Day 1: Flight from home – Beijing

USA to Beijing Flights

Day 2: Beijing

Arrive Beijing

Transfer to Beijing Hotel by private car

Overnight: Opposite House Hotel

Day 3: Beijing

Private full day tour of Beijing

Meet your guide in the lobby of the hotel. You will set off on a tour of Beijing city. Highlights include the Forbidden City, Tiananmen Square, China National Museum, and the Summer Palace with a lake cruise. Typical lunch is included during the tour. Cruise only available April through October (Weather permitting). Overnight: Opposite House Hotel (B – L)

Day 4: Beijing

Private full day tour of the Great Wall and Beijing Hutongs

Meet your guide in the lobby of the hotel. You will set off on a tour outside the city to a section of the wall where you can take a Fresh Air Break at Mutianyu. Here your guide will educate you on the wall before allowing you free time to roam the wall on your own. Break for an included schoolhouse restaurant lunch (included). Return to Beijing where you will meet your Rickshaw driver who will escort you through the old town of Beijing by rickshaw. Return to your hotel afterwards. In the evening you will be transferred to a local restaurant specializing in Peking Duck. Dinner included.

Overnight: Opposite House Hotel (B – L – D)

Day 5: Xian

Private airport transfer

Regional flight – Beijing to Xian

Private transfer to your lunch in Xian

Private afternoon tour of Xian.

After you have checked into your hotel, your guide will escort you to a local restaurant where you have an included dumpling lunch. After lunch you guide will take you on a private tour of Xian. You will walk along the top of Xian City Wall for a birds’ eye view and history lesson. Continue to the Daming Palace Art Museum where you will explore the exhibits before a special white glove experience where you put on a pair of gloves and handle hundreds of years old artifacts, brought to you for this special occasion.  Overnight: Xian Hilton (B – L)

Day 6: Xian

Private tour to the Terracotta Warrior Dig Site.

You will be met and driven to the outskirts of town where the world famous Terracotta Warriors are located. Here you will spend the morning exploring various exhibits with your private guide. The Terra Cotta Warriors and Horses are the most significant archeological excavations of the 20th century. In the evening you will be transferred to enjoy the Tang Dynasty Dinner Show, a dinner followed by a spectacular cultural show.

Overnight: Xian Hilton (B)

Day 7: Chengdu

Private transfer to the airport

Region flight – Xian to Chengdu

Private transfer to hotel

Private afternoon tour

Meet your guide in the lobby and you will be taken on a tour of the city. Enjoy a walking tour of the old town. Start at Wenshu Temple – a 1,000 year old temple, the commercial Jinli Street with a blend of old and new Chengdu shops, and The Sichuan Cuisine Museum which includes Historic Sites & Buildings.

In the evening you will enjoy a world famous production of the “Face-off Opera”

Overnight: Temple House Hotel (B)

Day 8: Chengdu

Private full day Dujiangyan Panda Research Center

Here you will arrive and spend the day learning about the Panda Research and orphanage center. Return to Chengdu in the Afternoon for lunch and then to your hotel.

Overnight: Temple House Hotel (B-L)

Day 9: Lijiang

Private airport transfer

Regional flight to Lijiang

Private transfer to your hotel in Lijiang

Private afternoon tour of Lijiang.

Meet your guide in the lobby and you will be taken on a tour of Lijiang Old Town, a UNESCO world heritage site. Highlights include: Black Dragon Pool, Dongba Cultural Research Center with performances of various Naxi rituals such as “sacrifice to wind” and “sacrifice to heaven”, and a leisurely walk of the ancient footpaths and 800 year old bridges.

Overnight: Banyan Tree Lijiang (B)

Day 10: Lijiang

Private full day excursion to Tiger Leaping Gorge

The Tiger Leaping Gorge excursion is one of the finest treks through some of the most naturally beautiful and diverse landscapes China has to offer. The trail runs high on the northern side of the gorge passing through quiet villages, shady forest, blustery precipice and verdant terraced farmland. During your excursion, your guide will select a local restaurant to stop and enjoy traditional lunch on this beautiful scenic trail (included). Overnight: Banyan Tree Lijiang (B-L)

Day 11: Guilin

Private transfer to the airport

Region flight to Guilin

Private transfer to hotel

Overnight: Banyan Tree Yangshuo (B-L)

Day 12: Guilin

Morning private trip down Yulong River

The slow-moving Yulong River near Yangshuo is one of best places to take an authentic bamboo raft and enjoy a lazy floating time down the river.

Private afternoon reserved bicycles

This route takes you out of Yangshuo on National Road 321 (G321) past a list of tourist attractions to Moon Hill, then through a series of small villages, nestling among karst hills and rice paddies on a loop back to Yangshuo.

Overnight: Banyan Tree Yangshuo (B)

Day 13: Hangzhou

Private transfer to the airport

Regional Flight to Hangzhou

Private transfer to your hotel in Hangzhou

Overnight: Banyan Tree Hangzhou (B)

Day 14: Hangzhou

You will be met and taken on a tour of Hangzhou. Visit a local tea plantation – Here elaborate tea taking ceremonies are held, you will be able to understand why partaking in tea ceremonies is of such importance in Chinese culture. Begin your tour of West Lake which includes a boat ride on the lovely waterways. Break for lunch at an included eatery. Continue to Qinghefang Pedestrian Street and other pedestrian areas, for a chance to pick up some local curios or ask your guide to head to the silk painting area where you can try to pick up a hand painted bargains. There are many alleys with other types of curio shops. End the tour at Traditional Chinese Medicine Museum of Huqingyu Hall for a look inside the ancient practice of herbal medicine.

Overnight: Banyan Tree Hangzhou (B-L)

Day 15: Shanghai

Private transfer to the train station

Region train – Hangzhou to Shanghai

Private transfer to hotel

Private afternoon tour

Walking tour of the Bund, a famous waterfront and regarded as the symbol of Shanghai for hundreds of years. See the different architectural styles including Gothic, Baroque, Romanesque, Classicism and the Renaissance. End your tour of the Bund with a trip to the Shanghai World Financial Center and journey to the top of the building for a towering view of the city. End your tour with a wonderful sunset cruise of Huangpu River to see Shanghai from the water.

Overnight: The Peace Hotel Shanghai (B)

Day 16: Shanghai

Private Full Day tour

Visit the old French Concession. With its European style cafes, quiet, leafy, tree lined avenues and Tudor houses nestled in beautiful gardens interspersed with hole-in-the-wall eateries and local colors and flavors, it is a popular tourist destination. You could pretty much get off at any stop in the area and just stroll around the shops, boutiques, restaurants and delis. Break for a lunch (Included). In the afternoon you will visit Yuyuan Garden, a nearly 500 year old classical garden with pavilions, halls, rockeries, ponds and cloisters which all have unique characteristics. Continue to the Shanghai Museum. Here is the Museum of Chinese Art. A collection of cultural items including ancient Chinese bronze, ceramics, painting and calligraphy.

Overnight: The Peace Hotel Shanghai (B-L)

Day 17: Shanghai

Free day to self-explore the city on your own.

The day is at your leisure to self-explore and visit local markets.

Overnight: The Peace Hotel Shanghai (B)

Day 18: Shanghai – Return home

Private transfer to the mag-lev station

Tickets to ride the mag-lev train with your guide directly to the airport

International flights – Shanghai to USA (B)