12 Days Shanghai-Yangtze River-Xian-Beijing Tour

Day-by-day Itinerary

1. Day 1: Shanghai Arrival

   Welcome to Shanghai! A local private driver will be waiting for you at the exit of Shanghai airport, holding a welcome sign with your name on it. Then you will be transferred to the hotel that we have booked for you and check in. For the rest of the day, take the time to relax yourself or explore the city.

   Meal: N/A

   Accommodation: Shanghai

2. Day 2: Shanghai Highlights Tour
   Explore Shanghai's Past in a Museum and the Bund

   In the morning, your China tour of Shanghai takes you to visit Shanghai Museum. It is a large museum exhibiting ancient art while featuring bronze ware, chinaware, calligraphy, and painting. Then, be guided to visit the Yuyuan Garden. It is one of the most famous southern China gardens, where you can appreciate the typical architecture of Chinese gardens.

   

   In the afternoon, you will enjoy a short cruise tour along the Huangpu River, having totally different scenes about Shanghai along the banks of the Huangpu River. Disembarked at the Bund area, you will have some free time to walk around.

   Meal: Breakfast + Lunch

   Accommodation: Shanghai

3. Day 3: Shanghai to Yichang Tour by Flight
   Experience the Tranquility of Buddhist Temple

   This morning, pay a visit to the Jade Buddha Temple. The highlights of this temple are a Sitting Buddha and a Recumbent Buddha both carved with whole white jade. Then, you will be escorted to take a flight to Yichang, and our local guide will be waiting for you with holding your name at the Yichang airport. If time is available, you will visit the Yichang Museum, which mainly displays local cultural relics with the earliest exhibitions dating back to 400,000 years ago.

   Evening: You will board the luxurious cruise ship and begin your Yangtze River cruise tour.

   Meal: Breakfast + Lunch

   Accommodation: on the Cruise

   

4. Day 4: Yangtze River Cruise Tour
   Marvel at the Largest Hydropower Station in the World Today

   In the morning, your Yangtze River cruise tour starts early with a Tai Chi class. Practicing Tai Chi can not only enhance physical fitness but also promote blood circulation, relieve stress and anxiety. Following that, enjoy a leisurely morning coffee while appreciating the beautiful scenery on both sides of the river. Then, join a historical and cultural lecture on the Yangtze River to glimpse the development of this area.

   After lunch on board, you will be guided to marvel at the Three Gorges Dam. It is the largest water conservancy hub project and the largest hydropower station in the world today. Standing on the dam crest, you can feel the magnificent white waves. If you visit on a sunny day, you may encounter a rainbow in the mist on the huge waves of flood discharge.

   

   If you want a deeper experience, you can choose to visit the Three Gorges Tribe in Xiling Gorge (for an additional fee). Here, you can gain a deeper understanding of the life and customs of the Bai people. After that, eeturn to the ship and enjoy dinner onboard.

   Meal: Breakfast + Lunch + Dinner

   Accommodation: on the Cruise

5. Day 5: Yangtze River Cruise Tour
   Switch to a Smaller Boat to Explore the Primitive Shennv Stream

   Today, you will embark on a cruise through the glorious Three Gorges, one of the birthplaces of ancient Chinese culture. The Three Gorges include Qutang Gorge, Wu Gorge and Xiling Gorge, which is a highlight of your Yangtze River cruise tour.

   Along the way, you will see towering mountains and cliffs on both sides of the gorge. The steep and continuous peaks can usually rise about 700-800 meters above the river surface, which is quite spectacular. You will switch to a smaller boat to explore the primitive Shennv Stream. Shoot the sheer cliffs and lush greenery and experience the culture of the local Tujia ethnic minority. They are good at music and dance.

   Meal: Breakfast + Lunch + Dinner

   Accommodation: on the Cruise

   

6. Day 6: Yangtze River Cruise Tour
   Learn about Chinese Ghost Culture & Enjoy a Farewell Party

   Today, you will disembark at Fengdu for an excursion. You will have a visit to the Fengdu Ghost City. Fengdu Ghost City is a place to learn about Chinese ghost culture, and the afterlife, and to see what the Chinese would call a "model of hell."

   After that, you will be back on the ship and the cruise will continue sailing to the next destination - Chongqing. Tonight, you will feast on a farewell party on the cruise. Please enjoy yourself thoroughly.

   Meal: Breakfast + Lunch + Dinner

   Accommodation: on the Cruise

   

7. Day 7: Chongqing to Xian by Flight
   Have Close Contact with the Cute Pandas

   The cruise is scheduled to arrive in Chongqing at around 08:30 to 09:00. Today your amazing ship journey will end at Chongqing at around 08:30 to 09:00 am.

   Our guide will meet you on board and transfer you to downtown Chongqing. You will visit the panda house in the Chongqing Zoo to have close contact with the cute pandas, and then visit the Residence of General Joseph W. Stilwell. The General Joseph W. Stilwell Museum was the former residence house of General Stilwell from 1942 to 1944. The museum was opened to the public in 1991. It covered only 500 square meters (598 square yards) but received more than 30,000 American visitors every year. After the renovation in 2002, the museum reopened in 2003.

   After lunch, you will take a flight to Xian. A local driver will be waiting for you at the airport. A comfortable private transfer will take you to the appointed hotel in the downtown area.

   Meal: Breakfast

   Accommodation: Xian

   

8. Day 8: Xian Highlights Tour
   Explore the Landmarks of Xian

   After breakfast, your China tour in Xian takes you to visit the ‘Eighth Wonder’ of the world, the Terracotta Warriors and Horses Museum. The Terra Cotta Warriors and Horses are the most significant archeological excavations of the 20th century. The museum covers an area of 16,300 square meters, divided into three sections: No. 1 Pit, No. 2 Pit, and No. 3 Pit respectively. It is a sight not to be missed by any visitor to China.

   

   In the afternoon, drive back to the downtown area to visit one of the landmarks of Xian, the Big Wild Goose Pagoda. Standing in the Da Ci’en Temple complex, it attracts numerous visitors for its fame in the Buddhist religion, its simple but appealing style of construction, and its new square in front of the temple.

   Last we will pay a visit to the Ancient City Wall, which is known as the most complete and the best-preserved city wall in China. The city wall of Xi’an is an extension of the prior Tang dynasty structure. It was started in 1370 and finished in 1378 and has a rectangular–shaped construction. After the tour, we will transfer you back to your hotel. If interested, you can ride a bike on the wall (at your own expense).

   In the evening, you can have a Dumpling Dinner and enjoy a marvelous Tang Dynasty Music and Dance Show (optional). The show will bring you back to 1400 years ago – the dreamy and glorious Tang Dynasty.

   Meal: Breakfast + Lunch

   Accommodation: Xian

   

9. Day 9: Xian to Beijing Tour by Flight
   Glimpse the Thousands of Years of Chinese history

   After breakfast, take a guided tour of Xi'an Museum, which houses a vast collection of artifacts and relics spanning thousands of years of Chinese history. You will admire ancient pottery, bronzes, sculptures, and exquisite artwork that offer insights into the region's rich cultural heritage.

   In the same area, go to admire the Small Wild Goose Pagoda, which is a famous well-preserved Buddhist pagoda of the Tang Dynasty. The extant pagoda has thirteen stories and it still keeps the primitive features. With its delicate appearance, it is reputed to be the exquisite artistic heritage of Buddhist architecture in the Tang Dynasty.

   

   Have lunch on your own. Then our tour guide and driver will transfer you to the airport to take a flight to Beijing. When you arrive in Beijing your local driver will meet you at the airport and transfer you to the hotel.

   Meal: Breakfast

   Accommodation: Beijing

10. Day 10: Beijing City Tour
    Visit the World Heritage Sites in Beijing

    The Beijing tour guide will pick you up at 9:00 am in your hotel hall. We will begin today’s China tour from Tiananmen Square, which is known as the world’s largest urban center square. The Square has an area of 44 hectares (109 acres) that can accommodate as many as one million people for public gatherings. It has witnessed many historical events in China’s modern history and is a place for celebrations on such festive days as International Labor Day on May 1st and National Day on October 1st.

    Next, we come to the largest as well as best-preserved imperial palace complex, Forbidden City, located in the center of China’s capital, Beijing. It displays an extraordinarily harmonious balance between buildings and open space within a more or less symmetrical layout.

    

    After lunch, continue our tour in Beijing to the Temple of Heaven, which is the largest ancient imperial worship architecture group in the world. Be guided to explore its stunning complex of temples, renowned for its iconic Hall of Prayer for Good Harvests and the Circular Mound Altar, where emperors held important ceremonies.

    Finishing the day tour, you can choose to appreciate a lively Chinese Kung Fu Show at night (optional, at your own expense). Different from traditional Kung Fu shows, this show features a story of dramatic interest, which makes it more interesting and attractive.

    Meal: Breakfast + Lunch

    Accommodation: Beijing

    

11. Day 11: Beijing Great Wall Hiking Tour
    Capture the Rugged Mountains When Walking the Badaling Great Wall

    After breakfast, first, you will visit the Badaling Great Wall. As one of the greatest wonders of mankind, the majestic Great Wall is always a must-see attraction for many visitors to Beijing. At Badaling, roads extend in all directions and people can go anywhere, so that’s why it is called “Bada” (in Chinese it means “convenient transportation”). Nowadays,  it is the most well-equipped and well-preserved section of the Great Wall of China.

    

    After the Great Wall tour, come to the Ming Tomb. On the way to the Ming Tomb, you will pass through the Sacred Way. The Ming Tomb is the place where 13 emperors of the Ming dynasty (1368-1644) were buried. On the way back to the downtown center, we will visit the Bird’s Nest (Olympic National Stadium), which is the main assembly hall of the 29th Olympic Sports Games in Beijing in the year 2008. After the tour, we will transfer you back to your hotel.

    Meal: Breakfast + Lunch

    Accommodation: Beijing

12. Day 12: Departure from Beijing

    After breakfast, your private driver will escort you to Beijing airport. Your China tour package of 12 days with Yangtze Cruise from Shanghai ends here. Hope you had a great time with us!

    Meal: Breakfast

    Accommodation: N/A