How to book a tour
China Shangrila
Tour code: beijing 057
Duration: 19 days
Route: Beijing, Xian, Lijiang, Guilin, Shanghai
Attractions: Tian'anmen Square,The Great Wall at Gubeikou,Provincial Museum,The Bell Tower,Reed Flute Cave, etc
Itinerary:
Day 1 ( )
Arrival / Beijing
Transfer via: International flight to Beijing-On your own arrangement
Arrive at Beijing. Be met & transferred to your hotel with your private car and English speaking tour guide.
Day 2 (B, L, D)
Beijing
Full day trip to the Tian'anmen Square, the Forbidden City, the Temple of Heaven and the Summer Palace. Enjoy the Peking Opera Show in the evening.
TianAnMen Square, the symbolical heart of China and gathering place for the masses. It is the biggest public square in the world, which can hold one million people. Having a free walk there, imagining the great historic events of the 20th century took place there. You will also see legendary landmarks including the Great Hall of the People and the towering 125 foot granite obelisk, Monument to the Peoples Heroes, honoring those who died in revolution.
Walking across the Golden River Bridge, enter the Forbidden City, the inner sanctum and palace where for centuries Chinese emperors ruled their world. It has 9000-room maze of courtyards, places, and ceremonial halls, where 24 emperors used to live. Forbidden City was indeed a forbidden place, where commoners were kept out for nearly 500 years in the past. Tour the palace and imagine the mystery, intrigue and incredible power that reigned here.
Temple of Heaven was built in the 15th century, a sacred site for ancient Beijing, where the emperor and his 1000 member entourage would retreat twice a year for religious ritual. Surrounded by enormous grounds designed in accordance with fengshshui, the Temple complex consists of the Celebrated Hall of Prayer for Good Harvests, a unique wooden and blue-tiled structure built without a nail. It is considered the supreme achievement of traditional Chinese architecture.
The Summer Palace is the largest and best-preserved royal garden in China with a history of over 800 years. With its cool features - water, gardens and hills, it was the palace of choice for vacationing emperors and Dowager Empresses. It was badly damaged by Anglo-French troops during the Second Opium War (1860) and its restoration became a pet project of Empress Dowager Cixi, the last of the Qing dynasty rulers.
Day 3 (B, L, D )
Beijing
Drive to Gubeikou in the morning and hike to Jinshanling. Sleep overnight in camps on the watch towers of Great Wall.
The Great Wall at Gubeikou is situated in the northeast of Minyun County of Beijing. It has been a communication center of strategic importance since ancient times. Beikou city was built in 1378 and was named Yingcheng. The surrounding wall runs over 2 kilometres with one gate on each of its three sides-east, north and south. Lying across the Caohe River with three water gates underground, the Great Wall at the Gubeikou Pass presents a rare magnificent view.
The Great Wall at the Jinshan Ridge is located at the boundary between Miyun County, Beijing and Luanping County, Hebei province. It has been a strategic place contested by militarists since ancient times. The 25-kilometer-long Jinshan Ridge section has as many as 150 watchtowers and battlements, terraces and turrets. Architecturally, there are towers of various shapes--square, circular, oblate and cornered, and roofs of different strctures --flat, vaulted, domed and quadrangular, or with an octagonal caisson ceiling. The section, characterized by its diversified structures, is an outstanding part of China's Great Wall.
Day 4 (B, L, D )
beijing
Hike from Jinshanlin to Simatai today (12km up and down), drive back to Beijing upon arriving Simatai Located at the boundary between Gubeikou Town, 130 km away from Beijing, and Luanping County, Hebei Province, the 19-kilometre-long wall of Simatai began its construction in 1368. Architectually, the wall is delicately structured and unique in design. The 35 watchtowers there are original structured and varied in form. The Tower for Viewing the Capital at an elevation of 986 metres above sea level, is constructed on sheer precipices. This part of the great wall is
charictorized as astonish, Unusual and Vicious.
Day 5 (B, L)
Beijing / Xi'an
Transfer via: PM flight
Visit Hutongs by rickshaw. Flight to Xi'an, ancient capital for 11 centuries, and the ancient gateway to the Silk Road full of Chinese legendary. In the afternoon, you are arranged to visit the Provincial Museumm.
Hutongs: The old narrow paths where common people lived. All the Hutongs crisscross with each other, dotted with the Kindergarten, the Bell Tower, the Drum Tower, the Tea House, and the lake, House of Gong Infant and local people's houses among them.
Shaanxi historical museum: The Shaanxi Historical Museum, a large-scale modern State-class museum, is situated at the western side of the "Wild Goose Pagoda" in Xian City. It covers an area of about 70,000 square meters, the architectural area of which is 55,000 odd square meters. It was completed on June 20, 1991 and open to the public.
Day 6 (B, L)
Xi'an
Xi'an's rich history comes alive on a visit to the greatest archaeological finding of the century: the army of terra cotta warriors and the bronze chariots entombed in vast underground vaults at emperor Qin's tomb. Other monuments on your tour include Big Wild Goose Pagoda and Bell Tower.
The Terra-cotta Warriors and Horses: The greatest archaeological findings of the century: the army of terra-cotta warriors and the bronze chariots entombed in vast underground vaults at emperor Qin's tomb.
The Bell Tower: The emblem of Xian city.
The Wild Goose Pagoda: The pagoda where widely renowned Master Xuanzang (Monk Tripitaka) stored his classics brought from India.
Day 7 (B, L)
Xi'an / Lijiang
Transfer via: AM flight
Flight to Lijiang via Kunming, Arrive at Lijiang airport, pickup by our English speaking tour guide and transfer to hotel. Visit the old town of Lijiang, escorted tour to Square Street.
The Lijiang ancient town of Dayan: The town was built in the late song dynasty and the early Yuan dynasty and was listed by the UNESCO on the list of the world's major cultural heritages in 1997.
Day 8 (B, L, D )
Lijiang / Middle Tiger Leaping Gorge
At 6:00, drive to Qiaotou Town, it takes 2 hours on the trip. Your hiking trip starts from here, the 28 zigzaging turns will be a real text. The total trekking route is 28 km, and it takes about 6-8 hours. You will arrive at Tina's Inn to finish today's trekking.
The Tiger Leaping Gorge: one of the world's four great gorges - is located in Hutiaoxia Town in Zhongdian County, is honored as one of the deepest and most marvelous gorges on the globe.
Day 9 (B, L, )
Tiger Leaping Gorge / Lijiang
The toal hiking journey today is 18 km.
In the early morning, 1 hour walking down the steep cliff to the bank of Jinsha River, worship the dangerours shoal of "Starriness", it is the most narrow part of the gorge, where a tiger can easily jump over the Jinsha River.
1 more hour to climb up the gorge, have a tea break after the exciting voyage. Continue your trekking through trails for 2 km (about 1 hour) to a small ferry, cross the river by boat, climb up the cliff and see the beautiful Daju Town. Enjoy a local lunch in the village, and drive to Lijiang.
We will stop at Yak Meadow where a cable car visit to Jade Dragon Snow Mountain is available.
Day 10 (B, L )
Lijiang
Visit Yuhu Village, a village at the foot of Jade Dragon Snow Mountain, where Mr Joseph Rock, a famous Russian Scientist lived for 27 years from 1922 to 1949, enjoy hundreds of photoes and articles of the culture in this area .
Free time for the rest of the day.
Day 11 (B, L)
Lijiang/Guilin
Transfer via: Flight from Kunming to Guilin our arrangement.
Fly to Kunming then take connecting flight to Guilin, a romantic scenic beauty that inspired poets and artists for centuries. Upon arrival, pickup by our English speaking tour guide and drive to , visit Longji Mountain Village, about 2 hours driving on road, stroll around the village. Stay in the mountain village overnight.
Longsheng is famous for the Dragon's Backbone Rice Terraces: 60square kilometers of terraced rice fields southeast of Longsheng. They were first built in the Yuan dynasty and completed in the Qing dynasty by Zhuang people. The terraced fields are built along the slope winding from the riverside up to the mountaintop, with the highest place of an elevation of 885m and the lowest 380m. The coiling line spirals up from the mountain foot to the top, making the mountain looks like huge snail seen from afar.
Day 112 (B, L, )
Longji / Guilin
Transfer to Guilin by road. Visit Reed Flute Cave, Elephant Trunk Hill. Take evening cruise on Li River and surrounding lakes.
Visit the Reed Flute Cave. Aside ten minutes drive (half hour bike ride) from downtown, the cave is one of the largest known examples of what each tropical karst cone conceals within it. The script writers and set designers for Star Trek would have a field day in this cavernous underground stalactite/stalagmite maze-style theater. The dropping water is rich and the dripstones are not only in various types but also in big size, displaying a wonderful cave world. This cave was called "The Art Gallery of Mother Nature". Colored fluorescent lights which cast shadows and illuminate shapes of imaginary animals, fruits and vegetables complete the unworldly effect.
Following with Elephant Trunk Hill. It is located on the west bank of the Li River by a small branch called Peach blossom River, and resembles a huge elephant standing on the bank of the river, sucking up water with its long trunk. The trunk is particularly striking and lifelike when viewed either nearby or afar. A circular foot cave called Shui Yue Dong (Moon-In-the Water Cave) separates the trunk and the body. A 3-story Ming Dynasty (1368-1644 A.D) brick pagoda rises from the top of hill.
Day 13(B, L, )
Guilin / Yangshuo
After the breakfast you take bus to Dock. You will start your Li River Cruise from here. The total Journey is around 30 Kilometers and takes 4 hours. On the way you will see the most beautiful landscapes and pass throw the local villages.
Later this day you will arrive at Yangshuo. You can also choose to stay in the town, stroll around the local market, witness the daily activities of local society. Or you might enjoy a class for Chinese Tachi in Yangshuo at sunset.
Yangshuo, the natural scenery features unique karst hills, crystal water, exquisite stones and intricate caves as well as a cultural historic heritage and folks of diverse customs. At night, have fun on the West Street, don't drink too much to miss tomorrow's program. Or you can go to watch the envening show - Impression Liu Sanjie. The optional ticket is RMB 188 per person. The Cormorant Bird catching fish show at night is also something new (optional).
Day 14 (B, L, )
Yangshuo / Shanghai
From 6:30 to 9:00 am, cycle for 2 hours from Yangshuo to Aishan Village in the early morning, you will arrive at the Licun village and then you continue you bike ride on the trails to Yangshuo. After a hot shower in the hotel, you will be transfer by company vehicle to take bamboo rafting for two hours on Yulong River through limestone mountains and trails.
Later today you will be transferred to Guilin International Airport to catch the flight to Shanghai. Pickup and transfer to the hotel in Shanghai. Free time for the rest of the day.
Day 16 (B, L)
Shanghai
Tour to the Bund, Nanjing Road, Jade Buddha Temple, Yu Garden & Yu Market. Free time for shopping at Nanjing Road at night.
Shanghai Museum: The biggest museum in China, with a collection of over 120,000 pieces of Chinese art & cultural relics. The museum is especially famous for its treasures of bronzes, ceramics, paintings, and calligraphy.
Yu Garden: It is characteristic of the architectural style of the Ming Dynasty and it used to be a private garden with 400 years' history. Infront of the garden, there is a market called Yu Market.
The Bund: the former foreign settlement, ranged along with imposing buildings of the colonial period.
Nanjing Road: the busiest shoping street in Shanghai.
Day 17 (B, L)
Shanghai / Suzhou
Transfer via: Coach-on our arrangement
Be transferred to Suzhou. A cruise on the Grand Canal, then visit the Pan Gate, Lingering Garden, The No.1 Silk Factory,and transfer to Shanghai in the evening.
Grand Canal: The Grand Canal ranks alongside the Great Wall of China as the country's greatest engineering achievement and it is the longest man-made waterway in world.Cruising on the Canal,you can see the local people's life.
Pan Gate: Pan Gate is an ancient city gate with land and water entrances. One gate with land and water entrances was quite typical in ancient China. Pan Gate is the only one left.
Lingering Garden: Shouzhou is famouse for its the Gardens. Lingering Garden is an elaborate succession of small gardens. Linging in the garden you would marver this unique architecture art.
The No.1 Silk Factory: Suzhou is also famous for its silk production. In the factory you can see how the silk is processed from the silk worm to the final woven cloth.
Day 18 (B, L, )
Suzhou / Shanghai
Transfer via: Van-on our arrangment
Morning tour to ancient Town of Luzhi before taking afternoon train to Shanghai. Watch famous Shanghai Acrobats in the evening.
Day 19( )
Shanghai / Departure
Transfer via:International flight on your own arrangement
Be met at the hotel lobby and be transferred to the airport for your flight back home.
Notice: The raining season in Zhongdian, Tiger Leaping Gorge, Lujiang and Lijiang is from late May to early September, roads might be block by mountain slide and falling rocks. The best traveling time for our trekking tour is from October to April.
In case of bad weather condition or road difficulties, the original itinerary which has been confirmed by us might has to be changed accordingly by our local tour guide, or even the whole trip could be cancelled eventually. Please trust the judgement of our expienced tour guide, they are the expert and have escored trekking trips for years.