13-Day Best of China Tour with Yangtze

When your flight lands at Beijing Capital International Airport, your personal tour guide will be ready to welcome you at the arrival hall exit, with your name board and the logo of Odynovo in hand. Then, you will be escorted to your hotel. The rest of the day is free for you to relax and recover from your long journey.

On the first day of your China tour, your tour guide will accompany you to start the city exploration at Tiananmen Square. Walking through Tiananmen Gate, enter the splendid Forbidden City, the seat of power since 600 years ago, and which always amazes visitors from all over the world with its imposing pavilions, elegant ornamentation and lively historic stories.

Later, spend the afternoon in the Temple of Heaven and its surrounding park. As an imperial complex of religious buildings, the temple will surprise you with its rich history and sacred architecture. While the park offers you a chance to observe the daily life of the locals.

It's not a complete China tour to leave Beijing without visiting the majestic Great Wall. Today you will get a chance to see it.

After 2 hours' driving, you will arrive at the Mutianyu Great Wall. It is a less crowded section, so you will enjoy the better scenery. Take the cable car up, do some hiking on it and get down by cable car again. You might spend around 2 or 3 hours on hiking and then drive back with another hour's driving to visit Changling Tomb - the largest and best preserved of the Thirteen Tombs of the Ming Dynasty. On the way back to Beijing, take a stopover at a jade gallery.

The first step will be the Summer Palace. You can walk around this imperial garden in the Qing Dynasty, and if the weather permits you can even enjoy a 15-minute boat cruise on the Kunming Lake. Later on, get to hutongs and sit in an outdated rickshaw to see traditional houses of old Beijing. After that, fly two hours to Xi'an and then go to your downtown hotel after arrival with your tour guide's help.

Optional: You could also take a high-speed train from Beijing to Xi'an, which will take around 5 to 6 hours on the road. It is a good way to experience local life and a good way to cut down the tour cost. If you prefer it, feel free to let us know.

This day will be your most memorable day in Xi'an as you will uncover the mystery of the underground army of Terracotta Warriors. You will be astonished by the thousands of vivid clay statues there in life size.

After a short visit to Xi'an Art Ceramics Factory, drive back to the city to visit Ancient City Wall and the Muslim Street in the downtown.

Fly to Guilin in the morning (about 2 hours). Upon arrival, your tour guide and driver will welcome you at the arrival hall and escort you to visit the Reed Flute Cave and a pearl store first before getting to your hotel. In the inartificial cave, you will see many stalactites and stalagmites illuminated by colorful lights and learn how they were formed.

After breakfast, you will be taken to Zhujiang Pier (about 50 minutes by car) to start the Li River Cruise down to Yangshuo. Along the river, you will be immersed in the picturesque scenery formed by towering peaks, bamboo groves and rice paddies. It will take around 3.5 to 4.5 hours depending on the water level.

After the cruise, your tour guide will accompany you to walk through the busy West Street and then to head to your hotel.

Optional: Cycle or drive around to see the idyllic scenery of the Yangshuo countryside.

After breakfast be transferred to the railway station for your high-speed train (around 5 hours) to Chongqing. On arrival your local tour guide will pick you up and transfer you to the dock and check in for your Yangtze River Cruise. The ship usually departs from Chongqing at 9:00 pm.

Have a leisure morning on the board to enjoy the scenery on both sides of Yangtze River. In the afternoon, take the included excursion to Shibaozhai, a historical red pavilion hanging on a solitary hill to serve as a path to the top of the hill where you can get a sweeping view of the surrounding area.

Optional: In the morning, you could take an optional land tour to Fengdu Ghost City organized by the cruise company at your own expense.

Enjoy another leisure morning while the cruise continues. In the afternoon join in the group to visit Shennv Stream. Take a wooden flat bottom boat to reach the depth of the valley, relish in the stunning scenery and catch the chance to see the original life of locals.

Optional: If you're interested in Chinese history very much, the excluded optional tour to the White Emperor City may be a nice choice.

After breakfast, take a shore excursion to the Three Gorges Dam, a must-see wonder of engineering in modern time. Disembark the cruise at noon and then your private tour guide in Yichang will pick you up and transfer you to the airport for your flight to Shanghai. After arrival, be transferred to the hotel for check-in.

Discover the city from Shanghai Museum and trace back to the past from its thousands of collections. Continue your tour to Yu Garden and the bustling Yuyuan Market, a silk workshop and the former French Concession. End today's tour with strolling on the Bund where you can get a microcosm of Old Shanghai dating back to the 1920s.

Today you will be free until the tour guide picks you up and transfers you to the airport for your flight departing from Shanghai.