After breakfast, the guide will accompany you to explore some symbolic attractions of Beijing. The first will be Tian’anmen Square. It has witnessed the country's development in the past 500 years and become an important venue for most of the national ceremonies, regarded as the heart of the great nation. Displaying incomparable ancient buildings in front of you, the subsequent exploration in the Forbidden City will enable you to have a deep insight into China's profound history. It is the largest ancient palace complex in the world and also the place that 24 emperors of the Ming and Qing dynasties (1368 - 1911) lived in. Your local expert guide will unveil some historical stories to make your trip more interesting. Do you know how the imperial family keep warm in the Forbidden City? The emperor and his big family did never freeze in frigid winter, with stove, heated pit, and underfloor heating. You can witness the remains of ancient underfloor heating when visiting the over 600-year-old imperial palace. There were warm chambers on the east and west sides of a palace; out of the window, you can find a hole below, which is the passageway of underground fire paths all over the warm chamber. Similar to underfloor heating today, the fire flared in all the paths, making the whole room warm. Furthermore, high-quality man-made Hongluo charcoal, the best charcoal in ancient China, was supplied in Forbidden City. This charcoal burned strongly and completely, without soot or worry about gas poisoning.

★ What Makes Us Different
We will plan 2-3 hours for the exploration in the Forbidden City, to ensure you will not miss any important palace or exhibition; meanwhile, our knowledgeable guide will have enough time to tell you some interesting anecdotes behind the grand architecture and precious treasures.

★ A La Carte Welcome Lunch with Peking Roast Duck
China is a gourmet kingdom. A visit to China is not complete without tasting its delicious food. So, we will carefully select some good local restaurants for you to enjoy authentic Chinese food, rather than taking you to those touristy canteens for the purpose of filling the belly only. Around noon today, an a la carte welcome lunch (valued at CNY150 per person and included in our price) will be specially served at a noted restaurant. You may order the dishes per your preference with assistance of the guide.

Coming to Beijing, you must try Peking Roast Duck, one of the most famous local dishes. The restaurant we select for you today is good at making the duck. It is roasted with fruit wood charcoals, appearing to be bright red and tasting crispy outside, tender inside, mellow, fat but not greasy. After being served, the chef will slice it right in front of you and teach you how to enjoy it.

After lunch, continue to explore Yonghe Temple and Temple of Heaven. Two emperors Yongzheng (1678 - 1735) and Qianlong (1711 - 1799) once lived in the Yonghe Temple when they were still princes. In addition, Emperor Yongzheng’ coffin was placed here after he died. So, different from other prince mansions, its roofs are uniquely covered by yellow tiles instead of green ones to imply its higher rank. It is now a popular Buddhist shrine. The Temple of Heaven is the imperial altar for the emperors of the Ming and Qing dynasties to worship the God of Heaven for good harvests. Finally, we will transfer you back to the hotel by the private car.

Meals: Western buffet breakfast, A la carte welcome lunch

Day 3 Beijing

Day 4 Beijing to Xi'an by High Speed Train

Day 5 Xi'an

Your private Xi’an tour will start from the Eighth Wonder of the World, Emperor Qin Shi Huang (259 BC - 210 BC)’s Terracotta Army Museum, to check out his splendid burial objects. You will be astonished not only by the life-size pottery warrior figures and horses, each of which has its own facial expression and posture, but also by various kinds of bronze weapons which reflect the highly advanced weapon-making technology of 2,200 years ago. And with us, you will get to a new exhibition hall to examine some in details through just glass, among hundreds of most treasured archaeological excavations that have never had a chance to be displayed before. Exhibits that will impress you most would be those animal sculptures like life-size waterfowls in bronze and little camels in gold or silver. The vivid colors on the warriors' clothing and faces, particularly their striking red lips, will captivate you. The hall provides an unprecedented window for you to learn comprehensively about the mausoleum, as well as the Qin society, not only the military side, but also Qin people’s life, art, philosophies, and even ways of entertainment. There are also state-of-the-art technologies used to bring the past into life for immersive interaction.

Have lunch on your own today. Our guide will show you some restaurants around the site and assist you with the menu.

★ What Makes Us Different
1. Walk into the Home of the Farmer Who Discovered the Terracotta Army
After, visit the home of Mr. Yang Zhifa, the very man who discovered the Terracotta Army after being buried underground for over 2,200 years. At his home, you will learn more stories behind the meaningful discovery, see the hoe used to dig the clay warrior, the wooden cart to carry it, and the replica of the first discovered terracotta figure. You may also want to take a photo with him.
2. Make a Mini Terracotta Figure and Take It Home
Following, we will specially arrange for you an interesting handwork of a terracotta figure at a local workshop. You can either make a general, a soldier, or even the first emperor of China- Emperor Qin Shihuang following the artisan. The figure will be about 11 cm (4 in) tall and the clay you will use is dug out from 7-9 m (23-30 ft) underground, the same as that used to make Terracotta Army in ancient time.

Next, return to downtown and visit Shaanxi History Museum, one of the largest and most significant museums in China housing many rare historical excavations. Today’s tour will end here and the guide will transfer you back to the hotel.

Tonight if still energetic, you are advised to explore the Great Tang All Day Mall, a two-thousand-meter-long street for you to relive both the economic and cultural prosperity of Tang Dynasty (618 - 907). It is very close to your hotel. If needed, the guide will drop you off there directly.

► Dinner Suggestion:
If you decide to stay longer at the Mall, how about tackling your dinner at Chang’an Da Pai Dang, a restaurant in the nearby Joy City mall? Here you can find almost all kinds of representative local specialties and snacks like hot oil noodles, gourd-shaped chicken, and cold noodles, each with impressive flavors. Waiters and waitresses are all dressed in traditional Chinese style and there are performances inspired by stories from Journey to the West - a feast of Chinese cultures to immerse in! The streets outside of the Mall will be illuminated and more bustling into midnight, so it’d be safe and perhaps more fun to hang out later.

Meals: Western buffet breakfast

Day 6 Xi'an to Guilin by Flight

After breakfast, we will set off to City Wall Park, where you could see many elders doing morning exercises and various recreational activities. You can join them to play Tai Chi, which helps edify your temperament as well as strengthen your body. Then go up to the well-preserved ancient City Wall. If you are able to ride a bicycle, we suggest you to rent one to cycle around on the wall, which will be a memorable and exciting experience. Next, the guide will lead you to visit the time-honored Great Mosque. Then have a stroll in the lively Muslim Quarter surrounding it.

★ Enjoy a Big Feast of Xi’an Snacks
Xi’an snacks are famous all over China, and we will for sure include them in this private 10 days China tour package. The Muslium Quarter, gathering all noted local snacks, is the best choice. Today’s lunch will be served at a highly rated restaurant there. You can have a taste of hot oil noodles, Xi’an Sandwich (Rou Jia Mo), fried dumplings, crumbled flatbread in mutton stew (Yangrou Paomo), glutinous rice with jujube (Zeng Gao) and more.

In the afternoon, visit Han Yang Ling Museum on the way to the airport, which was built to protect the Mausoleum of Emperor Jing of the Han Dynasty (202 BC - 220 AD). In the underground museum, the relics and ruins remain in their original location without any moves. You can see the ancient Chinese burial customs very closely.

After, send you onto the flight to Guilin. On arrival, our guide based there will transfer you to the hotel, also by a private air-conditioned car.

Meals: Western buffet breakfast, Featured Xi'an snacks for lunch

Day 7 Guilin - Yangshuo - Guilin

Day 8 Guilin to Shanghai by Flight

Day 9 Shanghai

In the morning, you will visit Shanghai Museum at first. It is one of the four largest museums in China, famous for its vast storage of 120,000 art relics, especially for the bronze wares, porcelain wares, calligraphy works, and paintings. Then, move on to explore Yu Garden, the best-preserved classic garden in Shanghai. Delicate pavilions, unique rocks, shimmering ponds, various patterns on the walls and windows make the garden an eastern fairyland. After, take a short stroll in Yuyuan Bazaar outside the Garden.

At noon, we will serve you an a la carte farewell lunch (valued at CNY150 per person and included in our price) at the fancy and famous local restaurant Shang Hai Hui Guan, located near the Old City God Temple. The décor and local-style traditional murals make it reminiscent of a bygone era. This is where you can find authentic Shanghainese cuisine, with fresh ingredients and warm service offered. Try its Hong Shao Rou (braised pork belly) or the local specialty Sheng Jian Bao (pan-fried pork buns). The former gives a melt-in-the-mouth sensation while the latter satisfies with its crispy skin and tender filling, both of which will leave you with an endless aftertaste.

After enjoying the terrific lunch, the guide will accompany you to visit Zhujiajiao Water Town in the west suburb of Shanghai. If Shanghai is modern and stylish, Zhujiajiao is antique and gentle. Here, people build their houses by water courses, hence reputed as “Venice of Shanghai”.

Meals: Western buffet breakfast, A la carte farewell lunch

Day 10 Departure from Shanghai