Day 1 Shanghai
Day 2 Shanghai
Meals: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner
A full day tour begins with the Yu Garden (UNESCO). Owing to its ingenious design in Ming and Qing dynasties, it becomes a real museum of Chinese ancient architecture. Walk around the Old Downtown with its maze of walkways, reflecting ponds, pavilions and stone bridges.
Continue to visit the Shanghai Museum, with its 120,000 piece collection of Chinese ancient treasures.
Wander through the bustling Bund, featuring outstanding European colonial architectures, new skyscrapers and historical buildings in Shanghai.
After your dinner, enjoy a spectacular Acrobatic Show, known as one of the most fabulous performance arts in China.
Day 3 Shanghai - Hangzhou (by Bullet Train)
Meals: Breakfast, Lunch
Cycling: About 10 kilometers
In the morning, take a bullet train to Hangzhou, the city of nature beauty, which is regarded as the "Paradise on Earth".
Upon arrival, rent a bike and cycle around the picturesque West Lake (about 10km). It is said to be created from a pearl dropped by a phoenix and a dragon, and proclaimed by the Chinese "the landscape composed by a painter".
Day 4 Hangzhou- Guilin (by air)
Meals: Breakfast, Lunch
Today's excursion will take you to the Six Harmonies Pagoda, a masterpiece of ancient architecture, where you can get a panoramic view of the Qiantang River on the very top.
Afterwards, take an excursion along Qinghefang Historical Street and have a contact with the marketplaces and the civil customs in this ancient street. There are more than 100 stores of tea, Chinese medicine, silk, foods, curios, paintings and collections.
In the afternoon, transfer to the airport and fly to Guilin, which is said to be "the best scenery under heaven" for its unique karst limestone along the Li River, creating the picturesque beauty.
Upon arrival, meet and transfer to your hotel.
Day 5 Guilin - Yangshuo (by boat)
Day 6 Yangshuo - Guilin (by automobile)
Meals: Breakfast, Lunch
Cycling: About 15 kilometers
After breakfast, take a bicycle tour (about 5km) from Yanghsuo to Aishan Villiage. The Tianjia River runs through the village with lush bamboo on the riverbanks. Cycling in this peaceful village, you will get immersed in the crystal clear water and lush hills and gain a glimpse of the rural life style in China.
Then ride (about 3.5km) via some local villages and arrive at Gongnong Bridge. The bridge spans the Yulong River (Dragon Meeting River), which is known as the little Li River because of the wonderful landscape. Local people use bamboo rafts as daily transportation up and down the river between their houses, markets, and rice paddies. Then ride back to Yangshuo (about 6km).
In the afternoon, drive back to Guilin and visit Reed Flute Cave, the natural underground wonder. Enjoy the radiating lights that illuminate the natural rock formation and stone pillars along the zigzag pathway within the cave.
Day 7 Guilin - Xi’an (by air)
Meals: Breakfast, Lunch
Cycling: About 13 kilometers
After breakfast, transfer to the airport and fly to Xi’an, the ancient capital for 11 dynasties and east end of the Silk Road.
Upon arrival, enjoy a cycle tour (about 13km) of Ancient City Wall, which is one of the oldest walls in China and still compasses the center of Xi'an. It will take you about 1.5 hours to encircle the city wall and enjoy the layout of the ancient capital city.
Day 8 Xi'an
Meals: Breakfast, Lunch, Special Dinner
Today's excursion will take you to the Museum of Terracotta Warriors and Horses (UNESCO), one of the greatest archaeological discoveries in the world. More than 6000 life-sized terra cotta warriors, archers, infantrymen, horses and bronze chariots silently guarded the tomb of China's First Emperor for over 2,200 years.
Then head to the Wild Goose Pagoda, a Tang Dynasty landmark. This seven-story pagoda was initially constructed in 652 AD, and a larger team of scholars was organized here for translation of the Buddhist sutras brought back from India and it became a holy place for pilgrimages.
In the evening, appreciate a tasteful Dumpling Feast followed by an exquisite traditional Tang Dynasty Music and Dance Show.
Day 9 Xi'an - Beijing (by air)
Meals: Breakfast, Lunch
In the morning, transfer to the airport and fly to Beijing.
Upon arrival, visit a renowned imperial site – the Temple of Heaven (UNESCO), where ancient Chinese emperors would make sacrifices to Heaven and pray for bountiful harvests. This construction is supreme achievement of Chinese traditional architecture.
Day 10 Beijing
Meals: Breakfast, Lunch
Cycling: About 5 kilometers
Today enjoy a special cycle tour along Beijing’s Central Axis, which runs from north to south across the city, with the many ancient and modern landmarks on both sides. Your first peek begins with Tian’anmen Square, the world’s largest and renowned public square where many historical events once took place.
Then ride (about 1km) to the Forbidden City (UNESCO), where the 24 emperors of the Ming and the Qing Dynasties ruled for nearly 500 years (1420-1911). Experience the architectural splendor of the palaces, ceremonial courtyards and private quarters.
Then we move on to Bell and Drum Tower (about 3.7km). Back to Han Dynasty, (206BC-220), there used to be a morning bell and a dusk drum everyday telling the time to the citizens.
Hutong area is not far from Bell and Drum Tower. Cycling along the narrow alleys, you will appreciate some ancient courtyard houses and gain a full glimpse of local culture. You may also buy some special souvenirs from those boutiques in the hutong.
Day 11 Beijing
Meals: Breakfast, Lunch, Special Dinner
Today setting out to the China's most renowned monument, Great Wall (UNESCO) that is the most spectacular structures ever built by human and as the only one visible from space.
After lunch, visit the Ming Tomb, ancient burial ground of the Chinese emperors.
In the evening, you will enjoy a traditional Beijing Duck Dinner, a Chinese delicacy.