15 Days Leisure Time Vacation

The prelude of your exciting China tour starts when you meet our professional local guide at Beijing Airport after reclaiming your luggage and clearing the customs. The guide will accompany you in a comfortable vehicle to the hotel and help you with the check-in procedure. The rest of the day is left for you to have a good rest or to become familiar with our capital city by yourself. 

Today your tour officially starts. First you will meet your group members at the hotel lobby and have a short meeting with the guide. Then head to the first stop today, the impressive Tian'anmen Square, which is the biggest urban city square in the world. Nowadays, many constructions of great historical importance have been built on and around it.  From there you will enter the "Imperial Palace" known as the Forbidden City to explore its many fascinating halls and pavilions.

Here, you will not only get to know how the emperor handled political affairs and lived their lives, but also appreciate numerous ancient art treasures. In the afternoon, you will go to the Temple of Heaven, the place where the emperors worshipped the heaven for good harvests. As the dwelling of the God of Heaven, it covers an area even larger than the dwelling of the emperor, Forbidden City. To round off a memorable start to your travel, we will arrange a lively and dramatic Chinese Kung Fu Show at the Red Theater.

This morning you will be taken to Badaling where you will experience at first hand the wonder of the Great Wall. Standing on the wall and looking at it stretching up and down into boundless distance is an exciting experience and will leave you a life-long memory. To celebrate and commemorate this moment, we specially provide red wine for a group-toasting on the Great Wall. Later the journey will take you to the Sacred Way and the Ming Tomb in the peaceful shadow of Longevity Mountain.

The Sacred Way is a road in the front of the body part of the imperial necropolises, which means the road leading to the heaven. Among all the existing Sacred Ways, the one of the Ming Tomb is the best preserved and complete. Although it has a history of more than 600 years, the Ming Tomb has been perfectly preserved. The encircled mountains, meandering river and grand mausoleum architecture have formed a majestic and large-scaled mausoleum group of integrate structure. To conclude the full day visit you will have a glance at the Bird's Nest (Olympic National Stadium) en route to downtown. 

Your first stop today is the Summer Palace - the existing largest imperial garden with graceful landscape and magnificent constructions. The site is divided into three areas: the area for political activities centering about Hall of Benevolence and Longevity; the residential area of royal family whose main architecture are Hall of Jade Ripples and Hall of Joyful Longevity; the sightseeing area mainly consisting of Kunming Lake and Longevity Hill.

Then, have a Hutong tour to experience the original Beijing culture by taking a special rickshaw riding through the various Hutongs and to know about Old Beijing's manners and customs.  After that, you will take an afternoon flight to Xian. Our local guide will meet you outside the baggage claim area at Xian airport and transfer you to the downtown area to check in at the hotel. 

The visit to the majestic Terracotta Warriors and Horses Museum will start your day's trip. In the museum, there are altogether three excavated pits exhibiting amazing warrior figures and Chinese ancient weapons. No wonder a great site to learn about Chinese ancient military affairs. At noon, a special homely cooked a la carte lunch will be served to you at a local people's home. It is a good chance for you to experience close contact with the local people and will be one of the most memorable parts of your trip. 

In the afternoon, visit one of the landmarks of Xian, the Big Wild Goose Pagoda. Originally built to collect Buddhist scriptures, now the pagoda has been a symbol of this ancient capital city. Later, our guide will take you to the Provincial History Museum, China's most comprehensive museum exhibiting ancient China in all aspects. 

Pay a visit to the City Wall in the morning. Originally built as military defensive systems in the Ming Dynasty, at present, a garden has been built along the wall. Standing on it, you may see the local people doing morning exercises, singing, playing games. Or you could cycle on the ancient wall which is a special experience that many people like to try.

In the afternoon, continue to visit the Great Mosque, a place where the local Muslims attend worship ceremony. You may have a glimpse of Xian Muslims' life here. This evening, you will enjoy a marvelous Tang Dynasty Dinner Show at the Tang Dynasty Palace. The show will take you back to 1400 years ago - the dreamy and glorious Tang Dynasty.

Take morning flight to Lhasa, and your Tibet journey starts with a warm Tibetan style greeting from your local tour guide who will present you with Hada (traditional Tibetan scarves). Then be escorted to your hotel in Lhasa city at the comfort of your own private vehicle. For most of the way, you follow the Kyichu River, you could see Tibetan homes with their trapezoid shaped windows and fluttering prayer flags, and Tibetans walking beside the roads wearing their distinctive national costumes.

Do have a comfort stop near Nietang Buddha where a giant statue of Buddha has been carved out of a stone cliff-face centuries ago. One of the first buildings you could see as you enter the city is the Potala Palace, sitting majestically on a hill dominating Lhasa. Stay at the hotel after arrival for adapting to the high attitude. It is helpful to take things easy for the first few days, and try to drink some water just and now.

After breakfast, we go to the Potala Palace, a golden feather upon the roof of the world, which Tibetans proudly claim to be the prime miracle since the creation of this world. It is visible from any distance, with the golden roof shinning in the sun, spend one hour wondering around the inside of this magnificent building exploring the rooms previously used by the Dalai Lama and the many Buddhist icons within.

In the afternoon we go inside of the Jokhang. The Jokhang, like most of the larger temple structures have numerous individual temples within it dedicated to specific enlightened beings, protectors, high lamas, or saints. Images, both sculpted and painted, are everywhere. Every inch of wall and ceiling is brightly painted with images of clouds, beings, mandalas, or decorative patterns. Colorful silk banners, three stories high, hang in various places. Color, pattern, and images crowd in around you. The central image inside the building is a 30-foot high gilded image of Maitreya Buddha. Then stroll around the back alleys of the Barkhor area of Old Lhasa. The streets smelled of yak butter and incense while hordes of pilgrims shuffled along the main Kora (circumambulations) around Jokhang Temple. If someone just walked at a normal pace, one kora would take about 15-20 minutes.

In the morning have a tour for Drepung, the ever largest monastery with more than 10 thousand monks, Buddhist debates often occur there. Seen from afar, its grand, white construction gives the monastery the appearance of a heap of rice. As such, it was given its name which, in the Tibetan language, means Monastery of Collecting-Rice. Learn about the lives of Tibetan monks there.

The afternoon is spent touring Sera Monastery, have a little hike for the beautiful valley scenery nearby and picnic there, in the afternoon, visit Sera monastery, which was created in 1419 and has always been an important Buddhist seminary. As rose are planted everywhere in the monastery, it is also called “the court of wild rose”. Today still 200 lamas live in there. Catch the famous debate session of the monks before returning back to Lhasa.

Free time at your disposal this morning, explore the bustling markets of the Barkhor to buy some souvenirs for your families and friends. After lunch, departure transfer to the airport and fly to Chengdu. Our guide will meet you at the airport and transfer you to downtown hotel. The remainder of the day is free for you to have a good rest or explore the city. 

In the morning, you will have a special date with the adorable giant pandas in Chengdu Panda Breeding and Research Center. You could also learn more about the life and habits of the national treasure of China. Then head for Jinsha Site Museum to see the historical items of more than 3,000 years ago. Finally, it is suggested that you take a leisure stroll along Jinli Street.

It is a famous commercial pedestrian street in the City, boasting rows of old-style buildings, delicious local snacks, interesting handicrafts and elegant restaurants.  Then take a flight to Guilin and we will transfer you to the downtown hotel which is located on the bank of the Li River, and you can stroll along the bank and enjoy the picturesque scene of the city.

Enduring memories are created today as you cruise down the Li River to Yangshuo. The length of Li River is about 50 miles, and you can see picturesque scenery all the way during your cruise. Upon arrival in Yangshuo, take a short bicycle trip to the countryside to enjoy the rural beauty of Yangshuo. You will also visit a local villager's home to experience the farmer's lifestyle there.

Alternatively, we will transfer you there instead of taking bicycles. After a whole day's excursion to Yangshuo, transfer back to Guilin in the late afternoon. Tips: We recommend you take a hearty breakfast at the hotel this morning. The cruise arrives at terminal Yangshuo around 13:30 to 14:30 according to the different water flows. There are plenty of coffee shops ashore for your choice.

Today's trip starts with one of the most famous attractions in Guilin, Reed Flute Cave, which is renowned for the varieties of stalactites, stalagmites, columns and lime-flowers which came into being about 700,000 years ago. Walking in the cave, you will also be impressed by the interesting names of the stalactites and stalagmites, such as Palace of Crystal, Dragon Pagoda and Flower & Fruit Mountain.

Your next stop will be the Seven Star Park. In the park, you will see the gorgeous stalactites and stalagmites of all shapes and colors in the Seven Star Cave. Your Guilin visit will end with the Elephant Trunk Hill. You must wonder how such a huge rock resembles an elephant drinking water on the riverside, and your guide will give you much information then. After finishing all the attractions in Guilin, you will take a flight to Shanghai and our guide will greet you at the airport and transfer you to the downtown hotel.

In the morning, visit Shanghai Museum. It is a large museum exhibiting the ancient art while featuring bronze ware, chinaware, calligraphy and painting. Then, travel to the Yuyuan Garden, which is a famous classic garden of south region. The beautiful scenery and quiet atmosphere here make it a peaceful place in bustling Shanghai.

In the afternoon, we will transfer you to the Bund area for a short cruise on the Huangpu River. Standing on the cruise ship, you will see many western-style buildings from Shanghai's colonial days in Puxi area. While on Pudong side, rows of skyscrapers will come into view. The utterly different buildings are the best records of the development of the city. You will explore the Bund area and then visit an old street in Shanghai. 

Our guide will pick you up from the hotel and send you to the airport so that you can board the flight back home after this pleasant tour. Alternatively, should you wish to stay on rather than return home right away, you could contact us and choose our other City Packages as an extension to your memorable adventure!