In-depth Cultural China plus Guilin, Yangshuo, Hangzhou and Suzhou

Day01 Arrival in Beijing

Airport pick-up & airport-hotel transfer.

Day02 Beijing

Tiananmen Square:　Tiananmen is one of the symbols of China. It has been listed by UNESCO among world heritage’. It is the main gate of the Imperial Palace. It is a key historic site under national protection, and a national patriotic education base.
Forbidden City: regarded as a must-see spot for travelers, is a magnificent and awe-inspiring sight. For almost five centuries, it served as the home of 24 Emperors and their households, and the ceremonial and political center of the Chinese imperial government.
A la carte lunch.
Temple of Heaven: The Temple of Tiantan was originally constructed in the eighteenth year of Yong Le (1420), Ming Dynasty, but was given its current name during the reign of Ming Emperor JiaJing (reign: 1522-1567), who built separate complexes for the earth, sun and moon.

Day03 Beijing

Mutianyu Great Wall: The Mutianyu Great Wall is one of the best-preserved and best-known Great Wall sections. Compared with the top-notch Badaling, Great Wall at Mutianyu is less crowded, thus a good destination on hot holidays for a Great Wall tour at ease.
Sacred Way:Stone statues which are important decorations of the mausoleum. These statues are usually 12 human figures (including the general, civil officials and meritorious officials) and 24 animals which are lion, camel, elephant, xiezhi (a mythological unicorn), qilin (one of the four “divine animals, the other three are dragon, phoenix and tortoise), and horse.
Bird’s Nest (drive by): It was designed as the main stadium of 2008 Beijing Olympic Games. The Olympic events of track and field, football, gave lock, weight throw and discus were held there.

Day04 Beijing – Xian

Summer Palace: The largest and most complete existing royal garden, reputed as the royal garden museum.
Hutong visit: When you go sightseeing around these lanes you’ll experience a vital association with the real Beijing; chatting with residents, visiting a kindergarten or joining a neighborhood committee meeting can be included if you take Hutong Tour with us.
A high speed train to Xian. Railway station-hotel transfer.

Day05 Xian

Terracotta Warriors: constructed to accompany the tomb of China’s First Emperor as an afterlife guard. It is considered one of the greatest archaeological sites in the world, and one of the greatest discoveries of the 20th century.
Shanxi History Museum: Shaanxi History Museum is located in the northwest of the Xi’an Wild Goose Pagoda. It was built in 1983 and was open on June 20, 1991. Shaanxi History Museum is China’s first large-scale modern.
Great Mosque, Muslim Quarter：Great Mosque: The Great Mosque of Xian is the biggest and most preserved complete Chinese existent mosque. First built at the Tianbao first year (742 years) during Tang Dynasty, it was rebuilt by Song, Yuan, Ming and Qing, and has formed present scales.

Day06 Xian – Guilin

City Wall: The most intact ancient Chinese wall in existence. It encircles and protects the ancient part of Xian City. Xian was the capital of thirteen different Chinese dynasties, so the need for a defensive structure.
Xian Museum and Small Wild Goose Pagoda：one of two significant pagodas in Xi’an, Shaanxi, China, the site of the old Han and Tang capital Chang’an. The other notable pagoda is the Giant Wild Goose Pagoda.
A local family visit, Home-cooked lunch.
Fly to Guilin. Airport-hotel transfer.

Day07 Guilin – Longsheng – Guilin

Guilin-Longsheng transfer.
Rice Terraces： The most amazing terrace in China! Construction of the terraces began in the Yuan Dynasty (1271-1368), and continued until the early Qing Dynasty (1644-1911) when construction was completed. The Dragon’s Backbone Rice Terraces are the culmination of both the profound wisdom and strenuous labor of the Zhuang people.
Villages of Zhuang Minority：The Zhuang nationality mostly worships the nature and their ancestors.
Drive back to Guilin.

Day08 Guilin – Yangshuo

Li River cruise to Yangshuo, Countryside trip: Li River cruise to Yangshuo, Countryside trip in Yangshuo：The highlight of Guilin’s scenery. The 83 kilometers-long waterway from Guilin to Yangshuo is like an artist’s masterpiece.

Day09 Yangshuo – Guilin – Hangzhou

Yangshuo-Guilin transfer.
Reed Flute Cave:  known as “the Palace of Natural Arts”is a landmark and tourist attraction in Guilin, Guangxi, China.
Seven Star Park: The most important and sightworthy cave of Guilin vicinity for its length of 240 meters and its many stalactites, stalagmites and rock formations in weird and wonderful shapes appealing to everyone”s imagination.
Elephant Trunk Hill: Regarded as the symbol of Guilin . Originally named “Li Hill”, “Yi Hill” and “Chenshui Hill”, the hill is 3.6 hundred million years old.
Fly to Hangzhou. Airport-hotel transfer.

Day10 Hangzhou

Tea cultural experience (Tea Village visit): With its hills carpeted with rolling tea plantations, its crisscrossing alleys dotted with countless tea houses and one of its most serene mountains housing the biggest tea museum on earth, Hangzhou is the best place to demystify tea culture through real life experience.
Dim sum lunch: A style of Chinese cuisine (particularly Cantonese but also other varieties) prepared as small bite-sized portions of food served in small steamer baskets or on small plates.
West Lake: ‘Sunny water waves its glow,
Misty rain tricks the hill.
Plainly or gaily decked out like Xi Zi,
West Lake is always alluring.’
These are the words composed by the famous Song Dynasty poet Su Dongpo (960-1127). In this poem, he compared the West Lake to Xi Zi, one of the four beauties in ancient China.
Red Carp Pond: The history of Viewing Fish at Flower Harbor can be dated to the Southern Song Dynasty (1127-1279). Back then, the government official Lu Yunsheng built a private garden at the foot of Flower Hill (Huajia Hill).

Day11 Hangzhou – Suzhou

Lingyin Temple: One of the ten most famous Buddhist temples of China.
Six Harmonies Pagoda: It was believed that any unwanted natural phenomenon could be subdued by the building of pagodas, according to Buddhist understanding.
A high-speed train to Suzhou. Railway station-hotel transfer.

Day12 Suzhou – Tongli – Suzhou

Master of Nets Garden:  It is the smallest of the Suzhou residential gardens, yet it is the most impressive because of its use of space which creates the illusion of an area that is much greater than its actual size. Even more than the architectural achievement is the mood of tranquility and harmony that it embodies.
Tongli Water Town: It is one of the six famous ancient towns to the south of the Yangtze River along with Zhouzhuang, Yongzhi, Xitang, Wuzhen, and Nanxun.

Day13 Suzhou – Shanghai

Humble Administrator’s Garden: The Humble Administrator’s Garden was originally built in 1509 during the Ming Dynasty (1368-1644). It was initially a private garden of a former government servant named Wang Xianchen. It was said that Wang was frustrated in his official career, so he intended to build a garden after retire and just do some gardening work like planting trees and cultivating vegetables there.
Suzhou Museum: Suzhou Museum obeys the theme of “Design for China”. It combines modern exhibition halls and classical gardens’ architecture together.
A high speed train to Shanghai. Railway station-hotel transfer.

Day14 Shanghai

Shanghai Museum: The scope, depth and quality of its collections, and the striking architecture and use of modern technology make the Shanghai Museum one of the most famous if not the most famous in China.
Yuyuan Garden: Yu Garden is composed of six scenic areas: Sansui Hall, Wanhua Chamber, Dianchun Hall, Huijing Hall, Yuhua Hall, and the Inner Garden.The highlights of the garden are: classical Chinese architecture, exquisite sculptures and carvings, and the busy Yuyuan bazaar.
A la carte lunch.
Huangpu River cruise: When cruising at night, you can enjoy the most extraordinary sights.
Tianzifang: Is a tourist shopping and cafe area in Shanghai in the Old French Quarter. Unlike the better known Xintiandi area nearby, the area retains an “organic and original” feel because the area hasn’t been markedly reconstructed in recent years. Instead you’ll see buildings, alleys and streets of the old French Quarter with later Chinese additions piled on.

Day15 Departure from Shanghai

Hotel-airport transfer & see you off. A nice journey home!