A Taste of China

Overview

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Detailed Itinerary

Day 1: Depart USA

• Depart the USA on your flight bound for Shanghai, China via Beijing
• Passengers departing LAX must check in by 9pm the night before the scheduled departure

Day 2: Shanghai

3 nights Equatorial Hotel.

• Arrive in Shanghai, meet your guide and transfer to your hotel

Day 3: Shanghai

Breakfast & lunch.

• Visit the Yu Garden in Shanghai
• Enjoy lunch at a local restaurant
• Balance of the day is at leisure, or join optional excursions

Full Day Itinerary: This morning, visit one of Shanghai's oldest attractions, the Yu Garden. The garden was originally constructed in the 16th century, but the current layout was part of a five-year restoration project which began in the 1950's. After exploring the Yu Garden's impressive rockeries and pavilions, enjoy lunch with your fellow travelers. The balance of the day is at leisure in Shanghai to explore on your own.

Optional Excursion: Oriental Pearl TV Tower & Shanghai Museum, $50 (purchased locally). Begin your tour at the Shanghai Museum of ancient Chinese art, which houses a collection of 120,000 precious works. Next, get a panoramic view of the city atop the Oriental Pearl TV Tower, a unique architectural addition to the Shanghai cityscape and one of the largest radio and TV towers in the world. Other stops on this optional tour include the lively Xintiandi Bar Street and the picturesque French Concession.

Optional Excursion: Dinner and acrobatics show, $48 (purchased locally).This evening, take advantage of an optional dinner followed by an exciting acrobatics show.

Day 4: Shanghai

Breakfast.

• Full day at leisure in Shanghai or optional excursion to Suzhou

Optional Excursion: Full day Suzhou tour with lunch, $95. Travel by motor coach to Suzhou, China's well-known "city of gardens". On this full day excursion including lunch, you will visit the Master of Nets Garden, explore a local market, take a ride by rickshaw for a tour of water town, visit a silk factory and embark on a boat ride through Suzhou's lovely canals. Return by motor coach to Shanghai later this evening.

Day 5: Shanghai & Xi'an

2 nights Grand Mercure Xi'an on Renmin Square. Breakfast.

• Transfer by maglev train to the airport for your flight to Xi'an
• Upon arrival, transfer to your hotel for check-in
• Balance of the day is at leisure or join an optional dinner show

Full Day Itinerary: After breakfast, transfer by maglev train to the airport for your flight to Xi'an. Transfer to your hotel for check-in and enjoy the remainder of the day at leisure for independent exploration.

Optional Excursion: Dumpling Dinner and Tang Dynasty dance performance, $48. This evening, enjoy an optional Dumpling Dinner and Tang Dynasty dance performance.

Day 6: Xi'an

Breakfast & lunch.

• Visit the famous Terra Cotta Army archeological site
• See the Big Wild Goose Pagoda and City Wall
• Enjoy an included lunch at a local restaurant

Full Day Itinerary: Today, board your touring coach and drive to the site of the famous 2,200-year-old Terra Cotta Army, among the most important archaeological discoveries of modern times. More than 8,000 life-size ceramic soldiers, chariots and horses have been uncovered, but it's only a fraction of the total buried there to protect the tomb of the first Qin emperor. Each soldier is based on an actual person of the time, and all segments of Chinese society are represented. Learn more about this fascinating site during your visit to the Terra Cotta Warriors Museum.

Other stops on today's tour include the Big Wild Goose Pagoda and City Wall, followed by an included lunch. Time permitting, you'll also enjoy a chance to shop for ancient Chinese furniture or ceramics.

Day 7: X'ian & Beijing

3 nights New Otani Chang Fu Gong, Beijing. Breakfast & dinner.

• Fly from Xi'an to Beijing
• Afternoon tour of Beijing's Hutongs
• Visit a pearl factory for shopping then continue to dinner

Full Day Itinerary: Transfer to the airport for your flight to Beijing, China's historic and cultural capital. Upon arrival, transfer to your centrally located hotel for check-in.

This afternoon you'll travel to the intricate maze of Beijing's Hutongs to explore the way the Chinese have lived for centuries. These ancient, labyrinthine alleys or lanes are still an important feature in the urban landscape of Beijing, where houses along Hutongs still occupy one third of the total area, providing housing for half the population and providing yet another example of Beijing as an ancient yet modern city. End your tour with a visit to an exquisite pearl factory and enjoy an included dinner.

Day 8: Beijing

Breakfast & lunch.

• See China's Olympic venues, the Bird's Nest and Water Cube
• Stop at a jade factory for a demonstration and shopping
• Explore the Great Wall of China
• See the Sacred Way of the Ming Tombs

Full Day Itinerary: Depart after breakfast on a full day included excursion to the Great Wall of China. En route, view the Olympic venues, the Bird's Nest and the Water Cube, and enjoy a visit to the jade factory with a presentation and some time for shopping.

The Great Wall follows a ridge of barren hills and stretches at least 13,000 miles. Construction of the Great Wall, which spanned more than two thousand years, began between the 7th and 6th century B.C. and continued through the Ming Dynasty. The wall was originally built of stone, wood, grass and earth, but during the Ming Dynasty, bricks were produced in kilns set up along the wall. The bricks were carried by men, donkeys, mules, and even goats, which had bricks tied to their heads before being driven up a mountain.

Conclude your visit at the Sacred Way, an ancient road linking the Ming Tombs, the burial site of 13 emperors of the Ming Dynasty. A massive stone archway, built in 1540 at the southern end is decorated with designs of clouds, waves and divine animals.

Optional Excursion: Peking Duck dinner and Legend of Kung Fu show, $53 (purchased locally). Tonight, enjoy an optional Peking Duck dinner followed by the Legend of Kung Fu show, a special Shaolin Kung Fu stage performance that blends music, martial arts, and a moving story.

Day 9: Beijing

Breakfast & lunch.

• See Tiananmen Square & the Forbidden City
• Enjoy lunch at a local restaurant
• Afternoon at leisure, or join an optional tour to the Summer Palace and Temple of Heaven

Full Day Itinerary: Today's tour begins at historic Tiananmen Square. Afterward, continue to the Forbidden City, located at the exact center of the ancient city of Beijing where it served as the imperial palace during the mid-Ming and Qing Dynasties. Known as the Palace Museum today, its extensive grounds cover 720,000 square meters, 800 buildings and more than 8,000 rooms. The Forbidden City is listed by UNESCO as the largest collection of preserved ancient wooden structures in the world and was declared a World Heritage site in 1987.

After lunch at a local restaurant, enjoy the balance of the day at leisure or join our optional tour to the Summer Palace and Temple of Heaven.

Optional Excursion: Summer Palace and Temple of Heaven, $50. Enjoy some time at the Summer Palace, the quintessential Chinese garden, a UNESCO World Heritage site ranked among the most noted classical gardens of the world. Continue to the Temple of Heaven, the most holy of Beijing's Imperial temples, is the place where Chinese Emperors came to worship heaven and to pray for a good harvest.

Day 10: Depart Beijing/Arrive USA

Breakfast.

• Transfer to the airport for your return flight
• Arrive in the USA later today

 

Yangtze River Cruise Extension

Extend your stay in China with an unforgettable 4-night luxury cruise on the Yangtze River from Yichang to Chongqing on board Victoria Cruise's deluxe river cruiser the Victoria Katarina. Plus, you'll experience a superior level of service and amenities with our included executive-level package upgrade.

Day 10: Beijing & Yichang

4 nights Victoria Katarina cruise ship. Breakfast & dinner.

• Afternoon flight to Yichang
• Board your deluxe Yangtze River cruise ship
• Enjoy an included buffet dinner on board

Full Day Itinerary: Transfer to the airport for a short flight to Yichang. Upon arrival, transfer to board your cruise ship, the Victoria Katarina, one of the Yangtze's largest deluxe river cruisers. Enjoy an buffet dinner on board then settle into your executive-level superior cabin with outside balcony and enjoy the upgraded executive-level services and amenities that are included.

Day 11: The Three Gorges Dam & Xiling Gorge

Breakfast, lunch & dinner.

• See the impressive Three Gorges Dam at Sandouping
• Sail through ship locks and the Xiling Gorge

Full Day Itinerary: Before setting sail for the Xiling Gorge, the first of the three famous gorges you'll visit during your cruise, you first have an opportunity to learn about the huge dam project built on the Yangtze River. The Three Gorges Dam at Sandouping is one of the largest construction projects ever undertaken by mankind, and has been a dream for generations. The Chinese Government finally gave its approval to launch the project in 1992, some seventy years after Sun Yat-sen first proposed the idea, and was completed in 2006, and became fully operational in 2011. The dam produces electricity, increases the river's shipping capacity, and reduces the potential for floods downstream by providing flood storage space. Currently the dam has generated enough electricity to cover more than one third of its cost. Return to your river cruiser and begin your sail through ship locks and the Xiling Gorge, longest and historically the most turbulent of the Yangtze gorges. Before the passage was made safe in the 1950s, the whole surface of the water was a swirling mass of whirlpools sucking the froth they created into their centers.' Xiling comprises seven small gorges and two of the fiercest rapids in the stretch of the Yangtze between Chongqing and Yichang.

Day 12: Daning River "Small Gorges," Wu Gorge & Qutang Gorge

Breakfast, lunch & dinner.

• Take an excursion to through the Daning River Small Gorges
• Sail to Wu Gorge, the most beautiful section of the Yangtze
• Continue to Qutang Gorge and the Kui Gate

Full Day Itinerary: After breakfast, take an excursion to through the Daning River Small Gorges, which are narrower than the Three Gorges, but very impressive.

Depending on weather conditions, Shennon Stream may be substituted. With crystal clear water, this tributary of the Yangtze River flows swiftly from north to south through deep gorges. A sampan tour takes you on an exciting, high speed adventure along this newly opened unspoiled river.

Return to your river cruiser and continue sailing to Wu Gorge, the most beautiful section of the Yangtze River, flanked by high peaks that are often capped by fog or clouds. The steep slopes of the gorge are green with trees and bushes but navigators from times past knew that the lovely scenery hid dangers, including whirlpools, quicksand and rapidly varying currents. Continue sailing to Qutang Gorge, known for its sheer and spectacular precipices and uniquely beautiful natural formations from every direction. Two mountains, the Red Passage Mountain to the north and the White Salt Mountain to the south, form the Kui Gate, a giant passage through which the tumultuous Yangtze bursts in an exciting rush of rolling and roaring water.

Day 13: Shibaozhai

Breakfast, lunch & dinner.

• Visit Shibaozhai, a 9-story pagoda; or explore the ghost city of Fengdu

Full Day Itinerary: Today you'll visit Shibaozhai, with its impressive 9-story wooden pagoda, appropriately named "The Pearl of the Yangtze." Shibaozhai is a steep rocky hill which resembles a colossal jade seal on the horizon. Legends attribute the creation of the hill to goddess Nuwo and her efforts to redecorate the sky. The temple at the top of the hill was built during the reign of the Emperor Qianlong and no nails were used during its construction. The red pagoda with a yellow entrance gate decorated with lions and dragons, hugs one side of the rock. As the base of the pagoda would have been beneath the water level of Three Gorges Dam, significant efforts were made to protect the area from rising water and preserve the historic site.

Depending on weather conditions, Fengdu may be substituted: Fengdu, known as a "ghost city," is popular today among tourists who come to visit the temples and shrines dedicated to the gods of the underworld. Known for its statues of ghosts and devils on Mingshan Hill, Fengdu was first described as a "City of Ghosts" in two ancient, classic Chinese works: "Monkey King" and "Strange Stories from a Chinese Studio." In keeping with the town's theme, landmarks bear thematic names such as "Last Glance at Home Tower," "Nothing-to-be-Done Bridge," and "Ghost Torturing Pass."

Day 14: Chongqing & Depart/Arrive USA

Breakfast & lunch.

• Disembark your cruise ship at Chongqing this morning
• Visit the former headquarters of General Joseph W. Stilwell, now a WWII museum
• Proceed to the Chongqing Panda Zoo to see the giant panda
• Transfer to the airport for your return flight via Beijing
• Arrive in the USA later today

Full Day Itinerary: You arrive at Chongqing this morning, disembark the cruise ship and board your touring coach. Lunch will be provided at a local restaurant. Afterwards visit the former headquarters of General Joseph W. Stilwell, now a museum that pays tribute to the cooperation between the allied powers of the U.S. and China and their combined efforts against fascism during the Second World War. Next, you'll proceed to the Chongqing Panda Zoo to see the giant panda. Later, transfer to the airport for your return flight home via Beijing.

Passengers returning to NYC or SFO will spend an additional night at a hotel near the Beijing International Airport to accommodate Air China's flight schedule and return the following day.

Hong Kong Extension

Prepare to be dazzled by a breathtaking symphony of lights in cosmopolitan Hong Kong. City-lovers worldwide rank Hong Kong among their must-see destinations, and for good reason. With its glorious harbor, excellent shopping, renowned restaurants, and some of the best nighttime skylines in the world, Hong Kong has it all.

Day 10: Beijing & Hong Kong

3 nights The Royal Garden Hotel, Hong Kong. Breakfast.

• Fly from Beijing to Hong Kong

Full Day Itinerary: Transfer to the airport your flight to cosmopolitan Hong Kong. You'll be escorted to your luxurious hotel located in the bustling heart of Kowloon, near the scenic harbor and the "Golden Mile," Hong Kong's famous shopping district.

Day 11: Hong Kong

Breakfast.

• Morning tour of Hong Kong Island with peak tram ride
• Afternoon at leisure for independent sightseeing

Full Day Itinerary: Your morning tour of Hong Kong Island features a ride to the top of Victoria Peak for a magnificent city and harbor view. Descend and continue to Repulse Bay and Aberdeen fishing village, a community of some 600 colorful floating homes. Conclude your tour with some time for shopping. The afternoon is yours at leisure for independent sightseeing in the city.

Tonight, we recommend an optional dinner cruise (purchased locally) aboard the Hong Kong Bauhinia, where you'll enjoy a fabulous buffet dinner, live music, and stunning nighttime views of the glistening harbor.

Day 12: Hong Kong

Breakfast.

• Full day at leisure, or optional excursion to the former Portuguese colony of Macau

Full Day Itinerary: Enjoy a full day at leisure to take in the sights and sounds of Hong Kong on your own or shop to your heart's content.

Or, take advantage of a unique optional excursion to the former Portuguese colony of Macau, situated on a corner of the Pearl River Delta. Although it was officially returned to Chinese sovereignty in 1999, Macau maintains a distinctly Mediterranean flavor. You'll see in the European-style architecture, pastel-colored buildings, open air plazas, and abundance of Portuguese wine.

Day 13: Depart Hong Kong/Arrive USA

Breakfast.

• Transfer to the airport for your return flight via Beijing
• Arrive in the USA later today

Chengdu Extension

Take advantage of your time in China, and continue to Chengdu, home of the Giant Panda Research Center and fabulous People's Park, an amazing gathering place where locals sing karaoke, dance, play cards, drink tea, even practice Tai Chi. You'll even learn how to prepare a delicious Chinese meal in a Sichuan cooking class.

Day 10: Beijing & Chengdu

2 nights Grand Hyatt Chengdu, Chengdu. Breakfast.

• Transfer to the airport for your flight to Chengdu
• Upon arrival, transfer to your hotel for check-in

Full Day Itinerary: Today, transfer to the airport for your short flight to Chengdu. Upon arrival, you will be transferred to your well located hotels for check-in. The balance of the day will be at leisure.

Day 11: Chengdu

Breakfast & lunch.

• Visit Chengdu's Giant Panda Research Center
• Enjoy lunch, then explore Chengdu's famous People's Park
• Balance of the day is at leisure or join optional dinner show

Full Day Itinerary: After breakfast, visit Chengdu's Giant Panda Research Center for a truly unforgettable experience. The research center is China's leading organization in the conservation of endangered species. Enjoy an included lunch.

Later this afternoon visit Chengdu's famous People's Park, where locals go to unwind, play games and enjoy nature. Spend the remainder of the day at leisure or join an optional excursion this evening to Sichuan dinner show.

Optional Excursion: Sichuan dinner show, $80 (purchased locally). This evening, join a very special and unique optional excursion during which you will see Sichuanese folklore performances and enjoy a traditional spicy Sichuan dinner. The performance showcases the magic of “Bian Lian", the traditional art of face-changing masks. Sit in amazement as the performers' colorful masks transform within the blink of an eye.

Day 12: Depart Chengdu/Arrive USA

Breakfast & lunch.

• Take a cooking class at the Sichuan Culinary Museum
• Transfer to the airport for your return flight via Beijing
• Arrive in the USA later today

Full Day Itinerary: This morning, participate in a unique culinary experience at the Sichuan Culinary Museum in Pi County. Sichuan cuisine is characterized by its diversity and spice. You will prepare your own Sichuan lunch dish with help from the school's culinary instructors. After you enjoy the meal you've carefully prepared, it's back to the Chengdu airport for your flight to the U.S. via Beijing. Your memorable journey to China comes to an end as you arrive later today.

Passengers returning to NYC or SFO will spend an additional night at a hotel near the Beijing International Airport to accommodate Air China's flight schedule and return the following day.

Reviews & Photos

Trip Details

• What should I know before I go? We've compiled a comprehensive checklist, including information on how to pay your balance due, flights & transfers, packing & luggage, and more.
• Do I need a visa or other documents? Are there any entry requirements? Travel visas are required for this package. Please review the visa & entry requirements.
• Can I make changes to my trip? Want to upgrade your seats? Stay a few extra days? Something else? Just ask!
• Can I bring my kids? Are there any age restrictions? To book this package, you must be 18 or older. Your traveling companions must be 8 or older at time of travel.
• Should I purchase travel insurance? Yes! We recommend you purchase travel insurance to help protect you and your travel investment against the unexpected. For your convenience, we offer a plan provided by Travelex Insurance Services.
• What's the fine print? Review the terms & conditions for this package.
• What should I know about China? Check out our guide for practical travel tips, the best time to go, videos, and more.
• What should I know about Hong Kong? Check out our guide for practical travel tips, the best time to go, videos, and more.