Forbidden City, Beijing

Day 01Arrival in Beijing

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

Day 02Beijing

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

Descriptions: 
Forbidden City - How many kitchens in the Forbidden City? No exact answers. However, almost all the palaces and halls in this imperial palace have their own kitchens. Among those, the biggest one is intended for emperors, called the Imperial Kitchen, Yushanfang in Chinese. In the Forbidden City, there are two imperial kitchens. One is located outside of the Jingyumen Gate and the other lies by the side of the Yangxindian Palace. In the Treasure Gallery, you can see countless golden plates and silver cups that emperors used.
 
Temple of Heaven - one of the most reknowned world heritage sights. Because of its well documented history, unique structure and magnificent decoration, it is considered one of the most delicate and beautiful of our existing ancient buildings.

Day 03Beijing

Today you will visit the Badaling section of the Great Wall. You will be driven to have Sichuan food at a popular local restaurant and visit the Sacred Way and the Ming Tombs in the afternoon. On the way back to your hotel you will drive by the Bird's Nest (Olympic National Stadium) and get to view this magnificent edifice from 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: You will be free to visit local restraunts and sample the varied cuisine of Beijing. Your local guide will be able to provide some suggestions.

Tips: You may have heard of another section of the Great Wall - Mutianyu. Compared with Badaling, the Mutianyu section is gentle with fewer steps and has fewer crowds. If your travel dates come across the holiday period in China, we suggest you visit Mutianyu section instead of Badaling as the Badaling section will be congested with people thus spoiling the effect somewhat. The two sections are however both majestic and worthy of a visit.

Folk festival celebration

Day 04Beijing - Datong

Visit the Summer Palace and the Lama Temple. Take a soft sleeper train to Datong and transfer to the hotel.  (B+L)

Tips: In China, most of the soft-sleeper carriages are divided into separate compartments with four berths - two lowers and two uppers. Probably you may have to share the whole compartment with strangers. If you want to keep privacy, we will try our best to charter the whole compartment for you with the additional tickets cost, but it is not guaranteed, especially in the peak season the train tickets are in great demand. Usually we do not suggest our clients take the train during the Spring Festival and the National Holiday because it is quite crowded at that time. You can not imagine how awful it is to squeeze at the railway station.  

Descriptions: 
Lama Temple - also called Yonghe Lamasery, it is the largest scale and best preserved Tibetan Buddhist monastery of Yellow Hat Lamaism in Beijing. Nowadays, it is the most welcomed temple for goodwill praying among Chinese people. You will find lots of visitors burning joss sticks or lightening red candles here.  

Local people's life

Day 05Datong

After having breakfast at the hotel, visit the Hanging Monastery, the Yungang Grottoes and the Nine Dragons Screen.(B+L)

Tips: As the tourism industry in Shanxi province is relativly young, the hotels, meals, and even the tour services in Datong, Taiyuan and Pingyao are not as good as some big cities like Beijing, Xian and Shanghai. Although we at TravelChinaGuide have made great efforts to provide the best, tourists who come here should bear this in mind.

Day 06Datong - Pingyao

Take a soft sleeper train to Pingyao and transfer to the hotel. The rest of the day is free for you to stroll along in this ancient city.(B)

Day 07Pingyao - Taiyuan - Xian

Today's tour brings you to the City Wall, Ming - Qing Street, the Ri Sheng Chang Financial House and the Tongxinggong ancient bank bodyguard establishment in Pingyao ancient town. After lunch, transfer to Taiyuan. On the way, visit the Qiao Family's Compound and Jinci Temple if time permitting. Take an overnight soft sleeper train to Xian.(B+L+D)

Tips: It is stipulated by the Chinese Railway Bureau that anyone collecting passengers are not allowed to enter the platform, that is to say, they can only wait for the passengers at the exit of the railway station. Hence, you are advised to follow the throngs to the exit and your guide will be waiting outside, holding a banner with TravelChinaGuide and your names on. Please take more care of your belongings because pick-pockets are very common near the Railway Station.

Old village in China

Day 08Xian

Pick you up at Xian Railway Station. After having breakfast at the hotel, visit the City Wall and a local family. The a la carte lunch is served at a famous local restaurant. Visit the Great Mosque and its nearby bazaar area. (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: you are free to arrange your dinner yourself or taste the local flavors while touring the bazaar area. 

Tips: If you want a taste of Shaanxi cuisine, the bazaar near the Great Mosque should be your first choice. It is always bustling with local residents and visitors from different parts of the world. This area is teeming with restaurants, where the smell of barbecue makes your mouthwater, the time-honored Guantangbao (steamed bun stuffed with juicy pork) arouses your appetite, and the authentic mutton soup with cubed steamed buns from the Muslim minorities is deffinatly worth savoring. After finishing your meal, it is worth haveing a glance at the numerous souvenirs shops.
 
Descriptions: 
Great Mosque - is one of the oldest and most renowned mosques in China. It is of Chinese architectural style and inside the mosque there is a collection of valuable items like the hand-copied Koran from Ming Dynasty and the calendar stone (also known as "the Moon Tablet"). It functions as a place of worship for Chinese Muslims.

Terracotta warriors

Day 09Xian

Visit the Terracotta Warriors and Horses Museum. You will return to downtown to have lunch at a well-known Cantonese cuisine restaurant. In the afternoon you will visit the Big Wild Goose Pagoda. This evening you will be entertained with the marvelous Tang Dynasty Show. (B+L+D)

Differences
Luxury Series: you will attend the Tang Dynasty Dinner and Show at the 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 Museum - it was discovered by the local farmers while digging a well in 1974. This accidental discovery made the eighth wonder worldwide famous. Nearly 8,000 pieces of soldiers have been renovated to date. The excavation includes warriors, horses, chariot, bronze, swords, spears, halberts etc.  

Our clients at the ancient City Wall, Xian

Day 10Xian - Chengdu

Visit the Hanyangling Museum, the Mausoleum of Western Han Emperor Liu Qi on the way to the airport. Take flight to Chengdu and transfer to the hotel.(B+L)

Descriptions: 
Hanyangling Museum - is actually the joint tomb of Liu Qi, an Emperor of Western Han Dynasty (206BC-220AD) and his empress. In the museum, a large number of figurines unearthed from Hanyangling are prominantly displayed. About 60 centimeters (23.6 inches) high, naked and without arms, they are only one-third as tall as a real human. According to research, when these pottery figurines were completed, they were dressed in all kinds of beautiful costumes with wooden poseable arms although after thousands of years, clothes and wooden arms have completely rotted away. Compared with the solemnity of the Terracotta Warriors and Horses of the Qin Dynasty, these pottery figurines of Western Han Dynasty appear to be calm and peaceful, reflecting the harmonious social environment of that time.

Day 11Chengdu

Visit the Giant Panda Base, the Wangjiang Tower Park and the Tomb of Wangjian.(B+L)

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