Pandas & Yangtze Cruise

This morning, meet your guide and driver waiting in your hotel lobby, and then set off towards the heart of Beijing. Our first stop will be Tiananmen Square, a symbol of Chinese political power, just as the White House is to America. Walk northward and view the iconic Monument to the People’s Heroes, Great Hall of the People, and National Museum, all of which bear witness to the nation’s progress.

Passing through the northernmost Tiananmen Tower, we’ll arrive at the Forbidden City. Home to 24 emperors from 1420 to 1911 AD, it now welcomes visitors from around the world to experience its former royal splendor. Inside, spot lion decorations before the major palaces. Though not native to ancient China, lions were brought from Africa as tribute over 2,000 years ago and were favored by the emperors for their natural aura of power. Before the Gate of Supreme Harmony stand a pair of bronze lions: the male on the left, paw resting on an embroidered ball, represents universal unity; the female on the right, stroking a cub, signifies a thriving lineage. Unlike the fierce, dynamic poses of folk stone lions, those in the Forbidden City are mostly seated, embodying imperial majesty and composure. Besides, admire myriad imperial treasures, such as calligraphy works, jade objects, and splendid costumes, and glimpse the lavish imperial life fueled by absolute power. After a local-flavor lunch, we’ll head to the Temple of Heaven, where the emperors once prayed to heaven for bountiful harvests. Its architecture, with circular roofs signifying heaven and square walls mirroring the earth, exudes a divine majesty rarely found anywhere else in the world.

★ Special Treat 1: Watch an Exciting Acrobatics Show

Let’s then revel in an acrobatic show at the Red Theater. In about an hour, see the performers, accompanied by music, collaborating to complete a series of breathtaking stunts. Intriguingly, acrobatics were often performed during traditional festivals in ancient China, with each act carrying an auspicious meaning. Take ‘hoop diving’: the hoop stands for a challenge, and passing through it is believed to turn misfortune into good fortune and pave the way for success. Similarly, ‘plate spinning’: plates twirling on poles resemble blooming flowers, suggesting a thriving, joyful life.

★ Special Treat 2: Enjoy an a La Carte Dinner with Peking Duck

After feasting your eyes, we won’t let your stomach down. We’ll invite you to a welcome dinner, priced twice the local average and already included in our quote. You’ll have the chance to taste Beijing’s most famous delicacy: Peking Roast Duck. Once served exclusively to imperial families, this dish has also won the hearts of distinguished guests like Joe Biden and Henry Kissinger. Besides the duck, your guide will help you order and try other local specialties according to your taste.

After dinner, your guide and driver will escort you back to your hotel.

Meals: Western buffet breakfast, lunch, a la carte welcome dinner with Peking Duck

After breakfast at your hotel, your guide and driver will accompany you to Mutianyu Great Wall, the most beautiful section in Beijing. Upon arrival, enjoy a 2.5-hour hike on this man-made feat, with a round-trip cable car included to reduce your fatigue. For a bit of adventure, you can also opt to ride the chairlift to the top and finally race down on a thrilling toboggan ride.

Built over 2,000 years ago, the Great Wall of China is contemporaneous with the frontiers of the Roman Empire, such as Hadrian’s Wall and the Germanic Limes, offering a fascinating cross-continental parallel. Both are not merely walls, but rather comprehensive defense systems comprising walls, fortresses, watchtowers, and paths. However, while the Roman defense line focused more on border management, controlling population movement, and collecting tariffs, China’s was more geared towards countering large-scale military threats and protecting its agricultural civilization. Trekking along Mutianyu now, you can appreciate the surrounding mountain views from the perspective of the soldiers who guarded here 6 centuries ago - true to that military focus.

★ Cheers with Red Wine:

After coming down from the Great Wall, your guide will bring out prepared red wine. Raise your glasses to toast to this once-in-a-lifetime Great Wall experience.

Enjoy a buffet lunch at the foot of the Great Wall and then let’s head back downtown. On the way, we’ll make a quick photo stop at the landmark National Stadium and the National Aquatic Center, also known as the Bird’s Nest and the Water Cube.

★ Special Inclusion: Hutong Rickshaw Tour & Family Visit

Next, let’s try a very local experience: take a rickshaw ride through a 500-plus-year-old Hutong alleys district for a glimpse of everyday life in Beijing. Along the narrow alleys are traditional quadrangle courtyards, and we’ll step into one to chat with the owner and learn about real lives here. Don’t let its old look fool you - a full unit can cost anywhere from CNY 10 million to over 100 million (USD 1.5 to 15 million). However, that doesn’t mean everyone living here is wealthy. In fact, most are just ordinary people. Each family in a courtyard occupies only about 10 to 20 square meters, and its total value is just enough to afford a home in the far suburbs.

At last, your guide and driver will escort you back to your hotel.

Meals: Western buffet breakfast, buffet lunch

After receiving morning greetings from your guide and driver in your hotel lobby, begin the day with a visit to Summer Palace, an imperial resort ordered as a birthday gift from an emperor to his mother in 1750 AD. As the world’s largest and best-preserved imperial garden, it inspires wonder, particularly at the Long Corridor. Listed in the Guinness World Records in 1992 as the longest of its kind, it features 14,000 paintings adorning its ceiling.

After lunch, enjoy a smooth escort to Beijing’s railway station for a high-speed train to Xi’an, another of China’s celebrated ancient capitals. Your guide will see you to the platform and a porter will assist with loading your luggage onto the train. China’s early high-speed trains were a ‘hybrid’ of technologies from Japan, France, and Germany; it wasn’t until 2017 that the country developed its first fully indigenous train. Though a latecomer, it has since set a global benchmark, reaching 350 km/h (217 mph) with autonomous operation. During a 5-hour journey, experience firsthand its smoothness and speed.

Upon arrival at Xi’an’s railway station, your local guide and driver will pick you up at the exit and escort you to your hotel for check-in.

► To make the most of your evening, you can take a 15-minute taxi from the hotel by yourself for around USD 7 to the Bell Tower, one of Xi’an’s liveliest night spots. There, admire and pose for photos with this over 600-year-old landmark, beautifully lit at the center of the roundabout. Finally, hail a taxi again back to your hotel. 

Meals: Western buffet breakfast, lunch

In the morning, set out from your hotel with your guide and driver to a UNESCO World Heritage site, the Terracotta Army Museum. It’s the mausoleum of Emperor Qin Shi Huang (259 - 210 BC), the founder of imperial China, who commissioned over 9,000 terracotta warriors to serve his afterlife. Standing by the burial pits, you may notice how remarkably tall these statues are - statistics show an average height of 1.8 m (5.9 ft), with the tallest reaching 1.9 m (6.2 ft), surpassing the modern Xi’an residents’ average. Why so? One theory suggests they were modeled on real soldiers. In an era of hand-to-hand combat, taller individuals were naturally favored in soldier selection, hence the warriors’ impressive stature. Another view posits that the emperor, uncertain about the afterlife, deliberately ordered oversized figures to ensure his continued rule beyond death. Additionally, visit the exhibition hall to observe the warriors’ intricate details, such as the purple armor, the patterns on their soles, and their delicate hair ornaments. After the visit, let’s refuel with a local lunch.

★ Privilege of Our Guests:

1. Let’s visit the home of the discoverer of the Terracotta Warriors, where you can see the hoe used to dig the first warrior up and the wheelbarrow used to transport it, while hearing the story of that extraordinary time. If it hadn’t been for a few local villagers who unearthed some pottery fragments in 1974, the wonder might still be lying silently beneath the earth.
2. Step into a local workshop and craft your own mini warrior under the guidance of a skilled artisan. Using a mold, you can shape a figure that’s either realistically fierce or adorably cartoonish. Once it takes form, carve your name into the base, turning it into a one-of-a-kind souvenir of your Xi’an journey.Afterward, we’ll drive back downtown and visit the Giant Wild Goose Pagoda, a major participant along the Silk Road in translating and introducing Indian Buddhism. You may know the Tower of Pisa, which tilted due to subsiding foundations - a similar situation the Giant Wild Goose Pagoda faced. Yet their fates differ sharply: Pisa’s lean made it famous worldwide, while the pagoda’s tilt threatened its structural safety. Fortunately, local authorities have taken scientific measures to correct and stabilize the pagoda, putting it on a path to recovery.

★ Enjoy a Dumpling Dinner & Dynastic Dance Show

In the evening, let’s go for a sensory feast once acclaimed by over 40 foreign leaders, including former British Prime Minister Edward Heath and former French President Francois Mitterrand. Greeted by attendants in ancient court dress, you’ll be seated as if stepping back 1,400 years into an imperial palace banquet. After treating your taste buds to Chinese dumplings, immerse yourself in a fantastic Tang Dynasty Music and Dance Show. To the music of traditional Chinese instruments, performers dressed in period costumes will show you how Wu Zetian (624 -705 AD) rose from a palace maid to China’s first and only female emperor.

Finally, return to your hotel accompanied by your guide and driver.

Meals: Western buffet breakfast, lunch, dumpling dinner

After your guide and driver pick you up from the hotel, refresh yourself with a morning visit to the City Wall Park and experience the local life. 

★ Attend a Chinese Kung Fu Class

Here, we’ll invite a master to guide you through the practice of the 600-year-old Chinese shadowboxing, which, like yoga, uses breath control and meditation to relieve your tension and purify your mind. 

After that, let’s climb onto the City Wall, one of the largest and most intact ancient fortifications in China, to enjoy a sweeping view of the city. In Britain, you can find a similar historic landmark, the York city walls. Yet unlike the pastoral tableau woven from rolling fields and scattered medieval spires outside them, Xi’an’s City Wall reads more like an open chronicle: Standing on its ‘spine’, you’ll see modern high-rises on the outside, while a chessboard-like grid of narrow streets and vast stretches of grey-tiled rooftops unfolds inside. Stroll along the broad brick-paved walkway to admire the ever-changing perspectives, or opt to rent a bike at your own expense for a refreshing ride in the cool breeze.At noon, we’ll treat you to an a la carte lunch at Xi’an’s culinary hub, the Muslim Quarter. You’ll taste local specialties like Xi’an Ribbon Pasta, a kind of belt-wide noodles. The aroma of oil-sprayed chili will make your mouth water before it’s even brought to the table, and the bowl, bigger than your face, will surely make your eyes pop. Also try Cold Noodles and glutinous rice cake with jujubes, both local favorites. Next, let’s move to the Great Mosque, a tranquil sanctuary hidden amid this bustling district. Built in 742 AD in a traditional Chinese garden style, this Muslim place of worship stands as a remarkable testament to the religious tolerance of China’s feudal era.

End your day at the Shaanxi History Museum, where over a million historical treasures offer you a more complete perspective on Xi’an’s legacy as the ancient capital of thirteen dynasties. Pay special attention to the Tang tri-colored glazed potteries, especially the many figurines of horses and camels. They were believed to be the lifelines of the Silk Road, serving as key means of transport that brought immense wealth to the region.

Finally, your guide and driver will accompany you on a comfortable ride back to your hotel.

Meals: Western buffet breakfast, a la carte local food lunch

Today, your guide and driver will see you off at Xi'an airport, where you’ll catch a 2.5-hour flight to Guilin. While Xi’an is a capital defined by its rammed earth walls and ancient wooden architecture, Guilin is a place shaped by nature - nourished by the winding Li River and framed by the breathtaking backdrop of karst mountains.

Upon landing, your Guilin guide and driver will meet you and escort you to your hotel for check-in. Then, we’ll explore the renowned Reed Flute Cave, along its U-shaped pathway extending 240-meter (787-foot) into the hillside. Inside, stalactites, stalagmites, and rocks of all shapes, and environmentally friendly atmospheric lighting in the dark, compose a symphonic poem, earning it the title of “museum of natural sculptures”. Be sure to wear non-slip shoes, as the paths in the cave can sometimes be slippery. 

Next up is Elephant Trunk Hill, a hotspot named for its uncanny resemblance to a giant elephant drinking water from the Li River with its trunk. After the visit, we’ll escort you back to your hotel.

Meals: Western buffet breakfast

★ Flow Your Imagination on a Li River Cruise

Starting from your hotel, your guide and driver will accompany you to the pier for an incredible Li River cruise. Along the way, let your imagination bring the surrounding hills to life: some may resemble a kind old man waving, a tiger poised to pounce, a giant serpent drinking by the shore, or nine wild horses galloping from the rocky cliff. Gaze down at the Li River, the ‘mother river’ that has long sustained local life. 60 years ago, the arrival of the first tourists turned the river into an icon of Chinese tourism, prompting fishermen to leave their boats for life ashore. Yet today, some still fish from bamboo rafts with their cormorants.

In about four hours, the cruise ship will dock in Yangshuo. After getting off, let’s stroll down West Street, a 600-year-old block popular among both Chinese and foreign visitors, offering everything from famous local dishes to boutiques for souvenirs, cafes, and bars.

Then, let’s visit Yangshuo countryside via a scenic drive and see the locals’ authentic life. Pass by water buffalo and rice fields, the villagers’ main livelihood. As tourism grows here, some locals have opened guesthouses or stalls to diversify their income, though senior residents still rely on farming. Also, drop by a local farmer’s home to observe the traditional bamboo hat and straw rain cape, or even learn how to draw water from a well.

► Private Tour Privilege: It’s also available for our private tour guests to enjoy a cycling experience at a leisurely pace through the countryside. With your guide, stop occasionally to admire rural scenery up close, or even walk carefully along the field ridges to strike up a conversation with farmers.

After that, your guide and driver will escort you back to your downtown hotel in Guilin.

Meals: Western buffet breakfast, lunch on the cruise

After breakfast, your guide and driver will escort you to Guilin’s railway station for a 6.5-hour high-speed ride in a first-class seat to Chengdu. Known for its ‘slow living’ culture, Chengdu offers a unique cultural journey distinct from your previous historical and natural experiences.

Upon arrival, your Chengdu guide and driver will escort you directly from the railway station to a lively night market. As you wander among the numerous food stalls, besides the sweet aroma of baked egg cakes and the sizzling sound of barbecue, you can also hear the vendors chatting with their regulars in the local dialect, opening the first window for you to understand Chengdu. If you’re interested, try some local specialties such as grilled sweet potato noodles, cold skewers in spicy broth, and sweet jelly ice powder, at your own expense. Thereafter, we’ll escort you to your hotel for check-in.

Meals: Western buffet breakfast

★ Fans Meeting with Panda Superstar

This morning, go with your guide and driver from your hotel to the Chengdu Research Base of Giant Panda Breeding, a true ‘panda home’ to over 200 of these adorable creatures. Here lives Gongzai, the real-life inspiration for Po in the hit movie ‘Kung Fu Panda’. Back in 2008, when the director came here to seek inspiration, the three-month-old Gongzai immediately caught his attention with his agile moves and mischievous personality. This little guy even knew some real ‘kung fu’: He once spent an entire afternoon beating up a giant panda that had provoked him. Today, the superstar is easy to spot, as his limbs are longer than those of other pandas here.

Later on, let’s proceed to the bustling Wide and Narrow Alleys. Here, the centuries-old blue-brick buildings now blend harmoniously with modern shops. You’ll find many quaint eateries serving up local snacks, souvenir shops filled with panda dolls, and at the entrances of some teahouses, performers might be drawing in crowds with face-changing shows. You can have lunch here on your own, and your guide will be happy to offer suggestions.

In the afternoon, your guide and driver will see you off at Chengdu’s railway station and help you get on a 2-hour high-speed train to Chongqing.

★ A Truly Immersive Yangtze River Cruise

Upon arrival, your Chongqing guide and driver will escort you to the dock to board a cruise ship on the Yangtze River for an immersive 4-day and 3-night tour. The Yangtze River and the Mississippi River are both among the world’s great rivers, but nurtured distinctly different civilizations: the former has sustained China’s agricultural heritage for millennia, while the latter has witnessed the rise of American industry and commerce. At around 21:00, the ship sets sail, and your unforgettable journey begins!

► Cruise Options: Luxury & Standard
1. Group tour guests will enjoy the luxury ship by Century Cruises, featuring 5-star service and state-of-the-art amenities, a buffet dinner over a welcome wine party tonight, as well as themed meals, complimentary beverages, and late-night snacks each day.
2. Private tour guests can flexibly choose either the luxury cruise mentioned above or a standard cruise that doesn’t include the buffet dinner tonight and the daily night snacks. If you opt for the standard cruise, you can treat yourself to dinner at Hongya Cave near the dock, or prepare some snacks on your own before boarding.
3. The cruising routes of the two are exactly the same, with only minor differences in shore excursions.

Meals: Western buffet breakfast, buffet dinner

After drifting overnight on the Yangtze River, we’ll arrive at Fengdu County this morning and disembark to visit the Ghost City, a legendary ‘underworld’ in Chinese folklore where the spirits of the dead face the God of Hell’s judgement. Inside, you’ll see many ghost sculptures and hellish tableaus. Don’t mistake this for worship - they are, in fact, moral reminders for the living, urging people to do good, for evil deeds will be severely punished after death. 
► FYI: Luxury cruise guests can, instead of Ghost City, visit the Xiaoguanshan Ancient Folk Culture Park to explore ancient residential compounds, temples, and cultural heritage. For a standard cruise, the onshore excursion will be at Shuanggui Mountain with quaint ancestral halls and pavilions, and panoramic river views.

At noon, get back to the ship and enjoy a lunch break. Soak up the sun on the deck while admiring the passing shoreline scenery. Unlike the endless forests, swamps, and plantations along the Mississippi, the Yangtze winds through deep gorges, with jagged peaks and occasional villages dotting the landscape. To enrich your time onboard, the cruise invites you to participate in various cultural activities, including lectures on the Three Gorges we’ll visit the next day, kite flying, and scarf-tying skills.

For luxury cruise guests, the buffet dinner is followed by a 70-minute onshore performance of ‘War Fire of the Three Kingdoms,’ a large-scale live show that combines equestrian stunts, fire-and-water effects, and wire work. 
► Standard cruise guests can book the performance ticket yourself directly on site if you’re interested.

Meals: Full board served in buffet style

Today, the ship will carry you into the Three Gorges, the most magnificent stretch of the Yangtze River. Unlike the exposed red rock layers along the Grand Canyon in the United States, which was also carved by a river through mountains, the cliffs of Three Gorges are draped in dense vegetation: lush green in spring and summer and fiery red in autumn. To begin with, the Qutang Gorge, the shortest but steepest, will greet you with knife-edged cliffs plunging straight into the river, narrowing to less than 100 meters (328 feet) across in some parts. Then comes the Wu Gorge, celebrated for its poetic beauty and dreamlike seas of clouds, which legend says were left by a goddess who once brought rain to the land and now rests forever by the river.

★ Exciting Sampan Adventure along Goddess Stream

In the afternoon, transfer to a sampan and enter a tributary, and you’ll soon find yourself on Goddess Stream, named after a legend of a goddess who bathed and rested here. When spotting a finger-like peak en route, snap a perspective photo pretending to touch it from a distance, which is said to bring you wealth. What might surprise you even more are the coffins perched on sheer cliffs over 200 meters (656 feet) above the river. This was an ancient burial practice of local ethnic minorities, who placed the deceased in natural caves to protect their souls from wild animals and grave robbers.

In two to three hours, return to the cruise ship and sail on toward the turbulent Xiling Gorge. To bring your Yangtze journey to a perfect close, the captain will host a farewell party tonight, featuring a buffet dinner and artistic performances.

Meals: Full board served in buffet style

After disembarking in Yichang City, let’s make a beeline for the Three Gorges Dam, the world’s largest water conservancy project. Its planning and survey phase alone lasted 75 years, and construction finally began in 1994, taking nearly two decades to complete. Compared to Egypt’s Aswan Dam, built over 30 years earlier and of similar national significance, the Three Gorges Dam generates roughly 12 times as much electricity, serving approximately 140 million Chinese people. Beyond that, it also helps control floods. Through a dynamic strategy known as ‘clear water storage and sediment release’, it raises the flood protection standard downstream from a once-in-a-decade level to a once-in-a-century level. In drought-prone Egypt, by contrast, the Aswan Dam is primarily used to store Nile water for irrigation.

Subsequently, take a smooth ride arranged by the cruise ship company to the Three Gorges Tourist Center, where your Yichang guide and driver will then escort you to the train station to board a high-speed train to Shanghai. You’ll travel in a comfy first-class seat for around 6.5 to 7 hours. As there won’t be enough time to sit in a restaurant for lunch, we’ll prepare a boxed lunch, including a burger, fruit and a soft drink, for you to enjoy during your train ride. Once you get to Shanghai, your local guide and driver will greet you at the station and escort you to your hotel.

Meals: Western buffet breakfast, packed lunch for the train

In the morning, your guide and driver will accompany you to visit Yu Garden, a 460-year-old classical Chinese garden. A stroll here will make you feel like you’re in a miniature natural world, where trees, bonsai, pavilions, rockeries, and ponds are harmonized into a mesmerizing waterscape. Out of it, take some time to explore the Yuyuan Bazaar, where local snacks such as scallion oil noodles at Dexing Restaurant or soup dumplings at Nanxiang Steamed Bun Restaurant will tantalize your taste buds. If you’d like to try them at your own expense, your guide will be glad to help you locate them.

Next, let’s make our way to Shanghai Museum, proudly ranked among China’s top four museums. Its vast collection spans precious ancient Chinese artworks, including jade, bronzes, paintings, calligraphy, and most notably, its world-renowned ceramics. From an unassuming pottery jar shaped 8,000 years ago, to a dazzling glazed pot from 1,200 years past blending Western elements, and finally to the iconic blue-and-white porcelain, journey through China’s brilliant ceramic history and learn why China is rightly called the ‘Land of Porcelain’.

This afternoon trip sweeps you along the Bund, Shanghai’s most classic century-old promenade. The Baroque colonnades and Gothic spires of the international architectural complex will whisk you straight back to the bustling, romantic 19th century.

★ Cruise from Past to Future on the Huangpu River

A one-hour cruise on the Huangpu River follows. Like the Hudson River in New York, the Huangpu River was the city’s economic lifeline. While the Hudson flows through open natural landscapes and scattered industrial relics with a rugged wildness, the Huangpu River feels more like a ‘time corridor’, bridging history and the future. Since Shanghai opened as a port in the 19th century, the river has supported shipping and water supply, transforming a small fishing village into an international metropolis. Sailing along it is like flipping a 3D album: the west bank echoes the past, while the east bank showcases the present and future.

After the cruise, we’ll escort you back to your hotel. Or you can stay on your own to enjoy the night view and finally take a 10-minute taxi ride for around USD 7 back to your hotel. As the buildings along the river light up, the vintage Western architecture glows golden like European palaces, while the skyscrapers across the shore sparkle with vibrant neon, creating a futuristic cyberpunk atmosphere.

Meals: Western buffet breakfast

Today is the time for us to part ways. Please check out from your hotel before noon. For guests on our private tour, your guide and driver will escort you to the airport based on your flight schedule. Guests on the group tour need to go to the airport on their own. Want to discover more of China’s wonders, such as the towering karst pillars of Zhangjiajie? Feel free to contact us for your custom-made itinerary.

► Transport Reference:
Make sure you check your ticket to see which of Shanghai’s two airports, Pudong (PVG) or Hongqiao (SHA), you’re flying out of.
1. To Pudong Airport: A taxi ride takes around 1 hour and costs about USD 30. Conveniently, passengers carrying large luggage can enjoy door-to-door service. For the metro, it takes about 1.5 hours and costs only USD 1: walk about 8 minutes from your hotel to International Cruise Terminal Station, take Line 12 to Dalian Road Station, transfer to the inner loop of Line 4 to Century Avenue Station, where you’ll change to Line 2 to reach the airport.
2. To Hongqiao Airport: Riding a taxi will cost around USD 15 and take 40-60 minutes. Metro: take Line 12 from International Cruise Terminal Station to Tiantong Road Station, transfer to Line 10 and arrive at the airport. It will take roughly one hour, and the fare is 70 US cents.

Meals: Western buffet breakfast