have made it an important attraction in Guangzhou.
Finally visit the Temple of Six Banyan Trees. One of the most famous ancient Buddhist temples in China, the Temple of Six Banyan Trees was built in 537 during the Southern dynasties (386-581A.D). The major structure in the temple is an octagonal pagoda named Flower Pagoda, which is 57.6 meters high, the highest old architecture in the city. The temple originally had a different name but was renamed the "Banyan Tree" temple by the dissident poet Su Dongpo who visited the site in 1100. The temple houses 3 huge bronze Buddhist statues made in 1663, each of which is 6 meters high and weighs 10 tons. They are the largest old bronze statues in Guangdong.
Take afternoon jet boat or train to Hong Kong. Be met at Hong Kong then transferred to your hotel. Free at leisure for the rest of the day.
Day 11 Hong Kong ( Meals: B/-/- )
Sightseeing: Ocean Park
Have half a day tour to OCEAN PARK. As one of the largest Oceanaria and theme parks in southeastern Asia, Ocean Park never fails to impress. Ocean Park features aquariums, dolphin shows, thrilling rides, Asia's largest film simulator ride and giant pandas An An and Jia Jia.
Free at leisure for the rest of the day.
Day 12 Hong Kong / Home ( Meals: B/-/- )
Free at leisure until transferred to the airport for your flight home.
End of Service!
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