A Grand Tour of China Including Yangtze Cruise

ARRIVAL IN SHANGHAI

Transfer to our hotel, the four-star superior Central Hotel for one night with breakfast. This evening we enjoy a fascinating stroll along the colonial ‘Bund’, Shanghai’s riverside promenade.

TRAIN TO BEIJING

This morning you experience a thrilling ride on China’s new 186mph high speed train service to Beijing. On arrival we transfer to our hotel, the four-star Mercure Downtown for three nights with breakfast. 

FORBIDDEN CITY

Our first stop is at Tiananmen Square, or the Gate of Heavenly Peace, the entrance to the Forbidden City, where Chairman Mao announced the birth of the People’s Republic in 1949. Through the central arch you enter a different world: spread over 250 acres, with 9,999 rooms, this was the seat of imperial power for 600 years. After an included lunch we continue our tour with a visit to the great Summer Palace. This evening we have the option to attend a Kung Fu show, with dinner.

THE GREAT WALL

Today is one of the tour’s highlights as we drive towards the mountainous areas to the north and the aptly named Great Wall of China. The section you’ll see is at Mutianyu, a popular spot, but much less visited by the masses, so you can experience it at its best. We pass through farms, fruit orchards and then in the distance, we catch our first glimpse of the amazing Great Wall snaking like a sinuous dragon’s tail along the forested ridges above. The views from the top are simply superb: endless folds of hills and mountains in all directions – a wild landscape, as untamed as when the wall was built. Lunch is included today.

This evening we enjoy the classic local dish in one of Beijing’s best restaurants: a Peking Duck banquet which in this, its purest form, takes chefs five years to learn the roasting process and 15 years to master it!

XIAN

This morning we fly to Xian. On the way from Xian airport we visit the remarkable Hang Yang Ling tomb and Underground Museum which displays some of the 40,000 funeral objects and statues unearthed around the tomb of the first Han Emperor. We then see the city’s imposing Ming Dynasty walls, 40ft high and stretching for nine miles. Prior to Beijing, Xian was the centre of Chinese imperial power for over 2,000 years, as well as the start of the famed Silk Route to the West. We stay two nights with breakfast at the four-star Tianyu Gloria Grand Hotel. 

TERRACOTTA ARMY

Another highlight is today’s visit to the stunning Terracotta Army. The first Qin Emperor united China’s warring factions and began the construction of the Great Wall. Guarding the tomb itself is his Terracotta Army. Drawn up in traditional battle order, the vanguard consists of rows of archers and crossbowmen, followed by columns of infantry and chariots. Each figure is unique, life-size and lifelike – a unique experience! Lunch is included today.

This evening you have the option to see the spectacular Tang Dynasty show, which interprets ancient Chinese myths through dance and music.

GUILIN & LONGSHEN RICE TERRACES

Today we fly to Guilin. We see another of China’s great wonders: the Longshen Rice Terraces. Over hundreds of years the ethnic Yao tribes have cut thousands of rice terraces into the steep hills and over every fold of the landscape. Our hotel for two nights in Guilin is the four-star Bravo Hotel with breakfast. Lunch and dinner are included today.

LI RIVER CRUISE

We board our excursion boat for a cruise down the Li River. This has to be one of the most beautiful river journeys in the world: rising from flat rice paddies around the river are thousands of conical-shaped limestone peaks and pinnacles covered in verdant tropical forests. After an included lunch on board, you’ll have some free time in the picturesque riverside town of Yangshuo before returning to Guilin.

FLY TO CHENGDU

We fly to Chengdu for one night at the four-star Tianfu Sunshine Hotel with breakfast. This afternoon we walk through Jin Li Street, a recreation of a traditional shopping street, with plenty of local handicrafts and places to sit down and relax with some local green tea or coffee. 

CHENGDU PANDA CENTRE

Spread over 200 acres the Chengdu Panda Breeding & Research Centre has been beautifully landscaped with bamboo-shaded pathways leading to the large panda enclosures. One of the most popular stops is at the baby panda enclosure where there will usually be 3-4 youngsters climbing over specially constructed bamboo frames.

We experience one of China’s high-speed express trains for the 2hr journey to Chongqing where we board our river cruise ship and home for the next three nights, the five-star RV Century Glory. Lunch is included today.

YANGTZE RIVER CRUISE

After breakfast there is the option to visit Fengdu, the ‘Ghost’ City, or participate in some of the various activities on board. In the afternoon we visit the remarkable Shibaozhai Pagoda, rising twelve stories up a sheer cliff face, this delicate structure is the architectural jewel of the Yangtze. 

YANGTZE RIVER CRUISE

Today we enter Qutang, the first Yangtze gorge, continuing through the Wu Gorge just before lunch. This afternoon we transfer to a smaller riverboat for a leisurely cruise upstream on one of the Yangtze’s Lesser Three Gorges, the Shennv or ‘Goddess’ Stream. This is a newly opened and less visited 15-km long tributary of the Yangtze with some truly spectacular views through very narrow gorges, surrounded by pristine jungle-clad sheer cliffs rising up to 300ft.

Tonight it’s the Captain’s Farewell Banquet followed by dancing in the lounge. Afterwards, head out on deck to watch the ship passing through the five massive ship locks and watch in awe as the vast steel doors close behind us and our ship perceptively descends.

FLY TO SHANGHAI

Cruising downstream through the lower Xiling gorge towards the colossal sized mammoth project of the Three Gorges Dam, we disembark at Yichang and fly to Shanghai.  We stay for two nights at the four-star Central Hotel, located right on Jiujian Road, a 10-minute stroll to the Bund and People’s Square. 

SHANGHAI

This morning we have a short tour of the principal sights, including the Jade Buddha temple and the Yuyuan Gardens. We’ll pass the British Consulate, the oldest building on the Bund, plus the former headquarters of the famous trading house of Jardine Matheson. This evening you have the option to see the world-famous Shanghai Acrobatic show.

RETURN FLIGHT

This morning we catch the world’s fastest train, the Maglev, on our way to Shanghai’s Pudong airport for our direct flight home, arriving home later the same day.