Chinese traditional architecture

Day 01Arrive in Beijing

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

Tips: If you arrive early and do not feel too tired, you may go to the indoor swimming pool or the gymnasium in the hotel to do some exercise. Both are free of charge for hotel guests. The swimming pool is open 24 hours. Some exercise can help to refresh you and to have a good night's rest, so that you are full of energy for the start of your tour.

Day 02Beijing

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

Descriptions: 
Forbidden City - Leaving the second palace of the Forbidden City, Baohedian, visitors will see the Gate of Heavenly Purity, Qianqingmen in Chinese. It is the boundary between the Outer Court and the Inner Court. Behind this gate are the residential houses of the royal family. In the Qing Dynasty (1644-1911), Emperor Kangxi always heard reports and issued his proclamations under this gate. The Inner Court is divided into three portions. The three palaces on the central axis are the major buildings in the Inner Court.

Day 03Beijing

Visit the Great Wall at Badaling. To avoid having lunch at the 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: An a la carte dinner of Cantonese cuisine will be served for you at a nice restaurant at Wangfujing Street. Afterwards, some free time will be left for you to explore the prosperous Wangfujing pedestrian.
Standard series: We intend to leave the dinner today on your own. You can explore the city to find the food you like or ask your guide for some advice.
 
Descriptions: 
Great Wall - Although Qin Dynasty (221 BC-206 BC) is the first empire building the Great Wall, the Ming Dynasty (1368-1644) has constructed the most walls in the whole China. In the 276-year reign, the Ming's emperors have ordered their people to build the Great Wall for about 250 years. This is because that there were more than five fierce nomads threatening the Ming's north boundary. Besides those walls in north part, some defenses in the southeastern coastal sector were erected to defense against the invasion.

Delicious local cakes, Urumqi

Day 04Beijing - Urumqi

Visit the Summer Palace. Then take a flight to Urumqi, the capital of Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, and transfer to the hotel.(B+L)

Tips: The Red Hill (Hongshan) is a landmark and symbol of Urumqi City. As the hill is composed of reddish brown minerals which makes it look red, people named it "Red Hill". The Red Hill Park is a comprehensive natural mountain park. The Zhenlong (Taming Dragon) Pagoda, The Viewing Tower, the Hero Monument and the Big Buddha Temple are the main spots in the park. Local residents always gather here for amusement in the morning or after dinner. The Xinjiang singing and dancing performances by local people in their minority dresses can be seen throughout the park. If you are interested you may go there to look around on your own. It takes about 5-6 minutes by taxi from Sheraton Hotel and costs no more than CNY10 Yuan, while about 10-15 minutes from Tunhe Ramada Hotel and costs about 20 Yuan.

Day 05Urumqi - Kashgar

You will take a morning flight to Kashgar, "the pearl of the Ancient Silk Road". Upon arrival you will be taken to the local best hotel. Visit the famous Sunday Market.(B+L)

Tips: The Sunday Bazaar in Kashgar is a social and commercial highlight of the week in Western Xinjiang. In the bazaar you can find different kinds of goods: ironware, silverware, fruit, clothes, local food, livestock, etc. Traders are buying and selling one week's stock of cows, sheep, goats and horses. The process of bargaining is fantastic. There is a bazaar everyday in Kashgar, but the one on Sunday is the liveliest, as the whole community gets together.

Sugong Pagoda, Turpan

Day 06Kashgar - Urumqi - Turpan

Visit the Id Kah Mosque, the Old Street and the Abakh Khoja Tomb. Take a flight to Urumqi and be transferred to Turpan. Check in at the hotel.(B+L)

Descriptions: 
Abakh Khoja Tomb - Abakh Khoja Tomb is also known as the Tomb of Xiang Fei (Fragrant Lady) in China. Situating 5 kilometers (3.1 miles) northeast of Kashgar City, Abakh Khoja Tomb is an ancient Islamic building, where five generations of a famous Islamic master were buried. It is also commonly known as the tomb of Xiangfei, the only Uygur concubine of Emperor Qianlong in Qing Dynasty (1644-1911).

Day 07Turpan

Visit the Jiaohe Ruins, the Karez Well and the Sugong Pagoda.(B+L)

Tips: When visiting this area in summer, please bear in mind that this is the hottest city in China and one of the hottest in the world! The highest temperature recorded here was 49.6 degrees Celsius (121.3 degrees Fahrenheit). Make sure that you are well-prepared if you visit Turpan during summer. The ultraviolet radiation is strong and may burn your skin. Always bring plenty of drinking water, high strength sun-block and a hat or scarves for your protection.

Day 08Turpan - Dunhuang

Visit the Gaochang Ruins, the Baizikeli Thousand Buddha Cave and the Flaming Hill. Take an overnight soft sleeper train to Dunhuang.(B+L+D)

Tips: While walking around local markets in Turpan, you will find many street vendors offering snacks. Besides grapes, there are many other famous specialities in Turpan, like stewed mutton, Hami melon (a kind of muskmelon) and bergamot pear. You may buy some to taste. Knives here are very well-known and are practical and worth for collection. However, we would like to remind you a regulation before you buy the knives as souvenirs. According to the newly released regulation by the government, passengers are not allowed to carry knives on a train or flight for security reason in Xinjiang region and consignment is also forbidden. If you really want to buy a knife, you need to mail or ship it back.

Buddha of Mogao Grottoes, Dunhuang

Day 09Dunhuang

You will be picked up at the railway station and transferred to the hotel. Visit the Mogao Grottoes and the Dunhuang Museum. Breakfast is on your own.(L)

Tips: The overnight train from Turpan to Dunhuang arrives in the late morning. There is no breakfast supplied on the train, nor is breakfast available at the hotel when you arrive in Dunhuang since it's too late. We suggest you buy some fast food or fruit before boarding the train in Turpan. After arrival in Dunhuang you can also buy some KFC or local food for breakfast before the tour starts.
 
Descriptions: 
Mogao Grottoes - The Dunhuang Mogao Grottoes, a bright pearl on the ancient Silk Road, is well-known for its delicate murals and statues all over the world. The Mogao Grottoes were originally built in 366BC and were constructed in the following dynasties of Sui, Tang, Western Xia and Yuan. Nowadays the Grottoes that greets us is on a large scale, which has about 735 caves with 45,000 square meters of murals and more than 2,000 painted statues. It is the largest existent Buddhist Holy Land in the world.

Day 10Dunhuang - Xian

You will experience a short camel-ride along the Echoing-Sand Dune to reach the Crescent Lake. Take a flight to Xian and transfer to the hotel. (B+L, D is included for luxury series.)

Differences:
Luxury series: A sumptuous buffet dinner will be served at your hotel upon your arrival in Xian, so that you can have enough time for a good rest this evening.
Standard series: The dinner today will be left on your side. It's easy for you to find a good restaurant for dinner around your hotel.
 
Descriptions:
Crescent Lake - Having the reputation of “the First Spring in Desert”, Crescent Lake is nearly 100 meters (328 feet) long from north to south and 25 meters (82 feet) wide from east to west. The circuitous shape is just like a crescent, so it got its name. Ripples linger in this little thistle lake and emerald water never dries up in the quicksand. You will also be shocked by this wonder in the desert.

Terracotta warriors and horses, Xian

Day 11Xian

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

Differences:
Luxury series: we will arrange the marvelous Tang Dynasty Dinner Show at the splendid Tang Dynasty Palace (Address: No.75 Chang'an Road, Xian).
Standard series: We will arrange the local speciality Dumpling Banquet and Tang Dynasty Dance and Music Show at Shaanxi Opera Theater. (Address: No. 165, Wenyi Road, Xian)

Tips: As the most completed city wall in China, Xian City Wall encircles the downtown area in a square, with one gate on each direction. When you visit the City Wall, you can rent and ride a bicycle on the wall by yourself if time permits. You can find bicycle renting venue on the wall. A deposit for the bicycle will be charged and the price is 20-30 Yuan per hour. It takes you about one hour to cycle around the whole wall. You can also take the pedicab or electronic car instead, but the cost is a little more. You will witness different aspects of Xian and have an enjoyable and interesting experience.
 
Descriptions:
Terracotta Warriors Museum - When looking around the Museum of Qin Terracotta Warriors and Horses, visitors will appreciate many dazzling weapons; some of them can be recognized right away, while some needs professional introduction to make them known to today's people. Sword is the head of short weapons. Called Jian in Chinese, it is used to stab enemies. Together in Pit 1 and Pit 2, there were excavated over twenty pieces of bronze swords. They are sharp and smooth, glistening in the color of pale yellow.

Day 12Xian - Shanghai

Visit the Great Mosque and a local family in the morning. After enjoying an a la carte lunch at a famous local restaurant, take a flight to Shanghai and transfer to the hotel.(B+L)

Tips: Nightlife in Shanghai is very colorful and the night of Shanghai is elegant. You may enjoy it along the Bund area. Looking across the Huangpu River at the Oriental Pearl TV Tower and Jinmao Tower, you may feel it is worthy the name of large modern metropolis. If you take a taxi from your hotel, it costs you only 10 RMB. However, we suggest you walk there from your hotel along the Nanjing Pedestrian Street, where you may enjoy some local snacks and do some shopping along the way. It only takes you several minutes to walk there.
 
Descriptions: 
Great Mosque - As the recordation on steles, the Great Mosque begun to be built since the first year of the reign of the Tang's seventh emperor, Tang Xuan Zong. Through restoration and expansion in several dynasties, especially in Ming and Qing, the mosque became a solemn and compact building complex, covering an area of more than 12,000 square meters. Chinese Moslems hold the tradition of residing around mosques. Therefore, the largest Moslem (mainly Hui people in Xian) community came into being around the Great Mosque and several other small mosques nearby.

Night scene of Shanghai

Day 13Shanghai

Visit the Shanghai Museum and the Yuyuan Garden. After lunch, different schedule is arranged for luxury and standard series. The farewell dinner is served at the Central Hotel, whose restaurant Wang Bao has a history of around 260 years and is the best place to sample Shanghai Cuisine. This memorable dinner will be followed by the Portman Acrobatic Show at the Shanghai Centre Theatre.(B+L+D)

Differences:
Luxury series: You will take a short cruise tour from the Bund area to Wusongkou pier along the Huangpu River in the afternoon.
Standard series: The guide will accompany you walking along the Bund area and visiting a local family in the afternoon.
 
Descriptions: 
Huangpu River - The main sources of Huangpu River are Taihu Lake and Dianshan Lake. It is the most important drainage passage of the Taihu Lake. The river takes on yellow in color and is ice-free all the year round. It is also the most important water supply for residents' domestic use and industrial use. The river is also crucial for the city's shipping industry. Over 60% of the city's imports and 98% of exports are transported through the waterway of Huangpu River. More than six million passengers travel in and out of city by ship.
 
Shanghai Museum - Shanghai Museum is a large treasure house of ancient Chinese art with a collection of 120,000 antiques which especially features bronze, pottery, calligraphy and panting articles. The whole building looks like a huge bronze vessel with four floors containing eleven galleries and three exhibition halls. Initiated in 1952, today's Shanghai Museum was newly rebuilt in late 1995 on the south side of the People's Square, the municipal center, raking among the four most influential museums in China.

Day 14Departure from Shanghai

Today you will be transferred to the airport for your homeward flight.(B)

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