| Apr 17 |
DAY 1
DEPART HOME / FLY OVERNIGHT
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DAYS 2-5
BEIJING, CHINA
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Apr 18
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Day 2 - When you arrive in China’s
political and cultural capital, you’ll be greeted at the airport and
assisted to your Superior First-Class hotel in downtown Beijing. Enjoy a
welcome drink and a relaxing evening to rest before the tour.
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Apr 19
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Day 3 - The glories of Beijing unfold
before you beginning with a tour of vast Tian’anmen Square, the
great plaza where Mao held million-man parades and where today locals stroll
and children fly kites. Following lunch in a local restaurant, you’ll
tour the Forbidden City, the vast 15th-century complex of palaces, courtyards,
and gardens that was once home to the emperors of the Ming and Qing dynasties.
In the evening, enjoy a Welcome Banquet of Peking Duck, a dish developed
300 years ago by a royal chef of the Qing Dynasty.
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Apr 20
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Day 4 - Enjoy a full-day tour to the
remarkable Great Wall where it winds through wooded hills. You’ll also
visit the Ming Tombs, burial sites of 13 Ming Dynasty emperors. Your route
takes you along a scenic avenue called the Way of the Spirit. |
Apr 21
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Day 5 - You’ll go on a remarkable
trishaw (bicycle-powered rickshaw) ride through the narrow lanes of a
hutong, one of Beijing’s traditional neighborhoods. In the afternoon,
visit the Summer Palace, set among parklike grounds with an expansive lake,
and the Peking Zoo, home of giant pandas. In the evening, you’ll attend
a performance of the Peking Opera.
Presidential Plaza Hotel (3B,3L,2D) |
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DAYS 6-7
XI’AN, CHINA |
Apr 22
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Day 6 - From Beijing, fly to ancient
Xi’an in central China.
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Apr 23
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Day 7 - Tour the Ming Dynasty city
walls and the Small Wild Goose Pagoda, a delicate tower with 15 tiers. For
lunch savor jiaozi, tasty dumplings sculpted to depict their contents.
Afterwards, marvel at the 2,200-year-old Terra Cotta Army — more than
7,000 life-size ceramic horses and warriors in full regalia — first
unearthed in 1974. Later, attend an elaborate Tang Dynasty banquet with musical
entertainment.
Grand Castle Hotel (2B,L,2D) |
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DAYS 8-9
HANGZHOU, CHINA |
Apr 24
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Day
8 - After a morning at leisure in Xi'an you're off to lovely Hangzhou.
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Apr 25
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Day 9 - Explore the city in depth
on a full-day tour, beginning with a cruise on tranquil West Lake and
a stroll along the lakeside. Afterwards, visit a tea village where you can
discover how tea is harvested, dried, and served. Lunch in the home of a
local farmer is also included. Later visit Lingyin Temple, a monastery that
houses a magnificent 60-foot statue of the Buddha carved in camphorwood.
WTC Grand Hotel (2B,L,D) |
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DAYS 10-12
SHANGHAI, CHINA |
Apr 26
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Day 10 - In Hangzhou you’ll visit
the Huqingyutang Traditional Chinese Medicine Museum. In the afternoon, relax
for a scenic journey by First-Class train to Shanghai, the most
“Western” of mainland Chinese cities. |
Apr 27
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Day 11 - On a full-day tour of Shanghai
explore the Bund, a sweep of grand European-style architecture along the
riverfront; visit the Shanghai Museum; and stop at a Children’s Palace,
a form of school dedicated to teaching Chinese youth traditional arts. |
| Apr 28 |
Day 12 - On a full-day visit to Suzhou,
a charming city of gardens, visit the exquisite Master’s Net Garden,
take a boat ride on a canal, visit pagoda-topped Tiger Hill, and tour a silk
spinning factory.
Hilton Shanghai (3B,3L,D) |
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DAYS 13-16 YICHANG
/ EMBARK VICTORIA CRUISES |
Apr 29
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Day 13 - You’ll fly to Yichang
to board your comfortable Victoria Cruises ship. For the next four days,
the panorama of the Yangtze and its magnificent gorges unfurl before you.
You’ll tour the massive Three Gorges Dam project, then cruise upstream
through the Three Gorges themselves, beginning with Xiling Gorge. Next day,
you’ll go on a motorboat trip up a Yangtze tributary, either among the
“little gorges” of the Daning River or the forests and cliffs of
Shennong Stream. Then cruise between the 12 mist-shrouded peaks of dramatic
Wu Gorge and beneath the over-hanging cliffs of Qutang Gorge. You’ll
also stop to visit a Yangtze River town. |
| Apr 30 |
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| May 1 |
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| May 2 |
Victoria Cruises Ship
(4B,3L,4D) |
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DAY 17
DISEMBARK / CHONGQING, CHINA / GUILIN,
CHINA |
| May 3 |
Day 17 - Disembark your Yangtze cruise
in Chongqing, where you’ll visit lovely Erling Park and the General
Joseph Stilwell Museum, dedicated to the American general who helped the
Chinese resist Japanese soldiers in World War II. In the afternoon, you’ll
fly to beautiful Guilin.
Lijiang Waterfall Hotel (B, L) |
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DAY 18
GUILIN, CHINA |
| May 4 |
Day 18 - Enjoy a scenic Li River motorboat
cruise through a classic Chinese landscape of villages, bamboo groves, and
jagged limestone peaks.
Lijiang Waterfall Hotel (B, L, D) |
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DAYS 19-21
HONG KONG, CHINA |
May 5
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Day 19 - You’ll explore
Guilin’s Reed Flute Cave and Seven Star Park before flying to dynamic
Hong Kong and settling into your hotel in Kowloon. |
| May 6 |
Day
20 - On a tour of Hong Kong Island on you’ll pass historic Repulse
Bay, drive to the top of Victoria Peak for the incredible panoramic view,
and take a sampan ride through Aberdeen floating village. |
| May 7 |
Day 21- This day is at leisure, with
a Farewell Dinner.
Royal Pacific Hotel & Towers (3B,L,D) |
| May 8 |
DAY 22
RETURN HOME
(B) |
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