Your 14 days China tour officially starts today. In the morning, your guide and driver will pick you up from the hotel and take you to central Beijing to visit the Tiananmen Square, the world's largest city square. Walk northward to the Forbidden City, aka the Palace Museum, the opulent palace complex home to Ming-and-Qing-era (1368 - 1911) Chinese emperors, in which you will spend at least two hours touring and hearing your guide relating histories, stories and secrets of the imperial life.

★ Special Arrangement: A La Carte Lunch
This noon, enjoy an a la carte lunch with authentic local dishes, at CNY 150.00 per person and included in our price. Jump at the opportunity to order famous Chinese dishes like Kung Pao Chicken, Sweet and Sour Fish, and particularly Peking Roast Duck! Peking Roast Duck, it not only represents Beijing cuisine, but also has become a symbol of Chinese culture. Bite into the crispy skin to feel the tenderness inside, and impress its delicious memory on your mind!

In the afternoon, your guide will accompany you to visit Yonghe Temple and Temple of Heaven. The latter, as old as the imperial palace, was where the emperors used to worship Heaven and pray for an abundant harvest and peace for the next year. As a lively park for local people now, it provides your first chance to witness Chinese life. Let’s call it day now and we will take you back to the hotel.

Meals: Western buffet breakfast, A la carte lunch

Today, your guide will escort you to visit Mutianyu Great Wall, built during the Ming Dynasty (1368 - 1644) and the most beautiful and best-preserved part of the entire Great Wall of China.

★ Special Arrangement: Up and Down the Wall via Round-Way Cable Car
We have arranged for you a cable car today up and down the Great Wall to spare you the grueling efforts to climb on foot. Trust us, with energy saved, you could focus more on hiking on the wall and appreciating how marvelous both it and surrounding nature are.

We do not arrange lunch for you today as the local restaurants do not meet our service standard, but your guide is happy to give you some advice.

On the way back to downtown Beijing, we will drive by the spectacularly-designed Bird's Nest, the National Stadium where the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games Opening Ceremony was held. Continue to explore old Hutong alleyways on a rickshaw to get the real deal of local life; here, you will be taken to visit one of those traditional courtyard houses packed on either side. Later, transfer back to your hotel.

Meals: Western buffet breakfast

Today, embark on a tour to the Summer Palace, the largest royal garden in China, with refreshing breeze from an immense lake to vitalize your day. After the visit, we will take you to the railway station to take a high speed train to Xi’an. When you arrive, meet your local guide in Xi’an who will pick you up and take you to the hotel.

Meals: Western buffet Breakfast

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Today, let’s go deep into Zhangjiajie National Forest Park and enjoy the “healing” of nature to our souls. In the Ming Dynasty, the imperial court awarded the local commander called Zhang Wancong the present land of the park as a fiefdom because of his meritorious service, and from then on, it became the hereditary land of the Zhang family, hence the name Zhangjiajie. Later under the careful maintenance of the descendants of the Zhang family, this area changed from a forest farm to China’s first national forest park, and was included in the World Natural Heritage List for its three thousand peculiar quartz sandstone peaks. Covering a total area of 48.1 square kilometers (18.6 square miles), the park is mainly composed of Yuanjiajie Scenic Area, Yangjiajie Scenic Area, Tianzi Mountain Natural Reserve and Yellow Stone Stronghold, the first three of which will be your exploration targets today.

Before your travel, you may have been introduced by social media to the Hallelujah Mountain in Zhangjiajie, the prototype of the floating mountain in the sci-fi film Avatar. Looking forward to the visual shock of the real thing, right? Then follow your guide first to the Yuanjiajie Scenic Area sits on the top of a mountain. Rest assured, we have specially arranged for you an effortless and time-saving way to go up the mountain, that is, to ride on the world-famous sightseeing Bailong Elevator clinging to the cliff. With transparent glass walls, the Guinness-awarded tallest and fastest outdoor lift in the world will give you a 360° view of countless soaring peaks around in 88 seconds of slicing through the air. In addition to witnessing the grotesque stone pillars at the summit, you can marvel at the magic of nature from the No.1 Bridge under Heaven, and take a leisurely stroll in the misty Back Garden with lush trees and fragrant flowers.

After an included simple lunch at a restaurant in Yuanjiajie, you will be led to take an electric bus to Yangjiajie Scenic Area. In the past, this place had no popularity at all. It was not until the early 1990s that it was gradually known for its spectacular peak walls, tranquil streams and incomputable macaques and egrets. Now it has become an indispensable part of Zhangjiajie Forest Park. Come to the observation deck here, and you will be amazed by a natural barrier formed by a line of jagged peaks, which is just like the ancient fortification wall, so it is named Natural Great Wall. Afterwards, head to Tianzi Mountain, famous for towering stone pinnacles in dense clusters which you will find distinctive from the individual pillars of Yuanjiajie. Hundreds of millions of years ago, it was still a mighty ocean here. After a complex and lengthy geological process, it formed a variety of awe-inspiring wonders like Imperial Brush Peak and Fairy Dispersing Flowers. If your visit is after or in a drizzle, you might have a chance to see the sea of clouds climbing over the summits. At last, take the cable car down and back to the hotel.

Meals: Western buffet breakfast, Lunch

 

 

Today, your Zhangjiajie tour will extend to Tianmen Mountain, which is the first famous mountain to be recorded in Zhangjiajie’s history and also the highest peak in Zhangjiajie. The top of the Mountain is relatively flat, growing intact primitive secondary forest, in which there are many precious and unique plant varieties like the Chinese dove tree. To admire the “natural bonsai” everywhere at the summit, your guide will first lead you to take the world’s longest Tianmen Cableway at the downtown lower station. At the beginning of riding in the cable car, you will be submerged in the city scenery to feel the bustle and hustle of modernity; after rising slowly for some time, the mist-shrouded mountains gradually appear in front of your eyes, and you will feel the serenity and mystery of nature. Once out of the carriage, test your mettle on one of the prides of Zhangjiajie, the Glass Skywalk hanging from the cliff side. It is clear enough to see the breathtaking landscape under the feet. On it, you will definitely harvest the pleasure of walking on clouds, especially in cloudy weather. Next, take the 7-level escalator down to behold the natural wonder Tianmen Cave, aka the Portal to the Heaven, a giant hole through the mountain often made surreal by fog. Want to witness it in its entirety? Then take the 5-level downhill escalator to Tianmen Square. After lingering here for a while to take pictures, take the express cable car to descend the mountain.

In the afternoon, make our way to 72 Tujia Stilted Buildings to see what the highest stilted architecture in the world looks like. The main building is as high as 109.9 meters (360.6 feet), with a huge hole in the middle, facing the Tianmen Cave several kilometers away. Into this magical building, prepare to be dazzled by all kinds of specialty snacks, folk cultural performances, and entertainment projects. Perhaps start from the intangible cultural heritage workshop street, where you will see vendors dressed in Tujia costumes set up stalls with small tables or baskets, selling local traditional silver items like earrings and bracelets.

After the visit, your guide will take you to the airport for an evening flight to Shanghai. When you arrive, your Shanghai guide and driver will warmly greet you and transfer you to the hotel.

Meals: Western buffet breakfast, Lunch

 

 

Today, your guide and driver will transfer you from the hotel to the airport for your departing flight. We wish you a pleasant journey home!

If you want to explore more of China, just contact us and we will be glad to tailor this tour or simply arrange a tour extension based on your ideas!

Meals: Western buffet breakfast