Two Weeks China Tour

Upon arrival in Beijing today, you will receive a warm welcome from your guide. Continue with an escorted ride to the well-picked hotel for check-in. Spend the rest of the day as you wish.

Your 14 days China tour officially starts today. In the morning, your guide and driver will pick you up from the hotel and take you to central Beijing to visit the Tiananmen Square, the world's largest city square. Walk northward to the Forbidden City, aka the Palace Museum, the opulent palace complex home to Ming-and-Qing-era (1368 - 1911) Chinese emperors, in which you will spend at least two hours touring and hearing your guide relating histories, stories and secrets of the imperial life.

★ Special Arrangement: A La Carte Lunch
This noon, enjoy an a la carte lunch with authentic local dishes, at CNY 150.00 per person and included in our price. Jump at the opportunity to order famous Chinese dishes like Kung Pao Chicken, Sweet and Sour Fish, and particularly Peking Roast Duck! Peking Roast Duck, it not only represents Beijing cuisine, but also has become a symbol of Chinese culture. Bite into the crispy skin to feel the tenderness inside, and impress its delicious memory on your mind!

In the afternoon, your guide will accompany you to visit Yonghe Temple and Temple of Heaven. The latter, as old as the imperial palace, was where the emperors used to worship Heaven and pray for an abundant harvest and peace for the next year. As a lively park for local people now, it provides your first chance to witness Chinese life. Let’s call it day now and we will take you back to the hotel.

Meals: Western buffet breakfast, A la carte lunch

Today, your guide will escort you to visit Mutianyu Great Wall, built during the Ming Dynasty (1368 - 1644) and the most beautiful and best-preserved part of the entire Great Wall of China.

★ Special Arrangement: Up and Down the Wall via Round-Way Cable Car
We have arranged for you a cable car today up and down the Great Wall to spare you the grueling efforts to climb on foot. Trust us, with energy saved, you could focus more on hiking on the wall and appreciating how marvelous both it and surrounding nature are.

We do not arrange lunch for you today as the local restaurants do not meet our service standard, but your guide is happy to give you some advice.

On the way back to downtown Beijing, we will drive by the spectacularly-designed Bird's Nest, the National Stadium where the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games Opening Ceremony was held. Continue to explore old Hutong alleyways on a rickshaw to get the real deal of local life; here, you will be taken to visit one of those traditional courtyard houses packed on either side. Later, transfer back to your hotel.

Meals: Western buffet breakfast

Today, embark on a tour to the Summer Palace, the largest royal garden in China, with refreshing breeze from an immense lake to vitalize your day. After the visit, we will take you to the railway station to take a high speed train to Xi’an. When you arrive, meet your local guide in Xi’an who will pick you up and take you to the hotel.

Meals: Western buffet Breakfast

Be ready for a full day’s Xi'an tour. Your guide will first escort you to visit Terracotta Army Museum, which is based on the site of Qing Shi Huang (reigned 246 - 210 BC)’s mausoleum, the Eighth Wonder of the World. Inside, be awestruck by more than 9,000 life-size pottery figures of warriors, horses and chariots! An interesting story about the warriors, as your knowledgeable guide may tell you, is that their head and body were actually separately crafted, which is why there are many headless figures unearthed after the tomb’s collapse - the archeologists just have yet to pick the right heads to mount on their necks! Recently, a lasting exhibition, the Archaeological Discoveries at the Mausoleum Complex of China’s First Emperor, was launched for you to be able to actually check out such details through merely glass. It was set to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the excavation of the Terracotta Warriors, displaying 230 most essential cultural relics ever unearthed, some of which are shown to the public for the first time, including camels in gold and silver, big bronze birds, and painted clothes and body parts, like purple sleeves and pink lips. Let’s immerse in the great Qin era by going through the eight units of the exhibition covering art, life, economy and other aspects one by one!  

★ Special Arrangements: Mini Terracotta Warrior Crafting Session
Out of the museum, we will take you to a workshop to gain hands-on experience in crafting a cute clay warrior of your own! Don’t sweat it! There will be an instructor and a mold to help you. Take your little masterpiece home to show off to your friends and family.

Return downtown for Giant Wild Goose Pagoda. This nine-story pagoda was first built in the Tang Dynasty more than 1,300 years ago to collect Buddhist scriptures and relics, many of which are now on display for you to appreciate. Continue to stroll the adjacent Great Tang All Day Mall, a prospered long street inspired by Tang-era culture, where you can stay as long as you want until you think it’s late to go back to your hotel.

Meals: Western buffet breakfast

The first destination of today's tour is Xi'an City Wall, the most complete city wall in China dating back to the Ming period. You will go up to overlook Xi’an’s cityscape and marvel at its scale and strategic features, with commentaries from your guide. If you’re interested, enjoy a self-financed rental bike ride on it, which from our guests is an experience you can’t miss. After that, your guide will take you to visit the Tang-era Great Mosque (please wear shoulder and knee-covered clothes today or you won’t be allowed in the mosque). Have a stroll later through Muslim Quarter where the mosque sits, a blend of living area and bustling bazaar to browse for various local street food. For your lunch, perhaps choose a stand to try Roujiamo (Chinese hamburger) over Liangpi (cold rice noodles), a match every Shaanxi local would consider classic.

Then, head to the Railway Station for a 4-hour high-speed train ride to Chengdu. Your local guide will transfer you to the hotel on your arrival.

Meals: Western buffet breakfast

► Dinner Suggestion:
If you didn’t know, now you know - Chengdu was named by UNESCO as the City of Gastronomy. Seize your first opportunity to taste it! We recommend you to try dumplings at Zhong Shui Jiao, a brand established in 1893 and now a local specialty. You can find the flagship restaurant at People’s Park, where ingredients are prepared as early as 4 am and dumplings wrapped on the spot. Spicy Dan Dan Noodles and cute Panda Glutinous Rice Balls are also signature dishes of the restaurant. You can hire a taxi to go there which will drop you off in 20 minutes and 4 bucks is enough to get your belly full. Later, maybe hang around People’s Park (open until 10 pm) to help digest and observe local life to top it off.

Welcome to the home of giant pandas! We will start today from Chengdu Research Base of Giant Panda Breeding for you to have a close encounter with lovely giant pandas. Observe them eating and fooling around and take enviable pictures to post on Instagram! The next spot is Wide and Narrow Alley, a historical and cultural block in Chengdu offering Sichuan cuisine known for its popular spicy flavors. This afternoon, head for Jinsha Site Museum to learn about the enigma of the ancient Shu civilization, which thrived 3,000 years ago and vanished for unknown reasons, from the relics unearthed. You will pass stone figurines, ivory crafts, and potteries among others with your guide to arrive before the Gold Foil of Sun and Immortal Bird, the flagship exhibit. Don’t judge a relic by its size - although the foil is only 12.5 cm (0.4 feet) wide, a study has made sure there was state-of-the-art craftsmanship involved that even became a puzzle to be solved. The meaning behind the foil with a glowing sun in the middle also matters greatly for Chinese people, as it represents their dream of chasing the light. But the sun worship isn’t exclusive within China; instead, take the ancient Egypt for example, it worships more than one sun gods and deems scarab the holy symbol of the sun.

After the tour is completed, you will be escorted to the airport to take a flight to Guilin. Your Guilin guide and driver will pick you up and transfer you to the hotel.

Meals: Western buffet breakfast

Today's Guilin tour starts with a 4-hour cruise journey along the Li River to Yangshuo. Revel in sceneries along the river, some of which are so famously beautiful as to have a name of their own, such as the Yellow Cloth Shoal and the Mural Hill.

► Tips for Lunch:
Today the cruise company offers a box lunch which you might think too simple, so we suggest you have a hearty breakfast at the hotel and pack some snacks in advance for supplement. But rest assured that you will have an amazing overall experience, since the company receives rave reviews and is selected after on-the-spot research based on cost-effective standards!

★ Special Arrangement: Visit to Local Peasant’s House
Upon arrival at Yangshuo, go on a tour to the countryside and perfect it with a visit to a peasant’s home. You will chat with the peasant’s family, get permitted to fiddle around with traditional tools used in their daily life, and learn about local rural lifestyle. Stay here until the late afternoon, when you will be transferred back to Guilin.

Meals: Western buffet breakfast, Lunch

In the morning, follow your guide to Elephant Trunk Hill, Guilin’s landmark, with a shape like a giant elephant drinking water from the Li River. Next on our agenda is Reed Flute Cave, a representative karst cave with colorful lights enhancing stalagmites and stalactites in varied curious forms.

Your local guide will see you off at the railway station from which you will take a 7.5-hour high speed train to Zhangjiajie. After arrival in Zhangjiajie in the evening, your guide and driver will pick you up and transfer you to the hotel.

Meals: Western buffet Breakfast

Today, spend a wonderful day in Zhangjiajie National Forest Park. You may have been introduced by social media to the Hallelujah Mountain in Zhangjiajie, the model for floating mountains in the sci-fi film Avatar, but actually it’s only one of the three thousands of such spectacular stone pillars Zhangjiajie boasts. To find Hallelujah, we will take you to Yuanjiajie Scenic Area, where you will be lifted to a misty clifftop for it and a 360° view of other countless peaks as far as your eyes can reach.

★ Special Arrangement: Take the Tallest Elevator Up to Panoramic Lookout
At Yuanjiajie, a ride in the Bailong Elevator is included to a clifftop to have a panorama of the soaring peaks around. As the Guinness-awarded tallest and fastest outdoor elevator in the world, Bailong with glass windows will slice through the air up the cliffside to offer you an awe-inspiring journey.

Then, take an electric car to the Tianzi Mountain Nature Reserve, famous for towering stone pinnacles in dense clusters which you will find distinctive from the individual pillars of Yuanjiajie. Go on to explore the serene bottom and meander along the Golden Whip Stream that winds up to the Golden Whip Peak. At the end, hop on a small sightseeing train to Ten-Mile Gallery in Suoxiyu Scenic Area; this minutes-long trip will take you past many grotesque rock attractions, such as Old Man Gathering Herbs, Tiger Roaring to the Heaven and King Xiangwang Reading A Book, named for their shapes.

Meals: Western buffet breakfast, Lunch

Today's trip starts from Zhangjiajie Grand Canyon. You get to challenge yourself and have your blood plumping by walking the world's highest Glass Bridge 300 meters (981 feet) over the valley. As the name suggests, the pathway is made of transparent glass so while on it you will feel as if in the air. Perhaps lie on the glass floor and frame yourself and the lush canyon beneath you in a picture! Of course, if you are fear of heights, you can just stand by marveling at how the bridge, about a half kilometer (0.3 miles) long, spans. Later, take a boat ride on the Baofeng Lake, passing reflections of the lush environment on emerald water and a waterfall, while enjoying folk songs performed onboard.

Meals: Western buffet breakfast, Lunch

Today your Zhangjiajie tour continues to the highest peak of Zhangjiajie, Tianmen Moutain. You will climb 999 steps to reach the natural wonder Tianmen Cave (Tianmen means Heaven’s Gate), a hole through the mountain often made surreal by fog just as what its name suggests - see if you will have the feeling of ascending to Heaven! Next, visit 72 Qilou, constructed in Tujia ethnic style with Chinese traditional elements, to see what the highest stilted architecture in the world looks like.

After the visit, your guide will take you to the airport for an evening flight to Shanghai. When you arrive, your Shanghai guide and driver will meet you and drive you to the hotel.

Meals: Western buffet breakfast, Lunch

Today's Shanghai tour is the last sightseeing day of your 2 weeks private China tour package. We will first visit Shanghai Museum, one of the most prestigious museums in China home to 120,000 pieces, including famous ancient bronzewares, calligraphy works and paintings. Then, head to the Yu Garden, an exquisite classical Chinese garden aged over 400.

In the afternoon, join a one-hour Huangpu River cruise to enjoy the modern landscapes of Shanghai on either bank. Then your guide will take you to the Bund and leave you some free time to explore the kaleidoscopic streetscape, where the ensemble of colonial western-style architectures stand. The last spot is Tianzifang, a historical cultural street full of art galleries, cafes, bars and souvenir stores. After today’s trip, we will escort you back to the hotel.

Meals: Western buffet breakfast

► Dinner Suggestion:
For dinner, you will want to try Sheng Jian Bao (pan-fried pork buns), an intangible cultural heritage and local specialty every local would recommend, to cap off your visit to Shanghai. Crispy like cookies on the outside, succulent on the inside, seasoned with special vinegar that tastes more aromatic, these buns will make for a lovely time. Of many providers, the century-old Dong Tai Xiang is strongly recommended, as it ranks among the top with special attention to details in making process such as humiture and sanitation. It is located close to Tianzifang and would cost around 4 bucks to get yourself well stuffed.

Today, your guide and driver will transfer you from the hotel to the airport for your departing flight. We wish you a pleasant journey home!

If you want to explore more of China, just contact us and we will be glad to tailor this tour or simply arrange a tour extension based on your ideas!

Meals: Western buffet breakfast