China Tour from Washington

SG06-US: 15 Days Small Group Tour of Washington - Beijing - Xi'an - Chengdu - Chongqing - Yangtze River Cruise - Yichang - Shanghai – Washington
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 select 5-star & 4-star hotels, 3 nights on Yangtze River cruise
Meals: 13 western buffet breakfasts, 6 lunches with some in a la carte style, 4 dinners

Highlights:
  • Wonders from ancient China: Great Wall, Forbidden City & Terracotta Army.
  • See giant pandas up close at Research base in their hometown.
  • Unwind through a Yangtze River cruise by the Three Gorges.
  • Enjoy Chinese cultures by Peking Opera and Tang-era art performance.
From USD2779USD2501Free Inquiry
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Day 1 Flying from Washington
Please take your flight to Beijing on your own. Welcome to China!
Please pack your luggage and make your own way to the airport today. As there are no direct flights available from Washington D.C. to Beijing, you are advised to choose connecting flights according to the latest flight schedule. We will confirm with you the flight information beforehand.
Day 2 Arrival in Beijing
Welcome your arrival anytime at the airport and transfer to hotel.
Upon landing, meet your guide after reclaiming luggage and clearing customs at the airport. The driver will transfer you to the hotel and help you check in. The rest of the day is free for you. Have a good rest to prepare for your coming adventure!

Accommodation: Hotel New Otani Chang Fu Gong
Day 3 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)
Forbidden City, Beijing
The first stop of your China tour is Tiananmen Square. You will stroll northward to reach the Forbidden City, also known as the Imperial Palace, one of the most majestic palaces in the world representing ancient Chinese imperial architecture. You will have a special tour in the Treasury Gallery.

After, enjoy an a la carte welcome lunch to sample authentic Chinese food and Peking Roast Duck at a fancy restaurant.

This afternoon, first take a walk at Yonghe Temple. Your tour at the lamasery will reach its climax as you step into Pavilion of Ten Thousand Happinesses, the last main hall and the grandest of all where to find a sitting Buddha honored by Guinness World Records, 26 meters (85 feet) tall and cut out of an entire chunk of sandalwood. We will then head to Temple of Heaven and see what the altar for Chinese emperors to seek divine blessings looks like. This evening, arrive at Liyuan Theatre to watch Peking Opera artists putting on stage makeup before appreciating a Peking Opera Show.

Meals: Western buffet breakfast, A la carte welcome lunch
Day 4 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
Your trip today starts from Mutianyu Great Wall, the most sublime section of the Great Wall of China. We treat you to a round-trip cable car ride up and down the Wall, with a red wine toast to commemorate your unforgettable moment of standing on this man-made wonder. The Wall, stretching 8851.8 kilometers (5500 miles) east-west, would take you nearly a year to hike its entire length- a record remaining to be set, meaning you must walk 25 kilometers (15.5 miles) each day.

Lunch tip: As the restaurants near the Wall do not meet our service standards, instead of arranging a lunch on site, we suggest you have a hearty breakfast or bring some fast food with you. If you still want to dine at a nearby restaurant, your guide is of course glad to recommend one for you.

On our way back to downtown, we will have a short photo stop at the Olympic National Stadium, famously known as the Bird's Nest. Later, explore the Hutong area via rickshaw and round off today’s trip with a visit to a family in one of those Hutongs. Hutongs, lanes lined with Chinese courtyard houses, are the ultimate destination to experience traditional local life.

Meals: Western buffet breakfast
Day 5 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 the Panda House in Beijing Zoo and then the Summer Palace, the best-preserved royal palace garden in China. While at the Palace, you will be mostly impressed by a peach-shaped Kunming Lake at the foot of an imposing mountain. Covering 220 hectares with depth reaching up to 3 meters, it’s a large half-natural, half-manmade reservoir - the first of its genre in China’s imperial history.

After lunch, transfer to the airport for a flight to Xi'an. Upon arrival, your local guide will pick you up outside the baggage claim area and take you to the hotel for a three-night stay.

Meals: Western buffet breakfast, Lunch
Accommodation: Crowne Plaza Xi'an
Day 6 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)
Your tour of Xi’an starts from the Terracotta Army, located in the burial pits of the mausoleum of the first emperor of China. After that, we will pay a visit to the family of Mr. Yang Zhifa, the first man that discovered the terracotta warriors. Then, spend some time at a workshop to learn how to craft a mini clay soldier from an artisan; take your little masterpiece with you before leaving.

Continue your trip to the Giant Wild Goose Pagoda. Tonight, your guide will accompany you to enjoy a splendid Tang Dynasty Music and Dance Show over a famous Dumpling Dinner. For Chinese people, dumplings, with a history dating back to the Tang dynasty (618 - 907), are more than just something to eat. What’s wrapped inside is not only yummy and nutritious elaborately-prepared fillings, but also blessings. You can almost find dumplings in each big family occasion, whether it’s for receiving guests, family reunion, or bidding farewell. Today, you are going to taste dumplings in various shapes and flavors, a special perspective for you to experience Chinese culture.

Meals: Western buffet breakfast, Dumpling dinner

Note:
As the theatre is usually closed in January, February, March, and December, you will arrange your own dinner and spend a free evening as you like if the travel meets these months.
Day 7 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)
This morning, your guide will take you to the City Wall Park to have a morning exercise and observe local life. Here, we will invite a master to teach you Tai Chi, a school of martial art practiced widely for strengthening health. Then, climb the City Wall - a military defense system to protect Xi’an when it’s still the ancient capital of China - to savor surrounding sceneries. You can ride a rental bicycle (at your own expense) on the Wall if interested.

When it’s time for lunch, we will explore the lively food streets at Muslim Quarter to try some local food. Afterwards, pay a visit to the Great Mosque. Later, transfer to the Shaanxi History Museum. You will witness many valuable historical relics, such as the Ox-Headed Agate Rhyton Inlaid with Gold, the only “qiao-colored” Tang-era jade carving - a type of jade ware carved with clever use of its natural color - that was ever discovered. It attests to the top-notch craftsmanship of Tang people, as well as the cultural exchange between the Tang Empire and other countries.

Meals: Western buffet breakfast, Lunch
Day 8 Xi'an - Chengdu
Take a high-speed train to Chengdu & transfer to hotel. (B)
After breakfast, your guide will transfer you to Xi'an North Railway Station for a 4-hour high speed train ride to Chengdu. Upon arrival, meet your local guide and transfer to the hotel for check-in. The rest of the day is for you to have a rest or get familiar with Chengdu. If you want to know about Chengdu's shopping, dining, and more, your local expert guide will be glad to assist.

Meals: Western buffet breakfast
Accommodation: Holiday Inn Chengdu Oriental Plaza
Day 9 Chengdu
Visit Giant Panda Base, Wide and Narrow Alleys, and Jinsha Site Museum; taste local Gai Wan tea and see the Chinese matchmaking corner at Renmin Park. (B)
Cute Pandas
This morning, your guide will accompany you to watch pandas eating and sporting at Research Base of Giant Panda Breeding. Then, visit Wide and Narrow Alley, where you can taste various Sichuan dishes with your guide's suggestions.

This afternoon, visit Jinsha Site Museum to admire the incredible crafts of the lost Shu Civilization, and go on to experience Chengdu’s featured slow-paced lifestyle at People’s Park over a cup of tea.

Meals: Western buffet breakfast
Day 10 Chengdu - Chongqing
Take a high-speed train to Chongqing; visit Jiefangbei CBD and Ci Qi Kou ancient village; then board the Yangtze River cruise ship for a 3-night stay. (B+D)
Your guide will transfer you to the railway station for a 2-hour bullet train ride to Chongqing. Upon arrival at the railway station, meet your local guide and go on to explore Jiefangbei CBD and Ci Qi Kou ancient village.

In the afternoon, your guide will take you to check into a five-star Yangtze cruise ship. Have a buffet dinner on board and join a Welcome Party at the invitation of your Captain. You are going to sail on the 6,300-kilometer-long (3915-mile-long) Yangtze River, the longest river in China and the third behind the Nile River and the Amazon River. It’s not only the east-west artery for water transport, which gives it the name of the “Golden Waterway”, but also considered the lifeline of the Chinese nation, providing fresh water resources to the lands by it.

Meals: Western buffet breakfast, Dinner
Cruises: Century Oasis
Day 11 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)
This morning, stretch your body by doing Taichi before breakfast and disembark to visit Fengdu Ghost City for some chills.

Enjoy a free afternoon onboard. There will be some cultural activities to get you excited.

Meals: Western buffet breakfast, Lunch, Dinner
Day 12 Yangtze River Cruise
Admire Yangtze Three Gorges and take an onshore excursion to Shennv Stream. (B+L+D)
Today sees you cruising through the Three Gorges - the biggest highlight of your Yangtze River tour. We will meet the magnificent Qutang Gorge at about 11:00 and start to wind along the twists and turns of the Wu Gorge at about 13:30. In the afternoon, enjoy a shore excursion to see the beauty of Shennv Stream.

Meals: Western buffet breakfast, Lunch, Dinner
Day 13 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, check out of the ship and disembark to visit the Three Gorges Dam, the largest hydro-electric power plant in the world.

Then, head to the Three Gorges Tourism Centre in Yichang City, where your local guide will take you to the railway station to catch a bullet train to Shanghai, the last destination of your China tour. On arriving at Shanghai’s railway station after 7.5 hours, meet your local guide and transfer to the hotel.

Meals: Western buffet breakfast
Accommodation: Radisson Blu Hotel Shanghai New World
Day 14 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)
The itinerary of your Shanghai tour starts with Shanghai Museum, a treasure house where a million ancient Chinese artworks are stored. Then, head to Yu Garden and then its nearby traditional bazaar. In this classical Chinese garden, you will meander along the Nine Zigzag Bridge, built of granite and grass-white jade, to a stilted pavilion over a pond.

Around noon, an a la carte farewell lunch (valued at CNY150.00 per person and included in our price) will be provided at a fantastic restaurant. In the afternoon, enjoy some time at the highest bookstore in the world – Duo Yun Bookstore – on the 52nd floor of Shanghai Tower, to capture panoramic views of Shanghai’s modern cityscape. Go on to the Bund area and enjoy a 1-hour cruise on the Huangpu River. Shanghai, a window of the giant oriental power onto the world and vice versa, is always compared with New York, the world’s long-standing financial center. Although located on different halves of the earth, they have many things in common: soaring skylines, a river that runs through the city, and important roles as the financial center and international port city. While in Shanghai, you will find more similarities between the two: the Bund is the counterpart of Wall Street, Lujiazui that of Manhattan, People’s Square that of Times Square…

End your tour of Shanghai with hanging around the Bund on your own, before we escort you to the hotel and bid farewell.

Meals: Western buffet breakfast, A la carte farewell lunch
Day 15 Departure from Shanghai
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 of your 15 days China tour from Washington D.C. Please head to the airport on your own. We recommend you reserve a taxi at the hotel reception beforehand to save time. If you need an airport transfer, we are also very glad to assist you. Bon voyage! As there is no direct flight between Shanghai and Washington D.C., you may track real-time flight prices to make connections that suit you most.

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 07(Sun)Apr 21(Sun)USD2929 USD2636USD1079
Apr 18(Thu)May 02(Thu)USD2929 USD2636USD1079
May 09(Thu)May 23(Thu)USD2929 USD2636USD1079
May 23(Thu)Jun 06(Thu)USD2879 USD2591USD1039
Jun 09(Sun)Jun 23(Sun)USD2879 USD2591USD1039
Jul 04(Thu)Jul 18(Thu)USD2979 USD2681USD1119
Jul 18(Thu)Aug 01(Thu)USD2979 USD2681USD1119
Aug 01(Thu)Aug 15(Thu)USD2979 USD2681USD1119
Aug 15(Thu)Aug 29(Thu)USD2979 USD2681USD1119
Sep 05(Thu)Sep 19(Thu)USD2979 USD2681USD1119
Sep 15(Sun)Sep 29(Sun)USD2979 USD2681USD1119
Oct 06(Sun)Oct 20(Sun)USD2979 USD2681USD1119
Oct 17(Thu)Oct 31(Thu)USD2979 USD2681USD1119
Oct 31(Thu)Nov 14(Thu)USD2779 USD2501USD1009
Nov 14(Thu)Nov 28(Thu)USD2779 USD2501USD1009
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 03(Thu)Apr 17(Thu)USD2829 USD2546USD1029
Apr 10(Thu)Apr 24(Thu)USD2829 USD2546USD1029
Apr 17(Thu)May 01(Thu)USD2829 USD2546USD1029
May 01(Thu)May 15(Thu)USD2829 USD2546USD1029
May 15(Thu)May 29(Thu)USD2829 USD2546USD1029
May 29(Thu)Jun 12(Thu)USD2779 USD2501USD989
Jun 05(Thu)Jun 19(Thu)USD2779 USD2501USD989
Jun 12(Thu)Jun 26(Thu)USD2779 USD2501USD989
Jun 19(Thu)Jul 03(Thu)USD2779 USD2501USD989
Jun 26(Thu)Jul 10(Thu)USD2879 USD2591USD1069
Jul 03(Thu)Jul 17(Thu)USD2879 USD2591USD1069
Jul 10(Thu)Jul 24(Thu)USD2879 USD2591USD1069
Jul 17(Thu)Jul 31(Thu)USD2879 USD2591USD1069
Jul 31(Thu)Aug 14(Thu)USD2879 USD2591USD1069
Aug 07(Thu)Aug 21(Thu)USD2879 USD2591USD1069
Aug 14(Thu)Aug 28(Thu)USD2879 USD2591USD1069
Aug 21(Thu)Sep 04(Thu)USD2879 USD2591USD1069
Sep 04(Thu)Sep 18(Thu)USD2879 USD2591USD1069
Sep 11(Thu)Sep 25(Thu)USD2879 USD2591USD1069
Sep 18(Thu)Oct 02(Thu)USD2879 USD2591USD1069
Oct 09(Thu)Oct 23(Thu)USD2879 USD2591USD1069
Oct 16(Thu)Oct 30(Thu)USD2879 USD2591USD1069
Oct 23(Thu)Nov 06(Thu)USD2879 USD2591USD1069
Nov 06(Thu)Nov 20(Thu)USD2679 USD2411USD969
Nov 13(Thu)Nov 27(Thu)USD2679 USD2411USD969
Nov 20(Thu)Dec 04(Thu)USD2679 USD2411USD969
Price Includes
  • China domestic airfare & 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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