Classic China with Yangtze Cruise

This morning, your guide and driver will greet you in your hotel lobby, and let’s then set off to Tiananmen Square, the very symbol of China. Follow the central axis of the square all the way northward and spot those important national buildings, such as the Great Hall of People and the National Museum.

After a souvenir photo with the northernmost Tiananmen Tower, we’ll head further for a UNESCO World Heritage site, the Forbidden City, where 24 Chinese emperors lived and worked from 1420 to 1911 AD. Today, its trove of countless treasures has made it a museum to exhibit the royal luxury before the common people’s eyes. The first to greet us will be the entrance - Meridian Gate with three archways. As your guide delivers a fascinating commentary, you’ll learn that in the past, the central archway was only accessible to the emperor, though with two exceptions: when the empress entered in a sedan chair on her wedding day, and when the top three candidates in an imperial examination exited through it after the palace test. Now, you can step into this great imperial palace just like the emperors. Inside, beyond the palace buildings with golden tiles, crimson walls, and white jade pillars, seize the opportunity to get a close-up look at the precious relics left by the royal family, such as the dragon throne, calligraphy works, paintings, bronze figures, and ceramics.

After a local-flavor lunch, we’ll make our way to the Temple of Heaven, a majestic altar complex for ancient emperors to offer sacrifices to Heaven and pray for good harvests. Here, let’s gain insight into the traditional spiritual world of Chinese people.  

★ Special Inclusion 1: A Thrilling Acrobatics Show

Next, let’s move to the Red Theater for an acrobatic show featuring breathtaking stunts like high-chair stacking, bowl pinning, and motorcycle riding. In prehistoric times, to hunt and survive, humans trained their agility and strength through climbing and jumping, which evolved into early acrobatics. During wartime, elite balance and climbing skills became crucial for scouting, delivering messages, or launching raids, as seen in China’s ‘roof-and-wall walkers’, Japan’s ‘ninjas’, and medieval Europe’s ‘wall infiltrators.’ While now, fueled by raw courage and refined skills, performers deliver one heart-stopping act after another before your eyes.

★ Special Inclusion 2: A La Carte Welcome Dinner with Peking Duck

Following that, we’ll serve you with an a la carte welcome dinner at a locally celebrated restaurant, valued twice the local average. Prepare to enjoy authentic Beijing cuisine, including the ever-popular Peking Roast Duck. Roasted over fruitwood, the duck boasts crispy, sweetly fragrant skin and tender, succulent meat, and when rolled with sweet bean sauce, cucumber strips, and shredded scallions into paper-thin pancakes, it brings you a true feast for the taste buds.

At the end of the day, your guide and driver will escort you back to your hotel.

Meals: Western buffet breakfast, lunch, a la carte welcome dinner with Peking Duck

After breakfast, meet your guide and driver at your hotel, and then embark on a 1.5-hour drive to Mutianyu Great Wall, the most intact and scenic section in Beijing. To conserve your energy for a 2.5-hour hike on the Great Wall, we’ll include a round-trip cable car ride for you. For thrill seekers, taking a chairlift up and tobogganing down can also be an option. Once on it, marvel that the Great Wall is not a single wall, but a 3D fortification composed of various defensive structures. For example, the watchtowers are spaced at regular intervals, allowing defenders to fire from multiple angles and eliminate enemies in blind spots. For beacon towers, ancient soldiers used smoke by day and fire or cannons by night to send alerts hundreds of miles away within hours. A pass served as the defensive core and troop base during wartime and a trade checkpoint during peacetime. Fortresses were logistics hubs, command centers, and garrisons, providing continuous support for the front-line walls. 

★ Toast with Red Wine:

After exploration, your guide will take out the prepared red wine and glasses to celebrate your visit to this engineering feat!

After a buffet lunch, we’ll go back downtown and drive by the National Stadium and the National Aquatic Center, widely known as the Bird’s Nest and Water Cube, and make a quick stop for photos with these two landmarks.

★ Cultural Adventure: Hutong Rickshaw Tour & Family Visit

Next, enjoy a Hutong tour by rickshaw. Beijing’s Hutong alleys have quirky names; some come from shapes like Tobacco Pipe Lane, local dialect like Mute Gourd Jar Lane, common trees like Willow Hutong, lucky words like Longevity Hutong, typical skilled craftsmen like Casserole Liu Hutong, or thriving markets like Rice Market Hutong. These names may not be elegant, but they truly reflect the local flavor and everyday life of Beijing. You’ll have a rare chance to step into a traditional quadrangle courtyard, observe its layout, and chat with locals about their daily life.

Finally, your guide and driver will escort you back to your hotel.

Meals: Western buffet breakfast, buffet lunch

Meet your guide and driver at your hotel, and then start this morning with a visit to the Summer Palace, an imperial garden that served as the summer retreat for emperors from the late 19th to early 20th century. As you walk along its most iconic Kunming Lake, you’ll be surprised to learn that the lake wasn’t just for looking pretty, but also served for water storage, irrigation, and flood control, playing a vital role in ancient Beijing's farming and grain transport.

After lunch, your guide and driver will escort you to Beijing’s railway station platform, and together with a porter, assist you to board the high-speed train bound for Xi’an. Racing across plains, over rivers, and through mountains at 350 km/h (217 mph), the train completes the 1,200 km (750 mi) journey between the two cities in just 5 hours, matching the speed of Japan’s Shinkansen. Yet with the same speed and quality, China’s high-speed train costs much less. That’s because it was never built for profit, but to make travel affordable for everyone to get where they want to go.

Upon arrival in Xi’an, your local guide and driver will greet you at the railway station and escort you to your hotel for check-in.

► Recommended Nighttime Activities (at your own expense): 
For an enjoyable night, take a 10-minute taxi on your own for around USD 7 to the SEG International Shopping Center, Xi’an’s most popular mall. With an indoor artificial waterfall, Asia’s longest indoor escalator, and a mix of global and local Chinese brands, it’s a top hangout for locals to spend their free time.

Meals: Western buffet breakfast, lunch

In the morning, accompanied by your guide and driver, set off for the first stop of your Xi’an trip, the Terracotta Army Museum, a must-visit spot for world leaders during their visits to China. Queen Elizabeth II of the United Kingdom, former U.S. presidents Reagan and Clinton, and French President Macron have all visited here to witness the 2,000-year-old marvel. Some of them even received exceptional diplomatic courtesy, accessing special walkways in the pits to observe the terracotta warriors and restoration work site up close. This once inspired a tourist to follow suit by jumping into a pit and posing as a warrior a few years ago. Now, standing by the excavation pit, you can see that over 8,000 life-sized figures are neatly arranged, perfectly recreating the ancient army formation, with soldiers standing, kneeling, or leading horses. Also, closely examine the terracotta figures in an exhibition hall, seeing details like the patterns on their shoe soles, palm prints, armor decorations, and traces of their original colors. Then, enjoy a local lunch we’ve included for you. 

★ Privilege of Our Guests:

1. Get a chance to visit the home of the discoverer of the Terracotta Army. Observe the living room where newspapers documenting the discovery moment and the farm tools used to unearth the first terracotta warrior are on display, and talk with the discoverer or his family to learn in detail about the entire discovery process. 
2. Visit a local workshop and use the same kind of clay from 2,000 years ago to make your mini versions of terracotta warriors. With the help of local artisans, use molds to shape the clay, refine the figure with carving tools, and then carve your own name at the bottom to make it your exclusive souvenir.

After that, we’ll return to downtown and have a classic photo op with Xi’an’s most famous Buddhist landmark, the Giant Wild Goose Pagoda, which bore witness to the unprecedented cultural diversity of China from the 7th to the 10th century. 

★ Evening Treat: Dumpling Dinner & Dynastic Dance Show

To enhance your travel, let’s top today off with a stunning Tang Dynasty Music and Dance Show over a delicious Chinese dumpling dinner. As the stage lights come up, you’ll constantly see long-sleeved maidens glide with ancient grace, court officials vigorously dance to percussion that resonates with your heartbeat, and armored male warriors revive the ancient army’s majestic march. Interspersed are dances inspired by Dunhuang murals and exotic dances from the Western Regions, making you feel as if you’ve traveled back in time to a court feast of the 7th century.

After the show, your guide and driver will escort you back to your hotel.

Meals: Western buffet breakfast, lunch, dumpling dinner

After receiving the morning greetings from your guide and driver at your hotel, let’s head to the City Wall Park for a leisurely walk. It’s where you may see locals exercising, dancing, playing instruments, or simply sitting around chatting.

★ Master Session of Kung Fu Exercise

Here, we’ll invite a Chinese shadowboxing master to teach you some basic moves. Similar to yoga, it combines Chinese martial arts with meditation to improve flexibility and breathing, and is a common form of exercise in China, especially among the elderly.

Afterward, let’s ascend the well-preserved City Wall, originally built as a military defense system in the 14th century, to appreciate the panoramic view of Xi’an. As you stroll, your guide will point out its most ingenious design, the barbicans hidden at the city gates, which act like bulletproof vests for the gate. In case of war, the barbican and the arrow tower atop it form a formidable fortress. Even if the enemies break in, the defending soldiers, positioned high up on the arrow tower and surrounding walls, can rain down dense firepower to encircle and annihilate the invaders, like ‘shooting fish in a barrel’. If you like, a bicycle ride on the wall for sightseeing is also available for a small fee at your own expense.

At noon, we’ll accompany you to the Muslim Quarter, Xi’an’s liveliest snack street, where intertwining alleyways are packed with mouthwatering local specialties. Here, have an included a la carte lunch to try authentic local flavors like Cold Noodles, glutinous rice cake with jujubes, and Xi’an ribbon pasta. Then, continue our visit to the tranquil Great Mosque. Unlike the marble domes and cylindrical minarets you might expect of a mosque, all structures here have wooden eaves, carved beams, and painted rafters, resembling a classical Chinese garden.

Out of the mosque, let’s head for the Shaanxi History Museum, a state-of-the-art museum showcasing the full history of Xi’an as the ancient capital of 13 Chinese dynasties. Feast your eyes on exquisite gold and silver wares, vibrant murals, and exotic glassware, which are not just works of art but evidence of global civilizations converging here over 1,200 years ago.

Today’s trip now reaches its end, and we’ll escort you on a comfortable car ride back to your hotel.

Meals: Western buffet breakfast, a la carte local food lunch

In the morning, your guide and driver will escort you to Xi’an airport for a 2.5-hour flight to Guilin. Unlike Xi’an, where history sets the tone, Guilin's melody is written by its emerald-green waters and karst mountains.

After landing, your Guilin guide and driver will pick you up and escort you to your hotel. After checking in, we’ll head to the Reed Flute Cave, a limestone cave that has served as a prestigious venue for hosting foreign leaders. Unlike the Lechuguilla Cave in New Mexico, which uses incandescent lights to highlight raw beauty, Reed Flute Cave is a fairy-tale world illuminated by colored lights. Inside, you’ll find various stalactites, stalactite curtains, and stone flowers shift through red, blue, and green hues, just like frozen rainbows.

Then, let’s go to the Elephant Trunk Hill, the most iconic landmark of Guilin, and pose for photos with the formation that resembles an elephant drinking water from the river. After the visit, enjoy a smooth transfer back to your hotel. 

Meals: Western buffet breakfast

★ Li River Cruise: Closer Interaction with Nature

Today, departing from your hotel, your guide and driver will accompany you to the dock to board a cruise ship for a 4-hour journey along the Li River to Yangshuo. Unlike the magnificent yet desolate red-rock canyons of the Colorado River, the Li River winds through a vibrant landscape of layered, green karst hills, with its waters tinted a deep jade by the lush surroundings. Along the way, you’ll marvel at the ‘sculptures’ created by nature along the riverbank: some look like a giant serpent drinking from the water, some like a camel about to cross the river. On one cliff face, a riddle awaits: try to find the nine galloping horses hidden in the rock. Also, spot small villages tucked in the valleys and vast clusters of bamboo. Have a casual lunch provided by the cruise before disembarking.

Upon arrival in Yangshuo, let’s take a stroll along West Street, where traditional houses blend with modern, fashionable bars, cafes, and restaurants. You’ll also pass by ancient temples and pavilions, which for a moment may give you the illusion of time and space interweaving.

Then, let’s hop in our vehicle and head deep into the Yangshuo countryside to discover the local life. En route, see villagers still weaving fish baskets with bamboo and using hand-operated waterwheels to divert river water into the rice fields - these labor practices that have been passed down for thousands of years, preserved here in this era of roaring machinery. When crossing the Gongong Bridge, you may also witness bamboo rafts carrying fishermen and cormorants drifting on the river occasionally. 

► Private Tour Privilege: For our private tour guests, if sightseeing in a car isn’t your thing, you can also, accompanied by your guide, bike leisurely along the specific cycling routes at your own pace to take in the rural scenery.

After the visit, we’ll escort you back to your hotel in downtown Guilin.

Meals: Western buffet breakfast, lunch on the cruise

After breakfast at your hotel, your guide and driver will whisk you to Guilin railway station, where you’ll take a 4.5-hour high-speed train to Chongqing. Bring your own snacks for the ride or purchase light meals on board at lunchtime.

Upon arrival, your Chongqing guide and driver will pick you up at the railway station and accompany you directly to explore this 8D magical city - so called because its labyrinthine terrain makes it feel as if you are in a cyberpunk world. At Liziba Light Rail Station, you’ll see the train passing through the residential buildings. Standing in front of Hongya Cave, with the stilted houses built along the mountains, you’ll feel like you’ve entered the real world of the famous Japanese anime film ‘Spirited Away’. Once inside, admire folk sculptures in the exhibition hall and drool over street delicacies like Chongqing spicy noodles, wontons, and bean jelly.  

★ Step Aboard Your Relaxing Yangtze Cruise

After that, we’ll escort you to the port and help you board the newly-launched luxury cruise ship Century Oasis for a 4-day and 3-night tour of the Yangtze River. Selected through our careful field studies, it provides you with 5-star services and top-rated facilities. Rest in your private cabin with a balcony, enjoy a buffet dinner over a welcome wine party at the invitation of the captain. With themed daily meals, complimentary beverages, and late-night snacks, you’ll truly feel at home. At around 21:00, the ship sets sail, marking the official start of your relaxing Yangtze River cruise.

► Cruise Options: Luxury & Standard
While our group tour features the aforementioned luxury Century Cruise, private tour guests enjoy the flexibility to choose between the luxury and standard cruises. If you select the standard cruise, please note that tonight’s dinner on board is not included, and you can try Chongqing specialties at Hongya Cave before boarding. Over the following two days, both cruises provide full-board buffet meals, though night snacks are exclusive to the luxury cruise. Both options follow the same cruising route, with only minor differences in their shore excursions.

Meals: Western buffet breakfast, buffet dinner

Today, the ship will dock at Fengdu County, and your guide will accompany you ashore to visit the Ghost City, known as China’s ‘Hell’. In the past, people came here to honor spirits, ancestors, and deceased loved ones, believing that entering this realm meant facing judgment for everything they had done in life. As moral values have shifted over time, the place has transformed more like a large-scale horror theme park. Here, you’ll come across countless terrifying demon statues and vivid displays of how sinners are tortured in hell for the wrongs they committed during their lifetime.
► Besides Fengdu Ghost City, the luxury cruise offers an alternative excursion to Xiaoguanshan Ancient Folk Culture Park, featuring restored ancient architecture and immersive cultural heritage experiences. Meanwhile, the standard cruise provides a shore excursion to Shuanggui Mountain, known for its scenic forest trails dotted with rich historical sites.

Back on the ship, enjoy lunch and take a short break. If you like, participate in various interesting cultural activities organized on board: attend lectures to familiarize yourself with the Three Gorges that we’ll cruise through tomorrow, fly kites on the deck, or learn various styles of tying silk scarves from the crew.

After the buffet dinner, the luxury cruise includes another shore excursion to watch a 70-minute live performance ‘War Fire of the Three Kingdoms’.
► For standard cruise guests, this performance is optional and can be booked directly on-site based on your preference.

Meals: Full board served in buffet style

The cruise will sail through the Three Gorges, the most spectacular ‘landscape gallery’ along the Yangtze River. The first will be the spectacular Qutang Gorge, where the towering cliffs rise vertically as if split by an axe, forming a natural gateway. In some parts, the river narrows to under 50 meters, where cliffs nearly scrape the sky. No wonder ancient Chinese poets worried whether the sun god’s chariot might be overturned when passing by here. The following Wu Gorge is more graceful. From the deck, you’ll see 12 peaks, the most famous of which is Goddess Peak, slender and elegant like a young maiden, whom locals believe guards the peace here. 

In the afternoon, transfer to a sampan for a two to three hours’ ride deep into the Goddess Stream, a lush tributary of Wu Gorge known as a natural oxygen bar. Afterward, return to the cruise ship and coast through Xiling Gorge, the best spot to watch the sunset, when the water is dyed in orange and the distant cliffs become silhouettes.

In the evening, the captain and the staff will host a farewell dinner for you, including a buffet meal and artistic performances.

Meals: Full board served in buffet style

After disembarking this morning, we’ll go on a visit to the Three Gorges Dam, a world-renowned engineering feat built for flood control. Standing on the observation deck and overlooking the dam, it looks like a grey dragon stretching across the river. It has ended centuries of flooding and now powers China’s grid: the electricity generated in one day is enough to supply New York City for two days. Yet behind the monumental project lies a heavy price: from the year 1993 to 2003, 632 km² of land flooded and 1.3 million people displaced from their ancestral homes. Familiar streets disappeared beneath the water; they lost not just their houses, but an entire way of life. The government provided new housing, land, and jobs, yet the relocated families faced unfamiliar dialects, food, and social circles. It would take one or two generations to rebuild their lives from scratch.

Next, the cruise ship company will escort you to the Three Gorges Tourist Center in Yichang. Your Yichang guide and driver will be right there waiting and escort you to the train station for a 7-hour high-speed train ride to Shanghai. Since there might not be enough time for a sit-down lunch, we’ll prepare a complimentary boxed lunch, including a burger, fresh fruit, and a soft drink, for you to enjoy on the train. To ease your fatigue from the long ride, we’ve specially upgraded your seat to first class, which offers more space. Upon your arrival at Shanghai’s railway station, your local guide and driver will greet you and escort you to your hotel.

Meals: Western buffet breakfast, packed lunch for the train

Start your morning at Yu Garden, a 460-year-old private garden with typical tiny bridges, winding streams, and hidden paths. As your guide will explain, everything inside, from furniture to rockeries and plants, is priceless. It is said that construction was halted multiple times due to a lack of funds. The final cost, USD 1.1 billion today, could buy 130 Manhattan townhouses, making it a true wealth legend. Afterward, step out to the lively Yuyuan Bazaar to explore freely. Besides souvenir studios, you can find some authentic local delicacies for lunch at the bustling eateries and stalls at your own expense. Consider trying the soup dumplings at the renowned Nanxiang Steamed Bun Restaurant. Be careful not to burn yourself: bite a small hole to sip the soup first, and then eat the fillings. 

Then, let’s proceed to the Shanghai Museum, which houses a collection of Chinese artworks spanning over 4,000 years, each piece a masterpiece of its time. The Bronze Gallery is a must-see, where you can see how ancient Chinese integrated art into daily life. Take the ‘Storage Vessel with Eight Oxen’, a 2,000-year-old piggy bank. Its lid is crowned with eight oxen, and its sides feature two tigers, capturing a scene of a steppe hunt frozen in time. This vessel didn’t hold ordinary coins, but cowrie shells from the Indian Ocean - rare, valuable ‘foreign currency’ back then. Used only by the wealthy and powerful, it was both a savings box and a symbol of status.

Next, we'll show you around the Bund, known as the ‘Wall Street of the East’ since the 19th century. Strolling along here is like reading a history book on Shanghai’s development, as the 52 European-style buildings left by foreign merchants here are the very anchors that first connected China with the world.

★ Huangpu River Cruise: Witness the Past and Future of Shanghai

Your guide will then accompany you on a cruise along the Huangpu River, Shanghai’s mother river, like the Thames to London. As London developed earlier, the Thames is lined with historic buildings; the Huangpu, however, clearly divides Shanghai’s two eras: the west bank preserves ancient colonial-era buildings of the Bund, while the east bank gleams with futuristic skyscrapers. Drawn by this dazzling skyline, countless young people flood in, hoping for a new life, but many get trapped in a flashy lifestyle - blowing savings on luxury bags, watches, or cars. Dressed sharply, they frequent upscale cafes, yet worry about rent at month’s end. When maxed-out bills finally crush their last illusions, many simply pack up and slip away.

On completion of today’s trip, your guide and driver will escort you back to your hotel.

Meals: Western buffet breakfast

Today, guests on our private tour will enjoy private transfer service from your hotel to the airport, while group tour guests need to get to the airport on your own. Thank you for travelling with us! If you’d like to continue your exploration to other popular cities like Chengdu and Zhangjiajie, we would be delighted to provide further service for your onward trip. 

► Transport Reference: 
There are two airports in Shanghai: Pudong Airport (PVG) and Hongqiao Airport (SHA). Please make sure to check the departure airport on your ticket.
1. To Pudong Airport: If you have large luggage, it’s recommended to take a taxi. It will take approximately 1-1.5 hours and costs USD 30. You can hail a ride online, where you can choose the vehicle type and see the estimated fare. Taking the metro involves multiple transfers and takes about 1.5 hours, but costs only USD 1: walk 8 minutes from your hotel to the International Cruise Terminal Station, take Line 12 to Dalian Road Station, transfer to Line 4 inner loop to Century Avenue Station, and then transfer to Line 2 to reach the airport.
2. To Hongqiao Airport: A taxi takes 40-60 minutes and costs USD 15. For the metro, it takes around 1 hour and costs just 70 US cents: At the International Cruise Terminal Station, take Line 12 to Tiantong Road, transfer to Line 10 for 15 stops, and you’ll be at the airport.

Meals: Western buffet breakfast