Scenic Huangshan & Classic Garden

When your flight arrives in Shanghai today, your private guide is greeting you outside the Customs of the airport after your baggage reclaiming and Customs clearance. We will transfer you to the reserved hotel in the downtown area and help you check in. The rest of the day is on your own to explore the city.

In the morning, you will enjoy breakfast at the hotel before starting your private guided tour to visit one of the best museums in China, the Shanghai Museum. There you will see a vast storage of historical items like bronzes, chinaware, Chinese paintings and famous calligraphy works. Then we drive for a few minutes to visit the Yu Garden, one of the best-known gardens. In this classical garden of southern Yangtze River, unique artificial hills, clear ponds, winding corridors and delicate pavilions are all arranged in a harmonious and compact layout. An a la carte welcome lunch (valued at CNY150.00 per person and included in our price) of authentic Shanghai and Cantonese cuisines will be served at a famous local restaurant. 

After lunch, we proceed to the Bund to take a one-hour Huangpu River Cruise to enjoy remarkable scenery along the river. On the east bank, rows of huge mansions show the modern Shanghai, while on the west bank, the old-style western buildings tell you the vicissitudes of old Shanghai in the past 100 years. Explore the Bund area after disembarking. Originally, the Bund was just a towpath for transporting goods, but now it becomes a busy trading district and also a must-see sightseeing spot of Shanghai. In the end, before we transfer you back to the hotel, we will visit Tianzifang, an old cultural street.

Meals: Western buffet breakfast, A la carte lunch

Please check out of the hotel after breakfast. We will transfer you to the railway station to take a high speed train to Suzhou. You local guide and driver in Suzhou will welcome you at the station. Since Suzhou is well-known for its delicate gardens, the first attraction you will visit today is the Humble Administrator's Garden, the biggest classical landscape garden in Suzhou. As the “mother of Chinese gardens”, it makes full use of the limited space, presenting a peaceful and quiet landscape with refreshing ponds, pavilions, ornamental perforated windows, cloisters, hills, ancient trees, green grass and colorful flowers. Then you will visit the nearby Suzhou Museum. 

After that, your guide will accompany you to take a hand-rowing boat ride along the old canal to the Pingjiang Road. Actually it is a historical block of Suzhou lined with traditional houses and old alleys. There are many featured stores and restaurants. You can try the local food at one of the eateries. Then you will be taken to visit another beautiful Suzhou garden, the Garden of the Master of the Nets, which is famous for its exquisite buildings and ingenious layout.

Meals: Western buffet breakfast

Today you will take a side trip to Zhouzhuang, the No.1 Water Town in China. Surrounded by the riverway, the town features clear water, elegantly crafted bridges, gurgling streams and classical buildings, as well as distinctive local traditions. In the town, you will specially visit the Shen House, which is a Qing-dynasty style complex built in 1742. In the Shen House, you will see ancient halls and yards connected by arcades and bridges and exquisite decoration of wood, brick and stone carvings. Before dusk, you will return to the hotel in Suzhou.

Meals: Western buffet breakfast

This morning, your guide will see you off at Suzhou Railway Station and you will take a 1.5-hour high-speed train to Hangzhou. Your guide and driver in Hangzhou will greet you upon your arrival, and take you to the hotel in the downtown area. After a short break, you will start your Hangzhou tour to experience the Chinese tea culture in Meijiawu Tea Village. You are going to enter the tea plantation, pick tea leaves, learn to bake tea and finally taste the fragrant Dragon Well Tea. Lunch will be arranged in the Chenghuang Pavilion in the tea village.

Then you will visit the famous Lingyin Temple (Temple of Soul's Retreat), one of the ten most famous Buddhist temples in the country. Not far from the Lingyin Temple, you will come to the famous West Lake and visit it by boat. You will marvel at the alluring landscape of beautiful lakes, elegant hills, shady trees, refreshing springs and streams, as well as many aged historical relics.

Meals: Western buffet breakfast, Lunch

After breakfast, we will depart for Huangshan on a 2-hour high speed train. Upon your arrival, the local guide and driver will meet you at the railway station and transfer you to the hotel in Huangshan city.

After a short break, your guide will accompany you to visit one of the World's Heritage sites, the Hongcun Village in Yi County, which is an 880-year-old ancient village with graceful scenery of mountains, lakes, rivers, bridges and old dwelling houses. Then get back to the downtown area to visit the Tunxi Old Street. Walking along the street, you will see the age-old houses decorated with delicate wood and stone carvings, the time-honored shops selling brushes and ink for Chinese calligraphy, and small restaurants for tasty local foods.

Meals: Western buffet breakfast

Please check out of the hotel after breakfast. We will drive you to the famous Huangshan Mountain (Yellow Mountain). You should not miss it during your natural scenery appreciation. We suggest you leave your heavy luggage at the concierge of the hotel in Huangshan city and prepare a backpack with necessary items to take with you on the mountain. The mountain climate is changeable with big temperature differences from time to time, so raincoat and warm clothes are always suggested. Huangshan Mountain is noted for the unique pines, grotesque rocks, dreamlike cloud sea and gurgling hot springs. While taking the cable car to the mountain, you will find yourself among magnificent scenery. 

Getting to the terminal of the cable car, you still need to walk along the winding path and steps for a distance to reach the hotel. Enjoy the views of the Beginning-to-Believe Peak, the Peach Blossom Valley, the Lion Peak, the Flying-over Rock and the Bright Summit. You can also observe the pines and rocks at a short distance. The great scenery along the way will relieve the fatigue of climbing the mountain. Tonight you will stay at the best hotel on the mountain.

Meals: Western buffet breakfast, Lunch

The sunrise on Huangshan Mountain is breathtaking and enjoyable, so it is suggested to check the weather forecast beforehand and get up early to see the splendid sunrise view. In the morning, continue the sightseeing visit to the Cloud-dispelling Pavilion and Xihai Grand Canyon.

After lunch, you will take a cable car down the mountain. Your guide and driver will transfer you to the railway station for a high speed train to Beijing. It takes around 6.5 hours, so you are recommended to take some fruits or snacks onboard the train. Upon your arrival in Beijing, the guide and driver will meet you and transfer you to the hotel.

Meals: Western buffet breakfast, Lunch

Your private guided tour in Beijing begins with a visit to the famous world's heritage, the Mutianyu Great Wall, which is one of the best-preserved sections of the China Great Wall and renowned for its precipitous landform and gorgeous landscape. We will arrange a round-way cable car for you, or you can choose to take a chairlift up and a toboggan down. You decide how long you will stay on the wall.

Lunch is on your own. On the way back to downtown in the afternoon, you will have a photo stop when driving by the Bird's Nest (Olympic National Stadium). Before returning back to the hotel, you will explore a popular local market.

Meals: Western buffet breakfast

In the morning, after a stroll around the world's largest city square, the Tiananmen Square, you will come to the famous Forbidden City. Namely the Palace Museum, the Forbidden City is the largest imperial palace complex in the world, boasting grand palaces with high red walls and golden roofs, exquisite architecture and a vast storage of cultural relics. With the guide’s full explanations, you get to know more of the history behind.

As is our practice to avoid the tourist eateries being arranged by most agencies, we will offer you an a la carte lunch  (valued at CNY150.00 per person and included in our price) at a nice and elegant Cantonese cuisine restaurant.

In the afternoon, we continue to visit another famous attraction - the Temple of Heaven, the imperial altar for the emperors of the Ming and Qing dynasties to worship for good harvests. The unique buildings, ancient pines, and beautiful landscape will leave you with a deep impression.

Meals: Western buffet breakfast, A la carte lunch

Please check out of the hotel after breakfast. You will then enjoy the guided tour to visit the Summer Palace. As the largest imperial garden in China, the Summer Palace earns its fame for the harmonious combination of garden design and natural beauty. You can see the ancient houses, corridors, bridges and towers casually dotted among the lakes and hills, but still make perfect landscape.

After that, we will transfer you to the airport for your homeward flight. Your guide will help you handle the boarding card and then say farewell. 

Meals: Western buffet breakfast