Magnificent Landscape Sightseeing Trip, Beijing, Xi'an, Guilin, Hong Kong, the Classic Sight-seeing Tour, 13 Days

Highlights Itinerary Pricing Inclusions/Exclusions Important Info

Highlights

Baota Hill

Baota Hill is also called Jialing Hill. It stands to the southeast of the urban Yan’an where the Yanhe River and the Nanchuan River meet. The pagoda at the top of the hill is the symbol of Yan'an City which was first built in Tang Dynasty (618-907 AD).It underwent renovation in Song Dynasty. The pagoda has nine stories and is 44 meters high (144 ft). Standing at the top of the hill, you will have a bird view of the ancient city of Yan'an. This is sure to be one of the highlights of your visit.

The most famous attraction here is the iron bell which was made in 1628 during Ming Dynasty. It is 1.5 meters high and about one meter in diameter. The tower is of great historical importance in relation to the Chinese revolutionary movement: when the Chinese Communist Party had its headquarters in Yan'an, the bell was used to toll the hour of the day and sound alarms.

On the hill, there is a huge new bell named Ping’ an Bell (Safety Bell) and a new huge drum named Taiping Drum (Peace Drum). It is said that luck and happiness will be bestowed on you by Tolling the bell or beating the drum. There is also a Stele Forest upon the slopes of the hill. They are inscribed with a variety of ancient Chinese calligraphy.

After the founding of the People's Republic of China (PRC), Baota Hill was designated by the State Council as one of the first key cultural relics under national protection. Baota Hill is now a public park. It has many pine, cypress and Chinese scholar trees.

Location: Jialing Road, Yan'an.
Entrance Fee: RMB 41 for high season, RMB 31 for low season.
Opening Hours: 06:00-20:00
Transportation: Take bus No.1 or No.3 at Railway Station.

Revolutionary Memorial Hall

The Memorial Hall, not far from the Yangjialing Headquarters, is probably one of the best of its kind in China. It was founded in July 1950 in Yan'an City of Shaanxi Province, and it is one of the earliest revolutionary memorial halls in China. It was built in July 1950 and was previously called the Yan'an Revolutionary Museum. It was open to the public in February 1951.

The Revolutionary History Museum
The memorial hall boasts a comprehensive collection of historical literature, graphs and photos dating from the establishment of the "United Front against Japanese Invasion" to the opening of the Seventh General Conference of the Chinese Communist Party.

The main hall houses a huge collection of artifacts from the 1930-50s, including genuine footballs, sewing machines, Marxist books by Lenin, Stalin and Trotsky translated into Chinese and hundreds of communist weapons. Especially noteworthy is a white horse (it has been made into a specimen) that is said to have carried Mao Zedong.

The Revolutionary History Museum

The exhibition halls occupy 3,200 square meters, displaying 1,300 revolutionary cultural relics, more than 200 photos, as well as auxiliary exhibits like graphs, paintings, sculptures and models. All the exhibits introduce the founding of Northern Shaanxi Revolutionary Bases and the 13 years of revolutionary activities of the Communist Party of China. The memorial hall has launched the Exhibition of Yan'an Revolutionary Cultural Relics and the Exhibition of Yan'an Spirit, and has staged road shows in other places.

Location: Zaoyuan Road, East Bank of Yanhe River, Baota District, Yan'an.
Entrance Fee: Free
Opening Hours: 8:00-18:00
Transportation: Take Bus No.1 or 3.

Yangjialing Revolution Headquarters

After an epic Long March the pitiful remainder of a once strong, though hounded, Red Army arrived to set up base in a little town called Yan'an. The leadership clique at that time, including such revolutionary martyrs as the all powerful Mao Zedong, the wise patriarch Zhou Enlai and the military strategist Zhu De, arrived weary to start again from where they had left off in the Jiangxi Soviet. The base area was first commanded from the Yangjialing Revolution Headquarters (Yangjialing geming jiuzhi), about 3km north from the town, although the HQ was moved about a number of times between October 1938-March 1947 by the wary troops. This first site, however, is of particular note for the holding of both the first Central Committee (CC) meetings and the seventh National Plenum that was to officially instate Mao as the Chairman of the revolutionary struggle.

Yangjialing Revolution Headquarters
Like much of the town, the headquarters nowadays remains very much undisturbed by the tourist hordes that used to pour through here on communist pilgrimage. Of interest are the Meeting Hall where the CC met, and more particularly, the mound behind that contains the Former Dwelling Holes of the leading military cadres. These 'rooms' can still be seen, where Mao and the rest were to sleep, write and plot. They are elegant enough affairs with white plaster over straw, mud or brick walls, and wooden lattice entrances faced with paper, typical of the traditional local architecture. Further up the hill are also a series of caves where the communist offices were located (including the secretariat and the propaganda departments.
Yangjialing Revolution Headquarters

Yangjialing Village

Yangjialing Village-2.jpg Yangjialing Village-1.jpg

Yangjialing which is about three kilometers northwest of Yan'an was the headquarters of the Chinese Communist Party. Many strategic guidelines and decisions had been made here by the top leaders of Communist Party since the beginning of Anti-Japanese War. During this time, large-scale Production Campaign was carried out among people and army with vigor and vitality. Rectification Campaign started and the Seventh National Congress of CPC and Yan’an Forum on Literature and Art were held .The Seventh National Congress of the Chinese Communist Party held from April 23 to June 11, 1945, opened the new page of the modern Chinese revolutionary history.

Many constructions were destroyed in 1947 while Hu zongnan (KMT military Leader) occupied Yan’an, luckily most of them have been rebuilt after 1949, and many evergreen trees were planted around later. Today we can still visit: Central Hall, Central General Office, Central Organization Department, Central United Front Work department, the old resident place of Mao Zedong, Zhou Enlai, Zhu de and where Mao Zedong and Anna Louis Strong talked.

At the entrance is an auditorium with brick and wood structure. The building behind was the office of the Central Committee's General. Mao Zedong and other high-level leaders of the revolution lived on a small hill in the north. There also is an exhibition hall; the objects displayed here show the revolutionary activities of the communist leaders and the people in Yan'an. Therefore, Yangjialing Village is a very important politic center in Chinese history. It has great significant meaning for most Chinese.

Location: Shengdi Road, Baota District, Yan'an.
Entrance Fee: RMB 11
Transportation: Take Bus No.1, 3, 7,8,12 or 13.

Date Garden

Date Garden is 8 kilometers northwest of Yan'an. The garden used to be the manor of a landlord.It served as office of CPC Central Committee Secretariat during the war period of anti-Japanese and liberation after the Army entered Yan'an City. It is a special garden filled with revolutionary history. Secretariat directed the war against the Japanese invaders here, the Rectification Movement in 1942, and the production movement in 1941 and 1942 held here to supply the food and clothing to the people and army during the war in order to struggle with military attacks against the Japanese and economic blockade by the Kuomintang.

Many leaders such as Mao Zedong, Zhou Enlai, and Zhu De once lived here. What's more, Mao Zedong wrote many of his revolutionary works. The Date Garden, with flourish trees and flowers, is a nice place to visit. There are lots of relics among which most reflect or present the Chinese revolution and the tough time of war. The garden has been destroyed by Kuomintang when the communist party left, and it was rebuilt by the local government. Date garden has become the one of the most bases of Chinese revolutionary education.

Location: Zaoyunag Road, Yan'an
Entrance Fee: RMB 20
Transportation: Take Bus No.8 or 13.

Cool Hill

The Cool Hill is also called Qing Liang Shan Mountain, which used to be the center for CPC news, while central CPC committee was in Yan'an, the CPC newspaper committee, Xinhua News agent, Liberation Daily, Yan’an Xin Hua broadcast, Central Press, Central Publishing Department and so on were all located here, therefore, the Cool Hill was the birth place of Chinese News and Publishing, the cradle of news warriors, who believes that a pen and a gun are both sharp weapons. They created news agencies, broadcasted and published newspapers in the dark and wet caves, spreading Marxism, Mao's thoughts and propagating policies, approaches of CPC. Under the direct led of CPC, they sent Chinese Revolutionary voice to all around China and the world. Their contribution to the Chinese revolution is indelible. Yan'an News Memorial Hall located in the south wing of the Cool Hill, As the unique Journalism thematic memorial hall, it is divided into 5 unites , with about 180 historic relics, 400 pictures, and documents, this period of history revives.

During the War of Resistance, the Xinhua News Agency, the Xinhua Broadcasting Station, and Jiefang Ribao (Liberation Daily) all had their offices here. There is a stone cave on this hill called Ten-Thousand Buddha Cave (Wanfodong) which was carved out during the Tang (618-907) and Song (960-1279) dynasties. It contains more than ten thousand Buddhist sculptures. The Moon Well (Yue'erjing), the Piba Bridge, and many other scenic spots with fancy names on the hill are all connected with beautiful legends.

Location: Nothern Bank of Yanhe Rider, Yan'an
Entrance Fee: RMB 31
Opening Hours: 7:30-19:30
Trasportation: Take Bus No.1,4,5,6,11 or 19.

Yulin Town

Yulin Town, in the far northern section of Shaanxi Province, lies at the boundary between a Yellow Soil Plateau and the Mao Wu Su Desert (Maowusu shamo). The town is renowned as a garrison and patrol post that worked the northern fringes of the Ming Dynasty (1368-1644 AD) empire. Although a tiny town and not especially old, Yulin still retains much of its charm through being little renovated.

The town boasts a large number of sights for its size and the most notable include the fortress and beacon tower at the Zhengbei Terrace (Zhengbei tai), the Incense Burner Temple (Xianglu si), the remainder of the ancient Great Wall (Changcheng) and an old Bell Tower (Zhong lou). The nicest section of town is the Old Quarter, which still retains its Ming (1368-1644 AD) and Qing (1644-1911 AD) Dynasty look, hidden behind encircling walls and old, stone gates. This area is great to walk around, with pebble paved alleys, grey-tiled quadrangular courtyards (Siheyuan) and delicate copper rings upon wooden gates and windows. In places you will come across the original city walls.

Wave Subduing Hill

Wave Subduing Hill, also called Fubo Hill, is located in northern Guilin. As an isolated peak, Fubo Hill gained this name by Fubo General (B.C.14-A.D.49), a famous general and strategist in Eastern Han Dynasty (25-220). In Tang Dynasty, a Fubo General Temple had built.

Wave Subduing Hill is a peak with half of it descending into the Li River. On the eastern slope of the Hill, there are Fubo Teahouse, Waterside Corridor and Wave Hearing Pavilion. Walking on the stone path winding through the hill to the top on the western side, you can not only enjoy attractions on the hill and but also have a bird’s eye view of picturesque Guilin City. Famous Returned Pearl Cave, with over 100 stone inscriptions on it, is located on the eastern side of Fubo Hill. Next to the Returned Pearl Cave, there are Thousand Buddhist Cave and Coral Cave.

How to Get Here: No.2, 30, 58 Buses or Tourism Line.

Solitary Beauty Peak and Jingjiang Princes City

Solitary Beauty Peak, also known as Purple Hill, is located in the Jingjiang Princes City with reputation of “Southern Heaven Pillar”. At the foot of Solitary Beauty Peak, there is a Longevity Palace first built in Tang Dynasty, while a Solitary Beauty Pavilion is standing at the top. You can have a bird’s view of beautiful Guilin when you climb up 396 stone steps to the top. Dushu Rock, Taiping Rock and Crescent-shape Pond are at the foot of Solitary Beauty Peak while many ancient inscriptions are on the eastern side of the peak, for example “East or west, Guilin scenery is the best”. Other famous attractions include Snow Cave and Zhongshan Monument.

Jingjiang Prices City, praised as a “city in a city”, was built in Ming Dynasty with a history of more than 630 years. During the 257 years from its completion to the collapse of Ming Dynasty, 14 seigniors had lived here. Jingjiang Princes City became the Examination Compound in the Qing Dynasty. Covering an area of 19.78 hectares, Jingjiang Princes City composes of Chengyun Gate, Chengyun Palace, Palace Harem and Imperial Garden with other 40 rooms, pavilions and chambers. Listed as “the key cultural relics of national level”, Jingjiang Princes City is an irreplaceable scenic spot in Guilin.

If you want to enjoy picturesque mountains and crystal clear waters, Solitary Beauty Peak, famous royal treasure hill is your best choice. If you want to read the history of Guilin, Jingjiang Princes City will meet your need.

Tips:
1. Opening Hours: 9:30am—5:30pm
2. How to Get Here: No.1, 10, 11, 14, 100 Buses.

Folded Brocade Hill

Folded Brocade Hill, with an elevation of 73m, locates to the northeast of Guilin, facing beautiful Li River. As a beautiful and well-known hill, Folded Brocade Hill consists of Mingyue Peak, Crane Peak, Siwang Hill and Yuyue Hill, covering an area of 2km². Many amazing attractions such as Folded Brocade Pavilion, Yuyue Pavilion, Wind Cave and Wangjiang Pavilion etc. are on the hill. Besides, inscriptions on precipices carved by celebrities of all the precious dynasties are the essence of all relics.

Folded Brocade Pavilion, with a height of 5m, length of 7.5m and width of 8.5m, is architecture with single story, 4 angles, flat rooftop, red pillars and green tiles. With Yuyue Hill to the east, Siwang Hill to the west and Bright Moon Peak to the north, Folded Brocade Pavilion is harmonious with the surroundings. Stone benches standing from east to west, the northern side is the best place to appreciate the fantastic “folded brocade” and is an ideal place for rest. To the west of the pavilion, an inscription by Yu Qing of Ming Dynasty is also worth of visiting.

Wangjiang Pavilion is halfway up the hill and built during the reign of Emperor Zhengde (1506-1521) of the Ming Dynasty. Rebuilt in the years of 1954 and 1990, Wangjiang Pavilion is a pavilion with ancient style, 6m in height and dihedral angles. On the wall, a cliff inscription was carved as “a place for seeking adventures”.

Water System in Guilin, Two Rivers & Four Lakes

Water System in Guilin, also known as “Two Rivers and Four Lakes”, consists of Li River, Peach Blossom River, Ronghu Lake (Banyan Lake), Shanhu Lake (Fir Lake), Guihu Lake (Osmanthus Lake) and Mulong Lake (Wooden Dragon Lake). This round-the-city waterway is 7.33km in length with an total water surface area of 385.9 thousand km².

According to historical records, this circular water system was first existed in Northern Song Dynasty (960-1127). At that time, Ronghu Lake, Shanhu Lake and Guihu Lake were linked together and numerous visitors had cruised on it. However, some ponds and waterways had been blocked because of the urbanization process. After over 1,000 days and nights’ hard work, this new Water System was open to navigation on June 2nd, 2002.

There are two kinds of ways to enjoy this splendid water system—cruising on sight-seeing ship and walking on foot either at daytime or in the evening. Water system includes three main scenic areas: Ronghu Lake & Shanhu Lake Scenic Area—perfectly displaying an artistic conception of “the city of Guilin is surrounding by picturesque scenery while the scenery can be seen everywhere in the city”; Guihu Lake Scenic Area—traditional and exotic pavilions standing harmonious with numerous colorful trees and flowers; Mulong Lake Scenic Area—highlighting the features of the natural landscape combing with historical cultures and architectures.

Water System in Guilin, a passionate and imaginative project, can be compared with the waterways of Venice, the Seine of Paris and the Amsterdam Canal. At present, it is one of the hottest attractions with high reputation in Guilin and attracts tens of thousands of visitors every year.

Tips:
1. How to get the docks
   Zhiyintai Dock: No.2 and No.23 Buses, get off at Elephant Hill Stop.
   Wenchang Bridge Dock: No.2, No.16 and No.23 Buses, get off at Wenchang Bridge Stop.
   Six Horse Dock: No.10, No.11, No.14, No.18 and No.31 Buses

2. Duration of Visit
   Daytime: 9:30am-6pm
   Night: 7:30pm-9:30pm

You can not only enjoy magnificent ancient architectures and relics, but also be amazed by unforgettable natural sceneries by this sightseeing trip. Our first destination is Beijing, the capital of China. You can witness and climb the fantastic ancient construction of the Great Wall and get a brief impression of this famous capital. Then head for Xi'an. This ancient capital city is really a Chinese history book, be marvel at the Terra-cotta Warriors and Horses and admires those ancient buildings such as the Wild Pagoda Tower. Tour to the Hukou Waterfall will to enjoy the marvelous view. What’s more, you experience a cruise on the world-wide famous Li River through stunning karst landscapes in Guilin and travel to the ingenious terrace field for a grand view.

Itinerary

Day 1: Beijing

Arrive in Beijing, our guide (CET representative) will meet you at the airport and transfer you to the hotel. Beijing is the first stop of your China tour. And Beijing is the capital of China.

Stay over night in Beijing.

Meals included:

Day 2: Beijing

After breakfast, let's pay a visit to the [Temple of Heaven]. This complex has two parts: the inner temple and the outer temple and is surrounded by two high walls. This layout of walls reflects the ancient Chinese concept of the cosmogony: the sky is round and the earth is square. We will enjoy a walk on the [Tian'anmen Square]--one of the largest city squares in the world. It is located on the central axis of old Beijing. Stone column with depiction of dragons and phoenixes decorates the surroundings of the Tiananmen gate and in the center of the square stands the [Monument to the People's Heroes].The Monument to the People's Heroes is a square building, covering an area of 3,000 square meters (about 0.75 acres). Then we will go to the [Forbidden City], called Gu Gong in Chinese, used to be the imperial palace of the Ming and Qing dynasties (1368-1911). It is the world's largest palace complex covers a floor space of 724,250 square meters (about 179acres). Best ancient Chinese architectural styles are well preserved here, consisting an imposing view. Later the day will be on your own to explore more about this city.

Stay overnight in Beijing.