13 Days Beijing Xian Chengdu Guilin Shanghai Tour with Panda

Tiananmen Square

Summer Palace

Today’s tour begins with the exploration of Tiananmen Square after breakfast. Tiananmen Square is located in the center of Beijing city, also the biggest city square in the world. It’s on the gate tower of the square that Chinese Chairman Mao Zedong declared the foundation of People's Republic of China.

When you move forward and pass through several doorways under the gate tower of Tiananmen Square, magnificent Forbidden City will bump into your eyes. Forbidden City is the best preserved imperial palace in China and the largest ancient palatial structure in the world. It has more than 9,000 rooms where 24 emperors of the Ming and Qing Dynasties have lived. The splendid architecture of the Forbidden City represents the essence and culmination of traditional Chinese architectural accomplishment.

After lunch, you’ll have a short break and then drive to Summer Palace lying in the outskirts of Beijing. This is the largest royal garden in the world built in The grandeur. In the ancient time, it mainly served imperial royals in Qing Dyansty to spend summer and enjoy leisure times. Built with exquisite layout and amazing architectural technique, the beauty of the Palace is overwhelming and is sure to impress anyone. The palace takes an area of 290 hectares and comprises diversified buildings, you are about to spend 4 hours in it.

When you finished your day tour, you have optional choices of your night activities according your interests: 1) Watch the Chinese traditional Kungfu Show in the Red Theater. (from 19:30 to 20:40) 2) Boat on Kunming Lake, the major lake of Summer Palace, to cruise around and enjoy the pleasant night scenery .

Stay overnight in Beijing

Mutianyu Great Wall

Mutianyu Great Wall

In the morning after breakfast, we will drive to the suburb of Beijing to witness the grand world architectual wonder - Great Wall. Great Wall proves that China was one of the strongest countries in its history. Stretching thousands of kilometers, the Great Wall protected the ancient Chinese against the invasion of the enemy from its north side for more than 1000 years. The Great Wall was listed as one of the world's eight wonders. Mutianyu Great Wall, featured “graceful”, enjoy the best quality among all Wall sections, 80km north-east of Beijing with 22 ancient watchtowers, about one every kilometer. (Cable car is optional if you do not want to walk)

You’ll take a cable car to ascend the Great Wall, then hike the most beautiful and interesting part of Mutianyu, which usually impresses tourists by its spectacular natural scenery and abundant vegetation. After the exciting tour, descend Mutianyu Great Wall by cable cars and drive back to hotel to end the pleasant day.

Stay overnight in Beijing

Temole of Heaven

Hutongs in Beijing

Today’s journey begins with the sightseeing of Temple of Heaven, a famous ancient architecture constructed in Ming and Qing dynasties. Temple of Heaven consists of two parts and is the place for emperors in Ming and Qing Dynasties to sacrifice to god and pray for harvest. Excepting for the intricate architecture of the various halls, you’ll also marvel at the ingenious design of the echo wall and the three-tone stone.

After lunch, you will get back to the central city to enjoy a relaxing and peaceful afternoon hanging about in Beijing Hutongs. Hutong is a kind of ancient urban alley unique to Beijing. Different from rows of high-rise buildings, winding and narrow alleys and cozy quadrangle courtyards, Hutongs will represent you what the past of Beijing is like. Taking ride of a jinricksha or a bicycle to shuttle through silent Hutongs, you’ll feel like wandering the river of history and find how tradition and modernism is mingled in this city.

Now, your Beijing tour will come to an end and you will be drop off at the Beijing West Railway Station to board the high-speed train to Xian. The train journey will last 4-6 hours. You can have a rest on it.

Stay overnight in Xian

Terracotta Warriors and Horses

Ancient City Wall

After breakfast, we are about to visit the Eighth Wonder of the World, the Terracotta Warriors and Horses Museum. You will not only be attracted by the life-sized warrior figures and horses, each of which has distinct facial expressions and positions, but also be astonished by various kinds of ancient weapons which reflect the highly advanced technology in weapon-making 2,200 years ago.

After having lunch, return to Xian downtown for a short break and to take a wonderful stroll on the Ancient City Wall or you can also cycling on top of it. The wall around the city centre of Xian is a massive construction, about 14 kilometers in perimeter. With 98 defensive ramparts, four main gates, and a moat around it, the ancient city wall is a wonderful example of ancient defensive building. Standing on it, you can enjoy panoramic views of modern Xian. Near its center are the Bell Tower and Drum Tower.

Late in the afternoon, we will travel to Muslim Quarter, the most famous gourmet street and largest Muslim business street in Xian, for local specialties. It’s the perfect place to have close chat with street venders of Muslims and buy the exquisite handicrafts and enjoy various local snacks.

Stay overnight in Xian

Shanxi History Museum

Xian to Chengdu by High-speed Train

In the morning, we are expected to visit Shanxi History Museum, the best place to take a glance at the glorious history of ancient Chinese civilization. The precious exhibits dates from the Paleolithic era to the Qing Dynasty. The breadth and depth of the artifacts and quality of artwork from each time period and dynasty are breathtaking! The museum is crowded, so be prepared to go with the flow of the people in front of each display.

After lunch, your Xian tour will come to an end, and we will take ride of the high-speed train in Xian North Railway Station to board the high-speed train to Chengdu. You’ll spend about 3-4 hours on train. Upon arrival, you will be welcomed by local tour guide in Chengdu East Railway Station, then transferred to your downtown hotel in Chengdu.

Stay overnight in Chengdu

Chengdu Research Base of Giant Panda Breeding

Jinli Ancient Street

In the morning, drive for about half an hour to Chengdu Panda Breeding and Research Center, the home to giant pandas, where you will catch pandas' feeding time. They are at their most active, both Adults and Babies. There's a wealth of information and a panda museum in this 230-hectare park 10 km (6 miles) north of Chengdu. It takes about 2.5 hours to visit this site.

After lunch, we will drive back to downtown and visit some incity popular spots. The first is Wenshu Temple, the famous Buddhist monastery of western Sichuan in which conserves many precious cultural relics and ten thousand of Buddhist scriptures and literature. You can have a taste of the famous snacks bean jelly and other gourmets outside the temple. Coming out of the temple and driving for about 20 minutes, we will reach Renmin Park, a park with a history frequented by local people. Here, you can see many people taking exercises, playing majiang, drinking teas and chatting with friends or boating on the lake. Parallel of teahouses crowded with guests drinking teas and enjoying the good weather constitutes an unique scenery of the park.

In the afternoon, we will reach Jinli Ancient Street, another must-see destination for travelers and a business street built by traditional western Sichuan dwellings characteristics. Here you will gain a lot of interesting experience like seeing handicraftsman making sugar figures or hanging around in quaint stores or having a rest in various bars, teashouses and cafe houses. When night approaches and lamps are lighten up, you will witness the true beauty of this traditional street. It’s a good time for you to take some pictures.

Stay overnight in Chengdu

Chengdu Shuangliu International Airport

Chengdu Fly to Guilin

Today we will leave Chengdu to Guilin in airplane. You will board at Chengdu Shuangliu International Airport to fly to Guilin Liangjiang International Airport for free. And it spends about 1 hour and 45 minutes on the way. After arriving , you will be picked up and sent to the hotel for a rest. The rest of the day is free to do a little exploration at your leisure.

Stay overnight in Guilin

Li River Cruise

Yangshuo Town

Today, you’ll enjoy a leisurely and comfortable cruise along Li River to Yangshuo with beautiful views and a buffet lunch on board with a group tour guide.

After breakfast, you will be transferred to wharf and board to begin your 84-kilometer cruise (about 4 hours). During your cruise, you can enjoy lunch along the way while relaxing on our scenic cruise. The river course from Guilin to Yangshuo is like a green ribbon flanked by verdant hills, with towering peaks along the river reflecting on the crystal-clear water and fields and gardens stretching out across the banks, creating a splendid Chinese landscape painting.

After arriving, you will disembark in Yangshuo Town, and check in your hotel. The rest of the day is free to do a little exploration at your leisure. You can have a short break and immerse yourself into the stunning countryside views and fresh air. Or you can also hang around in the ancient West Street in Yangshuo where quaint and traditional Chinese architectures are mixed with western style buildings in this business street. Whether you want to enjoy a cup of drink in bar, taste some local food, or just experience the relaxing atmosphere, you can get it here.

Stay overnight in Yangshuo

Yarkant King Mausoleum

The Road between Hotan and Kashgar

In this morning after breakfast, we will depart from Yangshuo to witness one of the most beautiful rice terraces in China -- Longji Rice Terrace. You will spend about 2 hours on road. Far from bustling metropolis, Longji Rice Terraces are built into the hillsides and offer some of the most fantastic scenery in China. Taking an area of 66 square kilometers, the rice terraces look like great amphitheatres or ribbons as they wind round the contours in tiered bands. When the sun reflects in the water of the paddy fields and glowing with yellow ears when the harvest is ripe, you can enjoy a visual feast for the eyes and totally embrace with the nature.

Stay overnight in the village of Longji Rice Terrace

Karakul Lake

The Tents Beside the Karakul Lake

In this morning, we will get early to see the stunning sunrise in Longji Rice Terrace. Generally, in the sunny day, you can see the sun rises in 6:20 am. In No.1 scenic spot , you will enjoy the best view. Take this great opporyunity to indulge yourslf into the breath-taking scenery. You will obtain a life-time memory.

And next, we will leave Guilin to Shanghai in airplane. You will board at Guilin Liangjiang International Airport to fly to Shanghai. And it spends about 2 hour and 20 minutes on the way. After arriving , you will be picked up and escorted to the hotel by our local guide for a rest. The rest of the day is free to you to hang around leisurely in Shanghai.

Stay overnight in Shanghai

Yu Garden in Shanghai

Shanghai Oriental Pearl Tower

After breakfast, we will launch our Shanghai tour. The first stop is Shanghai Museum, one of the Best Four Museums in China. The magnificent 4-story building houses an incredible collection of bronzes, sculptures, ceramics, coins, paintings, calligraphy, costumes and other exhibits in different dynasties. It’s the perfect place for fans of Chinese history and art.

The following stop is the Yu Garden. Built in the 16th century during the Ming Dynasty, the Yu Garden used to be the private residence of a senior Government administrator in the Ming Dynasty. For passionate photographer, never miss the chance to photograph Old Street of Yu Garden.

Having finished the visiting of Yu Garden, we’ll have a rest to have lunch. In the afternoon, we will move on to visit Nanjing Road. Famous Nanjing Road features historic Chinese sculptures at the "Golden Belt" and is an equivalent of New York's Fifth Avenue. Hang around here, you can get a taste of bustling Chinese commerce where retailers from all over the world display their products on streets. And next we will head to the Bund, one of the things you should never miss when on a tour to Shanghai. The Bund displays Shanghai's classic skyline views of colonial architecture and skyscrapers along the 500m wide Huangpu River, which dissects the city into two.

Stay overnight in Shanghai

In the last day of our journey, we’ll firstly tour Shanghai Urban Planning Exhibition Center in the morning which is very near to Shanghai Museum. It’s a six-storey building with two basement levels that displays Shanghai's urban planning and development. Looking around in the center, you will obtain a overall knowledgement of Shanghai from history to architecture and urban planning and tourist attractions. The huge miniature model of the city almost covers the whole floor area. Once you browse in this hall, you are ready to go into details of this modern city.

Stepping out of the Center, we will head to a temple hidden in this bustling city -- Jade Buddha Temple. In Jade Buddha Temple, there is enshrined the largest jade Buddha in the world and numerous religious artifacts, ancient statues and Buddhist scriptures. You can view the beautiful gold buddhas and fabulous wooden architectures here. The lying Jade Buddha is spectacular and breathtakingly beautiful sculptured in delicate art. The temple is an oasis of peace in this city, and you can immerse yourself briefly in this peaceful kingdom of Buddhism.

In the afternoon, your whole journey will come to an end and your guide will escort you to the airport for your flight to next destination or home.