Home|About us|Contact Us|Testimonials

Home >> China Tour >> China Discovery Tours

13 Days Essential China Tour with Panda and Lijiang Old City

From
$
Duration:
Destinations:
Departure date:
Tour Code: CTG-16

Tour Description

Discover China exotically new with this incomparable tour. Make your way through nearly half of China, from Forbidden City, Badaling Great Wall, Terracotta Warriors, Chongqing Zoo, Jade Dragon Snow Mountain, Lijiang Old Town to Shanghai, Suzhou and Tongli Water Town, and each city brings a surprise! Witness the fusion of Old and Modern, East and West. Immerse yourself in ancient culture and amazing nature. Learn first-hand about Chinese history and lifestyle.

Stroll through half of China to embrace diversity of attractions, see Panda and Lijiang Old Town especially.

One-stop service, incl. tour guide, hotels, meals, transportation, attraction admissions and insurance, etc.

Caring, experienced local guide & driver will be of great help to ensure your safety and comfort on the way.

Day 1 Arrive in Beijing : Pick-up and Check-in
Today's Activities May you have a good journey to Beijing, and our guide will meet you outside the customs of Beijing Airport after you clear the customs, and then transfer you to the downtown hotel. The rest of the day is flexible at will, you could have a rest or take a walk near the hotel.
Day 2 Beijing ( Breakfast, Lunch )
Today's Activities After having breakfast at hotel, you will visit the Tiananmen Square this morning to start your Beijing tour. Strolling round the large square is very enjoyable where you will see Beijing with ancient and modern elements, then walk north to the Forbidden City. As the largest and best-preserved imperial palace in China, it vividly indulges us with a whole impression of the royal life. Later you will be driven to appreciate Chinese featured royal park - Summer Palace, which boasts of typical Chinese architecture and splendid landscapes.
Highlights
Tiananmen Square Forbidden City Summer Palace          
Tiananmen Square Forbidden City Throne Hall Inside Summer Palace          
Day 3 Beijing ( Breakfast, Lunch )

Today's Activities

After having breakfast at hotel, you will have an excursion to the Badaling Great Wall, which is regarded as the most popular section of China Great Walls. It is also the best-preserved section, built during the Ming Dynasty. Then you will go to the most famous tomb of Ming Tombs - Changling, it is the largest in scale and is completely preserved, inhumed the fourth emperor of Ming Dynasty. Also you will visit the Sacred Road of the tombs, which was originally built to lead to the Changling mausoleum.
Highlights
sacred road          
Badaling Great Wall Ming Tombs - Changling Sacred Road          
Day 4 Beijing - Xi'an ( Breakfast, Lunch ) Transfer by air
Today's Activities This day you can visit the Temple of Heaven, where the Emperor of the Ming and Qing dynasties would worship heaven and pray for good harvests. After that, you will explore Beijing Hutong by rickshaw to know more about the life and culture of ordinary Beijing people. This visit can provide you with a distinctive travelling experience compared to other attraction. Later of this day, you will transfer to airport to Xi'an, then check in at Xi'an downtown hotel.
Highlights
Temple of Heaven beijing hutong          
Temple of Heaven Entrance Hutong Richshaw Featured Hutong Gate          
Day 5 Xi'an ( Breakfast, Lunch )
Today's Activities You will head for world-famous Terracotta Warriors to start wonderful Xi'an tour in the morning, maybe you have seen them many times on TV or magazines before, but it's a total different experience to see them with your own eyes. Then take a visit to the Xi'an Art Ceramics & Lacquer Factory to unveil the producing process of Terracotta Warriors replicas. If you wish, you can buy souvenirs for your friends or even take an extra chance to DIY your own Terracotta Warriors! (Fees are not included.) Later we will drive to downtown for having relaxed time in Big Wild Goose Pagoda. This attraction can be divided into three parts: Big Wild Goose Pagoda, Da Ci'en Temple and the north Musical Fountain Square. You can discover more about the legend of Hierarch Xuanzang and mysterious Buddhist culture. At last, you will walk up to the top of Xi'an Ancient City Wall, which was built in 1370 during the Ming Dynasty and 12 meters in height. Take a leisure stroll along the walk and feel the wind coming from History. Cycling on the city wall is an available add-on activity for you.
Highlights
         
Terracotta Warriors Trench Art Ceramics & Lacquer Factory Big Wild Goose Pagoda          
Day 6 Xi'an - Chongqing ( Breakfast, Lunch ) Transfer by air
Today's Activities After breakfast at hotel, you can deeply explore Xi'an in many fields by seeing Shaanxi Historical Museum, where you can get more knowledge about Chinese national treasures and other precious cultural relics. Then you will set foot in the Muslim culture at the Great Mosque, savoring the special blend of Chinese & Muslim cultures and feel the soul of the broad-minded ancient Xi'an. Hanging around the Muslim Quarter nearby the Drum Tower is another way to experience the local Muslim life. Various featured snacks & crafts shops are surely a great feast. When tour ends, you will transferred to Xi'an airport for the fly to the next destination - Chongqing. Our Chongqing tour guide will meet you at airport and send you to the downtown hotel.
Highlights
         
Exhibition in Museum Great Mosque Courtyard Muslim Quarter          
Day 7 Chongqing - Lijiang ( Breakfast, Lunch )
Today's Activities You will be welcomed by Chaotianmen Harbor in the morning. With a unique ship-shaped square, one of the largest roof squares in China, it serves the purposes of sightseeing, transport and river bank protection. It is the best place to view sightseeing in Chongqing where the muddy, churning waters of Yangtze meets the transparent Jialing River. The next destination is Chongqing Zoo where you could see those cute giant pandas playing, sleeping and eating freely. Later you will visit distinct Ciqikou old town, and buy handicraft souvenirs in streets. With a history of more than 1700 year, Ciqikou old town features plenty of Ming and Qing dynasties' buildings. At last, you will be transferred to airport for a fly to Lijiang, then our Lijiang tour guide will meet you and send you to the hotel located in Lijiang Ancient Town.
Highlights
         
Chaotianmen Harbor Night View Panda in Chongqing Zoo Ciqikou Old Town          
Day 8 Lijiang - Jade Dragon Snow Mountain Scenic Area ( Breakfast, Lunch )
Today's Activities After breakfast, we will drive about 1 hour to Jade Dragon Snow Mountain Scenic Area in which you will spend a whole day. With a wide grassland entering our eyes, we arrive in there, then proceed to the Dry Sea (Ganhaizi), which has been a highland glacial lake before the 1940s, but the water gradually dried up and turned into a vast meadow. Standing on the meadow, you can get a panorama of the Jade Dragon Snow Mountain. The most exciting thing is that we can see a splendid natural show - Impression Lijiang, which is directed and planed by famous movie director Zhang Yimou. It can definitely cheer your mind as if your soul is in connection with the nature. Later with about 1 hour's walk to ropeway station, we can take a cable car up to the top of snow mountain for overlooking the breath-taking snow landscapes, which is quite a different view from the one we get at the Dry Sea. After you finish all attractions there, we will back to hotel in Lijiang Old Town.
Highlights
         
Meadow at root of mountain Impression Lijiang Show Ancient City Wall          
Day 9 Lijiang - Shanghai ( Breakfast, Lunch ) Transfer by air

Today's Activities

In the morning, you will start an amazing China ancient town tour from the Square Street of Lijiang Ancient Town. As the center of the ancient town, the Square Street is a 6-Mu (about 1 acre) center square where four main streets radiate to four directions and are connected with each other by many narrow lanes. While walking through the old town, you will immediately get overwhelmed by small bridges, swift streams, cobbled streets and grey tiled roofs of the local houses. You could also see many local Naxi people wearing traditional costumes and headgears. When tour ends, you will be escorted to airport for leaving for Shanghai, then be picked up to Shanghai downtown hotel.
Highlights
         
Square Street Visitors in Old Town Beautiful Lijiang Old Town          
Day 10 Shanghai ( Breakfast, Lunch )

Today's Activities

As the biggest city of China, Shanghai definitely offers many lures. Early in the morning, you will visit Shanghai Urban Planning Exhibition Center to open this amazing day. Here you can see the past changes and the future blueprint of Shanghai. After that, with a stroll from Nanjing Road to the Bund, you will be impressed by Modern Shanghai amazingly compared with Xi'an. Later you can view the whole city at the highest floor of Oriental Pearl TV Tower, and know about the development of Shanghai with a following visit to Shanghai Municipal History Museum at the pedestal of the tower. At night, Shanghai Acrobats Show can be optionally appreciated.
Highlights
The bund          
Urban Planning Exhibition Center The Bund at night Oriental Pearl TV Tower          
Day 11 Shanghai : Free Activity ( Breakfast )

Today's Activities

Enjoy free activity for a whole day, you can shop or visit another attraction. As a popular shopping paradise and a tourist city, Shanghai gathers numberless shopping malls holding various world brands, as well as many distinctive places for sightseeing. Just have fun in this day.
Day 12 Shanghai - Suzhou ( Breakfast, Lunch ) Transfer by Maglev train

Today's Activities

After having breakfast in the hotel, you will head for the train station and take the speedy Maglev Train to Suzhou, and it only takes 30 mins. Later you will be picked up at railway station and transferred to downtown hotel for a short rest and leaving luggages. Suzhou is another beautiful city comparing to paradise and often dubbed the "Venice of the East". A famous Chinese saying goes: "Up there is the Heaven, while Suzhou and Hangzhou on earth."
The first spot you visit in Suzhou is Small Canal. Boating along the canal is definitely big fun. You’ll lose yourself in various shapes of bridges and the old town shaded by willows. Then you can buy lots of interesting souvenirs for your family and friends in Flower & Bird Market. Later we will take you around Suzhou Silk Factory, which was built in 1926. You’ll watch how a silkworm works and thus understand hardship that hides behind elegant comfortable Suzhou silk. Finally visiting the Lingering Garden, you could find the most delicate layout and strange rock as much as possible.
Highlights
Maglev Train          
Maglev Train Lingering Garden Suzhou Silk Factory          
Day 13 Suzhou - Tongli Water Town - Depart from Shanghai
Today's Activities In the morning, we will drive to visit Tongli Water Town, also the terminal of the tour, won’t leave you any regret before you leave China. The 1000-year-old town impresses you with its refined black-and-white blocks of folk houses, web of rivers and undisturbed local custom. Even on the flight leaving China, you can’t remove the permanent elegance of Tongli from your mind. Later the tour guide will take you to Shanghai International Airport for your return flight. We believe you will love China and keep memories about China in your whole life.
Highlights
         
Beautiful Water Town Tongli at dusk Tongli old fishman          
Package Details
Tour Package Includes:
Dining: 11 breakfasts, 10 lunches. Admissions: Entrance fee to all scenic spots listed in itinerary
Train, Flight Tickets: all listed in itineraries; Hotels: accommodation in mentioned cities;
Tour Guide: a local experienced English-speaking guide Car Driver: an experienced licensed driver
Vehicle: a private air-conditioned car, offering Round-trip transfers Luggage Transfers: a hand for your heavy luggage;
Insurance: Travel Agencies Liability Insurance; Government taxes & Service charges
Tour Package Excludes:
- Other optional attractions / tours / meals and international flights; - Tips for tour guides and drivers.
Hotel in Beijing
Crowne Plaza Hotel Beijing
Crowne Plaza Hotel Beijing
Located in the golden business area of Wangfujing, the hotel only takes 10 minutes to Forbidden City and Dongfang Square. With stylish guest rooms and newly renovated Crowne Plaza Club floor – Crowne Plaza Beijing has anticipated every need while providing easy access to business, commercial districts and historical landmarks.
Sunworld Hotel Beijing
Sunworld Hotel Beijing
Situated on the intersection of Wangfujing Avenue and Dengshikou Street, Sunworld Hotel Beijing is close to many famous historical and cultural landmarks, including the Forbidden City. Guest rooms and suites are designed with a traditional and refined style. From servies to amenities, the hotel strives to make your stay a pleasant experience.
Days Inn Forbidden City Beijing
Days Inn Forbidden City Beijing
With its courtyard style, the hotel has retained its charm of the ancient time but as well merged in contemporary architecture and designs. The hotel is near the famous Tian’anmen Square and Wangfujing Business Street. It takes about 20 minutes from Capital International Airport (24km) and 5 minutes from Beijing Railway Station (3km). The hotel provides guests clean and comfortable service and amenities.
Hotel in Xian
Sheraton Hotel Xi'an
Located near the 600-year-old City Wall and close to the city centre, Sheraton Hotel is just 35 minutes from Xi’an Xianyang International Airport. With first-class amenities, facilities and family-friendly services, Sheraton Xi’an Hotel will make you feel at home.
Grand New World Hotel Xian
Grand New World Hotel Xian
Located within the Ancient City Wall and styled in an extraordinary mix of tradition and modernity, the hotel is just 4km from the railway station and 45km from Xianyang International Airport. The large Parkson shopping centre is close by, while the Terracotta Warriors Museum is about 35km from the hotel. The hotel provides a satisfying range of contemporary accommodation together with business services and recreational facilities.
City Hotel Xian
City Hotel Xian
The hotel is located in the centre of Xi’an city and just near the well-known Bell Tower, Drum Tower and Ancient City Wall. The hotel offers a total of 137 well-appointed guestrooms for guests’ comfortable living space. The elegant and magnificent restaurants serve delicious flavor of many varieties.
Hotels in Chongqing
JW Marriott Hotel Chongqing
Located in the heart of Chongqing's main shopping and commercial district, the JW Marriott Hotel Chongqing brings an unparalled standard of comfort and service to this famous "Mountain City" in southwest of China. This 5-star Chongqing hotel boasts luxurious accommodations and numerous dining options, ranging from Chinese, Japanese, Western to its very own Steakhouse.
East Garden Hotel Chongqing
Located in downtown Chongqing, the East Garden Hotel is a 4-star hotel close to Chongqing People's Square. The hotel offers 232 well-equipped rooms for guests' comfortable stay, as well as different styled restaurants serving Sichuan Food, Canton Food, Western cuisine and other meals for guests' enjoyment. Conference halls, sauna, beauty salon, fitness center and other facilities are also available.
Fortune Hotel Chongqing
The 3-star Chongqing Fortune Hotel is located in the business district of the city, cloase to the Chongqing Liberation Monument (Jiefangbei), Chaotianmen Square and snacks street. The hotel offers different types of rooms as well as Chinese and Western Restaurants for guests' choice.
Hotels in Lijiang
Crowne Plaza Lijiang Ancient Town
Crowne Plaza Lijiang Ancient Town, is strategically located in World Cultural Heritage listed Lijiang, Yunnan Province. It is an ideal hub for conferences and meetings and is equipped with impressive business-friendly facilities, multimedia visual systems, telecommunication systems and a series of Successful Meeting products.
Wang Fu Hotel Lijiang
Lijiang WangFu Hotel is located in the old site of the orignal Mu Palace Inn,inheriting the brilliant history of the Inn that year and reproducing the reception demeanour those years. The hotel covers an area of more than 8000 square meters now, there are 98 various luxurious guest rooms, 76 standard rooms, 12 single rooms, 4 suites (2 deluxe suites, 2 ordinary suites) and 6 independent villa-style family suites.
San He Hotel Lijiang
Sanhe Hotel (Lijiang Gucheng Sanhe Jiudian) is constructed and decorated in the style of the local Naxi ethnic minority. Located in the golden area of ancient Lijiang, Sanhe offers standard, deluxe standard and single rooms, deluxe and administrative suites, all equipped with modern bath facilities and internet access.
Hotel in Shanghai
Howard Johnson Plaza Shanghai
Howard Johnson Plaza Shanghai
The hotel is conveniently located in the centre of Shanghai, 2 minutes from Nanjing Road, People Square and the Bund. It offers easy access to the city’s most important business, cultural and entertainment hubs. The elegantly designed and tastefully decorated rooms provide you with an experience of exceptional luxury and comfort.
Hengsheng Peninsula International Hotel 
Located in Hongkou District of Shanghai, Heng Sheng Peninsula International Hotel is surrounded by many famous attractions including the Bund, Oriental Pearl River TV Tower, and Nanjing Road. With its comfortable rooms and complete services, the hotel tries all its best to make guests feel like at home.
Magnificent International Hotel
Magnificent International Hotel
The hotel is located in the central heart of Shanghai – Xizang South Road and surrounded by the Bund, Xin Tian Di, Yu Garden and Shanghai Museum & Grand Theatre. Shopping streets like Nanjing Road and Huaihai Road are only within walking distance. The well-appointed guestrooms with a great number of amenities and facilities offer you an excellent stay with comfort and convenience.
Hotels in Suzhou
Pan Pacific Suzhou Hotel Suzhou
Boasting unique Chinese architectural grandeur and exquisite garden features, Pan Pacific Suzhou Hotel Suzhou is the ideal venue to for a rejuvenating retreat while indulging into the profound Chinese culture. 481 uniquely designed guestrooms are endowed with modern facilities and comforts, together with Pan Pacific's renowned personalized service, expect a memorable experience in Suzhou.
Garden Hotel Suzhou
Situated in western Suzhou, Garden Hotel is a 4-star stylish hotel with a preferable position. Just 10-minute drive from Guanqian Street, the hotel is equipped with well-appointed rooms with spacious area, modern decoration and free WIFI. With high-end services provided, Garden Hotel also offers many entertainment choices for guest, such as Karaoke, cycling and fitness center, etc.
Traveller Inn Gusu Suzhou
Traveller Inn Gusu Suzhou is a 3-star hotel, located in the heart of the city, with 108 guest rooms. Hotel's Restaurants offer Cantonese and Sichuan cuisine. Many other facilities are provided to make your stay as comfortable as possible. The hotel also has a shopping center, a ballroom, and a bar and provides all kinds of services such as mailing, clinic, massage, laundry, and car rental. This hotel is neighbors the tourism center and famous parks of the city.

Overview

- Breakfasts offered by hotels: just start your happy tour after having breakfast in the morning, especially for deluxe class, buffet breakfast is available;
- It supplys lunch according to different classes of tour, such as deluxe in city-famous restaurants and tourist in popular tourist restaurants;
- Dinner option is open to you, you could find your favorite place to eat, or take our recommendations.

We promises no worries about the dining quality, plus flexible choices that you can have depending on your preference. If having any special requestment, just tell our trip advisor directly. In all, we aim to satisfy your tongue and stomach with our recommendation as follows:


Beijing

Beijing, being the Capital of China, boasts a good number of restaurants with Chinese featured cuisines. Different restaurants, like Great Northeast Restaurant, Gold Palace Restaurant and Tang Yuan Restaurant, lead you for a feast of Chinese classic cuisines.
-- Great Northeast Restaurant: featuring seafood, Sichuan food, Canton food, food of China Northeast Region
-- Gold Palace Restaurant: featuring Canton food, Sichuan food, Shandong food, Japanese & Korean food
-- Tang Yuan Restaurant: featuring Canton cuisine

Dining Hall of Great Northeast Restaurant Main Hall of Tang Yuan Restaurant

Xi’an

Xi'an features distinctive cuisines of China Northwest, such as various-shaped Chinese dumplings and other wheaten food. Muslim Quarter gathers lots of delicious local food like Rou Jia Mo and shish kebabs, etc.
(1) Here we highly recommend Chinese Dumpling Dinner, which also named Jiaozi, typically consist of a ground meat and/or vegetable filling wrapped into a thinly rolled piece of dough, which is then sealed by pressing the edges together or by crimping. As a must-try for visitors, it serves with Tang dynasty show. And it belongs to an [add on] item in the tour.
(2) Rou Jia Mo, also called Chinese Hamburger, is very similar to the Western hamburger essentially, but with different cooking method.

Chinese Dumpling Dinner Rou Jia Mo ( Chinese Hamburger )

Chongqing

Chongqing food is largely a hybrid of Sichuan cuisine and local specialty dishes. Compared with Chengdu's Sichuan Cuisine, Chongqing's has a stronger taste, spicier and more innovative. Famous Chongqing Cuisine include Chongqing Hotpot, Qianzhang (Beam Cream Skim), Jiangtuan Fish, Sliced Meat with Cripsy Rice, etc.
-- Chongqing Hotpot: Most famous Sichuan traditional dish. Characterized by heavy flavors, diverse ingredients, and steaming aromas, hotpot is to the local culture what tea is to Chinese culture. If spicy food doesn't agree with you, you can also take a Yuanyang Hotpot, which offer both hot and light tastes in different containers at a time.
-- Sliced Meat with Crispy Rice: Slice meat with crispy rise is another local favorite. The meat is soft and tender while the rice is crispy, forming a sharp but great contrast.
-- More Information about Chongqing Dining

For travelers who spend their time and dinner before boarding the cruise ship, Qinghuayuan Restaurant is a good choice. Only a few steps away from the Chaotianmen Dock, the restaurant is of local styled architecture, especially featuring in seafood and Sichuan food.

Local Architectural Style of Qinghuayuan Restaurant Elegant Arrangement of Qinghuayuan Restaurant

Lijiang

Lijiang is a place blessed with an advantageous geographical position and a mild climate all year-round, resulting in a variety of natural resources and agricultural products in the region. The Naxi people, who have lived here for many generations, have developed their own cuisine using the rich local ingredients. Their dishes, with a refreshing flavor intermediate between Han Group and Tibetan, are a must to try if you are visiting Lijiang. Besides, as more and more visitors from home and abroad come to this city year by year, a number of western and Chinese restaurants catering for their needs have already opened in Lijiang.

Delicious Tibetan-style Yak Pot Various Lijiang Local dishes

Shanghai

We say little about the dining in Shanghai, since Shanghai is regarded as a delicious kingdom, where you can taste everything almost. Here we strongly suggest you take M on The Bund into consideration.
M on the Bund Shanghai
-- Dedicated to creating a dining experience as exciting, as sophisticated, as delectable as Shanghai itself
-- “One of the top 20 restaurants in Asia” (Miele Guide, 2009-2010)
-- “Best Global Cuisine” (City Weekend Readers’ Choice Awards, 2010)
-- “M on the Bund: Most Popular Restaurant in Shanghai” (Zaqat Survey Shanghai, 2008)

Shanghai M on The Bund Restaurant Brandboard of M on the Bund

Comments

Dear Michelle, We're writing our first email since returning from our wonderful month visiting your beautiful and exciting country. We want to thank you most sincerely for your wonderful assistance and professionalism. We didn't think that such a complicated tour that we planned (with 20 different hotels, 6 flights, 2 trains, 2 buses, countless boats, 2 concerts, a major trek etc etc) would be possible without some serious hiccups - we were totally wrong!
This was, by far, the best organised holiday we've ever been on and we were delighted by your choice of hotels, local guides etc etc. We would have no hesitation in recommending your company and, especially, yourself to any potential clients. Again, many thanks and very best wishes.

Customer: Martin and Christine 

Destinations: Shanghai - Suzhou - Nanjing - Hangzhou - Kunming - Dali - Lijiang - Tiger Leaping Gorge - Zhongdian - Kunming - Guilin - Chongqing - Yangtze River Cruise - Yichang - Shanghai

Related Tour: 20 Days Splendid China Tour with Yangtze Cruise, 10 days Beautiful Landscape of Southwest China Tour

Hi Michelle. I just wanted to thank you so much for helping me through the booking of our trip. We had a wonderful time. The hotel in Lijiang was one of the nicest I've stayed in. The guides were great. Jack/Jaques spoke excellent English and gave us plenty of information. Shau Yang was delightful too. Our train tickets turned up just as you planned and we really enjoyed the soft sleeper experience. If I can be of reference for anyone please use my name. Thanks again for smoothing our way!  

Customer: Lynne

Destinations: Shanghai - Lijiang - Tiger Leaping Gorge Hiking - Zhongdian - Kunming – Shanghai

Related Tour: 6 days Tiger Leaping Gorge Hiking; 7 days Dreamland of Shangri-la Expedition

jade dragon snow moutain, yulong snow mountain
About Us | Contact Us | FAQ | Partnerships | Newsletters | Links | Sitemap
Guide for China tour, offers most value & amazing experience. In China, you can reply on us
Copyright © 2001 - 2024. All Rights Reserved to ChinaTourGuide.Com