China Up Close - Cruise… (trip)
China Up Close - Cruise the Mighty Yangtze
- Beijing Airport, China
- Family & Friends
| Contact provider for price | 20 Days | Year-round |
| Luxury accommodations | Exertion level: 4 | |
| Operator: Asia Adventures and Study Tours | 20 people max | |
Everywhere you look, you will see enormous changes taking place even while so much of the past survives. You will visit China’s finest museums with a range of enriched displays from ancient history to modern art. At the end of the trip you will know that you have truly seen the REAL China Up Close.
Loading map, please wait...
Locations visited/nearby
Beijing , Great Wall of China , Tian An Men Square , Forbidden City , Temple of Heaven , Summer Palace , Hutongs , Pingyao , Ming Dynasty , Qing Dynasty , Xian , Tang Dynasty , Terra Cotta Warriors , Yangtze Cruise , Three Gorges , Suzhou , Shanghai , The Bund, China, Asia
Special information
- This is a custom departure, meaning this trip is offered on dates that you arrange privately with the provider. Additionally, you need to form your own private group for this trip. The itinerary and price here is just a sample. Contact the provider for detailed pricing, minimum group size, and scheduling information. For most providers, the larger the group you are traveling with, the lower the per-person cost will be.
Itinerary
Day 1 Arrive BeijingArrive in Beijing, greeting at the airport and transfer to hotel. Dinner.
D International Hotel
Day 2 Beijing
Begin your exploration of China by touring threeof the nation's most famous sites - Tian An Men Square, the Forbidden City, and the Temple of Heaven.
B/L/D International Hotel
Day 3 Beijing
Excursion to the Great Wall, one of the world’s architectural marvels. Then continue on to the Ming Tomb Gardens, burial ground of 13 emperors. On the way back, stop in at a cloisonné factory.
B/L/D International Hotel
Day 4 Beijing
Morning rickshaw tour of Beijing’s old residential area of twisting lanes and courtyard homes. Enjoy lunch as the guest of one of the local families. Afternoon visit the Summer Palace. Beijing Duck dinner.
B/L/D International Hotel
Day 5 Beijing/Zhengzhou
Flight to Zhengzhou, capital of Henan Province. The neolithic and Bronze Age cultures reaching back 5,000 years make this area the cradle of Chinese civilization. Afternoon visit the Henan Provincial Museum.
B/L/D Yuda Palace Hotel
Day 6 Zhengzhou/Shaolin (Dengfeng)
Morning excursion to the Yellow River. Continue by coach to Dengfeng County. Explore a local village and be a guest in one of the cave homes. Visit the school and enjoy leisure time with the local people.
B/L/D Shaolin International Hotel
Day 7 Shaolin (Dengfeng)/Luoyang
Morning visit to the Shaolin Monastery, the birthplace of China’s martial arts tradition and enjoy a Kungfu demonstration. Afternoon drive to Luoyang to visit the Longmen Grottoes. This complex is one of the nation’s greatest cultural treasures, where up to 100,000 Buddhist statues ranging in size from less than an inch to over 50 feet in height, are displayed in hundreds of grottoes carved into a great riverside rock face.
B/L/D Peony Hotel
Day 8 Luoyang/Xian
At leisure until boarding the express train to Xian. En route view the terraced hills and deep gullies of the red earth country of one of the oldest settled regions of China.
B/L/D Jinshi International Hotel
Day 9 Xian
Full day exploration of China’s richest historic site, the amazing Museum of the Terra Cotta Warriors - the great underground army of the First Emperor of China, buried with him 2,200 years ago. Walk on the ancient city wall upon returning to the city. Enjoy a Tang Dynasty Cultural Show tonight.
B/L/D Jinshi International Hotel
Day 10 Xian/Chongqing
Morning visit the Muslim Quarter and an antique furniture gallery in Xian. Transfer to the airport and fly to Chongqing in the evening and board your Yangtze River Cruise. The cruise will set sail around 9 pm.
B/L/D Victoria Cruise
Day 11 Yangtze Cruise
Shore excursion to Fengdu Ghost City or New Wanxian County (08:00-10:00). Fengdu is where the devil lives, according to Chinese legend. They say that spirits go to heaven, and evil goes to Fengdu. The town is overlooked by Ming Shan Hill, home of Tianzi, the King of the Dead. The whole place has an eerie feel to it with deserted streets, tower blocks, empty shops and banks. The only people here are those who make a living from the visiting cruise boats.
B/L/D Victoria Cruise
Day 12 Yangtze Cruise
Shore excursion to Lesser Three Gorges (08:00-13:00). The Lesser Three Gorges are the three separate valleys of the Daning River: Dragon Gate Gorge, Misty Gorge and Emerald Gorge. These lie on the lower reaches of the Daning, which flows into the Yangtze. The gorges are truly spectacular. Sheer cliffs soar up towards the sky from the brown-green water. Mountaintops hover above the ribbon of mist, disconnected from their roots. Its “subtle mountains, clear waters, pretty rocks, dangerous rapids, sharp turns, fantastic caves, and stalactites in various shapes” create the timeless beauty that you see in Chinese landscape paintings. Monkeys, mandarin ducks and other water birds can be seen loitering on big boulders in this area. In addition to the wonderful natural scenery there are a number of historical places of interest along the way, such as a suspended coffin, boat coffin, and remains of ancient plank walkway.
B/L/D Victoria Cruise
Day 13 Yangtze Cruise/Yichang/Wuhan
Shore excursion to Three Gorges Dam site (08:00-10:00). Three Gorges Dam is the largest water conservancy project ever undertaken, and has been a dream for several generations of Chinese people. The construction of the dam formally began in 1994. The body of the dam was completed in 2003, and the whole construction will be completed in 2009. It will be 2,335 meters long, 185 meters high, 18 meters wide on the top and 130 meters wide at the bottom. Since Sep 1st, 2005, the first 1000 tourists each day get access to the top of the dam and enjoy different kinds of photo opportunities. Return to the ship and have lunch onboard. You will arrive the city of Yichang at 13:30. Transfer to the city of Wuhan, capital of Hubei Province and overnight at a hotel by the river.
B/L/D Holiday Inn Riverside
Day 14 Wuhan/Shanghai/Suzhou
In the morning, visit the Hubei Provincial Museum for a fascinating Bianzhong (ancient bell set) music performance. Afternoon fly to Shanghai and transfer to Suzhou upon arrival.
B/L/D Gloria Plaza Hotel
Day 15 Suzhou
Suzhou is known as the Venice of the East and the City of Gardens. Your activities will include touring Suzhou’s most famous gardens, and taking a boat ride along the legendary Grand Canal to visit the Silk and Satin Factory with an embroidery workshop.
B/L/D Gloria Plaza Hotel
Day 16 Suzhou/Shanghai
Transfer from Suzhou to Shanghai. Upon arrival, check into your hotel for four nights. Afternoon visit the state-of-the-art, Shanghai Museum.
B/L/D Shanghai Central Hotel
Day 17 Shanghai
Full day sightseeing of the old town of Shanghai: the Yu Garden and the Jade Buddha Temple. Walk along the tree-lined streets in French Concession.
B/L/D Shanghai Central Hotel
Day 18 Shanghai
Today’s visits include the Museum of the First National Congress of the Chinese Communist Party and the Children’s Palace. Evening enjoy the Shanghai Acrobatic Show.
B/L/D Shanghai Central Hotel
Day 19 Shanghai
Today will be your leisure day for shopping or walking along the famous “Bund” area. Farewell dinner.
B/D Shanghai Central Hotel
Day 20 Depart Shanghai
Morning is at leisure until you are transferred to the airport for your flight home.
B
More information from Asia Adventures and Study Tours:
- Email this trip page to a friend
-
Comments from Facebook