16 Days China Highlights with Yangtze and Pandas

On arrival into Beijing Capital International Airport (PEK) or Beijing Daxing International Airport (PKX), you will be met by your dedicated tour guide outside the baggage claim area. On the way to your pre-booked four or five star inner city hotel, your guide will point out the highlights and history of Beijing. Spend the rest of the day exploring this incredible city.

Meals included: None

After breakfast today explore Beijing with your guide who will collect you from the hotel. Visit the world’s largest city square, Tiananmen Square. Make your way across the road to the magnificent Forbidden City, a culturally historic landmark in China, which was the former residence of Chinese royalty for five centuries. After the Forbidden City tour, exploration continues with a visit to the Summer Palace. Appreciate the beautiful gardens and imagine the lifestyle of royalty  and courtiers who enjoyed this summer resort during imperial times. A stopover at Beijing’s stadium and pool – the Bird’s Nest and Water Cube – built for the 2008 Summer Olympics and Paralympics – provides a modern contrast to China’s ancient history. Return to the hotel.

Meals included: Breakfast

Note: Your tour guide may adjust your itinerary due to closure of the Forbidden City each Monday.

In the morning, commence the day’s adventure with exploration of the Mutianyu Great Wall, a less frequented part of China’s 1,400-year-old iconic landmark, located approximately 70 kilometres from Beijing. Take a pleasant and comfortable round-trip cable car transfer over the picturesque scenery, then walk the wall to take in the Ming dynasty guard towers and sensational views. On return to the city in the afternoon, exploration continues with a visit to the Confucius Temple and Imperial College Museum. Stroll through the hutongs nearby and experience local life as you wander through quaint shops, enjoy a coffee, and gain an insider’s view of a real Beijing community.

Meals included: Breakfast

Start today with a visit to the remarkable Temple of Heaven, where emperors from the Ming and Qing Dynasties performed ceremonies and rituals to pray for good harvests and blessings for the country. Transfer to the Beijing West railway station and be checked in by your guide to travel by high speed rail train to Xi’an. Approximately a five hour trip, travelling at 300 kilometres per hour, you can relax and absorb the diverse landscape along the way. On arrival at the Xi’an North Station, your local tour guide will meet and escort you to your inner city four or five star hotel.

Meals included: Breakfast

Today’s tour highlight is the world-renowned Terracotta Army. Recognized as the largest underground military base in the world, take in this extraordinary archaeological discovery, which houses thousands of unique life-sized figures. Return to the city and visit the Big Wild Goose Pagoda, one of two iconic Buddhist pagodas in Xi’an. You may have a chance to explore the top of the pagoda and look out over Xi’an’s 1,400 years of history, before enjoying a contemplative walk through the temple and gardens. Continue on and take in the quiet of Xi’an’s Great Mosque, located in the middle of the city’s old block. Built mid seventh century, the Great Mosque is the oldest and largest Islamic mosque in China. Mix with locals and find food of every flavor in Muslim Quarter, which is bustling with authentic eateries and travel souvenirs. Today’s final destination is Xi’an’s famous Bell Tower and Drum Tower Square. Return to your hotel for a relaxed evening or book a dinner, show, or both for an evening of entertainment.

Meals included: Breakfast

After breakfast and check out from your hotel, the tour guide will take you to Xi’an’s ancient City Wall, currently the largest and best-preserved wall of its type in China. Enclosing China’s former capital city and almost 14 kilometers long, enjoy your free time by exploring on foot or bicycle. Following on from the morning’s activities, you’ll be driven to the railway station for the bullet train trip to Chengdu. Upon arrival in Chengdu, your local guide will meet and transfer you to the hotel, providing a brief introduction to China’s panda capital on the way.

Meals included: Breakfast

Today, you will work as a panda volunteer when you visit the Dujiangyan Panda Base. In your role, you will clean the working area, prepare bamboos, make panda’s favorite food of “Wowotou” (steamed corn breads), learn scientific facts about the pandas, and closely watch the keepers feeding and training the pandas. Panda keepers will supervise your activities, with translation provided by your guide. A certificate will be provided as a memento from this very special day. At the conclusion of today’s excursion, you will be returned to your Chengdu Hotel.

Meals included: Breakfast

Tips:
1. Panda Keeper Program has an age limit from 8 years to 70 years. For children under 8 years who are accompanied by an adult, they can take the standard panda tour in the panda base, but not be able to be the panda volunteers due to the age restriction.

2. As a maximum of 60 keepers are allowed each day, it is advisable that you book the program at least two weeks before your departure. You will appreciate that sometimes adjustments may be made to the program due to pandas’ health condition. Accurate information about the program will be provided to you by our travel consultants as soon as we are advised.

3. Each Panda Keeper Program applicant must provide a Physical Examination Record prior to the commencement of the day’s activities.

4. Panda keepers are strongly advised to be guided by their supervisors and should approach the animals with extreme caution and only under supervision. Though pandas look gentle, they are animals and their behaviors can be unpredictable.

5. On the day working as the panda keepers, wear the pants and comfortable shoes with good traction. And should not apply perfume, nail polish, strong fragranced skincare, sunscreen, and insect repellent, because the pandas are very sensitive to smell.

Check out of your hotel and be taken by your guide to Jinli Street, a busy and popular hub for locals and travelers that lined with unique regional street food and artisans. You’ll find yourself immersed in typical local culture and have the opportunity to sample traditional food snacks and meet local craftsmen. Next stop is Wangjiang Pavilion Park where you will take a leisurely stroll to explore the park with its cluster of centuries old pavilions and memorials and wander the bamboo groves with a vast variety of species. Get a real taste of Chengdu style leisure when you relax in a teahouse with a cup of tea. You will then be transferred to Chengdu Airport for the flight to Guilin. On arrival in Guilin, your local guide will meet and escort you to the hotel.

Meals included: Breakfast

After breakfast at the hotel, be met by your guide and drive to the beautifully eerie Reed Flute Cave, featuring a walk through unusually stalactite formations. And then drive to the Longji Rice Terraces you will be astonished by the ingenuity and beauty of such large scale rice paddies, built to make the best use of scarce arable and water resources in this mountainous area. Climbing up the rice terraces takes you into a breathtakingly beautiful landscape. A further big highlight of the area is the Minority culture of the Zhuang and Yao ethnic groups, who work the rice terraces. Each minority group displays distinct colourful clothing, architecture, customs and festivities. At the end of the day you will be transferred back to your hotel in Guilin.

Meals included: Breakfast

Check out from your hotel and transfer with your guide to Zhujiang Pier for a memorable half day trip on the Li River as you cruise to Yangshuo. On arrival, appreciate the slower pace and country feel of this small rural town. Enjoy a free night and dine with the locals.

Meals included: Breakfast and lunch

Note: Although lunch is included in the Li River cruise ticket, your local guide can help you arrange an alternative before boarding the boat.

After breakfast, drive back to the railway station in Guilin to board the bullet train to Chongqing. Upon arrival, your local guide will meet you and take you through the Ciqikou Old Town if the travel schedule permits. You’ll then be escorted to embark your Yangtze River cruise ship, which finally weighs anchor at 9:30. Watch the spectacular Chongqing city lights go by from the deck as you cruise on by.

Meals included: Breakfast

Note: Attend a safety, orientation and river briefing when you board the ship.

Sail along the Yangtze today and soak in the relaxing pace of traveling this magnificent river, which has inspired poets and peasants alike. Go ashore for an excursion to the Fengdu Ghost City or Shibaozhai (will depend on water level and cruise company). Join the crew at the Captain’s Welcome Party held in the evening. Sit back and enjoy the Chinese folk dancing and music performance – or get up and be part of it!

Meals included: Breakfast, lunch and dinner

Note: Shore excursions may vary due to different cruise lines and some are optional tours.

Scenic spots along the way: In Chinese mythology, Fengdu Ghost City is considered the final resting place for all souls. Visit this ancient ghost town while on your Yangtze River Cruise. Shibaozhai is a tower nearly 56 metres in height leaning against the Yuyin Hill and is now encircled by a moat after the completion of the Three Gorges Dam project in 2003.

Continue sailing past the beautiful river scenery and admire the impressive view of the Qutang Gorgeand Wu Gorge. Following this stretch of the river, take an excursion to Badong and experience a small wooden boat trip on the magnificent Shennong Stream or Goddess Stream (Shennv Stream). Return to the ship and enter the western section of the Xiling Gorge. Enjoy a relaxing evening on board the river boat by taking advantage of the entertainment or enjoy the view from the deck.

Meals included: Breakfast, lunch and dinner

After breakfast, disembark from the cruise boat at Maoping Pier in Yichang. Board a bus and drive to the largest hydroelectric project in the world, the Three Gorges Dam where you’ll take a tour to learn how the dam was designed, built, and how it now serves the local people and region. After the tour, you’ll be transferred by shuttle bus to the Yichang Three Gorges Tourism Center and met by your guide who will escort you to the train station for your train to Shanghai. In Shanghai, your local guide will meet and transfer you to the hotel pointing out this bustling city’s local landmarks along the way. Enjoy a free evening in downtown Shanghai.

Meals included: Breakfast

Note: Guests may also choose an optional tour when disembarking at Maoping Pier. On this tour, you will board a ferry and sail through TGP ship’s elevator where you’ll have a chance to explore the Three Gorges Dam. Arrangements for this tour are to be made onboard the cruise prior to disembarking.

Commence your tour of Shanghai with a visit to the Shanghai Museum, a massive museum housing over 140,000 artifacts, presenting the full history and culture of this cosmopolitan city. Enjoy a walk along The Bund, iconic and prestigious, one of the most well-preserved examples of old Shanghai glamour. Walk Nanjing Road, the busiest shopping precinct in China. Change tempo and visit Yuyuan Garden, where you can marvel at the artistically designed traditional Chinese gardens; then stroll around the nearby Yu Garden bazaars. Make the most of your afternoon by wandering the quieter streets of Dongping Road or Sinan Road in the Former French Concession, where you will find the essence of classic Shanghai.

Meals included: Breakfast

Note: As the Shanghai Museum is closed to public on Mondays, a visit to the Shanghai History Museum is arranged as an alternative.

Your tour guide and driver will collect you at the hotel and drive you to the airport for your flight, either home or on to your next exciting destination.

For small group tour travelers, a transfer service from your hotel to Hongqiao or Pudong Airport can be arranged on request.

Meals included: Breakfast