The Middle Kingdom Tour

Upon your arrival in Beijing, meet your local CET representative and transfer to your hotel. Relax and rest before a welcoming dinner as well as a tour briefing with your CET representative.

Stay overnight in Beijing.

Meals:

After breakfast, we visit the [Tian'anmen Square]. Flanked by the People Great Hall on the left and the China National Museum on the right, with the People’s Hero Monument and Chairman Mao’s Mausoleum in the middle, Tian’anmen Square boasts the world's largest city square. One visitor has written, "An army troop could be massed, and all the kites in the world could fly." After roaming the Square we walk through the Tian’anmen (Gate of Heavenly Peace), under the famed portrait of Chairman Mao, to enter the [Forbidden City], the symbolic center of the Chinese universe and a lasing monument of dynastic China, from which 24 emperors of the Ming and the Qing Dynasties ruled the Middle Kingdom for nearly 500 years (1420-1911).

Afterwards, let’s enjoy a [rickshaw ride along Old Beijing's Hutongs] (narrow ancient alleys) to discover the sights and sounds of local Beijing life in these traditional Chinese neighborhoods. See the locals as they go about their daily activities; and tour the maze-like alleyways and courtyard houses. Highlights include visits to a traditional courtyard home, to a local market, and a leisure walk along the "Lotus Lane" lined with bars, restaurants and tea houses. This unique tour features a delicious lunch served at a local family home with a Chinese dumpling-making demonstration.

Return to your hotel for some free time in the afternoon. In the evening, we arrange a [Beijing Duck diner] for you to taste the city’s most famous specialty.

Stay overnight in Beijing.
 

Meals: (B, L, D)

A memorable day awaits with an excursion to the [Sacred Way of Ming Tombs] and the [Great Wall] of China at the less-visited Mutianyu section.

After breakfast, you take a drive to the northwest of Beijing to visit the Sacred Way of Ming Tombs, regarded as China's finest example of imperial tomb architecture. Situated in a peaceful valley, the site was chosen by the Ming emperors as their burial place for its auspicious Fengshui alignment — a ridge of mountains to the north cradles the tombs on three sides, opening to the south and protecting the dead from the evil spirits carried on the north wind. Here you will walk along the elegant Sacred Way that leads to the tombs. Beginning with a grand marble gateway more than 400 years old, the long avenue is lined with 36 massive stone sculptures of officials, lions, elephants, camels and mythical beasts.

After lunch at a local restaurant, you take a scenic drive through the countryside and mountains to reach China’s most renowned monument-the Great Wall. Since the Great Wall is the single greatest attraction of China travel, we take you to the less-visited and more "original" Mutianyu section and try to avoid the most accessible and consequently the most crowded section of Badaling.

Stay overnight in Beijing.

Meals: (B, L)

In the morning, you visit the [Temple of Heaven], the largest temple complexes in China and a paradigm of Chinese architectural balance and symbolism. One key element in China's architectural genius was the blending of the monumental with the delicate, and the Temple of Heaven is perhaps the finest expression of this mixing of near opposite.

Time permits, you take a photo stop at the [Bird Nest] and visit the exterior portion of this huge complex — the main stadium of 2008 Beijing Olympics. In the afternoon, you tour the idyllic [Summer Palace], once the summer retreat and playground for the imperial family and royal court during the late Qing Dynasty. Considered the finest Chinese imperial garden, the Summer Palace spans over 700 acres with breathtaking views, temples, pavilions, palaces and halls including the lavishly painted "Long Corridor". It is most associated, however, with the Empress Dowager Cixi who paid for the extravagant Marble Boat with funds meant for the modernization of the Imperial Navy. Weather permitting you can take a Dragon boat ride across the picturesque Kunming Lake.

Later, transfer to the airport for a flight to Xian to experience the historical side of your China trip.

Stay overnight in Xian.

Meals: (B, L)

Today's excursion will take us to modern China's greatest archaeological discovery — The [Terra Cotta Warriors and Horses], which silently guarded the tomb of China's First Emperor for over 2,200 years. Lunch will be arranged at a local restaurant and see a noodle making demonstration. In the afternoon, we tour the [Big Wild Goose Pagoda], a landmark from the Tang Dynasty. This seven-story pagoda was initially constructed in 652 AD to house the Buddhist sutras brought back from India by the monk, Xuan Zang, who later translated them into Chinese. His pilgrimage to India is immortalized in the Chinese classic — The Journey to the West. This evening, we attend a feast of culinary and cultural delights with a special [Dumpling (jiaozi)] followed by a fascinating [Tang Dynasty Show]. Indulge ourselves in this remarkable show and reinvent your China dream with a travel back in time to the world of China's Golden Age, then come back to the present with a greater understanding of this amazing time.

Stay overnight in Xian.

Meals: (B, L, D)

After breakfast, we fly to Hangzhou, one of China's major tourist destinations. After lunch, take a cruise on the picturesque [West Lake], which is said to be created from a pearl dropped by a phoenix and a dragon, and proclaimed by the Chinese "the landscape composed by a painter". Stroll along the lake's causeways and immerse yourself in its beauty. You also visit the famed "Broken Bridge" to marvel at the Golden Fishes. No tour to Hangzhou is complete without going to the world renowned [Dragon Well Tea Plantation], where the legendary green tea is picked and processed by hand. The first picked tea leaves of the new harvest were once reserved solely for the Emperor and transported to him via the Grand Canal. You will learn about the harvesting, as well as the proper way to brew this healthful beverage. The [Chinese Tea Ceremony] will be demonstrated. Sample the freshness of the tea. Appreciate its "green color, smooth appearance, fragrant aroma and sweet taste".

Stay overnight in Hangzhou.

Meals: (B, L)

In the morning we tour the "Old Street" with Ming & Qing houses and stone cobbled lanes, where you visit the [Chinese Herb Museum], a rare opportunity to know China traditional herb and medication. After lunch, we travel to Suzhou, which is often referred, by the Chinese, as the "Oriental Venice ". Suzhou is a 2,500-year-old city renowned the world over for its traditional gardens, ancient canals and silk production. In 1997 Suzhou's classic garden was designated an UNESCO World Heritage Site.

In the afternoon, we visit the [Garden of the Master of Fishing Nets], and experience all of the elements of a classical Chinese garden. It is said that the Master of the Nets Garden was named after one of its owners — a retired official who wished to become an accomplished fisherman.

Stay overnight in Suzhou.

Meals: (B, L)

In the morning, we  [take a cruise on the Grand Canal] to view the life along China's golden waterway in its heydays. Later, we tour the [Silk Spinning Mill], where you will learn how silk is created from the mulberry-munching silkworms to produce thread and fine cloth. Marco Polo once reported that so much precious silk was produced in Suzhou that every citizen was clothed in it.

Afterwards, we travel to Shanghai, China's largest city and vibrant financial and economic center.

Some places are forever associated with a single landmark and in the case of Shanghai it is surely the Bund. After dinner, we take you for an evening walk along the waterfront promenade of [the Bund]. The Bund was at the heart of colonial shanghai, flanked on one side by the Huangpu River and on the other by the hotels, banks, offices, and clubs that were the grandiose symbols of western commercial power. See the ships and barges on the Huangpu River, en route to the sea or going upstream to the interior of China. The modernistic Oriental Pearl TV tower looms in the background redefining the skyline.

Stay overnight in Shanghai.
 

Meals: (B, L)

Begin our tour in the heart of old Shanghai at the 16th century city bazaar, the [Town-god’s Temple Bazaar]. This complex, with its classical architectural details, maze of walkways and reflecting pools, has been a marketplace and social center for over 200 years. In contrast, is the futurist Pudong area. Transformed from once fertile farmland, this new area is rapidly becoming the symbol of modern China with its world class hotels, international financial institutions, and commercial centers.

We visit to the 88th floor of the [Jinmao Tower], the third tallest building in China. From its lofty platform, you enjoy a stunning view of Shanghai. After lunch, you visit [People's Square] and tour the famed[Shanghai Museum], an unique and inspiring piece of art and architecture, home to more than 120,000 cultural relics of ancient China, including a priceless collection of jade, bronze, ceramics, paintings, furniture, etc. After dinner, you recommend an unforgettable performance of the Shanghai Acrobats.

After the performance, we will be dropped at the [Xin Tian Di] for a leisure and romantic night. Literally means "New Heaven Earth", it is Shanghai's trendiest lifestyle destination. This 2-block complex of high-end restaurants (some of Shanghai's best), bars, shops, and entertainment facilities, mostly lodged in refurbished traditional Shanghainese shikumen (stone-frame) housing, is the first phase of the Taiping Qiao Project, an urban renewal project. Busloads of domestic Chinese tourists traipse through in the evenings, Western visitors feel like they've never left home, and hip young Shanghainese flood here to enjoy the good life they feel they're due.

Stay overnight in Shanghai.

Meals: (B, L)

It will be a relaxing day today. We will be provided with a specially prepared orientation list. Stroll through the Old Shanghai bazaar, shop at Nanjing Road’s emporiums, or enjoy a nostalgic evening performance by the renowned senior citizen’s Jazz band at the Peace Hotel.

Stay overnight in Shanghai.

Meals: (B)

You will be transferred to either Pudong Airport or Hongqiao Airport to catch your flight directly home or home via Beijing. Your tour we sponsored ends at the airport in Shanghai or Beijing.

Meals: (B)