Best of China
Day 1 - Beijing
Arrive in Beijing, welcome and transfer to your hotel to check in.
Beijing, the center of politics and culture since the 13th century, showcases China’s best art and imperial culture. In addition, today’s Beijing offers an excellent performance community, and a healthy variety of fine dining establishments.
Day 2 – Beijing
In the morning we will visit the Forbidden City, see the grand imperial palace used to be the residence of twenty four emperors in Ming and Qing dynasties. For the afternoon session we have a pedi-cab tour in Hutong (traditional alleyways) to get to know the locals life there. Peking duck will be arranged for dinner in the local restaurant.
Day 3 - Beijing
We will drive about 1.5 hours to Mutianyu section of the Great Wall, 90km away from north of Beijing. Have a soft walking on the wall which will take about 2-3 hours. On the way back to downtown we will have a stop at the Olympic Green, the modern and massive buildings where the Olympic games were held in 2008.
Day 4 – Beijing/Xi'an
Morning tour in the temple of Heaven, where past emperors worshiped heaven for good harvest, which nowadays becomes a public park for the locals’ daily life. In the late afternoon we fly to Xi’an, where we will stroll through the Muslim Quarter, a very popular food street for night life.
Day 5 - Xi'an
In the morning we drive about 1 hour to see the terracotta warriors, the biggest highlight of this city. Our afternoon tour consists of going to the city wall, the only one which is kept completely surrounding the old part of this city. If time permitted, we will drive a couple of minutes to visit the small goose pagoda, a peaceful local park nowadays, which still have a pagoda that is more than one thousand years old.
Day 6 – Xi’an/Lijiang
This morning we will fly to Lijiang in Yunnan via Kunming. On arrival you will be transferred to Lijiang old town, free time for you to relax.
Day 7 – Lijiang
In the morning we stroll through Lijiang Old Town’s lanes and local markets. In the afternoon we will have a biking tour in the Lijiang valley; visit Joseph Rock (an Austria-American botanist stay in Lijiang from 1920-1947) his former residence in a Naxi village; meet Dr. Ho in the Baisha village; Black Dragon Pool Park; and overnight in Lijiang.
Day 8 Lijiang/Shangri-La
We will drive for two hours to Qiatou (which means Bridge End in Chinese) (1835m). After crossing the Yangtze River, you will arrive at Tinas’ guest house. On the way you will experience a great view of Yulong Snow Mountain and overlooking the Jinshaojiang River Valley. After a short rest in Tinas’ guest horse, you will have 2 hours walk to the Middle Tiger Leaping Gorge. Hiking down to Tina’s Guest house passing a small but high waterfall on the way. Then you will trek further down to the Middle Tiger Leaping Gorge and back (about two hours). After lunch, we will drive to Shangri-la. There we will stay in 4-star hotel, comfortable and local style.
Day 9 – Shangri-La
Today we will visit Bitahai Lake and Ganden Sumsanlin Monastery. Hidden in dense forest, Bitahai is a well known freshwater lake in western Yunnan. In Tibetan, Bita means a blanket of oak trees. With an elevation of 3540 meters, the lake is 40 meters at its deepest and remains emerald all year round. Next, we will visit Ganden Sumsanlin monastery, the largest monastery in Yunnan, built in the 17th century. This impressive monastery was established under the instruction of the 5th Dalai Lama, and is home to over 700 monks. After visiting the monastery, we will drive back to Zhongdian, where you will have free time for you to explore the old town.
Day 10 – Shangri-La
Today we will go to the local village, see their traditional dancing, visit a local Tibetan family, have the experience of sipping yak butter tea with them and try the Tibetan hot pot there. After, we will go back to Shangri-la
Day 11 – Shangri-la/Shanghai
This morning we fly to Shanghai via Kunming; free afternoon and evening for you to relax;
Option tour: Acrobatics show
Day 12 Shanghai
In the morning we will visit the Shanghai Museum, which houses one of the finest collections of Chinese bronze and artwork in the world. After that we move to Yu garden, where used to be old market of this city, a good place for bargaining; In the late afternoon we stroll around the Bund at the Huangpu River, with beautiful buildings on both sides of the river, and take in views on top of the Shanghai World final center.
Day13 Shanghai/Home
Free time in the morning and afternoon be transferred to the airport, the end of this trip.
