14 Days China Ancient Imperial Cities Tour

We will start the tour form the center of the city - 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.

The last stop is Summer Palace , which used to be the summer resort for royal families and emperors.

In the morning, head to visit Mutianyu Great Wall. Great Wall is one of the greatest architecture projects in human history. Then visit Ming Tomb(Changling), where the 3rd emperor of Ming Dynasty Zhu Di and his queen were buried.

See the appearance of Bird’s Nest and Water Cube on the way back to your hotel.

In the morning, we will head to visit Temple of Heaven - the royal altar of the Ming and Qing dynasties. Then move on to visit Beijing hutong alleys, narrow but original.

After lunch, transferred to Beijing Railway Station and take the soft-sleeper train to Datong City. A local tour guide will pick you up at train station and transfer to your hotel.

After breakfast at hotel, drive about 70km to visit Hanging Temple. Built more than 1,500 years ago, this temple is notable for its location on a sheer precipice and the only existing temple with the combination of three Chinese traditional religions: Buddhism, Taoism, and Confucianism.

After the visit, drive back to Datong city and visit Nine-Dragon Screen and Yungang Caves. Nine Dragon Wall is the oldest and largest glazed-tile Nine Dragon wall still extant in China. And Yungang Grottoes are excellent examples of rock-cut architecture and one of the three most famous ancient Buddhist sculptural sites of China.

In the morning, take the train to Pingyao. The rest of the day is free at leisure.

After breakfast at hotel, start today’s tour with Shuanglin Temple, a large Buddhist temple, is notable for its collection of more than 2,000 decorated clay statues that are dated to the 12th-19th centuries. Then continue the tour to Wang Family Compound. Wang Family Compound is a luxurious residence built during 1762-1811 by the descendants of the Wang Family, one of the Four Families of the Qing Dynasty in Shanxi Province.

In the morning, head to visit one of the earliest exchange shops in China founded during the Qing Dynasty - Rishengchang Exchange Shop, to experience the scene that appeared one hundred years ago. The exchange shop is now a museum.

Then head to the ancient city wall to get a bird view of this town and stroll along the ancient Ming and Qing Street, which was the busiest centre of business at that time.

Afterwards continue the tour to Ancient Government Office and Ancient Security Guard Company.

Then take the overnight train to Xian.

Day 9 Xian

Upon your arrival, a local tour guide will pick you up and transfer you to your hotel for a short rest. Then start today's tour with 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.

The next stop is Big Wild Goose Pagoda, a Buddhist pagoda built in 652 during the Tang dynasty with original five stories.

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 lunch, take high speed train to Luoyang. Picked up by tour guide and start today's tour after luggage settlement. First we will visit the White Horse Temple, the first Buddhist temple in China and renowned as the cradle of Chinese Buddhism. It was established in 68 AD under the patronage of Emperor Ming in the capital Luoyang of Eastern Han dynasty.

Then move on to Luoyang Museum of Ancient Tombs, a museum presenting Chinese ancient tombs.

Morning, drive about 1.5 hours to Shaolin Temple, which is about 80km away from Luoyang. With a history of more than 1500 years, it is reputed as the Head Temple of all Zen Buddhist temples in China. And in the year of 2010, it was listed as the UNESCO World Cultural Heritage Site.

Then move on to Pagoda Forest to see hundreds of stone pagodas and graveyard for the monks through the ages.

Shaolin Kung Fu performance is another highlight of this tour, which is performed by the professional performance team from Shaolin Tagou Wushu School.

After the tour, drive back to Luoyang.

In the morning, take the flight to Shanghai and picked up by the local tour guide. The rest of the day is free at leisure. Shanghai Acrobatic show and Xintiandi Bar Street are highly recommended for you to experience the nightlife of Shanghai.

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 City God Temple, which is a famous Taosim temple in Shanghai area, and the must-see attraction when traveling in Shanghai.

Afterwards visit the bund and Nanjing Road. Located along the Huangpu River, the bund is a famous waterfront and regarded as the symbol of Shanghai. Nanjing Road is the first choice for many fashion-seeking shoppers.

Next stop is 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.

At last we will visit Shanghai Municipal History Museum at the pedestal of the tower.

Explore this city at leisure until being escorted to Shanghai airport for your flight to next destination. Service ends.