Our clients visiting the Forbidden City, Beijing Photo by our client Mr. Robin Pollock

Day 01Arrival in Beijing

Our guide will meet you outside the baggage claim area at Beijing Airport and transfer you to the hotel. The rest of the day is on your own to explore the city.

Day 02Beijing

Visit the Tiananmen Square, the Forbidden City and the Temple of Heaven. The Beijing Duck Dinner is served at a famous restaurant followed by a lively Peking Opera performance at the Liyuan Theatre.(B+L+D)

Descriptions:
Tiananmen Square - It is easily to find that there are two striking white marble columns erected in front of the Tiananmen Tower. This kind of column is called Huabiao in Chinese, which was a road sign originally and then was used to be an ornament only. These two columns were built about 500 years ago and carved with dragons and auspicious clouds. On the top of each, there is a legendary animal staring into the distance, expecting the emperor outside the palace to return to the palace soon.
 
Forbidden City - The feudal hierarchy is conveyed from the architecture of the Forbidden City. More than 10 kinds of roofs can be seen there. Take the three biggest halls (the Hall of Supreme Harmony, the Hall of Central Harmony and the Hall of Preserving Harmony) as an example. Their roofs are so different from each other. The roofs are paved by different colored glaze tiles. The roofs of major halls and palaces are yellow-colored. The green-roof houses are intended for princes. The glaze in blue, purple, black, jade green or malachite green is mainly used in the ornamentation of gardens and walls.

The retired people’s life in China

Day 03Beijing

Visit the Badaling Great Wall. To avoid having lunch at shopping site restaurants, you will be driven to have Sichuan food at a local popular restaurant. Visit the Sacred Way and the Ming Tomb in the afternoon. On the way back to downtown, drive by the Bird's Nest (Olympic National Stadium). You will see its appearance at a distance. (B+L, D is included for luxury series)

Differences
Luxury Series: We arrange an a la carte dinner at a famous Cantonese cuisine restaurant in the Wangfujing area. 
Standard Series: We intend to leave the dinner on your own. You may ask for some suggestions from your local guide.

Descriptions:
Great Wall - The Great Wall of China, with a length of about 6,300 kilometers (3,915 miles), is one of the greatest miracles in the world. Like a huge dragon, Great Wall winds up and down across mountains, grasslands, deserts and plains, stretching from the Jiayuguan Pass in Gansu in the west of China to the Shanhaiguan Pass near the eastern seaside of the country. The Great Wall which we arrange for you - Badaling - is the most excellent section on the "neck of the huge dragon".

Ming Tomb - In front of each Emperor's tomb except Siling, there stands a tablet which is called Gui Tuo Bei (a tablet carried by a tortoise). It is mainly used to praise the Emperor's accomplishments during his reign. According to a Chinese legend, the dragon has nine sons and each son has a strong personality. As one of the dragon's nine sons, the tortoise likes carry things. The Emperor always says that he is the real dragon and the Son of Heaven. Therefore, it is reasonable for the son (the tortoise) to carry his father's tablet.

A la carte meal in Xian

Day 04Beijing - Xian

Visit the Summer Palace and the Lama Temple. Take a flight to Xian and transfer to the hotel. (B+L, D is included for luxury series)

Differences
Luxury Series: we have arranged a buffet dinner for you at your hotel this evening.
Standard Series: we would like to leave this dinner on your own. You may have dinner at your hotel by yourself or ask for your guide's suggestion.
 
Descriptions:
Summer Palace - You may wonder what to see in the Summer Palace. If you would like to see the architecture in the royal garden, you may first enter the Front Hill Area and climb the Longevity Hill. On the top of the hill, you will see a distinct construction which was built with colored glaze bricks without any timber beam. That is the Hall of the Sea of Wisdom (Zhihuihai). The 'Sea of Wisdom' comes from the sutra, symbolizing the mighty force and the infinite wisdom of Tathagada Buddha.

Terracotta warriors, Xian

Day 05Xian

Visit the Terracotta Warriors and Horses Museum. To avoid having the poor food at the site, you will take highway back to downtown to have lunch at a well-known Cantonese cuisine restaurant. In the afternoon, visit the Big Wild Goose Pagoda and the City Wall.(B+L+D)

Differences
Luxury Series: You will have Tang Dynasty Dinner and Show at Tang Dynasty Palace (Add: No.75, Chang'an Road, Xian).
Standard Series: You will enjoy Dumpling Banquet and Tang Dynasty Music and Dance Show at Shaanxi Opera Theatre (Add: No. 165, Wenyi Road, Xian).

Descriptions:
Terracotta Warriors and Horses Museum - Before visiting the great Qin Terracotta Warriors and Horses Museum, visitors are suggested increasing their knowledge about Emperor Qinshihuang, the master of this marvelous force underground. When thirteen years old, he ascended the throne and began to build his great mausoleum. He strengthened the economic, political and military systems of Qin State to make it strong enough to subjugate the other six states like Qi, Chu, Yan, Han, Zhao and Wei. In 221 BC, the Emperor Qin Shihuang built the first centralized and feudal empire of Chinese history, and proclaimed himself the first emperor of the united China.
 
Big Wild Goose Pagoda - The magnificent Big Wild Goose Pagoda that greets us today has a history of about 1,400 years. It was originally built in the Da Ci'en Temple to house the sutras brought back by great monk Xuan Zang from India. Because it modeled the style of Indian goose pagoda, it was called Wild Goose Pagoda. However, a smaller pagoda was constructed in the Jianfu Temple in Xian after about 150 years. In order to distinguish them, the former was called Big Wild Goose Pagoda and the latter was called Small Wild Goose Pagoda.

Day 06Departure from Xian

Visit the Great Mosque and a local family. After enjoying the a la carte lunch at a local famous restaurant, our guide will see you off at the airport. Hope next time we still have the chance to serve you again.(B+L)

B-- Breakfast     L-- Lunch     D-- Dinner