This 11-day China top cities tour covers the most popular four destinations and five World Heritage sites in China. It makes an ideal tour for first-time visitors who would like to discover China's history, culture, modernization and landscape.
The itinerary below is only one possibility. Tips to tailor-make your trip are offered as inspiration. Tell us your preferences and our travel experts will customize this trip to suit your interests, tastes, and budget.
Here is a suggested itinerary. We are happy to customize a tour according to your interests and schedule.
Welcome to majestic Beijing! To ensure your arrival is stress-free, your private tour guide will meet you in the arrivals hall and transfer you to your hotel in a private car. Your luggage and hotel check-in will be taken care of.
Hotel options:
Novotel Beijing Peace or similar
Start your journey at the Temple of Heaven, a dignified complex of religious buildings, symbolizing the relationship between Earth and Heaven. There you will see local people doing morning exercise in their unique ways. Lunch is served in a popular local restaurant with authentic local food. Your guide will help you to order the dishes you like.
Walk through Tian'anmen Square to explore the mysterious Forbidden City. Being the largest imperial palace in the world. Get off the ordinary sightseeing route in the Forbidden City. Listen to the interesting stories of the famous personalities that are not told by typical tour guides.
After breakfast, travel to the Mutianyu section of the Great Wall. Listen to the stories about this world wonder. Your guide will show you the most recommended section to have a walk.
Head to Simatai Great Wall in the afternoon. Spend the afternoon wandering around the Guibei Water Town, which is at the foot of the Great Wall. You can also enjoy a soak in a hot spring if you want to.
When it gets dark, your guide will accompany you to take the cable car up to the Simatai section to enjoy the stunning night views, which is a different experience from the day version. It's the only section that's open and lit up at night.
Hotel options:
Beijing Water Town Hot Spring Resort or similar
Enjoy breakfast and travel back to Beijing city to explore the Summer Palace, a royal masterpiece of Chinese landscaped gardens.
Take a high-speed train to Xi'an after lunch.
Hotel options:
Somerset Xindicheng Xi'an or similar
In the morning, uncover the mystery of the underground army that dates back thousands of years at the Terracotta Army Museum.
Then discover a local craftsman's cave dwelling and learn how to make a mini terracotta warrior.
In the afternoon, visit the ancient city wall that has been guarding the inner city for 600 years.
Walking along the wall provides a good view of the city. You can also rent a bike to cycle around the wall.
Discover more of Xi'an and China's ancient history at Xi'an History Museum and Little Wild Goose Pagoda, then head to the Muslim Quarter and wander through the alleys to taste the local Muslim cuisine.
Fly to Guilin in the afternoon.
Hotel options:
Shangri-La Hotel Guilin or similar
Begin your day by exploring the Longji Terraced Rice Fields.
Built into the hillsides, the terraces are beautiful when the sun reflects on the water of the paddy fields, and the fields glow when the harvest is ripe.
The Zhuang minority have lived there for generations in wooden houses, and the people eat their own unique food, such as bamboo rice and oil tea.
Sit around a bonfire in a traditional kitchen, make bamboo rice with the host.
Hotel options:
Yangshuo Mountain Retreat or similar
Drive toward the south of Yangshuo to explore the peaceful villages. You might meet someone on his way to the fields with a water buffalo or someone working in the paddy.
Visit an old couple who still live in a traditional house. Learn about their lifestyle and philosophy of living.
Continue to drive pass an old ferry along the Li River. The old buildings in the ancient style are the memory of the busy water transportation on the Li River in the past. Then you will take a ferry and a local farmer's taxi (a kind of motorbike with three wheels) to the local market.
Your guide will show you around to explain the different types of food and show you the local people's daily necessities.
Fly to the modern city of Shanghai in the afternoon.
Hotel options:
Sunrise On The Bund or similar
Do you just want to take one or two selfies in the Bund as most tourists do? Let's travel back in time to the golden age of the Bund in the 1920s during our In-depth Bund Culture Discovery Tour.
Enjoy lunch and ascend to the highest building in China, Shanghai Tower, where you will not only enjoy a panoramic view of Shanghai but will also see the future of China.
Half-Day Customized Icing-on-the-Cake Experience
After traveling in China for around 10 days, you might want to do something different at the end. Do you want to have some relaxation time? Do you have any unfulfilled trip wishes? In Shanghai, your private guide will make your wishes come true!
Whether you want to relax, experience fashion, appreciate art, explore folk customs, or shop; from having fun in fancy bar to exploring an art center, trying nail beauty, testing your popularity in the marriage market, or just buying some lovely gifts, we will make it happen. Just tell us what you're interested in.
If you don't know what you want, just let your guide make the arrangements. You will not be disappointed!
As your China trip comes to end, your tour guide and driver will collect you from your hotel and transfer you to Shanghai Pudong International Airport for your flight home.
Price includes:
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