Tour Itinerary:
Day 1: TBA - Beijing. Welcome to China! Upon arrival in Beijing, we will be taken to your hotel. As the capital of China, Beijing has a long history with an abundance of historical and cultural heritage - we cannot tear us away! Balance of the day is at leisure.
Day 2: Beijing. Today we will start the day with a trip to the largest public square in the world: Tiananmen Square. Tiananmen Square is regarded as a symbol of China and capable of holding one million people. Then we'll head to the Forbidden City, which consists of more than 9,000 rooms and covers an area of 72 hectares. Forbidden City is the largest and the best-preserved Imperial Palace in the world. After lunch, we take a short drive to the Temple of Heaven, which was built specifically for worship of heaven and prayers for good harvests during the Ming and Qing dynasties. The entire complex is a treasure trove of ancient Chinese architectural designs and arts and was listed as UNESCO's World Cultural Heritage in 1998. Tonight, enjoy a Beijing Duck Dinner. Includes: (B, L, D)
Day 3: Beijing. Get up early in the morning and drive about one hour to Badaling Great Wall, China's most spectacular sight extending more than 3,700 miles across China and most often visited for China tour. It is one of the best preserved sections and the highest point of the Great Wall. For lunch we'll sample simple some delicious cuisine in a local restaurant. Then head to one of the Mind Tombs. Ming Tombs are the general names for the mausoleums of 13 emperors of the Ming Dynasty (1368 - 1644), located 50 kilometers north from Beijing City. They were fully recognized by UNESCO's World Heritage Committee in 2000. When the night falls, we will return to the hotel. Includes: (B, L)
Day 4: Beijing-Xian. We will start the day with a unique Hutong Trishaw tour in the morning. Hutongs are a kind of ancient city alley or lane that is considered an informal symbol of the Beijing city. We can also visit local residents and taste some delicious local cuisine while taking the hutong tour. Our next stop is the Summer Palace, which was listed as UNESCO's World Cultural Heritage in 1998. With its elegant overall arrangement, magnificent buildings and attractive scenery, the Summer Palace is the most splendid imperial garden in China built in 1750. Then head for the airport for Xian. Upon arrival in Xian, we will be met at the airport and transferred to the hotel. The evening is left free for us to explore the city. Includes: (B, L)
Day 5: Xian. Today we will visit what has been called the 8th Wonder of the World - Terra Cotta Soldiers Museum, which was listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1987. Altogether over 7,000 pottery soldiers, horses, chariots, and even weapons have been unearthed there. After lunch, we will visit the Bell Tower. Originally built in 1348, the Bell Tower in Xi'an is situated in the very heart of the city and is the most well-preserved and best-known one in China. We will also visit the Big Wild Goose Pagoda, which is one of the most famous Buddhist pagodas in China and initially built in 589. The evening is free for us to explore the city. Includes: (B, L)
Day 6: Xian - Lanzhou. After checking out at the hotel, our first stop in this pleasant city is Shaanxi Provincial Museum. Covering an area of over 70,000 square meters, the museum contains more than 370,000 relics including Bronze wares, terra cotta figures, gold and silver wares and murals, 3 thousand years ago. After lunch, we will pay a visit to the Great Mosque. As one of five Muslim sanctuaries in China, the Great Mosque in Xi’an is the only one open to visitors. Then we'll head to the airport to Lanzhou, a major stop on the ancient "Silk Road" west of Xian. Lanzhou was a significant fortress of the Hexi Corridor, an eastern and crucial stretch of the Silk Road, which led to a long period of great prosperity in the city. Upon our arrival, we will be met and transferred to the downtown hotel. Includes: (B, L)
Day 7: Lanzhou. Get up early in the morning and drive about 80 km to Bingling Temple, one of the ten largest Chinese grottoes. Originally engraved in the year 420, Bingling Temple contains 183 grottoes and shrines stretching for two kilometers. All of the stone carvings, clay sculptures, murals exhibit superb craftsmanship, and have great artistic appeal. For lunch we'll sample some special fare in a local restaurant. Then we drive back to the downtown city to visit Gansu Provincial Museum. It contains more than 80,000 artifacts including Neolithic painted pottery that was excavated from the town of Dadiwan, whose ancient civilization is believed to span back some 7,000 years. The rest of the day is on our own to explore the city. Includes: (B, L)
Day 8: Lanzhou - Xiahe. Get up early in the morning and set out on the long drive to Xiahe County. On the way we'll sample simple countryside fare in a local restaurant. Upon arrival in Xiahe County, we will begin our journey to Sangke Prairie directly. Sangke Prairie is famous for its lush grass and breathtaking scenery with blue sky, fluffy clouds and herds of sheep and cattle. Our home stay tonight is in Xiahe County. Includes: (B, L)
Day 9: Xiahe - Lanzhou. You spend the morning visiting the famous Labrang Lamasery. Built in 1709, Labrang Monastery is one of the six largest religious temples, second only to Potala Palace in Lhasa at Tibet. The lamasery covers 202 acres and has more than 10,000 halls and accommodates over 3,000 lamas. The architectural layout of the Labrang Monastery belongs to the Tibetan style and the construction patterns are mostly Tibetan, Han's mode and a compound style of both Han's and Tibetan. After lunch, we drive back to Lanzhou. Includes: (B, L)
Day 10: Lanzhou - Wuwei. In the morning, we spend about 4 hours on van driving into Wuwei. After lunch, we pay a visit to the Han Tombs, which is situated in Leitai Park. There are 231 cultural relics and 99 bronze chariots with honored guards of tomb figure unearthed from this tomb. The most important find was the Bronze Galloping Horse, also named the "horse with hoof on a swallow", which is 35 centimeters high and 45 centimeters long, weighing 7 kilograms. The rest of the day is on our own to explore the city. Includes: (B, L)
Day 11: Wuwei - Zhangye. Get up early in the morning and drive about 235 km to Zhangye. Arrive in Zhangye at noon, we will have lunch in a local restaurant. Then we spend the half day touring around the city, including visits to the Giant Buddha Temple and the Wooden Tower of Sui Dynasty, the Bell Tower and the Drum Tower. The Giant Buddha Temple is the largest architectural relic in Gansu Province of the Western Xia (1038-1227) period. China's largest reclining Buddha is well preserved in this temple. Includes: (B, L)
Day 12: Zhangye - Jiayuguan. After breakfast, we will drive three hours to Jiayuguan, a pass of strategic importance in the Ancient Silk Road which is located in northwestern part of Gansu Province. Upon arrival in Jiayuguan, we will visit Jiayuguan Pass, the last fortress at the west end of the Ming Great Wall. It is known as "the Grand Pass under Heaven" because the terrain is strategically situated and difficult of access and the structure is magnificent. Then we proceed to the Overhanging Great Wall, which functioned as an additional military defense for the fort. From the top of the Wall we may get a panoramic view of the desert, the oasis of Jiayuguan in the near ground, and the snow-capped mountains far away in the distance. Includes: (B, L)
Day 13: Jiayuguan - Dunhuang. In the morning, we drive about 385 km to Dunhuang, an important strategic point on the Silk Road. For lunch we'll sample some delicious fare in a local restaurant. Upon arrival in Dunhuang, we drive to visit the Echoing-Sand Mountain (Mingshashan), one of the wonders in Dunhuang City. When tourists climb up or slide down the mountain, the rolling sands make different sounds, some like orchestral music, and others like thunder. A wonderful view across the rolling desert sands towards the oasis comes to your sight after reach the top. We will also pay a visit to the Crescent-Moon Spring (Yueya Spring), near the Echoing-Sand Mountain. It is 100 meters in height, 25 meters in width, and in the shape of a crescent moon. The area is often hit by windstorm, which drives up sand to shut out sun-light. However, Crescent-Moon Spring has never been filled up with or covered by sand. Includes: (B, L)
Day 14: Dunhuang - Turpan. Our morning tour features the Mogao Caves. Praised as "a glittering pearl that adorns the Silk Road", Mogao Caves are the most famous grottoes in China. With a history of 1,600 years, Mogao Caves have 735 caves, which house 45, 000 square meters of murals and more than 2400 painted sculptures. Then we visit White Horse Pagoda, the first Buddhist temple in China. White Horse Pagoda was built in order to pay their respect to those monks who had dedicated their life to the spreading of Buddhism. After dinner, we will drive to the train station to take an overnight soft sleeper train to Turpan. Includes: (B, L, D)
Day 15: Turpan. Upon arrival in Turpan in the morning, we are picked up by our guide and transferred to the hotel. After having breakfast at the hotel, we will start the day with a visit to the Jiaohe Ruins, the best preserved town ruin in China initially built about 2000 years ago. In the ruin, there are 1389 residential house ruins, 53 Buddhism temples, 316 ancient wells and 34 alleys. After lunch, we also pay a visit to the Karez Well. The Karez well is an underground irrigation system that was installed 2,000 years ago. There are over 1000 Karez wells in the Turpan depression, the total length of which would exceed that of Yangtze River, the longest river in China. Then we proceed to the Emin Minaret (Sugong Pagoda), the largest Muslim tower in Xinjiang region. The rest of the day is on our own to explore the city. Includes: (B, L)
Day 16: Turpan - Urumqi. Today we will experience the Gaochang Ruins, the largest city ruin in west China. Built in the first century B.C., Goachang has now been reduced to impressive ruins, with the temples, pagodas and courtyards still distinguishable even though they were abandoned more than 700 years ago. Our next stop is the Bezeklik Thousand Buddha Caves. Bezeklik Thousand Buddha Caves contain 67 caves, noted for their exquisite murals, which reaches up to 1,200 square meters. The Bizaklik Grottoes come in a variety of shapes, most of which are rectangular caves with vertical vaulted ceilings and others are square with horizontal vaulted ceilings. After lunch, we proceed to the Flaming Hill, one of the hottest places on earth. Under the blazing sun in mid-afternoon, the russet sandstone sparkles, and hot vapor rises and coils like flames from a great fire, hence the name Flaming Mountain. Then drive to Urumqi, the last stop on our westward journey along the Silk Road. Includes: (B, L)
Day 17: Urumqi. Get up early in the morning and drive about 115 km to Heavenly Lake (Tian Chi), which is renowned as one of the nicest tour destinations in all of China. Surrounding the Heavenly Lake are snow mountains, glacier forests and grassland alpine lakes, featuring a vertical natural landscape belt. It is a beautiful place to take a stroll around. Then we proceed to South Pasture, located at the base of the Tian Shan mountain range. The highlight of the Southern Pastures must be the West White Poplar Gully. Screened by snow-capped peaks and dotted with tall and straight dragon spruce trees, it is an ideal place to have an excursion. Includes: (B, L)
Day 18: Urumqi-Shanghai. We will depart Urumqi in the morning to head to Shanghai, the largest and most prosperous metropolis in China and known as the "Paris of the East". Having arrived at noon, we first freshen up at the hotel before taking some tours. Firstly, we will visit the Bund, where the great foreign commercial houses and banks built their imposing office buildings before 1930s. We then stroll along the Nanjing Road, which is considered as one of the World's Seven Great Roads in the 1930s and always mentioned in travel guides as a must see of China tour. Here along its 5.5 kilometers (3.4 miles), we will find over 600 shops that on average are visited by some 1.7 million people each day. If you like shopping, do not miss it! Includes: (B, L)
Day 19: Shanghai. Today we will start the day with a trip to the elegant classic Chinese garden: Yu Garden. Yu Garden has quite a few scenic courtyards dotted with baroque rockery, pools and flora, all connected by corridors and passageways and cultural relics. We then proceed to Oriental Pearl TV Tower, with an astonishing height of 468 meters, ranks as the world's third tallest TV tower, after the 553-meter CN Tower in Toronto and the 535-meter Moscow TV Tower. Then we will take a walking tour of the Old French Concession, the area of Shanghai once occupied by French in the mid-19th century. It offers unparalleled examples of old lane houses, apartments, garden houses and villas which remain untouched in mid-19th and early 20th century European styles. Includes: (B, L)
Day 20: Shanghai-TBA. The tour guide will transfer us to the airport and help us board the plane to our next destination. Our wonderful China tour ends. Includes: (B)
Notes:
Airfare is included in the tour price.
Price Includes:
- Hotel Accommodation on twin Sharing Basis. (Standard hotels with private bathroom) 3 twin room in your case
- All Meals
- English speaking guide
- All land Transportation
- Entrance Fees where applicable
- Airfares (all domestic airfares, international airfares are not included)
- Train Fares
Price Excludes:
- All sort of personal expenses
- Tips
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Asia
China
Archeology/History
Cultural Journey
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