17-day Classic China & Mountain Huangshan Tour

Day 1Arrival in Beijing

Welcome to China! Upon your arrival at Beijing’s airport, your local guide will meet you and escort you to your hotel. The rest of the day for your free relax to explore the city.

Day 2Beijing

This morning you will visit Tiananmen Square, the historic center of Beijing, and the splendid Forbidden City. It is really pleasurable to admire these grand royal architecture and listen to their wonderful background stories. In the afternoon, marvel at the spectacular Temple of Heaven where emperors in ancient times offered sacrifices yearly to Heaven for a good harvest and fortune.

Day 3Beijing

After breakfast, you will pay a morning visit to the world's greatest man-made projects, the Great Wall at Mutianyu section, set up as a military fortification more than 2,000 years ago. Then vist the Sacred Road of Ming Tombs and Dingling, an ancient emperor's mausoleum group of the Ming Dynasty with underground palace.

On the way back to Beijing downtown, you will have a stop for an outside look of two famous Olimpic site: Bird Nest (National Stadium) and Water Cube (National Aquatics Center).

Day 4Beijing/Xian

Today tour start with a morning visit to Beijing Hutongs - the old lanes and courtyard houses. Take a rickshaw or biking to explore Beijing's charming lanes. The visit to a local family, who've lived in the Hutongs for generations, offers a local perspective of history, and is a highlight of the Hutongs for most of tourists.

After lunch you will be driven to train station for the bullet train to Xian (5 hours), another of China's ancient capitals. Upon arrival in Xian, your local guide will meet you and escort you to the hotel for rest.

Day 5Xian

After breakfast at your hotel, your guide will meet you and you will be driven to visit the incredible Terracotta Warriors. Go on to visit the Daqin terra-cotta making factory see all kinds of models of Terracotta Warriors. After lunch you will be driven to the Big Wild Goose Pagoda, where housed in a huge temple complex, the ancient pagoda was built to house Buddhist Sutras brought to China from India.

Option: In the evening you may choose to enjoy an Chinese Dumplings Feast and amazing Tang Dynasty Show, which bring the pageantry and music of the ancient Tang Dynasty to life.

Day 6Xian/Guilin

After breakfast, you will tour the Ancient City Wall, the largest and best-reserved city walls on earth, visit the 450-year-old Bell Tower and have a short relax on Muslim Street. Then be escorted to the airport for a flight to Guilin. Upon arriving in Guilin, be picked up and transferred to your hotel.

Day 7Guilin/Yangshuo

After breakfast at the hotel, our guide and driver will transfer you to the Zhujiang pier to board the ship for Li River cruise (4 hours) from Guilin to Yangshuo. It is one of the great waterways to admire the picturesque scenery along the river sides. Upon arrival at Yangshuo, you will have a stroll along the famous West Street. This is a vibrant place alive with cafes, pubs, restaurants and where many westerners gather.

Tips: Today we kindly suggest you have a larger breakfast at the hotel this morning as the lunch provided on the cruise is less than adequate. The cruise arrives at terminal Yangshuo at around 13:30 to 14:30 according to the different water flows. There are many cafes available in Yangshuo.

Optional activites for late afternoon:
1. Attend a Chinese cooking course in a cooking school
2. Learn Taichi for 1-2 hours.
3. Li River Beer Fish is recommended for dinner.
4. Night show options: Commorants Fishing or Impression Liu Sanjie

A cruise along the Li River from Guilin to Yangshuo is an unforgettable experience for stunning scenery. In Yangshuao, there's something interesting such as lumbering water buffaloes pulling carts or cooling off in the river, fishermen gliding along on their narrow bamboo rafts, and if you're very lucky you might see one of the famous fishing cormorants.

Impressions of Liusanjie performance. The Performance, directed by Zhang Yimou, China's premiere movie director and director of the Beijing Olympics' Opening Ceremony, is made up of hundreds of people and is performed on the Li River with the mountains as the backdrop. It is an unforgettable experience.

Day 8Yangshuo/Guilin

There are three options for morning enjoyment: Enjoy a countryside biking, a bamboo rafting on the Yulong River and a helicopter tour over Yangshuo.

After lunch, you will drive back to Guilin to visit the impressive Elephant Trunk Hill, drop by a Pearl Store, and then see the colorfully-illuminated stalactites, stalagmites, stone pillars and rock formations of Reed Flute Cave.

Day 9Guilin/Longsheng

After breakfast, you will pay a moring visit to Jingjiang Prince City. Then an afternoon drive (about 2 hours) from Guilin to Longji Rice Terraces in Longsheng County. Where you can enjoy the dusk/sunset view of rice terraces around Zhuang and Yao minority villages. The terraces look like ribbons as they wind from the foot to the top of some hills. The villages feature traditional wooden architecture where no nails are used in construction. The different ethnic minority customs and dress are especially interesting. Stayovernight at Ping'an Zhuang Village.

Day 10Guilin Longsheng/Huangshan

Get up early to take a morning walk around Ping'an Zhuang Village for a sunrise view of Longji Terraced Rice Fields. After breakfast, you will visit to Huangluo Yao Village to meet long-hair wowen and watch the ethnic performance.

Then you will be transfered back to Guilin for the afternoon flight to Huangshan. Upon arrival in Huangshan city, your guide will meet you and transfer you to the hotel. Enjoy an evening or night relax at Tunxi Ancient Street, one of the most famous ancient streets in China. The street has become a busy commercial street since the Song Dynasty, over 1,000 years ago. Most of the buildings still remain the original Song style and the local Huizhou flavor. You will also find many interesting local handicrafts and delicious snacks along the street.

Day 11Huangshan

After breakfast, you will set off for today's Yellow Mountain tour (a round-trip cable car is included). As one of the five most famous mountains in China, the Yellow Mountain (Mount Huangshan) is noted for its four wonders: the fantastic pines, grotesque rocks, the sea of clouds and hot springs. When you take the cable car to climb up the mountain,

you will find yourself among the magnificent scenery. The most famous attractions on the mountain are the Guest-Greeting Pine, the Beginning-to-Believe Peak, the Peach Blossom Valley, the Lion Peak, the Flying-over Rock, the Bright Summit, the Cloud-dispelling Pavilion and Xihai Grand Canyon. Afterwards, you will take the cable car to get down the mountain and go back to the City.

Day 12Huangshan

In the morning, the car will drive you to Yixian County to visit Hongcun Village. Situated to the northwest of Yixian County, Hongcun Village is well-known for the picturesque landscape and the long history of over 800 years. The 138 buildings of the Ming and Qing dynasties (14th to early 20th century) were all constructed in the traditional Anhui style, which features white walls, grey or black roofs and rising eaves.

Not far from Hongcun Village, you will come to the ancient Nanping Village. The ancient houses and charming scenery make it a famous movie shooting base since 1990's. Among all the ancient buildings in Nanping Village, the eight ancestral halls are the most splendid. They are orderly arranged along the 200-meter (219 yards) main axis of the village, known as the museum of Chinese ancestral hall. Then, you will be transferred to Shexian County to see the Tangyue Archways. Constructed during the Ming and Qing dynasties, the seven magnificent archways are not only a group of delicate ancient buildings but also the symbols of the merits of the local people: loyalty, filial piety, chastity and righteousness. As the tour ends, you will transfer back to Huangshan city.

After the tour, take an afternoon bullet train (3 hours) to Hangzhou. Upon arrival, your local guide will meet you and escort you to check into the hotel.

Day 13Huangshan/Hangzhou

After you have had breakfast in your hotel, your local guide will meet you and you will be driven to the train station for your train to Hangzhou. Upon arriving in Hangzhou, your local guide will meet you and escort you to your hotel to check in. You will then be driven to West Lake, the most famous lake in china. You will be enthralled by the many legends that have made this spot one of the most popular destinations for the Chinese people. After visiting West Lake, you will be driven to Feilai Peak and marvel at its ancient Buddhist rock carvings. You will then go to the Lingyin Temple located behind Feilai Peak. The temple is the largest Buddhist Temple in China and its architecture and gardenlike atmosphere never fails to captivate visitors. You will then visit the 18 Imperial Dragon Well Tea Trees and sip Dragon Well (Longjing) Tea in beautiful traditional pavilions located on the mountainside nestled amongst tea trees.

Day 14Hangzhou/Wuzhen/Hangzhou

Ancient water towns are another symbol of Hangzhou. Today you will discover one of the most famous ancient water towns in China — Wuzhen Water Town, an elegant town like a traditional Chinese painting.

Before your cruise down the canals of the town, you will walk on the narrow lanes flanked by wooden buildings or the river banks. Many buildings were built in the Ming and the Qing dynasties (1368-1911) well-kept with decorative patterns on the wooden windows and doors, and stone carvings. The canals (including the record-breaking Hangzhou-Beijing Grand Canal) used to be an important mean of transportation, and many vendors traded with the residents on their boats.

Cruising down the canals of the town on a wooden boat, you can enjoy the elegant watery views of the town and see the local traditions and customs.

After Wuzhen tour, you will drive back to Hangzhou and stay overnight there.

Day 15Hangzhou/Suzhou/Shanghai

Today you will take a morning high speed train (2 hours) to Suzhou. Up arrival in Suzhou, you will firstly visit the Humble Administrator's Garden, which is the largest classical garden in this region and praised to be one of the top four gardens in China. Tiger Hill is next stop. Then vist Suzhou Silk Museum, Panmen Gate. In the evening enjoy Night Garden Show in the Master of the Nets Garden.

After that you will be driven back to Suzhou railway station for an evening high speed train to Shanghai. Upon your arrival at Shanghai railway station, be met and transferred to your hotel.

Day 16Shanghai

After 1 hour's morning bullet to Shanghai. Upon arrival, You will transfer to visit Jade Buddha Temple. Proceed to the World Financial Center to get a bird's eye view of Shanghai. Then visit the Shanghai Museum, Old Consession Area, Shikumen Area, The Bund by Huangpu River. Enjoy a Chinese Acrobatics Show for your night option.

Day 17Shanghai Departure

Afer breakfast, you will take a morning relax until a transfer to at the Shanghai Pudong Airport for the flight to next destination.

Service Ends