London/Beijing

 

Begin your unique holiday by making your own way to London Heathrow for an overnight flight to Beijing with British Airways.

 

Arrival in Beijing 

 

On arrival in Beijing,  met by your friendly guide and drive to your hotel for a three- night stay at 4* Novotel Xinqiao Hotel Beijing.  Free for the rest of day to overcome from jetlag.

 

Beijing

 

Start today’s tour at 0900. Visit Tiananmen Square, and then proceed to enter the Forbidden City, the great palace that housed 24 successive emperors and their thousands of courtiers, eunuchs, concubines and slaves. Continue to Jingshan Park, the imperial gardens, for panoramic views and visit the magnificent red and gold Temple of Heaven that was built for the Emperor, the son of Heaven, to make sacrifices for a good harvest. BL

 

Beijing

 

Leave hotel at 0830 and drive outside city to visit one of the best-preserved and most dramatic but lesser-visited sections of the Great Wall of China at Mutianyu, and walk along the crenellated parapets that have snaked across the rugged mountain landscape for centuries. Pay a visit to Cloisonne shop. Back in the city, stop at the Birds Nest Stadium and Water cube stadium (viewing from outside) home to the world-viewed 2008 Beijing Olympics for a photo shoot. Peking Duck dinner tonight, an imperial favorite. BLD

 

Beijing/Xi’an ( High speed day train )

 

Visit the imperial Summer Palace where you can wander through the formal gardens that were laid out by the extravagant Empress Cixi, before taking high speed day train to Xian, the eastern terminus of the Silk Road and China’s first capital. Check-in at 4* Novotel Xi'an SCPG Hotel for a 2-night stay. BL

 

 

Xian

  

Depart from hotel at 0900 to see the 7,000 terracotta soldiers that have stood guard over China's first emperor for over 2,200 years, and they still stand in battle formation in giant exhibition halls erected around the pits where they were discovered in the 1970s. Pay a visit to Terra-cotta Warriors souvenir shop. This afternoon see Xian's immense City Wall complete with towers and battlements, and tonight we are guests at the Tang Dynasty show, an enchanting performance of music and dance from another era. B/L/D

 

Xian/Chengdu  ( Fast Day Train)

 

After a hearty breakfast at hotel, visit Xian's first-class Shaanxi Provincial Museum where 300,000 objects from every dynasty since a thousand years before Christ are displayed, after Lunch, private transfer to train station for your fast day train to Chengdu, met on arrival and drive to 5*Tibet Hotel Chengdu for a 2-night stay. BL

 

Chengdu / Leshan/Chengdu

 

In the morning at 0900, drive to Leshan and take a boat to have a full view of the Giant Buddha, and then up to the mountain to have a close view of the Giant Buddha - a sitting stone statue of Maitreya carved on a cliff at the confluence of three Rivers. Measuring about 233-feet high, this Buddha with serious expression is the largest stone Buddha in the world whose carving work took about 90 years. Back to Town, walk along Kuanzhai Lanes, a quaint and colourful part of town. Back to your hotel after the day tour. BL

 

Chengdu/Chongqing / Yangtze Cruise  ( High speed  day train) 

 

Leave hotel at 0900 and visit the Giant Panda Research Base in the morning. Have lunch before transferring to the rail station for a 2-hour direct train to the mountain city Chongqing.  On board the 5*Yangzte River Cruise for an unforgettable three-night cruise down the Yangtze. Unpack in your spacious cabin and relax in luxury on your private balcony as the ship sets sail tonight. BL

Note: Sailing iitinerary is subject to change due to weather conditions, water level, navigation and seasonal conditions.

 

Yangtze Cruise 

 

Relax and savour the extraordinary natural landscapes of the Yangtze’s Three Gorges, and enjoy a shore excursion to visit Shibao Pagoda which is one of the highlights of the Yangtze River cruise. The pagoda was built against the rocks; so only three walls were man-made. BLD

 

Yangtze Cruise

        

Cruise through Qutang Gorge, the shortest and narrowest of the Three Gorges, and onwards beneath the forbidding, misty cliffs of Wu (the Witches’) Gorge. There is an optional shore visit to the Temple of White Emperor City, where it is believed white vapour in the shape of a dragon was seen rising from a nearby well, and pass through the Qutang Gorge and the Wu Gorge before taking an excursion of rowboat through the Shennv or Shennong Stream or Lesser Three Gorges. In the evening, sail through the Three Gorges Dam ship locks. BLD

 

Yangtze Cruise / Hangzhou ( Fast day train)

 

See the Three Gorges Dam, the largest and most notorious hydroelectric power station in the world.  Disembark at Yichang, met by your private guide around 1300 to have Lunch first and dive to train station for your fast day train to Hangzhou. Met on arrival and transferred to 4* Best Western Hangzhou Meiyuan for a 2-night stay. BL

 

Hangzhou

 

Met at hotel lobby at 0900 and start the day tour by taking a romantic cruise on West Lake with its landscaped banks, temples, pagoda and distant hills, then visit a traditional pharmacy and an extravagant Manor House that belonged to a prosperous 19thcentury local businessman. Enjoy scenes from the olden days along Qinghefang Street. B/L

 

Hangzhou / Suzhou ( High speed day train)

 

Take high speed day train to Suzhou, famous for its waterways, silk, gardens and beautiful girls. Visit the Silk Embroidery Institute to admire its skilled double-sided embroidery, and the Panmen City Gate, the only land and water gate left in the world. Stay 2 nights at the 4*Suzhou Garden Hotel. B/L

 

Suzhou

 

Learn about how the relationship between man and nature is expressed in Chinese landscaping at the exquisite Garden of the Master of the Nets and the Humble Administrator’s Garden. Stroll through the bustling Guanqian street to explore local daily life. Back to hotel after the day tour. B/L

 

Suzhou / Shanghai

 

Have a relaxing drive to Shanghai. Admire the Jade Buddha Temple, its beautiful white jade statues decorated with emeralds, diamonds and agates. Later, stroll along the Bund, passing grand European-style 19th century buildings on one side, and the futuristic skyscrapers of the Pudong district on the other. Tonight attend a spectacular Acrobatic Show and marvel at the skill and daring of the artists, stay two nights at the 4* Novotel Shanghai Atlantis Hotel.  B/L/D

 

Shanghai

 

Visit the impressive Shanghai Museum that is home to an immense number of China’s greatest ancient treasures - bronzes, ceramics, paintings, crafts, calligraphy, furniture and paintings followed by the visit to Yuyuan Garden that is one of China’s most perfect examples of the art of landscaping, its ponds, pavilions, paths and plants carefully designed to create a series of unfolding views. This garden was laid out over 400 years ago by an official for his aged parents, and it has changed little since. Spend the evening in the charming and fashionable Xintiandi district, whose characteristic shikumen buildings have been restored, and now house restaurants and bars, galleries and boutiques. B/L

 

Shanghai/London   

 

Drive to Airport for your British Airways flight back to UK . Arrived in UK on the same day. B