Forbidden City, Beijing

Day 01Arrive in Beijing

Welcome to China! Our guide will wait for you outside the baggage claim area at Beijing Airport, holding a banner with the sign of “TravelChinaGuide” and your name on it. You will be transferred to the reserved 3-star Days Inn Forbidden City Beijing for 4 nights (Address: 1 Nanwanzi Alley Nanheyan Street, Dongcheng District Beijing, 100006; Telephone: 86-10-6512 7788). The rest of the day you can just rest from the long fly as well as adjust to the time difference or make some other arrangement. No meal is arranged today.

Meals: No meals

Day 02Beijing

Tiananmen Square (the world largest central city square), the Forbidden City (the world largest and the best-preserved Imperial Palace complex) and the Temple of Heaven (national largest group of structures dedicated to rituals that pay homage to the glory of heaven) will be arranged on the second day.

Meals: Breakfast

Great Wall, Beijing

Day 03Beijing

On the third day, tours will cover the Great Wall- the best preserved Badaling Section, the Sacred, the Ming Tomb (under ground and about 27 meters deep). On the way back, you will have a chance to see the appearance of the Bird's Nest (Olympic National Stadium) in the distance and  where you may take some pictures from the outside.

Meals: Breakfast

Day 04Beijing

The fourth day is free for you explore the city on your own with only breakfast arranged. Beijing, the nation's political, economic, cultural and educational center as well as China's most important center for international trade and communications, enable you get many places to visit on the free day. If you have kids with you, amusement parks like the Beijing Happy Valley (can be reached by bus 52 or 41 at Tiananmen Square or take taxi), Shijingshan Amusement Park and the Panda House in Beijing Zoo are all preferred choices. (Tips: There will be very crowed if you go there on weekends or the Chinese holidays.) If you have interest in Temples, we will recommend the following temples. The Temple of Confucius (located on Guozijian Street inside Anding Gate), in honor of and sacrifice to Confucius and, opens from 08:30 to 17:00 and only cost CNY10 per person. If you want to see the Tibetan Buddhist Temple in Beijing, out of question, Lama Temple (Yonghegong) is the best choice. Built in 1694, it is the most well-known Tibetan Buddhist temple belonging to the Yellow Hat sect of Lamaism in China (outside of Tibet itself). For more information, please refer to Beijing free day suggestions.

Meals: Breakfast

Local instrument store

Day 05Beijing - Urumqi

On the fifth day, the guide will lead you to the royal garden, Summer Palace to pack your Beijing tour. See you off at Beijing airport to board a flight to Urumqi.Upon arrival, be picked up by the local guide at Urumqi airport and transferred to the 3-star City Hotel staying 1 night (Address: No. 119, Hongqi Road, Urumqi, 830002 China, Telephone: 86-991-2309911). City Hotel Urumqi is well located in neighborhood to the shopping district and several nice restaurants inside offers authentic local cuisine both in Chinese and western style. Staffs are very kind to offer you help during your stay and the internet access is in cheap expense. You could wonder nearby to feel the city atmosphere since we will leave the city tomorrow.

Meals: Breakfast

Day 06Urumqi - Kashgar

On the sixth day, after breakfast in the hotel, see you off at the Urumqi airport to board a morning flight to Kashgar. Our local guide will pick you up at Kashgar airport and transfer you to the 3-star Qinibagh Hotel staying 1 night (Address: No. 144, Seman Road, Kashgar, Xinjiang, China, Telephone: 86-998-2982103). Then the guide will lead you to the bustling Sunday Bazzar (Please be sure to visit in sunday). You will offer a chance to witness the original commodity exchange which are still kept and alive among the local villagers. It will last the whole day and composed by the two parts, the common one and the herd one which especially deserves your visit. When the night falls, the night market begins to run. The street is filled with smoke and smell of the tasty baked mutton. It's fine to wonder in the evening while please take care of your belongings.

Meals: Breakfast, Lunch

Barbering on the street, Kashgar

Day 07Kashgar - Urumqi - Turpan

On the next day in Kashgar, the tour includes the Id Kah Mosque, the Old Street and the Abakh Khoja Tomb. Built in 1442, the Id Kah Mosque is the biggest and most important mosque. Many Mohammedan activities held here. After the visit, fly to Urumqi (about 2 hours) and then private transfer to Turpan (about 2 hours) to check in at the hotel. We have reserved 2 nights' stay in the 4-star Huozhou Hotel (Address: Shuirun Square, Donghuan Road, Turpan, Xinjiang, 838000 China；Tel: 86-995-8666888). Turpan is one of the hottest areas in China and temperature change is obvious between day and night. Therefore, the grape is especially sweet under the condition and small rainfalls contribute to a large land of deserts which allures many tourists afar every year.

Meals: Breakfast, Lunch

Day 08Turpan

On the eighth day, you will have a full day guided tour to Jiaohe Ruins, the Karez Well and the Sugong Pagoda. The whole-brick construction style is taken for the highlight of the Sugong Pogoda. Unbelievably, it was constructed without even one piece of wood in 1777 and it is now the only well-preserved ancient pagoda in Xijiang Province. In such a drought area, you may be curious about how the local villagers get water for living. A visit in Karaz well (main irrigation system) will tell you the truth. The great underground system will prevent the mountain snowmelt well from evaporation and the guide will show you the theory in details.

Meals: Breakfast, Lunch

Day 09Turpan - Dunhuang

You will take overnight soft sleeper train to Dunhuang after visiting the Gaochang Ruins, the Baizikeli Thousand Buddha Cave and the Flaming Hill. Breakfast and lunch are served. Spend the night on the train.

Meals: Breakfast, Lunch

Jiaohe Ruins, Turpan

Day 10Dunhuang

On the 10th morning, train ride arrive in Dunhuang. You will be transferred to check in at the 4-star South or North Wing of Dunhuang Hotel (Address: No.14, Yangguandonglu, Dunhuang, China; Telephone: 86-937-8859368) for one night stay. Tours follows with the Mogao Grottoes and the Dunhuang Museum. There are some caves of the Mogao Grottoes normally open to the visitors, but if you need to pay for some other special-preserved caves like cave No. 465、285、220、272、275、45、57、158、156、159、254、217、321、322、9、401.In the tourist high season, a few of the cost-free caves will be classified as the special-preserved caves and you need to pay for visit. The extra charge differs from different caves.

Meals: Lunch

Day 11Dunhuang - Xian

On the next (11th) day, you will relax yourself by experiencing a short camel-riding along the Echoing-Sand Dune to reach the Crescent Lake. Then, take flight to Xian. Arrive in Xian and transfer you to the 3-star City Hotel (Address: No. 70 Nandajie, Beilin District, Xi'an, 710002 China, Telephone: 86-29-8721 9988)  staying 2 nights.

Meals: Breakfast, Lunch

Big Wild Goose Pagoda, Xian

Day 12Xian

Take a full day tour to the Terracotta Warriors and Horses Museum, the Big Wild Goose Pagoda and the City Wall.

Meals: Breakfast

Day 13Xian - Shanghai

The thirteenth day is free for you and  please click for Xian  free day suggestions as a reference. You need to check out before 12:00 and walk few minutes northward to the Bell  and walk left to find the Airport Shuttle Bus stop outside the Melody Hotel. The ticket for the bus is about CNY26 net per person and the bus leave every integral point. Board a flight to Shanghai by yourself. Upon arrival at the Shanghai airport, take a taxi to the reserved 3-star Holiday Inn Express Zhabei Shanghai staying 3 nights (Address: No.1738 Zhongxing Road, Shanghai 200070, China)

Meals: Breakfast

Shanghai Bund area

Day 14Shanghai

A free day is left for you while the hotel with breakfast is reserved by us. We recommend rising early in the morning and going to the Shanghai Gym (Xuhui district) where you will see many senior citizens taking their morning exercise (including dance with music, Taiji and body mechanics). You can even join them if you wish and a fun day just starts from here! Then take a taxi to the Temple of the Town God (Chenghuangmiao), where there are many stalls selling snacks and souvenirs around the sites. Perhaps you could dine at a Chinese restaurant after visiting the beautiful Yuyuan Garden. After lunch, take the No. 930 bus to the People's Square which is a large public square just near Nanjing Road. This is a lovely place to take photographs and admire the view, which includes trees and flowers as well as people flying kites and feeding the birds in warmer weather. You could also visit Shanghai Museum in the south of the square and Shanghai City Hall to the north. The Shanghai Grand Theater and Shanghai Urban Planning Exhibition Hall assembling in this area are also worth a look.

Meals: Breakfast

Day 15Shanghai

The 15th day is left free as well while the hotel with breakfast is reserved for you. You could explore the city by yourself refering to the Shanghai free day suggestions.

Meals: Breakfast

Day 16Departure from Shanghai

On the last (16th) day in Shanghai, please check out before 12:00 and take taxi or shuttle bus to the Pudong Airport for your international flights. You may deposit the luggage at the hotel if your flight is very late. If you want to try the Maglev Train (the world's fastest one) to the Airport, please take taxi to Longyanglu Maglev Train Stop to buy a ticket and ride to the airport for a few minutes. The ticket charge is CNY40-100 per person for one-way ride.

Meals: Breakfast

 
 Note: We are also glad to make arrangements for you in Shanghai if you want to avoid being a little bit adventurous and enjoy your stay in a sit-back manner. Your travel specialists will quote you the price for this part upon your requirements.