Tour Overview
China, a mysterious land of red pagodas, cosmopolitan cities, manicured gardens, and Great Walls, is yours to explore on this 12-day tour. Start in Beijing where you explore Tiananmen Square, the Forbidden City and The Great Wall. Continuing on to Xi'an, strategically set on the Silk Road trade route that once linked central Asia to Europe, you will see the amazing Terracotta Warriors, an army that guarded the tomb of Qin Shi Huangdi. You have two days to explore this historical city, the largest in the world during the Tang dynasty (618-907). In Chongqing, board the five-star ship, East King, for an unforgettable three-day cruise on the Yangtze River. Pass through towering gorges and join shore excursions, including ancient cliff coffins at Shennong Stream, exploring historic temples in Shibaozhai, and touring a silk facility in Wanxian. Lastly visit Shanghai, with its excellent museums and elaborate temples. A day trip to the ancient city of Suzhou offers peaceful respite from city life as you stroll its famous gardens and meander through tiny canals by boat.Day by Day Itinerary
Day 01: Beijing, ChinaArrive Beijing. You are met for private transfer to your hotel for check-in and overnight. The capital of the People's Republic of China, Beijing is a unique reflection of the many changing facets of contemporary Chinese culture, where ancient cultural sites such as the Forbidden City and the Temple of Heaven vie for space alongside high-rise buildings, modern shopping malls, and an intricate freeway system. A thriving commercial capital, continually developing, Beijing's 200-year-old cultural heritage is still very much in evidence, with a vast array of stunning attractions throughout the city.
The Peninsula Palace Hotel Day 02: Beijing
Full day city tour of Beijing by private vehicle. Start your tour with a visit to Tiananmen Square, a site of historic significance for the advent of communism in China. Known as "six-four" or "June 4th," the movement has become an albatross about the Chinese government's neck in regards to human rights and freedom of speech, a point of contention in Sino-American relations. Aside from the grand and tragic events here over the last 50 years, Tiananmen is truly a people's square, alive with local kite fliers and wide-eyed tourists from out of town. Then visit the impressive Forbidden City within the Imperial Palace. Also known as the Imperial Palace Museum or Gugong, the Forbidden City was the place where the emperors of the Ming and Qing Dynasties carried out their administration and lived. Now it is open to the public as a palace museum where people can see the great traditional palace architecture, enjoy the treasures kept in the palace, and learn of the legends and anecdotes about the imperial family and the court. This afternoon, enjoy a stroll through the lush gardens of the Summer Palace. Equally famous as the Forbidden City, the Summer Palace is called "Yiheyuan" (Garden of Nurtured Harmony) in Chinese. It is up to now the best preserved and the largest imperial gardens in China. The Peninsula Palace Hotel (Breakfast) Day 03: Beijing
Enjoy a morning excursion to visit The Great Wall of China, which snakes over the green hill countryside outside of Beijing. The Great Wall of China, one of the greatest wonders of the world, was enlisted in the World Heritage by UNESCO in 1987. Just like a gigantic dragon, the Great Wall winds up and down across deserts, grasslands, mountains and plateaus stretching approximately 6,700 kilometers (4,163 miles ) from east to west of China. With a history of more than 2000 years, some of the section of the great wall are now in ruins or even entirely disappeared. However, it is still one of the most appealing attractions all around the world, owing to its architectural grandeur and historical significance. In the afternoon, visit the Temple of Heaven, set in a 670-acre park. Here you'll find Qinian Dian (Hall of Prayer for the Good Harvests), constructed without a single nail, and one of the finest examples of Chinese architecture. Also, enjoy a rickshaw tour of the hutongs, the "Old City" neighborhoods of narrow alleyways and courtyard gardens hidden behind Beijing's modern facade. Later enjoy afternoon tea with a local family.
The Peninsula Palace Hotel (Breakfast) Day 04: Beijing - Xi'an
Transfer the airport for your flight to Xi’an. Arrive Xi’an, you are met and transferred to the hotel. Xi’an. Strategically set on the Silk Road trade route that once linked central Asia to Europe, Xi’an was the largest city in the world during the Tang dynasty (618-907.) Although the city is quite modernized, Xi’an has retained many of the historical remnants of its past glory. Enjoy a half-day city tour of Xi’an by private vehicle. Visit the Shaanxi Lishi Bowuguan (History Museum) with its displays of terracotta soldiers and horses, as well as tools and pottery from the Paleolithic and Neolithic ages. Also tour Xi’an’s City Wall. Built in the Tang Dynasty when the city was the capital, this is now the only complete city wall existing in China. Visit one of the gates and take a stroll on the wall. Then visit the Great Wild Goose Pagoda, built in the beginning of the Tang dynasty as a memorial to Crown Prince Lhi Zhi’s mother.
Sofitel on Renmin Square (Breakfast) Day 05: Xi'an
Enjoy a full day of sightseeing. Visit, the Terracotta Warriors Museum, a terracotta army guarding the tomb of Qin Shi Huangdi, which lures travelers from all over the world. In a quest for immortality and eternal power, China's first emperor chose to have himself buried with some 8,000 life-size, intricately carved soldiers, horses, and chariots. Discovered by farmers digging a well in 1974, the terracotta army then wore painted uniforms, but exposure to the air and sun has turned them black. This afternoon, visit the nearby Banpo Neolithic Village, which offers 1,000-year-old artifacts, and the Hot Springs of Huaqing, baths that have been in use for 3,000 years.
Sofitel on Renmin Square (Breakfast) Day 06: Xi'an - Chongqing
Private vehicle to the Xi’an airport for flight to Chongqing. Arrive Chongqing. You are met and taken on an introductory city tour including a visit to the zoo, city museum and city market. Chongqing, a picturesque mountain city that clings to steep cliffs located at the confluence or the Yangtze and Jialing Rivers, serves as ether a port of destination or of departure for every Victoria Yangtze River cruise. Transfer to the port for cruise check-in. At 9:00 pm depart from Chongqing. Along the shores of China's Yangtze River, the ancient and the modern collide. During your journey with Victoria Cruises, you will experience the thrilling ebb and flow of Chinese life in the 21st Century.
Victoria Empress, Queen, Star (Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner) Day 07: Yangtze River Cruise
Shore excursion to Fengdu or Shibaozhai. Fengdu is located on the northern bank of the Yangtze, 176 kilometers downstream from Chongqing. Known as the "Ghost City, Fengdu is a very popular shore excursion site for tourists on the Yangtze River. Shibaozhai represents one of the gems of Chinese architecture along the banks of the Yangtze River. From afar, the protruding 220-meter (720 foot) hill on the north bank can appear to resemble a jade seal, and is so named. In 2009 the water level of the Three Gorges Dam Reservoir will reach the base of the yellow entrance gate of Shibaozhai.
Victoria Empress, Queen, Star (Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner) Day 08: Yangtze River Cruise
Sail through Qutang Gorge/Wu Gorge. Excursion to Daning River Small Gorges or Shennong Stream. Wushan is situated at the confluence of the Yangtze and Daning rivers, just above the western entrance to the Wu (Witches) Gorge. The Emerald Green Gorge, the farthest from Wushan, is covered with lush bamboo grooves and foliage. The return trip downstream to Wushan is usually made in less than half the time required for the upstream boat ride. Board a ferryboat for a relaxing ride up this tributary of the Yangtze, which has its own attractive gorges. You will dock very close to the head of the reservoir created by the Three Gorges Dam, and switch into smaller wooden boats called "pea-pod boats". You are then poled up to the shallow, clear areas further upstream. Trackers take over where the current is strong, and pull the boats about 100 or 200 yards. Later you will sail back to the waiting ferry to return to your Victoria ship. Sail through Three Gorges locks.
Victoria Empress, Queen, Star (Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner) Day 09: Yichang - Shanghai
Morning guided shore excursion to the Three Gorges Dam Project. Three Gorges Dam, the largest water conservancy project ever undertaken by man. The Dam is now being built in Sandouping, which is in the middle of the Xiling Gorge, the longest of the three gorges on the Yantze River. 130 pm disembark in Yichang. You are met at the cruise port for a short city tour in Yichang by private vehicle and transferred to the Yichang airport for your flight to Shanghai. Arrive Shanghai, you are met for private transfer to your hotel for check-in.
Portman Ritz Carlton Hotel (Breakfast)
Day 10: Shanghai
Enjoy a full day city tour of Shanghai by private vehicle. First visit one of the oldest tourist sites in Shanghai, the Yuyuan Gardens. With ponds, traditional red walls with upturned tile roofs, and an excellent teahouse – the Yuyuan Gardens is a wonderful respite from city chaos. Then transfer to the west side of the city to visit the Jade Buddha Temple, home to two famous white jade Buddha statues brought from Burma in 1882. This afternoon, you will visit the Shanghai Museum, which boasts the best bronze collection in the world, along with Ming and Qing dynasty furniture, jade, coins, paintings, and ceramics. Later, enjoy a stroll along The Bund, also called the Zhongshan Road, the famous waterfront and regarded as the symbol of Shanghai for hundreds of years.
Portman Ritz Carlton Hotel (Breakfast) Day 11: Shanghai - Suzhou - Shanghai
Full day trip to Suzhou by train. Dating back to 482 B.C., Suzhou is known as the town of gardens and canals. At least 150 gardens flourish in large open spaces or unexpectedly tucked away between narrow streets, all following the principle of Chinese garden construction: the representation of a tiny universe. Fishponds, zigzagging bridges connecting small islands, tiny gardens with fountains – nearly every aspect of nature is found in these gardens. Enjoy a cruise on the Grand Canal and visit two private gardens and a local silk factory. Return by train to Shanghai, where you are met at the station and transferred to your hotel.
Portman Ritz Carlton Hotel (Breakfast) Day 12: Shanghai - Depart
Transfer by private vehicle to the Shanghai International airport.
(Breakfast)
( 
