Highlights

• For four full days, explore Beijing at an unhurried pace, including the Great Wall and stunning Tibetan-style Yonghe Lama Palace.
• Spend three nights cruising China’s famed Yangtze River aboard M/V East King/Queen.
• Enjoy cultural evening events such as Peking Duck dinner, Shanghai Acrobatics show and Tang Dynasty Theater.
• Discover firsthand the world-famous terra cotta warriors and horses of Xian, individually sculpted in lifelike detail.

Day 2: En route

Day 3: Arrive Beijing
A your representative greets you and escorts you to your hotel. Balance of day at leisure. Choice of Hotels

Day 4: Beijing
Behold Tiananmen Square, an amazing space that can hold up to one million people. Forbidden City is one of the great architectural feats of human history. Here, emperors held court for 500 years. Complete the day at the Empress Dowager’s extravagant Summer Palace on serene and beautiful Kunming Lake. Choice of Hotels (B,L)

Day 5: Beijing
A highlight of your Beijing stay is today’s walk along the Great Wall of China. Stroll ancient promenades, step into watchtowers, and photograph the wall rising and falling over impossibly steep mountain ridges. Visit Ming Tombs and grotesque Spirit Way. Choice of Hotels (B,L)

Day 6: Beijing
Spend the morning in Hutong area, where today's activities offer a glimpse into the lives of ordinary people. Take a rickshaw ride through the narrow streets to visit a local kindergarten. After a private lunch with local family, continue to the sublime Temple of Heaven, a 15th century Ming masterpiece. Venture northeast to Yonghe Gong Lama Temple and its Palace of Peace and Harmony. Now the foremost Buddhist temple in China, it was a center of learning for the Yellow Hat sect of Tibetan Lamaism. It houses a fine collection of Tibetan art. Choice of Hotels (B,L)

Day 7: Beijing / Xian
Fly to the arid plains of Xian, gateway to the ancient Silk Road that once linked China with travelers from as far as Rome and Istanbul. The capital of eleven dynasties, Xian vividly exemplifies the extraordinary continuity of Chinese civilization. This afternoon, explore Xian’s past in its antiquities such as Ming Gate and Bell tower, and Tang Dynasty Big Goose Pagoda. Sofitel Renmin Hotel (B,L)

Day 8: Xian
Xian’s most spectacular archaeological site – the army of lifelike terra cotta soldiers and horses – is your focus today. The discovery of this army astounded the world in 1974. Enclosed beneath a protective hangar are some 8,000 individually sculpted warriors. The museum has a fantastic bronze chariot and figures that still have some of their original bright paint. Enjoy a Chinese banquet and stage show at Tang Dynasty Theater. Sofitel Renmin Hotel B,L,D)

Day 9: Xian / Chongqing / Yangtze River Cruise
Fly to Chongqing and tour the city’s parks, including Goose Neck Hill, and a zoological park where pandas live in a naturalistic habitat. This evening, board a luxury cruise ship that will take you on a stunning passage through the Yangtze River Gorges. Leave Chongqing for the broad reaches of the upper Yangtze. M/V East King/Queen Cruise Ship (B,D)

Day 10: Yangtze River Cruise
Today’s shore excursion, depending on scheduling, will feature one of the historic sights soon to be submerged by the new dam such as Shibaozai, where a Buddhist temple and Qing Pavilion cling to a massive 295-foot high rock, or the historic market town of Wanxian rising from the riverbank. Dock overnight near the entrance of the Three Gorges. M/V East King/Queen Cruise Ship (B,L,D)

Day 11: Yangtze River Cruise
Today is devoted to the splendor of the gorges. Glide easily through Qutang Gorge, where towering green hills drop steeply to the river and Wu Gorge, with its celebrated Twelve Peaks are all more than 1,000 feet high. A pea-boat excursion takes you through the gorges of Shennong Stream, home to exotic flowers, playful monkeys, and hanging coffins. M/V East King/Queen Cruise Ship (B,L,D)

Day 12: Yichang / Shanghai
Bid farewell to your cruise hosts as you disembark in Yichang, and are transferred to the airport for your flight to Shanghai. On arrival, you are greeted and transferred to your hotel. Balance of the evening is at leisure to explore lively Shanghai. Choice of Hotels (B,L)

Day 13: Shanghai
Tour the diverse attractions of this vibrant, trend-setting metropolis. Stroll Bund waterfront lined with Art Deco buildings from her past and sleek new skyscrapers of futuristic Pudong District. Step into the past as you cross zigzag bridge into Yu Yuan Gardens. Take in mystical Jade Buddha Temple and teeming lanes of the Old Quarter. Visit the Children’s Palace. Enjoy the daring performance of Shanghai’s famous Acrobats, who stage a high-spirited and beautiful presentation. Choice of Hotels (B,L,D)

Day 14:     Shanghai / Suzhou / Shanghai
Depart this morning to Suzhou, an ancient cultural city built 2,500 years ago in the Yangtze River Region. Visit the grand canals and the Humble Administrator’s Garden. Private gardens built beginning in the Song Dynasty made the city famous. Return to Shanghai this evening. Choice of Hotels (B,L)

Day 15: Shanghai / Depart
Depart for home with lasting memories of an exotic and fast-changing land. (B)

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