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Discover the wonders of this mystical river over 15 nights. A 16-day tour to Beijing, Yichang, Yangtze River Cruise, Chongqing, Xian, Guilin, Yangshuo, Suzhou and Shanghai. (Tour Code: EE)
Day 01 Australia/Beijing
Fly from Australia to Beijing, the dynamic capital of the People’s Republic of China. Once the imperial city of Mongol, Ming and Manchu emperors, Beijing today is still extraordinarily rich in historical sites and cultural relics. After clearing airport formalities, meet your local guide and transfer to your hotel.
Day 02 Beijing (B/L/D)
Tour the Tian’anmen Square, the biggest public square in the world. If permitted, we visit Mao’s Mausoleum. After lunch, visit Forbidden City, the vast complex of palaces, which was the home to successive emperors for more than 500 years. Included is admission to the living quarters, museum and jewelry sections. Tonight you will experience the famous Beijing Duck Banquet for your welcome dinner.
Day 03 Beijing (B/L/D)
Morning tour to the Great Wall, stretching almost 4,000 miles from the Pacific Ocean to the sands of Central Asia and befittingly crowned one of the ten wonders of the world. Along the way, you will stop at a jade carving factory where you can watch artisans at work. Continue to the Summer Palace, the largest and the best preserved of all imperial palace gardens, which boasts such delights as the famous Marble Boat and the ornately painted ‘Long Corridor’, and take a boat ride on its Lake Kunming if the weather permits. After dinner, you will witness the amazing Beijing Acrobatic Show.
Day 04 Beijing (B/L)
In the morning, enjoy a pedicab tour of the Hutong – the ‘old city’ with neighbourhoods of narrow alleyways and courtyard gardens. Here you will experience local life on a family visit and a kindergarten school. After our special lunch in a local family home, tour to the Temple of Heaven. The 500-year-old Temple houses altars on which sacrifices and offerings were laid to the gods in a glorious setting of gardens, trees and sculptures. Visit a local market if time permits. Evening at leisure.
Day 05 Beijing/Yichang (B/D)
Free at leisure till transfer to the airport for a flight to Yichang. Take a short city tour if time permits. Then board your cruise ship (M.S. Yangtze No.1) for the Yangtze River cruise after dinner.
Day 06-08 Yangtze River Cruise (B/L/D)
Start your spectacular cruise along the mighty Yangtze River. Relax on deck or in the lounge,
while enjoying the beautiful scenery of the magnificent Three Gorges. Sailing downstream, view the Qutang, Wu and Xiling Gorges, and enjoy a side trip up Shennong Stream. Shore excursions include Fengdu, the “Ghost City" and Three Gorges Dam site. (please refer to P41)
Day 09 Chongqing/Xian (B/L/D)
Morning, disembark in Chongqing. Take a short city tour if time permits, then transfer to the airport for a flight to Xian. Upon arrival, visit the Big Wild Goose Pagoda. Today you will sample the Xian dumpling dinner. Afterward, you will see the traditional Tang Dynasty Show.
Day 10 Xian (B/L/D)
Morning tour to the greatest archaeological discovery of the century, the 2,000-year-old Terracotta Warriors interred with the Emperor Qin Shi Huang. In the afternoon, we will visit the Great Mosque, the best-preserved Islamic mosque in China and focus on the 30,000 Chinese Muslims of Xian.
Day 11 Xian/Guilin (B/D)
In the morning, transfer to the airport and fly to Guilin. Upon arrival, visit a Reed Flute Cave, a site of wonderful limestone caves, showcasing a dazzling variety of stalactite and stalagmite stone formations if time permits.
Day 12 Guilin-Yangshuo (B/L)
The Highlight of the trip to Guilin is a spectacular cruise down the meandering and picturesque Li River, the breathtaking scenery as jagged mist-covered mountains, quaint villages dot the riverbanks, drift past humped limestone peaks, fishermen aboard bamboo rafts and grazing water buffalo. You will also have a chance to roam Yangshuo’s local market in the evening. The well-known West Street in Yangshuo also called Foreigner Street, which has 1400 years of history. It is a small and traditional street in the south of China, but the international sentiment ambiance shows over the whole street.
Day 13 Yangshuo-Guilin/Shanghai (B)
Morning- we are free at leisure. You may rent a bike to further explore the stunning karst landscapes of Yangshuo at your own pace. We then fly to metropolitan Shanghai.
Day 14 Shanghai-Suzhou-Shanghai (B/L/D)
In the morning, take a side trip to Suzhou, a small town famous for its classic gardens and often called ‘Oriental Venice’. You will visit the Master of the Nets Garden, Silk Spinning Mill. Afterward, you will take a boat cruise on the Canal constructed over 1300 year ago in Sui Dynasty. If time permits, we take a short visit to newly renovated Shan Tang Street. Late in the afternoon, we will travel back by coach to metropolitan Shanghai.
Day 15 Shanghai (B/L)
In the morning tour, we will visit the Bund, a popular promenade along the Huangpu River, where the old meets the modern in Shanghai. You may see the local people performing Tai Chi during your stroll along the bund. Afterward, we will visit the Old Town with its winding alleyways, lined with shops, teahouses and restaurants, and then to the elegant and tranquil Yu Garden. Afternoon tour the Shanghai Xintiandi, which is a new tourist attraction in downtown Shanghai, featuring the city’s unique “Shikumen" houses and a maze of narrow alleys, which have been converted into cafes, restaurants, bars and art retail shops. Dinner will be on your own arrangement.
Day 16 Shanghai/Australia (B)
Today you are free for some last minute shopping before being transferred to the airport for your flight back home.
Day 17 Australia
Arrival in Australia.
