Chiny 2010
D1.OCT 06 Hometown to Beijing
D2. OCT 07 Beijing
Arrive PEK 3:45PMWelcome to Beijing Capital International Airport, the 2nd busiest airport in the world by passenger traffic. You will be greeted by our tour guide and transferred to check in at your luxurious hotel where you are at your leisure to relax and enjoy the evening.
D3. OCT 08 Beijing
Beijing, the capital city, is also the second largest city in China with population of 17.4 million. Your full day tour begins at the Tiananmen Square (Gate of Heavenly Peace). Next, you will tour the Forbidden City (Gu Gong or The Imperial Palaces), which is the imperial palace for Ming and Qing emperors for 500 years. The Third Ming Emperor YongLe moved the capital of China to Beijing in early 1400. Summer Palace is described by UNESCO as “a masterpiece of Chinese landscape garden design”. Later you can enjoy a walk along Lake Kunming in Summer Palace. enjoy a fabulous Peking Duck Banquet (Kao Ya) as dinner, you will be served with carved crispy duck skins, roll it up in small slice with cucumber, onion, and special sause, to give you a mouthwatering experience that you won’t forget.
D4. OCT 09 Beijing
The Great Wall of China (Chang Cheng) is another world heritage site, You can hike along the Badaling Pass of the Great Wall, where President Richard Nixon and his wife visited on February 24, 1972, during his historic journey to China. Enjoy lunch at a local restaurant followed by a visit to the historic Hutong and Alley (Hu Tong) of Beijing old town. Here you can sense the many different sights and sounds of historic Beijing. You can take a walk along the World Trade Street and later watch the ‘Legend of Kungfu’ show.
D5. OCT 10 Beijing
Today, you can explore the Capital city of China on your own. An optional tour is available to visit Tianjin. Tianjin is the sixth largest city of China, only 30 minutes away from Beijing by Maglev-Train. Tianjin has several famous snack items. Goubuli is a traditional brand of steamed buns with tasty flavor filling that is famous throughout China. Guifaxiang is a traditional brand of mahua (twisted dough sticks). Visit Ancient Culture Street, this 580- meter-long street is full of Qing Dynasty style Architectures. Head back to Beijing after the stop at Yangliuqing (Green Willows) Museum, which is famous for its popular Chinese New Year-themed, traditional-style, colorful Wash Paintings.
D6. OCT 11 Beijing/Xi’an
Visit the Temple of Heaven (Tian Tan), where the Emperors of Ming and Qing dynasties performed annual ceremonies of prayer to heaven for good harvest. Walk along the New Qianmen Street and admire the beautiful Bird’s Nest National Stadium and the Water Cube up close. Later in the day, you will catch a flight to Xi’an. upon arrival, visit the Big Wild Goose Pagoda (Da Yan Ta), which is the most distinctive landmark in Xi’an. After dinner, you can stroll down the Muslim Night Market to see traditional Muslin culture alive in Xi’an.
D7. OCT 12 Xi’an
Xi’an, the former capital of many Chinese dynasties, has a rich history dating back thousands of years. The first emperor, Qin Shi Huang, unified China in 201 BC and made significant influence in Chinese history. When he died, an entire Terra Cotta Army was buried with the emperor in the mausoleum. You will visit the Terra Cotta Warriors and Horses Museum (Bing Ma Yong). It’s known as the 8th miracle in the world. The whole mausoleum is like a cultural treasure vault with large collections of relics. After a stop at the Bell Tower, you can enjoy an Imperial Dumpling Banquet (Jiao Zi) and shortly after watch the world famous Tang Dynasty Stage Show.
D8. OCT 13 Xi’an/Guilin
Your visit to Xi’an is not complete without a visit to the Ancient City Wall (Cheng Qiang). You may practice Tai Chi or ride a bike to enjoy the scenery on the wall. After the morning exercise you’ll depart Xi’an for Guilin by air. To fulfill your craving for western food, you will be offered some western style hamburgers for lunch today. Upon arrival in Guilin, your will visit the Reed Flute Cave, use your imagination as you pass by the different formations to decide what they resemble.
D9. OCT 14 Guilin/Yangshuo
The highlight of today is a 2-hour leisure cruise down Lijiang River, passing through valleys, bamboo groves and rice fields. As the boat travels the river, watch spectacular landscapes, waterfalls and elegant hills among thousands of grotesque peaks. Lunch will be served on board the river cruise boat. Upon arrival in Yangshuo, you will visit the beautiful Moon Hill. After that, you can enjoy the rest of the day at your own leisure. Ride a bicycle or walk to the countryside and experience the real Chinese Farmer’s life. At night, you can enjoy the famous nature theatre performance ‘Impression on Sanjie Liu’. with natural mountains and water as the setting, this show is a must for visitors to Yangshuo. it is directed by famous movie director Zhang Yimou and is performed by local villagers and fisherman, particularly local minority gourps as Zhuang and Miao.
D10.OCT 15 Yangshuo/Guilin/Shanghai
Drive back to Guilin to finish up the tour in Guilin by visiting the Elephant Trunk Hill. You will fly to Shanghai in the afternoon and visit the famous Bund (Wai Tan). Shanghai is divided by the Huang Pu River into eastern and western sections, mordern mega high rises are seen on the eastern side while traditional European style architecture may be seen on the western side. The Bund is a fiveblock riverfront promenade with many of Shanghai’s banks and trading houses. Enjoy the world famous astonishing Acrobatic Show tonight.
D11.OCT 16 Shanghai
Today’s city tour starts with a visit to Cheng Huang Miao, you will also experience the bustling shopping district of Nanjing Road and People’s Square and use your bargaining skills to acquire memento for this visit. After shopping, spend some free time at Shanghai Museum. You can easily spend a few hours to examine its rich and high-quality collection of ancient Chinese bronze, ceramics, painting and calligraphy, with special exhibites and collection of 120,000 precious works of art, this museum has become one of the best in China. Tonight you will have local Shanghai Cuisine as farewell dinner party.
D12.OCT 17 Shanghai/Hometown
Departure 3:45 PM – Arrive EWR 5:20 PM