Itinerary
Day
01 Depart LAX or SFO for China
Depart LAX
or SFO today by Air China non-stop flight to Beijing.
Cross the international dateline.
Day
02 Beijing (D)
Arrive in Beijing, the capital and cultural center
of China, where virtually every boulevard and building
exudes an air of importance. Transfer on arrival to
Great Wall Sheraton Hotel Beijing or similar
Day
03 Beijing (B
L D)
Enjoy a full-day tour of the sights that make Beijing
a spectacular destination: the sprawling Forbidden
City, home to 24 Ming and Qing emperors and now a
repository of precious art and antiques; the Temple
of Heaven, famous for its elegance and symmetry; the
Summer Palace, an oasis of tea gardens, pavilions
and painted corridors; and shimmering Kunming Lake
with Empress Dowager's eccentric marble ship.
Day
04 Beijing
(B L D)
One of the world's most awe-inspiring sights, the
Great Wall snakes along nearly 4000 miles of impossibly
steep hills and harsh, rugged plains. Today's excursion
will give you ample time to explore it at leisure
and marvel at the manpower that went into building
the world's longest structure entirely by hand. Continue
to the Ming Tombs, the graveyard of 13 emperors, before
returning to Beijing for an imperial-style Peking
Duck dinner.
Day
05 Beijing / Xi'an
(B L D)
Depart to the airport for your flight to Xi'an, a
vital center of history, culture and archaeology.
Meet / transfer to Sheraton Hotel Xian. Afternoon
city tour.
Day
06 Xi'an
(B L D)
It is impossible to overstate Xi'an's importance in
China's history. This is where the fabled Silk Road
began. A string of dynasties made their capital here.
A Neolithic culture built a village here 6000 years
ago. Here lies a highlight of your trip: the excavation
site of 8000 terra cotta soldiers, buried around the
tomb of Emperor Qin, builder of the Great Wall and
other massive endeavors. Round out your tour with
stops at the Old City Gate, Provincial Museum of History
and Big Wild Goose Pagoda.
Day
07 Xi'an / Dunhuang
(B L D)
Depart Xian for a flight to Dunhuang, so called 'a
diamond inlayed on the belt' of the Silk Road. Arrive
at the exciting starting point for your Silk Road
adventure. Afternoon sightseeing to the Mt Sounding
Sand Dune, and Crescent Lake, a rare scene in the
Gobi Desert. Check into Dunhuang Hotel.
Day
08 Dunhuang
(B L D)
This morning you will be exploring Mogao Grotto, the
world’s largest stone cave library housing numerous
sculptures and murals created in the dynasties from
Sui (581- 618 AD) till Qing (1640 - 1911). Each of
them reflects a certain art form from each of the
dynasties. After lunch travel by coach to visit the
town of Yang Guan and the ancient city of Sha Zhou.
Day
09 Dunhuang / Turpan (B L D)
Motor coach to Jia Yu Guan Pass, the ancient military
stronghold which was intended to ward off the invasion
of nomads from the north. The magnificent ancient
city gate and city wall, though thousands of years
old, still looks formidable today. The murals left
in the Wei and Jin Dynasties tells people this was
not just an ancient military place, but also linked
the world culturally. This afternoon board the overnight
train for Turpan.
Day
10 Turpan / Urumqi
(B L D)
Morning arrival in Turpan, the lowest city below sea
level in the world. We will visit the remains of the
ancient town of Gao Chang. Once a town of strategic
importance on the Silk Road it was deserted during
the Ming Dynasty. We will see the Karez System, which
is a unique irrigation water system that channels
the water from place to place which is vital to the
survival of the oasis villages. We will also see the
Flaming Mountain that gets its name from the sun reflecting
off of its red rocks as if the hillsides were engulfed
by tongues of fire. Late this afternoon, depart Turpan
by motor coach to Urumqi, the capital city of Xingjiang
Urgur Autonomous Region. Urumqui is Zinjiang’s
political, economic, cultural, technological center
as well as being a major transport hub that links
China to European countries. Check into Grand Hotel
Urumqi.
Day
11 Urumqi
(B L D)
Tour Mt. Tian (Mt. Heaven) and cruise on the Heavenly
Lake. This scenic place preserves the natural beauty
of the area.
Day
12 Urumqi / Shanghai
(B L D)
Depart Urumqi for Shanghai by air. Shanghai is China’s
largest and most cosmopolitan city, as modern as any
in the world. You are greeted on arrival and escorted
to Huating Hotel Shanghai, located in a prime setting
near many popular shops and restaurants.
Day
13 Shanghai (B
L D)
Your full-day tour presents Shanghai's eclectic nature,
from the riverfront Bund where foreign traders left
a legacy of European-style buildings, to the Yuyuan
Gardens with its quintessential Chinese zigzag bridge,
rockeries, and pavilions. Visit the Children's Palace
where school kids study traditional arts. Complete
the day at a thrilling show by the Shanghai Acrobats.
Day
14 Shanghai / USA
With new insights and fond memories of China, you
embark on your homebound journey flight. Arrive in
LAX or SFO the same day.
Call
1-800-874-1996 for more information
about customizing your China and Tibet itineraries
Tour
Price Includes
