Tripology

Commercial Flight

Flight to Beijing.

Upon your arrival at Beijing airport, our local guide will meet you and escort you to your hotel. Accommodations: Jianguo Garden Hotel

Sightseeing

Today you will first visit the historic Tiananmen Square, and then the magnificent Forbidden City. In the afternoon, you will marvel at Beijing's splendid Temple of Heaven. Enjoy the Peking Opera Show at Liyuan Theatre in the evening.

Tiananmen Square: the largest city square in the world and the spiritual heart of China, where the national flag is raised exactly at sunrise everyday.

Sightseeing

Forbidden City: located in the center of Beijing, used to be the imperial palace of the Ming and Qing dynasties with a history of around 600 years, it is the grandest integral palace complex still remaining in China.

Temple of Heaven: the place which was visited yearly by the emperors who performed intricate rituals to insure a good harvest for the whole nation at ancient times.

Performing Arts

Peking Opera Show: a kind of singing drama which is an ingenious and colorful combination of elements from many sources: traditional music, poetry, singing, recitation, dancing, acrobatics, and martial arts.

Hotel

Accommodations: Jianguo Garden Hotel. Meals: B

Sightseeing

Today's full-day excursion will take you to the majestic Great Wall (Badaling section), the Ding Tomb of Ming Tombs and Sacred road. Enjoy a famous Peking Duck Banquet for dinner.

Sightseeing

Great Wall: the most famous symbol of China and one of the world's most remarkable architectural wonders, it was built over 2,000 years ago and stretches about 6,700km.

Sightseeing

Sacred Road: the path lined with stone statues of animals, mystical beasts and officials who are supposed to serve the emperor in his afterlife, through which the sitting emperors would go to perform memorial rituals for the ancestors once a year.

Ding Tomb: the burial site of the emperor Wanli, the 13th emperor of the Ming Dynasty who ruled for 48 years until his death in 1620, it is the only underground tomb of the thirteen Imperial Ming tombs ever excavated.

Peking Duck Dinner: Peking Roast Duck is regarded as one of the most delicious dishes throughout the world. A Peking Duck Dinner is usually a fixed item on any Beijing tour itinerary. At time-honored restaurants such as Quan Ju De, you can savor the mouth-watering traditional Beijing specialty, and at the same time the chefs will show you how they cuts the meat into exactly 108 slices from one duck, each having a piece of skin.

Hotel

Accommodations: Jianguo Garden Hotel, Meals: B,D

Sightseeing

After rest for a little while and lunch, you will have a city tour to the exquisite Summer Palace. Located on the northwestern outskirts of the city, it was an imperial summer resort of the Qing Dynasty. With its perfect layout, magnificent buildings and enchanting landscape, it is the most splendid classical garden in China.

Commercial Flight

Flight for your onward flight to your next destination--Xi'an.

Hotel

Upon your arrival, our local guide will meet you and escort you to your hotel. Accommodations: Hotel Royal Garden, Meals: B

Sightseeing

Today, you will enjoy a full-day excursion to the incredible life-size Terracotta Warriors and Horses. After lunch, enjoy cylcing on the Ancient City Walls (about 1.5 to 2 hours). Complete the day with a savory dumpling dinner and the Tang Dynasty show both at Shaanxi Grand Opera Theatre.

Terracotta Warriors and Horses: discovered in 1974 by local farmers digging a well, this is one of the most significant archeological finds of the 20th century. These 6,000 life-size painted Terracotta Warriors and Horses --individually sculpted from real-life models and arranged in battle formation have been protecting the mausoleum of the first emperor in Chinese history--Emperor QinShihuang for 2,200 years ago.

Ancient City Walls : built during the 14th century on Tang dynasty foundations and they date from the Ming dynasty. The walls are the largest and best-preserved ancient fortress in the world. There is a gate in each of the four sides, and the gate towers built over each gate look lofty and magnificent and form a tight defence engineering system.

Dumpling Dinner: Dumpling or Jiaozi in Chinese is a traditional and popular food in China, especially in the north. At the dinner, nearly 20 varieties of dumplings that are steamed and stuffed with different delicious fillings such as vegetables, meats and seafood are served. These dumplings are not only tasty, but also characteristic with their colors and fragrance, style and culture meanings. All these make the dinner so unique that you should not miss it when traveling in Xi'an.

Performing Arts

Tang Dynasty Show: the Tang Dynasty (618-907 AD) was one of the most glorious dynasties in China's history, and Xi'an was the capital during the Tang Dynasty and called as Chang'an. Tang Dynasty Show is a performance of Chang'an music and dances in Tang Dynasty style laid out according to various historical records and ancient arts and relics discovered in Xi'an. During the show, the musicians present the music with the Tang-Dynasty-style musical instruments and the dancers dance by wearing a Tang-Dynasty-style robe with long white silk sleeves, and you will certainly enjoy this national art that reflects the glory and richness of the Tang Dynasty era.

Hotel

Accommodations: Hotel Royal Garden, Meals: B,D

Sightseeing

After breakfast, you will visit the Bell Tower and then the Great Mosque. If you feel like, you can spend some time strolling along the backstreets of the mosque which have been home to the city's Muslim community for centuries.

Bell Tower: standing in the center of the city and built in 1582, the Bell Tower is a three-story wooden structure with traditional Chinese architectural features. It is so called because an iron bell is hung in the tower to give the correct time.

Great Mosque: the largest mosque in Xi'an and one of the four grand Islamic mosques in China with more than 1200 years' history. The mosque possesses not only traditional Chinese architectural style, but also features peculiar to Islamic mosques and now it is a major spot for religious activities of 50,000 Muslims in Xi'an.

Hotel

Accommodations: Hotel Royal Garden, Meals: B

Sightseeing

In the afternoon, you will have a city tour to the Shaanxi Provincial Museum and Big Wild Goose Pagoda.

Museums

Shaanxi Provincial Museum: opened in 1991, the largest comprehensive museum in the province. The museum exhibits over 3,000 historical relics which is just a fraction of their collection. Most of the exhibited items are rare treasures, showing you the splendid Chinese culture.

Big Wild Goose Pagoda: regarded by many as a symbol of the city Xian, the pagoda was built in 652 A.D. in the Tang Dynasty to house the sutras brought back from India by the famous monk Xuan-zang.

Commercial Flight

Transfer to the airport for your flight to Chongqing. .

And our local guide will meet you and escort you to your ship. Disbarking Chongiqng at about 8:00PM.

River or Barge Cruise

Shore excursion to Fengdu Ghost City OR Shibaozhai.The ship company will choose one of the scenic spots as your excursion destination. Accommodations: On the Cruise, Meals: B,L,D

Sightseeing

Fengdu Ghost City: constructed on the Mingshan Hill by the river bank, it is so called because of the legend which goes that about 1,700 years ago, two officials, Yin and Wang (the combination of their surnames means "Ghost King ") became Taoists here and eventually Immortals. Now with fantastic temples of underworld demons and gods, it shows the Chinese ghost culture and is a place for punishing the devil and awarding the good.

Shibaozhai: a gem of Chinese architecture, literally means Stone Treasure Fortress in English. It is a 12-storey red wood tower which was first built in Qing Dynasty with a history of 300 years. It was built against a rectangular rock with sheer cliffs on the river bank, 56 meters high, on the top of which you can enjoy a panoramic view of the rapid river and the surrounding countryside.

River or Barge Cruise

Shore excursion to Shennong Stream or Lesser three gorges by smaller vessels.The ship company will choose one of the scenic spots as your excursion destination. Accommodations: On the Cruise, Meals: B,L,D

Sightseeing

Lesser Three Gorges: indicating three separate valleys along the Daning River, the chief tributary of the Yangtze River, they are called "Dragon-Gate Gorge", "Misty Gorge" and "Dicui (Emerald) Gorge" respectively. You can take a small boat to enjoy the spectacular views and experience a water-borne sensation you have never had before when the natural scenic wonders unfold in front of you with clear water flowing fast through the gorges, sheer cliffs and steep mountains rising on either side to create one fine art gallery.

Sightseeing

Shennong Stream: a small tributary of the Yangtze River is 60 kilometers long and is famous for its picturesque scenery. Shennong Stream is beautiful and ancient. When you take a sampan drifting along it, which is not without risk yet exhilarating and a challenge to battle with the nature. You will be attracted and surprised by its crystal clear steam flowing swiftly from north to south through deep gorges, steep ridges and peaks, thick vegetation and wild flowers, flying birds and a plank road built along a cliff and ancient hanging coffins. Sweet love songs will be presented to you by the local ethnic people.

River or Barge Cruise

Shore excursion to Three Gorges Dam site. Three Gorges: spanning the Yangtze at Sandouping, Yichang, Hubei province, China. Construction began in 1994, and the 'Three Gorges Dam' is now the largest hydroelectric dam in the world. The Dam will be 2,335 meters long, 18 meters wide, and its bottom will be 130 meters wide after completion in 2009. When completed, the water level will rise to 135 meters above sea level. The reservoir began filling on June 1, 2003, and it will occupy the present position of the scenic Three Gorges area, between the cities of Yichang, Hubei, and Fuling, Chongqing Municipality.

Commercial Flight

Transfered to airport to take flight to your next destination.