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Itinerary of 17 Days China Exploration Tour & Yangtze River Cruise

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17 Days China Exploration Tour & Yangtze River Cruise

Shanghai - Suzhou - Yichang - Three Gorges Area - Chongqing - Guilin - Yangshuo - Longsheng - Xian - Beijing

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Description :This Yangtze River Cruise package not only includes fascinating scenery of Three Gorges area with shore excursions to Three Gorges Dam, Shennong Stream and Fengdu ancient city which offer you a real visual feast, but provides you a cool China vacation to visit modern Shanghai, water town Zhouzhuang, picturesque Guilin, Yangshuo, Longsheng, ancient capital Xian and imperial Beijing. It is no exaggeration that this package is a multiple enjoyment and a pretty good choice for you to explore China.

Tour Code : CHY-18

Duration : 17 Day(s) / 16 Night(s)

Departure Date :

Itinerary & Price

Detailed information

Tour Days	Destinations	Today's Activities
Day 1	Shanghai	Arrival in Shanghai [detail]
Day 2	Shanghai	Yuyuan Garden, Jade Buddha Temple, Nanjing Road, Bund and Huangpu River Cruise [detail]
Day 3	Shanghai -> Suzhou -> Shanghai	Zhouzhuang Village, Transportation, Transportation [detail]
Day 4	Shanghai -> Yichang -> Three Gorges Area	Shanghai Museum, Yichang Museum, Transportation, Transportation [detail]
Day 5	Three Gorges Area	YC-Yangtze River Cruise (Upstream, Day 1) [detail]
Day 6	Three Gorges Area	YC-Yangtze River Cruise (Upstream, Day 2) [detail]
Day 7	Three Gorges Area -> Chongqing	Fengdu Ghost Town, Transportation [detail]
Day 8	Chongqing -> Guilin	YC-Yangtze River Cruise (Upstream, Disembark), Reed Flute Cave(Lu Di Yan), Transportation [detail]
Day 9	Guilin -> Yangshuo	Li River Cruise, Transportation [detail]
Day 10	Yangshuo -> Guilin	Take a bike along the Yulong River and visit a local village, Tall Banyan in Yangshuo, Transportation [detail]
Day 11	Guilin -> Longsheng -> Guilin	Longsheng rice terraces, Transportation, Transportation [detail]
Day 12	Guilin -> Xian	Elephant Trunk Hill, Wave-Subduing Hill (Fubo Hill), Transportation [detail]
Day 13	Xian	Terra-Cotta Warriors, The Big Wild Goose Pagoda [detail]
Day 14	Xian -> Beijing	Shaanxi History Museum, Transportation [detail]
Day 15	Beijing	Forbidden City, Tiananmen Square, Beijing Summer Palace, Beijing Roast Duck [detail]
Day 16	Beijing	Changling Tomb, The Great Wall of China, Water Cube [detail]
Day 17	Beijing	[detail]

Day 1 - Shanghai (No meal included)

Upon your arrival, our guide will meet you and transfer you to the city center.

Day 2 - Shanghai (B, L)

Visits : Yuyuan Garden

Today you will will visit Yuyuan Garden, an age-old garden where you can get a close touch with Chinese traditional architecture. In the afternoon you will visit the Jade Buddha Temple and the lively district of Nanjing Road for some last-minute souvenir purchases. Then, you will visit the Bund and take a cruise tour on the Huangpu River.

Day 3 - Shanghai -> Suzhou -> Shanghai (B, L)

After enjoying your breakfast you will be driven to Suzhou. After that, visit Zhouzhuang, a historic water town. Ancient bridges, murmuring brooks and rural cottages, all of these come into a picture of quietness and simplicity. This afternoon you will be transferred to Shanghai.

Day 4 - Shanghai -> Yichang -> Three Gorges Area (B, L, D)

Visits : Shanghai Museum

Today take your time to visit Shanghai Museum which is located in People's Square. In the afternoon you will be transferred to the airport and take flight to Yichang. After that, pay a visit to Yichang Museum. At night be transferred to the pier to board the cruiseship. The fantastic Yangtze River cruise is coming.

Day 5 - Three Gorges Area (B, L, D)

A top tourist attraction in Three Gorges Area

Today sail through Xiling Gorge in the morning. Visit the Three Gorges Dam site at noon and navigate Three Gorges Shiplock in the afternoon. The Three Gorges Dam on the Yangtze River is known as one of the largest construction projects and the dam is the largest of its kind in the world today. The project aims to generate tremendous power and control flood. You will spend the rest of the day cruising on the Yangtze River. You can watch the waterside scenery or participate in activities on board.

Day 6 - Three Gorges Area (B, L, D)

After breakfast enjoy excursion to Shennong Stream (Between 08:00 and 11:00). Drifting along Shennong Stream by a small sampan to enjoy the beautiful natural scenery and small villages is a unique experience for you. The mysterious hanging coffins on both sides of cliffs may also astonish you. It is an enigma so far by what kind of way the ancient people raised these coffins up to the cliffs.

Day 7 - Three Gorges Area -> Chongqing (B, L, D)

Visits : Fengdu Ghost Town

This morning take a shore excursion to Fengdu Ghost City (Between 08:45 and 11:30). It is a city made famous by the ancient legends of sinister spirits and ghosts which make an important part of Chinese ancient culture. According to legends, here is the place where the evil people are punished after death while the good are awarded. Tomorrow you will arrive in Chongqing.

Day 8 - Chongqing -> Guilin (B, L)

Visits : Reed Flute Cave(Lu Di Yan)

After enjoying your breakfast disembark the cruise in Chongqing at about 9 am. In the afternoon you will be transferred to the airport and take flight to Guilin. After that, pay a visit to Reed Flute Cave. Reed Flute Cave is known as a Palace of Natural Art. It is full of stalactites and stalagmites in various shapes and sizes, which, with a multicolored lighting system, resemble a Chinese-version story of Journey to the Center of the Earth. The cave was also a frequent refuge for the local people escaping bandits and war in the past.

Day 9 - Guilin -> Yangshuo (B, L)

This morning make this day with trip to Li River Cruise to witness the spectacular limestone rock formations and rural life along the riverbanks. This afternoon This morning make this day with trip to Li River Cruise to witness the spectacular limestone rock formations and rural life along the riverbanks. After lunch, stop at Yangshuo, a small town set in the lush rice paddies and surrounded by meandering rivers and limestone peaks.

Day 10 - Yangshuo -> Guilin (B, L)

Visits : Tall Banyan in Yangshuo

Today you have the opportunity to take a bike along the Yulong River and visit a local village. In the afternoon go to Moon hill, hiking to the top for a fantastic view. Visit Big Banyan Tree. Then be transferred to Guilin by car.

Day 11 - Guilin -> Longsheng -> Guilin (B, L)

This morning you will be driven to Longsheng. After that, explore the natural wonder of Longsheng and Rice Terraces, which is situated 55 miles (87 km) northwest of Guilin, is home to a colorful mixture of Zhuang, Yao, Miao and Dong minorities. Its main attraction does not lie in the town, but not far out of town. Dragon Backbones Rice Terraces are located around 15 miles (25 km) away from Longsheng, where you will be rewarded feats of farm engineering going all the way up a string of 2400 feet (800 m) mountains. The 66-square-km network irrigation project was began by the ethnic Zhuang in the Yuan Dynasty (1271 - 1368), and finished by the Qing (1644 - 1911).
This afternoon you will be transferred to Guilin.

Day 12 - Guilin -> Xian (B, L)

Visits : Elephant Trunk Hill, Wave-Subduing Hill (Fubo Hill)

This morning our guide will take you to visit the Elephant Trunk Hill & Fubo Hill. In the afternoon you will be transferred to the airport and take flight to Xian.

Day 13 - Xian (B, L)

Visits : Terra-Cotta Warriors, The Big Wild Goose Pagoda

This morning visit the world famous Terra Cotta Warriors. It was discovered in 1974 and considered one of the eight wonders in the world. In the afternoon enjoy a leisure visit to the Big Wild Goose Pagoda, one of the most important historical sites in Xian.

Day 14 - Xian -> Beijing (B, L)

This morning pay a visit to Shaanxi History Museum, which is one of the first huge state museums with modern facilities in China with over 300,000 items. In the afternoon you will be transferred to the airport and take flight to Beijing.

Day 15 - Beijing (B, L, D)

Visits : Forbidden City, Tiananmen Square, Beijing Summer Palace

After breakfast you will visit Tiananmen Square, the biggest city square in the world. Covering 440,000 square meters, it has witnessed many important historic events taking place here. Then pay a visit to the Forbidden City, one of the five most famous palaces in the world where 24 emperors of Ming and Qing Dynasties lived and ruled for over 500 years. In the afternoon leave for the Summer Palace. Well known for its large and priceless collection of cultural relics, Summer Palace was among the first group of historical and cultural heritage sites in China to be placed under special state protection. Afterwards, you will enjoy a rickshaw tour in the old Hutong and visit a local family. This evening, you will go to taste Beijing Roast Duck in Quanjude which is a famous historied Roast Duck restaurant in China.

Day 16 - Beijing (B, L)

Visits : The Great Wall of China, Water Cube

This morning pay a visit to Changling, one of the thirteen Ming Tombs. It is the tomb of Zhu Di, the third emperor of Ming Dynasty. After having lunch do some hiking on the magnificent Badaling Great Wall. On the way back pay an exterior visit to the two Olympic venues, the Birds Nest and Water Cube.

Day 17 - Beijing (B)

Free till being transfered to the airport. End of the fabulous tour in China.

Hotels

City	Deluxe Class	Superior Class	Tourist Class
Shanghai	Oriental Riverside Hotel Pudong Shanghai	Hengsheng Peninsula International Hotel Shanghai	Holiday Inn Express Zhabei Shanghai
Suzhou	Garden Hotel Suzhou	Nanlin Hotel Suzhou	Riverside Hotel Suzhou
Three Gorges Area
Guilin	Lijiang Waterfall Hotel	Guilin Bravo Hotel	Guilin Fubo Hotel
Yangshuo	Guilin Yangshuo Green Lotus Hotel	New West Street Hotel	New West Street Hotel
Longsheng	Longsheng Hot Spring Resort	Longsheng Peace Village Wooden Houses	Longsheng Peace Village Wooden Houses
Xian	Sofitel on Renmin Square	Jianguo Hotel Xi'an	HNA Hotel Downtown Xi'an
Beijing	Intercontinental Financial Street Beijing	Holiday Inn Downtown Beijing	Beijing Dongfang Hotel

Yangtze Cruise Ships

	Deluxe Class	Superior Class	Tourist Class
Ship	Victoria Anna	CSC Victoria III	CSC Victoria III

Price per person

Category	1 Person	2-5 person	6-9 person	SSP
Deluxe Class	USD6000	USD4059	USD3506	USD1089
Superior Class	USD4799	USD3399	USD2846	USD549
Tourist Class	USD4577	USD3288	USD2735	USD437
Note: SSP refers to Single Room Supplement Price. It refers only to hotel accommodation. For cruise accommodation, single cabin supplement is on request. Price quoted for one pax is already inclusive of single hotel room supplement.

- Hotel accommodation (or similar class, double occupancy)
- Entrance fees as specified in the itinerary
- Meals as specified in the itinerary (B= breakfast, L= Chinese lunch, D= Chinese dinner)
- Experienced English speaking guide in each city
- Air-conditioned private car or van for transfers and sightseeing
- Domestic flights (economy class), airport tax and fuel charge
- Train as specified in the itinerary
- Yangtze river cruise
- Service Charges & Government Taxes
- Travel Agency Liability Insurance

- International transportation
- Chinese visa
- Personal expenses such as: excess luggage charge (please verify your flight documentation), beverages, laundry services, etc.
- Tips or gratuities to local driver and guide

Comments

Heinz Gilbert says:

I ve been to Guilin and saw the Elephant Trunk Hill - a fairly interesting sight. Our guide said it would be greater fun to take a bamboo raft in the evening. True?

(OCT 3, 2010 at 19:53)

Anton Parker says:

I was a lucky dog, then. The Three Gorges Dam happened to be discharging water. Water being ejected out of the cement "castle" stirred a big fog. Really shocking!

(JAN 12, 2011 at 20:10)

Kim Juien-hsi says:

Last summer, I stayed overnight at a hotel in Zhouzhuang. Only, I failed to find a water-facing hotel. But I think it was a wise choice I made - I enjoyed the quietness of the night there. Getting up at six the next morning, I roamed along the alleyways, while most residents were still in bed. The pavements were wet after a drizzle the night before. Fragrance of cooking drifted in the air. A man was lighting a stove in front of his shop. And here and there by the river were grannies cleaning vegetables. That must be the lovely face of life at a Chinese water town.

(NOV 24, 2011 at 21:2)

Tota T. Vani says:

When would it be better to take a cruise at Three Gorges? During the high-flow or the dry period?

(DEC 8, 2011 at 1:22)

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