12-Day Authentic China Explorer with Great Wall Night Tour

Welcome to Beijing! On arrival, you will meet your personal tour guide outside the arrival hall. The guide will take care of you all the way until you check in to your hotel. The rest of the day is free for you to relax and recover from jet lag.

The first-day tour in China begins with an impressive tour to the Tiananmen Square and the stately Forbidden City. The former is the symbol of the political center of today's China and the latter was the power seat of ancient China since 600 years ago.

In the afternoon, come across old Beijing by entering the hutongs, where you will have a leisurely walk into the local Beijingers' daily life. Moreover, you can visit a cricket trainer and listen to his story about cricket fighting.

No Beijing tour is complete without a visit to the Great Wall. Today, you will have the chance to see it.

After breakfast, drive about 2.5 hours to visit the magnificent Jinshanling Great Wall, the section far away from the hustle and bustle of the city. You will be amazed by the incredible constructions and stunning scenery surrounding it as you walk on the venerable ramparts. After that, drive about 20 minutes to your hotel in Gubei Water Town. Check-in and take a break.

Around 8:00 pm, your guide will escort you to Simatai Great Wall and have a one-hour night tour. Take a cable car up to the wall and enjoy the night view of the wall.

Stroll around the water town or relax at the hotel before returning to downtown. Next, visit the Summer Palace. In this imperial resort of the Qing Dynasty, you can see the exquisite gardens, majestic temples and gorgeous palaces in perfect harmony.

Today, you will spend the morning at the Temple of Heaven. This is a truly perfect site full of history and architectural wonder, combined with the local atmosphere. Here, you can see and even play Taichi with the locals.

In the afternoon, go to the railway station for the high-speed train to Xi'an. The train will arrive in Xi'an about five hours later. On arrival, your private tour guide will welcome and transfer you to your hotel.

Today's highlight is the awe-inspiring Terracotta Warriors. You will have enough time to marvel at the grand array of thousands of life-size clay soldiers, horses and chariots and immerse yourself in stories about afterlife behind them. After a stopover at Xi'an Art Ceramic Factory, continue to the underground cave-dwelling. It is a particular form of residences that can go back centuries. Later, drive back to the city and visit the Ancient City Wall.

Today, you will have the chance to visit a local family and learn how to make dumplings, pull noodles, and make some home cooked meals. If time permits, you can go to a wet market with the host, and a local Mahjong house to feel the Chinese leisure life.

After lunch, continue by visiting the Muslim Street and enjoy a shadow puppet show at Gao's Courtyard before flying to Guilin. Upon your arrival in the most beautiful scenic city in China, your personal guide will meet and escort you to your hotel.

The Li River cruise from Guilin to Yangshuo is undoubtedly the essence of your Guilin tour. The 4 hours' cruise tour starting from Zhujiang dock will treat you to breathtaking views of green pinnacles, crystal-clear water, and pastoral countryside scenery. A simple buffet lunch will be served onboard.

Disembark in Yangshuo at around 1:30 pm, walk through West Street, and then you will be transferred to your hotel in Yangshuo to have a good rest.

Enjoy a countryside tour in the morning by private car or bicycle. Cycling will take around 2 hours. So please consider your interest and physical strength if you want to try this.

After the tour, you will return to Guilin to visit the Reed Flute Cave and a pearl store before flying to Shanghai. When you arrive in Shanghai, your private tour guide will take care of you all the way.

Start your day at the Bund, a waterfront area in the heart of Shanghai, and enjoy the beauty of its colonial buildings and skyscraper views. After that, spend about one hour walking along the Shanghai urban area. Like the locals, pass through the Fuxing Park, Bugaoli and a local market inside the street and get a taste of the daily life of the Shanghai neighborhood.

Try some local dim sum for a simple lunch, and then stroll around the Yu Garden. Near the classical garden is a bustling market - Yuyuan Market. After a short break at a silk workshop, you will end the tour with a great view of the beautiful skyline of Shanghai from the 100th floor of the Shanghai World Financial Center.

Before leaving China, you will enjoy a free day in Shanghai. You can discover the details of Shanghai or take an excursion to a nearby city - Suzhou. About 100 km northwest of Shanghai, is one of the nice places to do a full-day exploration. Praised as the "Venice of the Orient", it attracts travelers with its ancient canals, exquisite gardens and peaceful atmosphere.

Free time for you to prepare to return back home. After you are ready, your personal guide and driver will escort you to the airport for your return flight.