HIGHLIGHTS OF CHINA

14 Days, SHANGHAI to BEIJING

What's Included

8 nights accommodation in hotels mentioned or similar. 2 nights accommodation onboard a sleeper train. 3 nights accommodation on board a Yangtze boat. Overseas Medical Insurance for the duration of the tour (Sum of US$ 2,50,000 covered). Meals Included: 3 breakfasts, 3 lunches and 2 dinner. Shanghai orientation walk. Shanghai Museum entrance. West Lake orientation walk (Hangzhou). Tea plantation visit. Yangshuo countryside bike tour with local lunch. Yangtze River cruise through the Three Gorges (2 nts).. Terracotta Warriors tour. Tiananmen Square and Forbidden City guided tour. Great Wall entrance. Internal flights. All transport between destinations and to/from included activities Transportation is by a Train, plane, local bus, air-con bus, boat, metro, walking. Services of Chief Experience Officer (CEO) throughout the tour.

VERY IMPORTANT: Please ensure that you print a final copy of your Trip Details toreview a couple of days prior to travel, in case there have been changes that affectyour plans.

Itinerary

DAY 1 Shanghai

Arrive at any time. As group members will arrive at different times there areno arranged activities on Day 1 until our group meeting at 1800hrs. Please seethe notice board in the hotel foyer for details of this meeting.

Please note: if you have pre-booked the China Cultural Bundle your CEO willinform you when you will see each show throughout your tour: Li River LightShow (Day 4 - Yangshuo) and Acrobat Performance (Day 12 - Beijing). Formore information on the shows see the Optional Activities section.Following the meeting we'll have an optional group dinner and go for a strollalong the Bund taking in Shanghai's futuristic skyline.

DAY 2 Shanghai - Hangzhou

On Day 2, start the day with an orientation walk of the city and finish with freetime to explore the mix of the modern and the historicin Shanghai. The Shanghai Museum is one of the best in the country, housingexcellent collections of bronzes and artwork. In theafternoon, take a bullet train to Hangzhou, one of China's most historic anddynamic cities.

DAY 3 Hangzhou / Guilin / Yangshuo

Spend most of Day 3 exploring Hangzhou. Visit West Lake and Longjing village,home of the famous Longjing tea. Enjoy the plantation views while learningabout this ancient tea production and having opportunity to taste some freshbrewed tea.In the evening on Day 3, fly to Guilin and travel 1.5 hours south by private busthrough stunning limestone karst scenery to the town of Yangshuo on theworld famous Li River.

DAY 4 Yangshuo

Spent enjoying the heaps of activities there are in this scenic region

DAY 5 Yangshuo

Enjoy a half-day cycling tour through the countryside taking in the charmingmix of vibrant rural life and unique stunning scenery from farmers and waterbuffalo to children swimming in the streams amidst an other-wordly backdropof surreal topography.There are so many optional activities to do in Yangshuo with some favouritesincluding trying your hand at cooking local fare in a boutique local cookingschool, dabbling in tai chi or Chinese calligraphy, walk and cycling through thecountryside, climb up to a panoramic view from atop a karst or relax with somepeople watching from one of the many cafes in town.

DAY 6 Guilin / Chongqing / Yangtze River Cruise

On Day 6, we fly from Guilin to bustling Chongqing. Travel by private bus for 1hour to board the cruise boat taking us down theYangtze River. We spend twodays travelling through stunning scenery along one of the most powerful riversin all of China, dividing the country into north and south. Pass through theThree Gorge.

Cabins are twin share, with ensuite bathrooms. Comfortable, but notglamorous. There are Chinese meals available three times a

day on our vessel.

DAY 7 Yangtze River Cruise

Opt to leave the boat and take small side trips to villages and/or temples alongthe river, or to get onto smaller boats and visit tributaries along the way.

DAY 8 Yangtze River Cruise

Day at leisure.

DAY 9 Yangzte River Cruise

After disembarking our vessel on Day 9, We then make our way to the trainstation and board an overnight train to Xi'an (approx 13 hours).After disembarking you can opt to visit the largest dam in the world, the ThreeGorges Dam. It's best view is by passing by but if interested we can have a tourof the facility and see the engineering giant for ourselves

DAY 10 Xian

Arrive early to Xi'an and transfer to our hotel. The ancient capital of China andterminus of the fabled Silk Road.Xi'an boats a plethora of attractions including the Great Mosque and adowntown core enclosed by an enormous city wall which can be climbed for asmall fee. Rent a bike up top and cycle around the walls for a great vantage ofthe city. Head out to the Muslim Quarter for some of the best street food inChina - the spicy beef and lamb kebabs are always a favourite.

DAY 11 Xian

Xian is home base for a half day exploration of the famous Terracotta Warriorslocated about an hour out of town and built over 2000 years ago to protect thetomb of Emperor Qin Shi Huang. Over 6000 life-size warriors have beendiscovered.

In the evening of day 11 we board our final overnight train for Beijing (approx15 hours).

DAY 12 BeijingArriving in Beijing fresh in the morning we drop our bags at the hotel beforeheading off to explore the nearby iconic Tiananmen Square and the sprawlingForbidden City.

With free-time in the afternoon you can experience one of Beijing's manymarkets and world-class shopping malls or visit some of the city's many sightssuch as the Temple of Heaven, Summer Palace, Lama Temple and traditionalalleys called hutongs.

DAY 13 BeijingOn day 13 the trip finishes with climatic gusto with a day trip out to the GreatWall, an incredible feat of engineering ranging over 6000km from the YellowSea to the desert fort of Jiayuguan. The wall was originally constructed toprotect the Chinese empires from the Mongolian 'barbarians' of the north. Wereturn to Beijing late afternoon for an opportunity to spend your final nightwith your tourmates at one of the capital's many bars or restaurants.

DAY 14 Depart BeijingDepart at any time.