The tour starts from Beijing and ends in Shanghai. You will not only explore the mysterious Tibet, but also experience the freedom of cruise on Yangtze River. Besides, visit China’s ancient and modern cities.
Day 1 Beijing
Beijing dates back more than 1,000years before Christ and was a grand imperial capital from the tenth century A.D. onward. It became the capital of the new communist nation in 1949.
Hotel check-in& free time
Day 2 Beijing
Tiananmen Square is the world’s largest public square and can accommodate more than one million people. A huge portrait of Mao hangs over the Gate of Heavenly Peace. Completed in 1420, the Forbidden City was off limits to visitors for 500 years. Marvel at its acres of grandeur—elegant palaces, pavilions, courtyards and gardens--all walled in as a rectangular island within a moat wide enough for naval engagements.
Tiananmen Square＆Forbidden City tour
The magnificent Summer Palace, a 700-acre garden and complex of buildings, whose Chinese name means Garden of Nurtured Harmony, was used by the imperial Court to escape the bustle of Beijing. Enjoy a boat ride on one of the garden’s lakes. (B+L+D)
Summer Palace tour & Beijing Zoo
Peking Duck Dinner
Day 3 Beijing
Walk along the Sacred Way, along avenue lined with sculptures of elephants, lions and camels leading to the Ming Tombs .In the Badaling Hill is one of the most impressive and best-preserved sections of the fabled Great Wall of China. (B+L+D)
Sacred Way Of the Ming Tombs＆Great Wall excursion: Peking Opera
Day 4 Beijing＆Xian
A rickshaw ride is the best way to discover Beijing’s narrow lanes alleys called Hutongs.
Hutongs rickshaw tour＆silk carpet factory visit
Xian was once one of the world’s biggest and richest cities, and is the geographical beginning of the era with traditional song and dance and colorful period costumes (B+L+D).
Fly to Xian＆Tang Dynasty dinner show
Day 5 Xian&Chengdu
China’s greatest archaeological treasure is the Qin Mausoleum where the Emperor Qin Shi Huang was buried with more than 6,000 life-sized terra cotta warriors, archers and infantry men, together with their horses and chariots. Walkways provide a bird’s-eye view of the stunning sight of an entire army molded in incredible detail. You’ll also visit the factory where the terra cotta is still fired. (B+L+D)
Terra Cotta Army＆factory visit; fly to Chengdu ＆ hotel check-in
Day 6 Lhasa
“City of the Sun” is the economic, spiritual and cultural center of Tibet, a remote mountain theocracy based on the mystical tenets of Lamaism. The remoteness of Tibet has always meant that strangers a re welcome guests, and the people gentle spirituality infuses any visit with simple ceremony and gracious greeting. (B+L+D)
Fly to Lhasa＆hotel check-in: Tibetan fami1y tea.
Day 7 Lhasa
The maze of streets lined with stalls at the Barkhor Market in the old section of Lhasa bustles with activity, and at the 1,300-year-old Jokhang Temple you are likely to see Buddhist pilgrims making reverent clockwise circuits on their hands and knees in reverence to one of Tibet’s most sacred sites．At the Tibetan Museum learn about the history of this region set at the top of the world. (B+L+D)
Jokhang Temple＆Barkhor Market tours;Tibetan Museum tour＆Tibetan dinner
Day 8 Lhasa
The extraordinary 13-story Potala Palace. Winter palace of the revered Dalai Lama since the seventh century, boasts more than 1,000 rooms，including the Red Palace(where the Dalai Lama Once lived)and 10,000 chapels. Perched high on Marpo Ri Hill, the palace is visible from all parts of Lhasa. The Sera Monastery is an active temple welcoming many pilgrims and has three colleges for training monks．(B+L+D)
Potala Palace＆Sera Monastery
Day 9 Chongqing
The proud mountain city of Chongqing was the capital of China during WWII, when the American Volunteer Air Group, the Flying Tigers, was based here. Today, Chongqing is China’s third municipal city under the direct administration of the Central government．(B+L+D)
Fly to Chongqing & embark ship: visit Chongqing by Night tour
Day 10 Fenqdu
Dock in the “Ghost City” of Fenqdu to visit Snow Jade Cave, a fantastic underground maze of streams and caverns. Be among the first to visit this cave, which was opened to the public in late 2003.
Snow Jade Cave excursion: scenic cruising
Day 11 Shibaozhai
Shibaozhai Temple is a gem of Chinese architecture. Built during the Qing Dynasty in 1650, this 12-story red pavilion is perched on a sheer cliff towering over the river. (B+L+D)
Shibaozhai Temple tour: scenic cruising
Day 12 Qutang & Wu Gorges; Lesser Three Gorges
For the next 150 miles, the Yanqtze forces its way through a spectacular barrier of solid limestone ridges known as the Three Gorges. Qutang Gorge is the shortest and narrowest of the three large gorges, and is quite spectacular Wu (Witches) Gorge, is noted for its magnificent scenery of lush green mountains. Board authentic sampans for an excursion through the Lesser Three Gorges on a Yanqtze tributary Narrower than the great Three Gorges. These remarkable canyons are equally impressive. Sheer cliffs and steep mountains rise on either side and clear water flows between towering peaks covered with lush greenery. (B+L+D)
Qutang＆Wu Gorges scenic cruising; Lesser Three Gorges sampan excursion
Day 13 Xiling Gorge & Three Gorges Dam
Xiling Gorge, the longest of the Three Gorges, is noted for its narrow and precipitous cliffs. You’ll sail through some of the world’s most dramatic scenery-past tombs, shrines and caves---through stretches of tranquil water and swirling rapids.
Xiling Gorge scenic cruising
Sandouping is the site of the monumental Three Gorges Dam project. During this thought—provoking visit. You’ll hear about the immense construction project and its effects on the people and landscape. In bringing power and flood control to this area, this hydroelectric project will displace more than one million people, and submerge over 1,000 Cities and villages. (B+L+D)
Three Gorges Dam visit
Day 14 Jingzhou
Drop by Jingzhou Museum and experience the local life
In parts of rural China, village life goes on much as it has for centuries. Some sections of ancient city walls and their moat remain intact. Jingzhou museum also boasts of valueless treasures unearthed around the city. (B+L+D)
Rural village&Jingzhou Museum visit
Day 15 Wuhan
This capital of Hubei Province is a cosmopolitan city complete with European-style buildings and is the gateway to the Yangtze Gorges. You’ll visit the Hubei Provincial Museum filled with its archeological treasures including a collection of intricately worked bronze bells featuring warrior figure bases dating back to ancient China. (B+L+D)
Hubei Museum tour＆bells performance; Chinese music Performance
Day 16 Shanghai
The largest city in China and one of the world’s most important ports began as a tiny fishing village 5,000 years ago. Travel along the famous Bund, a five—block—long, elegant river front promenade containing many of Shanghai’s banks and trading houses. (B+L+D)
Disembark ship＆fly to Shanghai; Bund/Shanghai nostalgic tour
Day 17 Shanghai
Hotel check—out (B)