Pandas & Golden Cities

Upon your arrival, your guide will meet you up at the exit of the airport. Then you will be sent to the hotel for check-in. In the rest of the day, have a good rest to recover from the long fly or stroll around on your own.

● Experience Chinese culture at historic courtyard house hotel:
The quaint Beijing Double Happiness Courtyard Hotel provides both western and Chinese foods for breakfasts, and free opportunities to try on traditional Chinese clothes to experience ancient Chinese culture (get your camera ready!). Situated in the Hutongs or historical alleys in downtown Beijing, with a folk architecture belonging to the Qing era, this 200-years-old courtyard house hotel will get you an insight into Beijing’s profound local culture.

● Smoke-free journey and customizable meals:
In order for a healthy, comfortable journey for you and your family, we will arrange a smoke-free car to ensure the air inside is clean at all times. If you prefer vegetarian dishes, meals included in our package can be tailor-made to cater to your needs.

Accommodation: Double Happiness Beijing Courtyard Hotel (4 stars) - A boutique courtyard hotel in Hutong

Your 14 days family tour officially kicks off today. After enjoying a buffet breakfast at the hotel, follow the guide to explore the charming city of Beijing. First, we will come to Tiananmen Square. Located on the central axis of Beijing, this world's largest city square holds many historic buildings including Great Hall of the People and Monument to the People's Heroes.

To the north of the Square lies the Forbidden City, an enormous wooden palace complex inhabited by emperors of the Ming and Qing dynasties (1368 – 1911 AD). Our guide will next show you around this spot. Aka Palace Museum, it houses many treasures once belonging to the royal family and is a place to learn about ancient royal life. For instance, you can visit the study to the east of Gate of Heavenly Purity to find traces of princes’ daily life. You will learn that, born with a golden spoon in mouth, those princes didn’t seem to live a carefree life: They must get up at 3 am for morning reading and literature lessons until 13:00, and continue to learn horse riding and archery in the afternoon, day in, day out; except on a few holidays during Chinese New Year, Dragon Boat Festival, and Mid-Autumn Festival.

At noon, we will offer you an a la carte lunch worth CNY 150 per person, which is included in the price. The guide will be glad to recommend you some local specialties and help you with the ordering. Here you will also have a chance to taste the traditional crispy Roast Duck.

In the afternoon, we will visit the Temple of Heaven, the imperial sacrificial building complex for Ming and Qing dynasties (1368 – 1911 AD). It’s not only a library to learn about relevant culture, but also a park to see locals exercising, playing chess, doing Tai Chi martial art, dancing, and so on. Next, take a stroll through the Hutongs area, Beijing’s historical part made up by alleys lined with Chinese courtyard houses, in the Dongcheng District. We will explore the area after enjoying a panoramic view of the area first on the Drum Tower. Like the Forbidden City, Hutongs are another must-visit for those traveling in Beijing. Authentic traditional life happens everywhere here: in the courtyard behind the wide-open gate, from the unlocked cage for free-ranging pigeons and bicycles before the houses, etc. There is also a drumming performance given hourly from 13:00 to 17:00, which, if time permits, we will appreciate. A visit to a local family in a courtyard house is followed. Interact with the family, and choose one from these cultural activities to experience: calligraphy, facial painting (an art derived from Peking Opera), and paper cutting.

● Dinner Suggestion: As to where for dinner, why not take kids to try AI-powered Haidilao Hot Pot at World City? The first smart restaurant in Beijing, it will fascinate you with neon lights, robotic arms in the kitchen, and futuristic projections from giant screens! We can help you reserve seats if you are interested.

Meals: Western buffet breakfast, A la carte lunch
Accommodation: Double Happiness Beijing Courtyard Hotel (4 stars) - A boutique courtyard hotel in Hutong

In the morning, we will drive about 1.5 hours to the Mutianyu Great Wall, the longest and one of the best-preserved stretches of the Great Wall of China. You will take a chair lift up to the fortification and a toboggan down. While ascending, take in a panoramic view of the ever-green pine forests beneath; on your way down, you get to experience “a way for fun” highly recommended on various social media. 1,580 meters long (nearly 1-mile long), the toboggan run has no rival in the entire Asia. Imagine the excitement! One thing to note: as the run is not covered and the sliding is fast, if your kids are too small, we can arrange a round-trip cable car instead.

In the afternoon, your guide will escort you to tour the Summer Palace, a delicately laid-out imperial garden of the Qing Dynasty (1644 – 1911 AD), featuring quaint pavilions, corridors, palaces, and a serene giant lake. After the sightseeing, transfer back to the hotel.

Meals: Western buffet breakfast
Accommodation: Double Happiness Beijing Courtyard Hotel (4 stars) - A boutique courtyard hotel in Hutong

We will leave a free day for you to experience the colorful metropolis of Beijing in your own way. If you have kids with you, you might want to enjoy yourselves at the Universal Studios Beijing Resort. You will step into and interact with the worlds of classic movies produced by Universal Pictures. Here’s a recommended route that covers featured themed lands to have fun with your kids: Transformers: Metrobase -> Kung Fu Panda Land of Awesomeness -> The Wizarding World of Harry Potter -> Jurassic World Isla Nublar -> Minion Land -> Hollywood -> Universal CityWalk. We can help you book the tickets if you are interested. You may go there and back to your hotel by taxi which is convenient to get.

Meals: Western buffet breakfast
Accommodation: Double Happiness Beijing Courtyard Hotel (4 stars) - A boutique courtyard hotel in Hutong

In the morning, go for a visit to China Science and Technology Museum, China’s first national-level museum of its kind. The world doesn’t lack in such museums, but to gain insight into ancient Chinese science & tech achievements, like compass and gun powder, this is the place for you.

In the afternoon, you will be escorted to the railway station for a high speed train journey to Xi'an. Upon arrival, our local guide will pick you up and accompany you to the hotel.

Meals: Western buffet breakfast
Accommodation: Holiday Inn Xian Big Goose Pagoda (4 stars)

We will spend the whole morning at the Terracotta Army Museum. Built on the burial pits of the mausoleum of Emperor Qin Shi Huang (259 – 210 BC), China’s first emperor, it exhibits over 8,000 terracotta warriors and horses serving as the funeral objects. Interestingly, each statue has a unique appearance and facial expression. But, examine them and you will find all the figures have same single eyelids, leading experts to speculate that, 2,200 years ago, such eyelids were the norm for handsome men.

● Craft your own terracotta figurines:
Out of the museum, you will have a chance to craft terracotta figurines with instructions from an artisan. You might wonder, how could those terracotta soldiers survive two thousand years well-maintained? The secret actually lies in the special fine soil used, and it’s true that Qin ancestors had made great efforts finding it. It’s through hardships of searches and comparisons that they finally discovered the suitable type of soil, named red clay, 17 kilometers (10.5 miles) away from the museum. Today, you will also use the same clay for crafting, collected from underground 7 - 9 meters (22 - 30 feet) deep. You can bring your little masterpiece home when it’s done.

In the afternoon, we will drive back downtown to visit Shaanxi History Museum, acclaimed as “the treasure house of the Chinese civilization”. Flagship exhibits here like murals taken from Tang (618–907 AD) tombs will give you a glimpse of Xi’an’s glorious past as the ancient capital. Next, let’s walk past the Giant Wild Goose Pagoda to admire its stately appearance from outside, and then explore the blocks extending south from the pagoda, namely the Grand Tang Dynasty All Day Mall, a pedestrian street theming around Tang-era cultural prosperity. Later, transfer back to the hotel.

Meals: Western buffet breakfast
Accommodation: Holiday Inn Xian Big Goose Pagoda (4 stars)

In the morning, we will go to visit the City Wall Park that encircles Xi'an City Wall. It is a popular place for local residents to do morning exercise and spend leisure time. Later, climb up the Wall, on which you can choose to take a sightseeing battery car or bike to tour around. There are also tandems to peddle with your family.

Around noon, explore Muslim Quarter for lunch. A historical district made up by snack streets, it offers a best chance to sample authentic local food as lunch. Our guide will give you some recommendations of what and where to eat. You might not miss Rou Jia Mo (Chinese hamburger), the most representative food here dating back 2,000 years, which was made by stuffing spiced stewed meat into cut flatbread. Succulent inside and crispy outside, it will surely make you drool!

After lunch, the guide will send you to the railway station for you to take a high speed train to Chengdu. Our guide based there will pick you up on arrival and transfer you to the hotel.

Meals: Western buffet breakfast
Accommodation: Holiday Inn Chengdu Oriental Plaza (4 stars)

Today, let’s take your family to do some volunteering work for giant pandas – a chance for you to get unprecedentedly close to those loved-by-all creatures.

Our agenda:
7:00 – 8:30: A 1.5-hour drive will take you from your hotel to the Dujiangyan Panda Base. Our guide will confirm with you regarding the pick-up time beforehand.

8:30 – 9:00: Arrive at the base and register for volunteer cards. The staff here will tell you about the dos and don’ts before granting you special uniforms. You will be grouped and directed by the staff to do your work. Our guide will be with you throughout.

9:00 – 10:00: Time to work. You will mainly clear giant pandas’ feces and waste matters off from their sheds and playground. The staff may also ask you to help them handle the bamboo stems.

10:00 – 11:00: Tour and spot giant pandas in the base and learn about these creatures from your knowledgeable guide.

11:00 – 13:00: Enjoy watching giant pandas being fed, and have a simple Chinese-flavor lunch served at about 11:40 in the canteen.

13:00 – 15:30: Have educational fun by watching a documentary about giant pandas, and continue to help do some cleaning or feeding arranged by the base. Later, go on to make panda cakes. Your volunteering program will reach its end at around 15:30, when you will be awarded a certificate by the base.

15:30 – 17:00: Hop on our car and let’s drive back to your hotel.

● Friendly tips:
The activities above are subject to change, as they are scheduled by the base according to giant pandas’ physical conditions or biological habits. For instance, you will do the feeding only once today when they lose appetite to be fed twice when it’s hot in summer. And for the health of these cute yet vulnerable creatures, please remember not to wear perfume or nail polish. The schedule is for your reference only.

Meals: Western buffet breakfast, Lunch
Accommodation: Holiday Inn Chengdu Oriental Plaza (4 stars)

This morning, we will take you to a local vegetable market to experience the bustling vibe of local daily life. Then, head for the closest Giant Panda Post Office, a unique feature of Chengdu that cannot be found in other cities. Here, you can create some special memory by sending a postcard with good wishes to your beloved ones. Just write a postcard you like most, have it stamped, drop it in the postbox, and trust the post office with handling the rest. We will then take a stroll along the Chunxi Road, whose icon – a gigantic sculpture of a climbing giant panda – can be a good partner in your photos.

Later, take a high speed train to Chongqing. On arrival, get on a car that drives to the port, where you will board a luxury ship offered by Century Cruise to start your Yangtze River tour in Chongqing. Enjoy buffet dinner onboard and have fun at Captain’s Welcome Reception Party.

Meals: Western buffet breakfast, Dinner
Cruise: New Century Cruises with balcony (5 stars)

This morning, stretch your body by learning some moves of Taichi martial art before breakfast. Later, we will have a 2.5-hour shore excursion at Fengdu Ghost City, a temple complex high on a hill dating back 2,000 years, depicting Chinese version of hell.

After lunch onboard, have a break and join some cultural activities prepared by the cruise company.

Meals: Western buffet breakfast, Lunch, Dinner
Cruise: New Century Cruises with balcony (5 stars)

We will spend today cruising through the famous Three Gorges, whose spectacular views were often sung by poets in ancient times. An hour before lunch time, we will pass the magnificent Qutang Gorge; one and a half hour later, the picturesque Wu Gorge. We will also go for a 2.5-hour side trip along the Shennv Stream later, where you can enjoy up close pristine mountain sceneries and experience tribal cultures.

Meals: Western buffet breakfast, Lunch, Dinner
Cruise: New Century Cruises with balcony (5 stars)

After breakfast, pack your belongings and disembark at Maoping pier of Yichang. Continue with a shore excursion to the Three Gorges Dam Project Site, the largest hydro plant in the world.

In the afternoon, take a high speed train to Shanghai. On arriving at the railway station, you will be driven to your hotel (Hengshan Moller Villa Hotel) for check-in. To while away your free time, you can simply wander around its vast garden, which covers an area of 2,000 square meters (21,500 square feet), while appreciating the Scandinavia castle-like design of the buildings and their red fire brick walls. Once a private villa built in 1936 by British Jew Moller, it is now a landmark of and an acknowledged one of the ten great western-style villas in Shanghai.

Meals: Western buffet breakfast
Accommodation: Hengshan Moller Villa Hotel (4 stars) - An enchanting fairytale hotel

In the morning, let’s visit Shanghai Museum, in which collections of ancient ceramic art are the biggest draw. More interested in natural science? We can change the place to Shanghai Museum of Natural History, where you can feast your eyes on countless taxidermy-made specimen. Afterwards, go on a stroll at Yu Garden, a 400-plus-year-old typical Chinese traditional garden to enjoy a blend of man-made nature and Chinese-style buildings.

At noon, you will have the opportunity to taste authentic Shanghai cuisine of a la carte style, with the cost included in our price. In the afternoon, we will take a walk along the Bund and later go for a cruise along the Huangpu River to savor the magical landscapes on the riverfronts. Then, we will be lifted up to the Duoyun Bookstore at the 52nd floor of the Shanghai Tower, China’s highest tower. On its viewing platforms, you can have a great panorama of Shanghai's cityscape.

Meals: Western buffet breakfast, A la carte Lunch
Accommodation: Hengshan Moller Villa Hotel (4 stars) - An enchanting fairytale hotel

As today is the last day of your holiday, your guide will transfer you to the airport for your flight home. Safe travel!