China Tour from Brisbane

SG03-AU: 14 Days Small Group Tour of Brisbane - Beijing - Xi'an - Guilin - Chongqing - Yangtze River Cruise - Yichang - Shanghai - Brisbane
Tour Type: Small Group of maximum 18 travelers, guaranteed departures, all-inclusive
Guide & Driver: English-speaking guide, experienced driver with an air-conditioned coach
Accommodation: 10 nights at nice 5-star hotels, 3 nights on Yangtze River cruise
Meals: 13 western buffet breakfasts, 7 lunches with some in a la carte style, 3 dinners

Highlights:
  • Hike on the Great Wall of China and celebrate this moment with a wine toast.
  • Discover Forbidden City and Terracotta Army, miraculous imperial legacies.
  • Take in Guilin’s karst beauties through a cruise on Li River to rural Yangshuo.
  • Unwind with a Yangtze River cruise tour and see the magnificent Three Gorges.
  • Soak up traditional China: enjoy local food, Peking Opera, and Tang-era art.
From USD2799USD2519Free Inquiry
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Day 1 Brisbane - Beijing
Please take your flight to Beijing on your own. Welcome to China!
Today, please arrange your own way to the airport for your flight to Beijing. As there is no direct flight from Brisbane to Beijing, we suggest you plan a connection in Sydney or Hong Kong with the help of flight trackers. You will fly at least 14 hours, so please make sure that your flight arrives in Beijing today (we will confirm with you your flight information in advance). If you have any questions on flight booking, feel free to ask your travel consultant.

Upon arriving in Beijing, meet your guide outside the customs of the airport. Your driver will transfer you to the arranged hotel for check-in.

Accommodation: Hotel New Otani Chang Fu Gong
Day 2 Beijing
Visit Tiananmen Square and Forbidden City including Treasure Gallery; enjoy an a la carte welcome lunch with authentic Peking Duck; continue to visit Yonghe Temple and Temple of Heaven; and watch the classic Peking Opera in the evening. (B+L)
Tiananmen Square
Tiananmen Square
In the morning, we will first visit Tiananmen Square to approach the Forbidden City, the residence of imperial families during the Ming and Qing Dynasties (1368 - 1911). Even from a distance, you will notice yellow glazed tiles, which symbolizes imperial power, covering the roof of the City’s main gate. Inside, images of dragon and phoenix – emblems of Chinese emperor and empress - dotting everywhere will also constantly remind you of what place you are now at. Even the layout is worth a checkout - you will find it fascinatingly symmetrical from east to west. Our tour in the City will climax with a visit to Treasure Gallery.

Enjoy an a la carte welcome lunch (valued at CNY150.00 per person and included in our price) with Peking Duck at a famous restaurant. In the afternoon, first visit Yonghe Temple, a place of pilgrimage for Tibetan Buddhists, and then Temple of Heaven, an imperial altar to pray for good harvests in ancient times.

In the evening, head for Liyuan Theatre to experience the live Peking Opera. We will be there earlier to watch the artists in the dressing room painting their face with character-telling designs. You will watch an opera performance that is way more than soprano singing arias - there are a lot to think of when we speak of Peking Opera all at once: acrobatics fights, dances, narrative, flamboyant costumes, and totem-like facial make-up, apart from live music and singing. With history, culture, traditional aesthetic values all condensed into one art form, it is hailed as the quintessence of Chinese culture for a reason. Lots of meaning is unfortunately lost when it’s simply translated as “opera”. Anyway, hope you will enjoy this centuries-old Chinese art!

Meals: Western buffet breakfast, A la carte welcome lunch
Day 3 Beijing
Visit Mutianyu Great Wall by round-trip cable car and toast for Great Wall challenge with red wine; drive by Olympic Bird's Nest; then take a rickshaw ride through Hutong alleys and visit a local family in a traditional courtyard house. (B)
Mutianyu Great Wall
his morning, be ready to set foot on the Great Wall of China (the section in Mutianyu), one of the biggest highlights of your tour in China! You are going to see the most beautiful part of the wall, constructed in the Ming era over 650 years ago. We will take a round-trip cable car to ascend and descend. A toast with red wine is also specially arranged to celebrate our visit.

Lunch is not arranged because restaurants nearby are not up to our standards. You may have a simple lunch at a nearby restaurant with the help of your guide.

Then, drive back to downtown. We will stop at the Olympic Stadium of Bird's Nest for a while for you to take some photos. Your tour for today will be perfected with a visit on rickshaw through Beijing’s hutongs, a historical area to find traditional courtyard houses and local life. We will also explore one of those houses and interact with its dwellers.

Meals: Western buffet breakfast
Day 4 Beijing - Xi'an
Visit Panda Hall and Summer Palace; taste local flavors for lunch; fly to Xi'an and transfer to hotel. (B+L)
After breakfast, visit Panda House in Beijing Zoo. We will then head to Summer Palace, acclaimed as the Royal Garden Museum for the natural beauties and cultural relics in display.

Enjoy a local-flavor lunch around noon. Afterwards, you will be escorted to catch your flight to the next destination - Xi'an. Your Xi'an guide and driver will meet you at the arrival hall and drive you to the hotel.

Meals: Western buffet breakfast, Local lunch
Accommodation: Crowne Plaza Xi'an
Day 5 Xi'an
Visit Terracotta Army and the discoverer’s home of the first terracotta warrior; have a unique experience to make your own mini clay warrior; continue to visit Giant Wild Goose Pagoda, and then enjoy dumpling dinner and Tang Dynasty Music and Dance Show in the evening. (B+D)
Terracotta Army
The first stop of your tour in Xi'an is the Terracotta Army, the eighth of Wonders of the World, of life-size pottery warriors stationed here by First Emperor of China - Emperor Qin Shi Huang (259 - 210 BC) - to protect his mausoleum. We will then pay a visit to the family of Mr. Yang Zhifa, the very first man among other discoverers of the Army, to learn about details about his discovery. Next, spend some time in a workshop crafting a mini clay soldier of your own - a souvenir prepared for you - with a professional local artisan.

In the afternoon, learn more about this ancient city at the Giant Wild Goose Pagoda. At night, appreciate a fantastic Tang Dynasty Music and Dance Show while savoring the renowned Dumpling Dinner.

Meals: Western buffet breakfast, Dumpling dinner

Tip:
If today is a day in January, February, March, and December, you will enjoy a free evening, since the theater is usually not open at those times.
Day 6 Xi'an
Connect with local people at City Wall Park and learn to practice Tai Chi from a master, then visit City Wall; taste local flavors for lunch at Muslim Quarter; in the afternoon visit Great Mosque and Shaanxi History Museum. (B+L)
City Wall
The morning will see you ambling around the City Wall Park, where locals do morning exercises and recreational activities. There, a master will teach you some moves of Tai Chi martial art. Then, climb up the famous Xi'an City Wall. You may either walk or ride a rental bike on the wall (bike rental fee not included). It’s hard to imagine the City Wall in Xi’an has survived some 1,400 years, since it’s first erected in the year 582 during the Sui Dynasty. How did it make it, then? Think of it as a hamburger - or Chinese Hamburger, a specialty of Shaanxi - of five layers: earth right in the middle mixed with sticky, cohesive fruit juice, with blue brick layers added to it by each following dynasty. It’s even more solid now, as it has been further upgraded by modern efforts.

Sample local food to tackle your lunch at Muslim Quarter, where you can find the said Chinese Hamburger, or Rou Jia Mo. Then, visit the Great Mosque and Shaanxi History Museum.

Meals: Western buffet breakfast, Local lunch
Day 7 Xi'an - Guilin
Fly to Guilin and transfer to hotel; visit Reed Flute Cave and Elephant Trunk Hill. (B)
Today, you will be transferred to the airport for a morning flight to Guilin. Upon arrival, your guide will pick you up and transfer you to the hotel. After a short break, head to the Reed Flute Cave, a karst wonderland housing various stone formations, and later Elephant Trunk Hill, a giant sandstone elephant sucking water from the Li River. Actually, you are not visiting the only elephant-like natural formation in the world, as its incredible doppelganger has been found drinking the sea water off Étretat, a coastal town in the northwest of France. For their likeness, a sister relationship has been forged between the two.

Meals: Western buffet breakfast
Accommodation: Sheraton Guilin Hotel
Day 8 Guilin - Yangshuo - Guilin
Take a Li River cruise from Guilin to Yangshuo; explore West Street and have a countryside tour; drive back to Guilin. (B+L)
Li River Cruise
Expect a spectacular experience today as you take a Li River cruise from Guilin to Yangshuo. A picturesque landscape portrayed as "Hundred Miles Gallery" will unfold before your eyes. We will spend about 4.5 hours on the ship.

Have a box lunch onboard. (It’s likely that you may find it too simple, in which case a hearty breakfast and some snacks prepared beforehand might help).

After disembarking in Yangshuo, head to its countryside. You can take a stroll to soak up its rustic scenery, but you will find a ride via rental bike or scooter (at your own expense) more fascinating. Round off your today’s trip with a family visit at a village, before we drive back to the hotel in downtown Guilin.

Meals: Western buffet breakfast, Lunch
Day 9 Guilin - Chongqing
Take a high-speed train to Chongqing and board the Yangtze River cruise ship. (B+D)
Yangtze River cruise
In the morning, you will be transferred to take a 5-hour bullet train trip from Guilin to Chongqing. Upon arrival, transfer with your guide to a pier to board the luxury Century Cruise Ship.

As the sun sets, enjoy a buffet dinner onboard and a Welcome Party at the invitation of your captain.

Your cruise on the Yangtze River is about to begin. A cradle of Chinese civilization, the river is often compared to the Nile, which gave birth to the ancient Egypt and all its sagas. Both are the longest rivers and boast the largest hydro-power plants - Three Gorges Dam in China and Aswan High Dam in Egypt - in the world. Hope you will enjoy the cruise with us, and perhaps in one day join us to explore mysterious Egypt.

Meals: Western buffet breakfast, Dinner
Cruises: Century Oasis
Day 10 Yangtze River Cruise
Take an onshore excursion to Ghost City, then enjoy your leisure time on board or participate in some cultural activities; three buffet meals a day plus midnight snacks are served. (B+L+D)
Fengdu Ghost City
After breakfast, an onshore adventure at Fengdu Ghost City awaits.

Go back to the cruise at noon for lunch. You will enjoy a leisurely afternoon to see charming views on the banks passing by. There are also some cultural activities you can join to while away your time.

Meals: Western buffet breakfast, Lunch, Dinner
Day 11 Yangtze River Cruise
Admire Yangtze Three Gorges and take an onshore excursion to Shennv Stream. (B+L+D)
Three Gorges
The ship will cleave forward through the majestic Three Gorges today. You will first meet the Qutang Gorge about an hour before noon, and then the Wu Gorge an hour after lunch. While sailing through the Wu Gorge, be surprised by a side shore excursion to Shennv Stream. Enjoy dinner onboard.

Meals: Western buffet breakfast, Lunch, Dinner
Day 12 Yichang - Shanghai
Disembark from cruise ship and visit Three Gorges Dam; take a high-speed train to Shanghai and transfer to hotel. (B)
After breakfast, please pack your luggage and check out. You will go ashore to visit the grand Three Gorges Dam we have mentioned. Later, the ship company will transfer you to the Three Gorges Tourist Center in Yichang. Meet your local guide there and go on to take a 7.5-hour bullet train ride to Shanghai. At Shanghai’s train station, your local guide will pick you up and accompany you to the hotel.

Meals: Western buffet breakfast
Accommodation: Radisson Blu Hotel Shanghai New World
Day 13 Shanghai
Visit Shanghai Museum and Yu Garden; enjoy an a la carte farewell lunch; have a panoramic view of the city skyline, and then explore the Bund with a Huangpu River cruise tour. (B+L)
Shanghai Pudong Area
Today's itinerary starts with the famous Shanghai Museum. After that, get to know what a typical classical Chinese garden is from a visit to Yu Garden. You will be amazed at how greenery, zigzag bridges over ponds, pavilions, and rockeries can be packed into such a small garden. Check out the nearby Yu Bazaar next.

At noon, enjoy a la carte farewell lunch (valued at CNY150.00 per person and included in our price) at a well-reputed restaurant. After lunch, go to Duo Yun Bookstore – the world’s highest bookstore located on the 52nd floor of the Shanghai Tower - to find a commanding perspective to take in Shanghai’s modern charm. Then, explore the Bund area, the place in Shanghai to appreciate skylines above colonial heritage and modern skyscrapers. We will also arrange a cruise along the Huangpu River for you. Have a free walk at the Bund for some time, until it’s time to drive back to the hotel.

Meals: Western buffet breakfast, A la carte farewell lunch
Day 14 Shanghai - Brisbane
Please check out before 12:00, and head for the airport in our recommended ways; a pleasant journey home! (B)
Today is the last day in this package of China tour from Brisbane. After breakfast, please arrange your own trip from your hotel to the Pudong International Airport (PVG). We recommend you take a taxi to go there, which would cost about CNY 200. Wish you have had a nice tour with us! For your reference, there is a direct flight from Shanghai to Brisbane every day, with flight time about 10 hours.

Meals: Western buffet breakfast
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Prices are per person on twin sharing basis; departures are guaranteed even with two persons!
2024 & 2025 Special: 10% off - Book before Apr 30, 2024
Arrival DateDeparture DateDouble OccupancySingle Room Supplement 
Apr 08(Mon)Apr 21(Sun)USD3039 USD2735USD1079
Apr 19(Fri)May 02(Thu)USD3039 USD2735USD1079
May 10(Fri)May 23(Thu)USD3039 USD2735USD1079
May 24(Fri)Jun 06(Thu)USD2979 USD2681USD1069
Jun 10(Mon)Jun 23(Sun)USD2979 USD2681USD1069
Jul 05(Fri)Jul 18(Thu)USD3079 USD2771USD1129
Jul 19(Fri)Aug 01(Thu)USD3079 USD2771USD1129
Aug 02(Fri)Aug 15(Thu)USD3079 USD2771USD1129
Aug 16(Fri)Aug 29(Thu)USD3079 USD2771USD1129
Sep 06(Fri)Sep 19(Thu)USD3079 USD2771USD1129
Sep 16(Mon)Sep 29(Sun)USD3079 USD2771USD1129
Oct 07(Mon)Oct 20(Sun)USD3079 USD2771USD1129
Oct 18(Fri)Oct 31(Thu)USD3079 USD2771USD1129
Nov 01(Fri)Nov 14(Thu)USD2799 USD2519USD1029
Nov 15(Fri)Nov 28(Thu)USD2799 USD2519USD1029
Prices are per person on twin sharing basis; departures are guaranteed even with two persons!
2024 & 2025 Special: 10% off - Book before Apr 30, 2024
Arrival DateDeparture DateDouble OccupancySingle Room Supplement 
Apr 04(Fri)Apr 17(Thu)USD2939 USD2645USD1029
Apr 11(Fri)Apr 24(Thu)USD2939 USD2645USD1029
Apr 18(Fri)May 01(Thu)USD2939 USD2645USD1029
May 02(Fri)May 15(Thu)USD2939 USD2645USD1029
May 16(Fri)May 29(Thu)USD2939 USD2645USD1029
May 30(Fri)Jun 12(Thu)USD2879 USD2591USD1019
Jun 06(Fri)Jun 19(Thu)USD2879 USD2591USD1019
Jun 13(Fri)Jun 26(Thu)USD2879 USD2591USD1019
Jun 20(Fri)Jul 03(Thu)USD2979 USD2681USD1079
Jun 27(Fri)Jul 10(Thu)USD2979 USD2681USD1079
Jul 04(Fri)Jul 17(Thu)USD2979 USD2681USD1079
Jul 11(Fri)Jul 24(Thu)USD2979 USD2681USD1079
Jul 18(Fri)Jul 31(Thu)USD2979 USD2681USD1079
Aug 01(Fri)Aug 14(Thu)USD2979 USD2681USD1079
Aug 08(Fri)Aug 21(Thu)USD2979 USD2681USD1079
Aug 15(Fri)Aug 28(Thu)USD2979 USD2681USD1079
Aug 22(Fri)Sep 04(Thu)USD2979 USD2681USD1079
Sep 05(Fri)Sep 18(Thu)USD2979 USD2681USD1079
Sep 12(Fri)Sep 25(Thu)USD2979 USD2681USD1079
Sep 19(Fri)Oct 02(Thu)USD2979 USD2681USD1079
Oct 10(Fri)Oct 23(Thu)USD2979 USD2681USD1079
Oct 17(Fri)Oct 30(Thu)USD2979 USD2681USD1079
Oct 24(Fri)Nov 06(Thu)USD2979 USD2681USD1079
Nov 07(Fri)Nov 20(Thu)USD2699 USD2429USD979
Nov 14(Fri)Nov 27(Thu)USD2699 USD2429USD979
Nov 21(Fri)Dec 04(Thu)USD2699 USD2429USD979
Price Includes
  • China domestic airfares & train fares
  • Hotel accommodation with breakfasts
  • A la carte lunches as itinerary specifies
  • Professional English-speaking guides
  • Drivers & air-conditioned vehicles
  • Entrance fees to tourist sites
Price Excludes
  • International airfare
  • China visa fee
  • Personal expenses
  • Tips or gratuities for guides and drivers
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