11 Days China Classic Tour with Best Yangtze River Cruise Tour
Yangtze River is the longest river in Asia and the third-longest in the world. Being a dividing line between North China and South China, it traverses eleven provinces and cities from west to east with many stunning scenery and ancient cultural sites along the river. Besides the thrilling Cruise, this tour also includes China’s three popular triangles cities: Beijing, Xian, Shanghai.
Highlights:
- Stroll the mysterious Forbidden City and the majestic Great Wall in Beijing.
- Admire the Terracotta Warriors and Xian Museum to explore the old history and fantastic culture of China.
- Explore both the old history and modern prosperity of China.
- Have a luxurious cruise on the beautiful Yangtze River.
Brief Itinerary
- Day 1: Beijing Arrival
- Day 2: Beijing
- Day 3: Beijing
- Day 4: Beijing – Xian
- Day 5: Xian
- Day 6: Xian – Chongqing
- Day 7: Yangtze River Cruise
- Day 8: Yangtze River Cruise
- Day 9: Yichang – Shanghai
- Day 10: Shanghai
- Day 11: Shanghai Departure
Detailed Itinerary
Day 1 Beijing Arrival
Sightseeing and Activities:
Accommodation: Beijing
Meals:
Welcome to the capital of China – Beijing! Upon arrival, met by tour guide and transferred to you hotel. Free at leisure for the rest of the day.
Day 2 Beijing
Sightseeing and Activities: Tiananmen Square, the Forbidden City, the Temple of Heaven, Kung Fu Show
Accommodation: Beijing
Meals: Breakfast, Lunch
Breakfast at hotel, start today’s tour with Tiananmen Square. Go north through the square and you will reach the Forbidden City. As the largest and best-preserved ancient wooden structure in the world, it has more than 8,000 pavilions and thousands of historic treasures. Then enjoy the lunch.
In the afternoon, head to visit the royal altar of the Ming and Qing dynasties – the Temple of Heaven. Then have a fantastic Chinese Kung Fu Show at the Red Theatre in the evening.
Day 3 Beijing
Sightseeing and Activities: Badaling Great Wall, Ming Tomb
Accommodation: Beijing
Meals: Breakfast, Lunch
Get up early to visit Badaling Great Wall. Great Wall is one of the greatest architecture projects in human history. Then visit Ming Tomb, where 13 emperors and their wives of the Ming Dynasty were buried. See the appearance of Bird’s Nest on the way to your hotel at a distance.
Day 4 Beijing – Xian
Sightseeing and Activities: Summer Palace, Beijing hutong
Accommodation: Xian
Meals: Breakfast, Lunch
Visit the Summer Palace in the morning, , which used to be the summer resort for royal families and emperors. In the afternoon, walking along Beijing hutong alleys, narrow but original. Then fly to city of Xian. A local tour guide will pick you up at airport and transfer to your hotel.
Day 5 Xian
Sightseeing and Activities: Terracotta Warriors, Xian Museum, the Small Wild Goose Pagoda, Tang Dynasty Music and Dance Show
Accommodation: Xian
Meals: Breakfast, Lunch
Today visit the world famous Terracotta Warriors. The Terracotta Army is a collection of terracotta sculptures depicting the armies of Qin Shi Huang, the first Emperor of China. After that, visit the Xian Museum and the Small Wild Goose Pagoda. At night, enjoy the Tang Dynasty Music and Dance Show(paid by yourself).
Day 6 Xian – Chongqing
Sightseeing and Activities: the City Wall, Shaanxi Provincial History Museum
Accommodation: cruise
Meals: Breakfast, Lunch
Today visit the City Wall. Visitors can rent a bicycle and take a ride on the wall. And then visit Shaanxi Provincial History Museum, one of the first huge state museums with modern facilities in China and one of the largest with the large storage of cultural relics from the Shang Dynasty to the Qing Dynasty.
After lunch, drive to airport to board the flight to Chongqing. A local tour guide will pick you up at airport and transfer to the wharf to check-in the cruise. It sails at 09:00pm.
Day 7 Yangtze River Cruise
Sightseeing and Activities: Fengdu Ghost City(optional), Shibaozhai, Captain’s Welcome Party
Accommodation: cruise
Meals: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner
Enjoy the spectacular view from the deck. Morning have a cup of coffee or practise Tai Chi on the deck. Have an optional shore excursion to Fengdu Ghost City if you like. At around 16:00pm, there is an excursion to Shibaozhai to visit a 12-storey wooden pavilion built in the Ming Dynasty. After back to the cruise, join the Captain’s Welcome Party and have a buffet dinner.
Day 8 Yangtze River Cruise
Sightseeing and Activities: White Emperor City(optional), Three Gorges, Lesser Three Gorges or Shennong Stream, Captain’s Farewell Party
Accommodation: cruise
Meals: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner
Take and optional shore excursion to White Emperor City. Then continue the Yangtze River Cruise through the spectacular Three Gorges – Qutang Gorge, Wu Gorge and Xiling Gorge. After lunch, enjoy a shore excursion at Lesser Three Gorges or Shennong Stream. Join the Captain’s Farewell Party in the evening.
Day 9 Yichang – Shanghai
Sightseeing and Activities: Three Gorges Dam Site, Xiling Gorge
Accommodation: Shanghai
Meals: Breakfast, Lunch
Take a shore excursion to the Three Gorges Dam Site – one of the largest hydroelectric project in the world. Then sail through Xiling Gorge. Disembark at Yichang and be transferred to airport for your flight to Shanghai. The Shanghai local guide will pick you up from airport and escorted to your hotel.
Day 10 Shanghai
Sightseeing and Activities: Yuyuan Garden, Yuyuan Market, Shanghai Museum, the Jade Buddha Temple
Accommodation: Shanghai
Meals: Breakfast, Lunch
After breakfast, we will first visit Yuyuan Garden and Yuyuan Market. Yu Yuan Garden(or Yun Garden) is a famous classical garden located in Anren Jie, Shanghai. It abuts the Yuyuan Market. Then we will stop at Shanghai Museum. It is the Museum of Ancient Chinese Art with more than 120,000 precious and rare works of art. In the afternoon, we will head to the Jade Buddha Temple, which is a venerable and famous Buddhist temple built in 1928.
Day 11 Shanghai Departure
Sightseeing and Activities: the bund, Nanjing Road East, Oriental Pearl TV Tower
Accommodation:
Meals: Breakfast
Today visit the bund, which is located along the Huangpu River. It is a famous waterfront and regarded as the symbol of Shanghai. Then we will head to East Nanjing Road – the first choice for many fashion-seeking shoppers. You can find out whatever you want. Afterwards we will stop at Oriental Pearl TV Tower. The ultra-modern Oriental Pearl TV Tower combines ancient concepts with 21st Century technology, where you can get a bird-eye-view of whole Shanghai city.
In the afternoon, we will drive you to the airport for your flight.
Service Included:
- Admission fees for all of the sightseeing spots listed in the itinerary;
- Meals as listed in the itinerary;
- Hotels as listed in the itinerary;
- Private English-speaking tour guide;
- Private vehicle for transfers & sightseeing with skilled driver;
- Service charge & government taxes;
- Luggage transfers between airports and hotels;
- Domestic train tickets of soft sleeper.
Service Excluded:
- Any arrival and departure international airfares or train tickets;
- Chinese visa fees;
- Excess baggage charged by Airlines;
- Single room supplement;
- Tips to guides and drivers;
- Personal expenses and gratuities to service staff;
- Personal travel accident insurance;
- All optional programs.
