Day 1 Home City/Beijing
The journey of discovery begins after boarding a flight to Beijing, China.
Day 2 Beijing
Arrive in Beijing where your day is at leisure. The lovely city has undergone a face-lift to its historic monuments, adding stunning buildings, theaters and stadiums by world-renowned architects to its impressive skyline.
Day 3 Beijing
Visit Tiananmen Square, a place that conjures up deep emotions in locals and visitors alike. It is ideally situated near many famous sites and located directly in front of the Gate of Heavenly Peace (tiananmen in Chinese). Pass through the Gate of Heavenly Peace into the Forbidden City. Now known as the National Palace Museum, the Forbidden City was once the imperial residence of the emperors and their families from the 1400s until 1911 and housed up to 100,000 people, including servants, soldiers and attendants. After lunch, take a walking tour of the 19th-century Summer Palace and enjoy a cruise on Kunming Lake, its manicured islands designed to evoke landscapes along the Yangtze. This evening, gather with your fellow travelers for a welcome dinner.
Day 4 Beijing
Travel to the less-visited Mutianyu section of the Great Wall, one of the great wonders of the world. The wall rides the highest point of the mountaintops and provides stunning views of the countryside. Spend the late afternoon browsing through the tiny shops of the bustling Hongqiao Market. In the evening, enjoy a performance of Beijing opera.
Day 5 Beijing/Xian
This morning’s visit is to the Panda Zoo and the Temple of Heaven, an exquisite example of Chinese craftsmanship. With its unique circular shape, blue roof and intricate gold inlay work, the Temple of Heaven has been called the single most outstanding example of ancient Chinese architecture. Later, fly to Xian.
Day 6 Xian
Visit the magnificent site of the Terra Cotta Warriors, over 8,000 life-size military figures said to represent second-century Chinese military might. The site is just a portion of a vast funerary complex that includes the emperor’s tomb and satellite tombs of his extended family. After lunch, continue to the Xian Museum and the Small Wild Goose Pagoda, which was built in 684 AD in honor of the Tang Dynasty Emperor Gaozong Li Zhi (628-683 AD). After dinner, enjoy a Tang Dynasty Show, undoubtedly the finest such performance in all China.
Day 7 Xian/Shanghai
Explore the Yangling Museum, whose highlight is its two-thousand-year- old mausoleum, before flying to Shanghai. After arrive in Shanghai, taking a guided walk along the Bund, the magnificent waterfront Esplanade along the Huang Pu River.
Day 8 Shanghai/Zhujiajiao/Shanghai
Visit Zhujiajiao, a "water village" threaded with lakes, stone bridges and lush tea gardens - the perfect way to spend your half day in this magnificent country. In the afternoon, explore the Shanghai Museum, considered among the finest museums of Chinese art in the world. and Urban Planning Museum which houses models of Shanghai’s past, present and future. This evening attend the famous Shanghai Acrobatic Show.
Day 9 Shanghai/Yichang
Visit the Yu Garden, a 16th-century Ming period private garden/ residence in the heart of Shanghai’s old Chinese Quarter, a neighborhood of twisting lanes, home to wonderful boutiques. The phenomenal garden architecture, built in traditional Chinese style, includes many ponds, dragon-lined walls and bridges separating the unique garden areas and pavilions. Later, you fly to Yichang and board your elegant river cruise to begin your Yangtze adventure.
MS ‘Century Diamond’ (B.L.D)
Days 10 – 12 Cruising the Yangtze River
The appeal of the Yangtze lies not only in the river’s great natural beauty, but in the cultural and historical ties which link nearby communities with the life-giving waters. Your cruise takes you to the legendary Three Gorges, an inspiration for Chinese poetry and painting for centuries. You travel through Qutang Gorge, the "Devil’s Gate", renowned for its treacherous currents, precipitous heights and narrow width; Wu, or "Witches" Gorge, with its 12 towering peaks; and the rapids, whirlpools and seven small gorges of Xiling Gorge, longest and most exciting of the three. Enjoy the Captain’s Farewell Banquet.
MS ‘Century Diamond’ (B.L.D)
Day 13 Chongqing/Lhasa
Your final port of call is Chongqing. Here you disembark to connect with a flight to the Lhasa. Upon arrival, you will transfer to your hotel. You’ll need some rest to adjust to the altitude of ‘the Roof Top of the World’. In the afternoon, you visit the Norbulinka, the former summer residence of the Dalai Lama from the late 18th century to the 1959, located on the outskirts of town and filled with gardens, palaces and pavilions.
St. Regis Lhasa (B.L.D)
Days 14 – 15 Lhasa
You have two days to explore ‘the Roof Top of the World’. Visit the seventh-century former home of the Dalai Lama, the Potala Place-the crowning glory of Lhasa. Its towering red and white edifice and gold roof rises 985 feet above the valley floor and can be seen for miles around. Visit Jokhang monastery, the spiritual center of the country and the colorful Barkhor Bazaar. Also experience the 15th century Sera (one of Tibet’s Great six monasteries) and also visit the Tibetan Museum.
St. Regis Lhasa (B.L.D)
Day 16 Lhasa/Chengdu
Fly to Chengdu, capital of Sichuan Province. You will visit the Giant Panda Reserve and enjoy the Tea House in the People’s Park.
Sheraton Hotel (Chengdu, China) (B.D.)
Day 17 Chengdu/Guilin
Fly to the Guilin and explore Reed Flute Cave the many limestone caverns that dot the area. Enjoy a traditional Singing and Dancing Show.
Day 18 Guilin/Hong Kong
Today you board a river boat for a half-day cruise on the Li River is akin to traveling inside a Chinese landscape painting. Take in amazing vistas of limestone mountains on your way to the charming village of Yangshou. Afterwards, board your flight for Hong Kong.
Day 19 Hong Kong
Begin the morning at the busy Sheung Wan Market, followed by a stop at Man Mo Temple on Hollywood Road. Board the tram for a short ride to the top of Victoria Peak for a panoramic view of the city; then travel by motorized sampan to the fishing village of Aberdeen you will enjoy a Sampan Ride. After a traditional dim sum lunch, the afternoon is yours to spend as you wish.
Day 20 Hong Kong
Today is at leisure or Travel by ferry from Hong Kong to Lantau Island. View the world’s largest seated outdoor bronze statue, Tian Tan Buddha; then stroll through the village experiencing the interactive attractions that reflect the cultural and spiritual integrity of the area. Explore the grand Bao Lian Monastery and the Ngong Ping Village-This amazing cultural themed village has been architecturally designed and landscaped to reflect the cultural and spiritual integrity of the Ngong Ping area.This evening, join your fellow travelers for a farewell dinner.
Day 21 Hong Kong/Home City
Board your homebound flight or travel on to another destination in the Orient. China Holidays can help you plan your own extension, "tailor-made" as you require. (B)
Yangtze Interlude & the Tibet combines tour arrangements in China’s greatest cities with a four-night cruise on one of the world’s great rivers: the Yangtze. This carefully designed itinerary shows you all of China’s major cities and best-known sights, in an exciting and evocative overview of a magical nation. Your visit begins in Beijing, a city that embodies the very essence of Imperial China in the palaces of the Ming and Qing courts, Shanghai, rich in a colonial history evident in the Bund’s stately waterfront buildings. In Tibet, you explore Lhasa, to tour the awesome Potala Palace and the sacred monasteries of Jokhang and Sera. The next stop is Xian, the country’s cradle of culture. Here you pay a fascinating archaeological visit to the First Emperor’s terra-cotta bodyguard-estimated at 8,000 soldiers strong. Guilin, where you cruise on the Li River and take in the incomparable Hong Kong skyline from your private sampan…
