*China Highlights-B

B: breakfast   L: lunch    D: dinner

Day 1 Beijing D
On arrival in Beijing transfer to the 4*Grand Mercure Xidan Hotel for three nights. This evening take a stroll through Tiananmen Square to see Mao’s Mausoleum and the Monument to the People’s Heroes, symbolically right in front of the former imperial palace, the Forbidden City.
Welcome dinner.

Day 2 Beijing B/ L/ D
Walk along one of the most dramatic sections of the Great Wall of China that snakes across the rugged mountain landscape. Also tread along the Sacred Road, the road to heaven that leads to the Ming Tombs where the emperors are buried. Back in the city, enjoy Beijing’s most popular dish, Peking Duck.

Day 3 Beijing B/ L/ D
From Tiananmen Square enter the Forbidden City, home to the Emperors for 500 years, and gaze around the grand ceremonial halls and peek into the private family quarters. Later stroll through the elegant formal gardens of the Summer Palace, and admire the famous Marble Boat.

Day 4 Xian B/ L/ D
Visit the magnificent red and gold Temple of Heaven that was built for the Emperor, the son of Heaven, to make sacrifices for a good harvest, then fly to Xian for two nights at the 4* Bell Tower Hotel.

Day 5 Xian B/ L/ D
See the 7,000 Terracotta Soldiers that have stood guard over China’s first emperor for over 2,200 years, and see Xian’s immense city wall complete with towers and battlements. Tonight we are guests at the Tang Dynasty show, an enchanting performance of music and dance from another era.

Day 6 Guilin B/ L/ D
Visit Xian’s first-class Shaanxi Provincial Museum where 300,000 objects from every dynasty since a thousand years before Christ are displayed. Fly to Guilin and the 4* Park Hotel for the night.

Day 7 Yangshuo B/ L/ D
Morning cruise along the Li River to Yangshuo through poetic rural landscapes where karst mountains rise steeply from the river valley, their peaks wreathed in mist. Time for shopping at Yangshuo’s handicrafts market before the spectacular open-air son et lumiere show. Stay two nights at the 5* Yangshuo Resort.

Day 8 Yangshuo B/ L/ D
Explore the rural charms of Yangshuo today, first climb Moon Hill for fantastic views, and see the 1,400-year-old Big Banyan Tree. Also visit Jiuxian Garden Village, undergoing a unique conservation and regeneration project to preserve its culture and architecture.

Day 9 shanghai B/ L/ D
Drive back to Guilin and visit the extraordinary Reed Flute Cave with its dramatic stalagmites and stalagtites, before flying to Shanghai and the 4* Langshen Hotel for three nights.

Day 10 Shanghai B/ L/ D
Admire China’s ancient treasures at the Shanghai Museum and later stroll through Yuyuan Garden, an oasis of calm and beauty. Then visit Jade Buddha Temple, stroll along the Bund and watch an amazing Acrobatic show.

Day 11 Suzhou B/ L/ D
Take the train to Suzhou, described by Marco Polo as” the Venice of the East”, and visit two of its favourite classical gardens, the Humble Administrator’s Garden, and the Garden of the Master of the Nets. Admire exquisite handicraft at the Silk Embroidery Institute before returning to Shanghai.

Day 12 Shanghai B/ L/ D
See off at Shanghai Airport.