12 Days China Tour of Beijing, Xi'an, Guilin,Guangzhou and Hong Kong

Summary

Itinerary Highlights
Day 1 Arrive in Beijing
Day 2 Beijing: Mutianyu Great Wall, Ming Tombs, Beijing National Olympic Stadium
Day 3 Beijing: Tiananmen Square, Forbidden City, Temple of Heaven, Summer Palace
Day 4 Beijing to Xi'an by Bullet Train
Day 5 Xi'an: Terra-cotta Warriors and Horses Museum, Big Wild Goose Pagoda, Tang Dynasty Show, Dumpling Banquet
Day 6 Xi'an to Guilin by Flight
Day 7 Guilin to Yangshuo by cruise: Li River Cruise
Day 8 Guilin to Guangzhou by Bullet Train: Reed Flute Cave,Elephant Hill
Day 9 Guangzhou: The Chen Clan Academy,Guangzhou's Former European Concession,Lizhiwan,Yuexiu Park,Six Banyan Temple 
Day 10 Guangzhou to Hongkong by train
Day 11 Hongkong: Free time
Day 12 Hongkong Depature

Day 1: Arrive in Beijing

Upon on your arrival, our Beijing local guide will meet you at the exit of airport with a welcome signage" China Private Tour". And then, drive you to your hotel for check-in. The rest day is free for you to recover your jetlag or explore the city on your own. Our guide will give you some recommendation.

Day 2. Beijing

In the morning, our guide will pick you up at your hotel lobby. Your tour starts with visiting Mutianyu Great Wall, it about 70KM far way from downtown. There is an old saying "If you haven't climbed the Great Wall, you haven't seen China." Many of your friends who visited China before might have told you this. It is indeed an experience of life. As one of the best-preserved parts of the Great Wall, Mutianyu section of Great Wall used to serve as the northern barrier defending the capital and the imperial tombs. It's known for its beautiful surroundings - dense woods and rich pastures changing colors with the seasons of a year. 

Your lunch is offered near the Great Wall in a local Chinese restaurant.

After lunch, the Sacred Way, affiliated with the Ming Tombs, is a main attractions arranged for you. The Ming Tombs lie in Changping County, about 50 kilometers (31 miles) northwest from the urban area of Beijing. It is actually a tomb cluster of the Ming Dynasty (1368-1644), including thirteen emperor's mausoleums, seven tombs for concubines and one grave for eunuchs.  

In the afternoon, return to the downtown Beijing and visit the Olympic Green Park, constructed for the 2008 Summer Olympics. Visit the National Stadium ( bird's nest). Its located at the Olympic Green, the stadium cost US$428 million. The design was awarded to a submission from the Swiss architecture firm Herzog & de Meuron in April 2003 after a bidding process that included 13 final submissions. 

Then continue to visit the "Water Cube" ( National Aquatics Center),  is one of the best venues of the 2008 Beijing Olympics, built with donations from Hong Kong, Macau and Taiwan compatriot and overseas Chinese. It was chosen through public appraisals as one of “China ten big new architecture views” by The U.S. magazine "Business Weekly". 

After dinner, you will be taken back to your hotel.

Day 3. Beijing

In the morning, you will be picked up at your hotel lobby.

Firstly, you will pay a visit for Tiananmen Square. It is the largest city plaza in the world. Tiananmen Square is the geographical center of Beijing City. It is the largest city square in the world, occupying an area of 440,000 square meters (about 109 acres), and able to accommodate 1000000 people at one time. Tiananmen Gate on the northern square was the site where the Chairman Mao announced the establishment of the People's Republic of China.

After sightseeing, walk into the Tiananmen you will meet the one of the world’s 5 most important palaces – Forbidden City, The Forbidden City, also named the Palace Museum, shares the honor of being one of five world-famous palaces with the Palace of Versailles in France, Buckingham Palace in England, the White House in the U.S. and the Kremlin in Russia. The incomparable palace occupies an area of 720,000 square meters (177.9 acres) and has approximately 8,700 rooms. A high red wall with a total length of 3,400 meters (3,718 yards) encases the palace. 

Have lunch at the local famous Peking Roast Duck restaurant, taste the most famous duck in Beijing and try some local cuisine in Beijing.Roast duck — or Peking Duck, as it's often known — has been served in Beijing for around 600 years, according to Liu. First served by palace chefs during the Ming dynasty, it has royal pedigree.

In the afternoon, drive about 6km to next imperial site - Temple of Heaven. The temple was constructed in 1420 during the Ming Dynasty (1368-1644), and was enlarged during the Qing Dynasty (1644-1911). It is the grandest cult architecture complex in the world and a masterpiece of the Chinese people created in ancient times. It covers 2,700,000 square meters (667 acres). Emperors of the two dynasties used to worship the heaven and pray for rich harvests, as the feudal emperors thought they were the son of the heaven. 

Next, you will visit Summer Palace. It first built in 1750, largely destroyed in the war of 1860 and restored on its original foundations in 1886 – is a masterpiece of Chinese landscape garden design. The natural landscape of hills and open water is combined with artificial features such as pavilions, halls, palaces, temples and bridges to form a harmonious ensemble of outstanding aesthetic value.

After the tour, you will be taken back to your hotel.

Day 4: Beijing-Xi'an

You will have a free time to go around Beijing city before appointed time with our guide. Then, drive you to train station for the high-speed train to Xi'an. It takes around four and a half hours. You can enjoy the scenery on the way and experience the high-speed train in China.

Upon arrival, our Xi'an local guide will pick you up at train station with a signage“China Private Tour” and take you to have lunch at a local Chinese restaurant. After lunch, drive you to your hotel check-in. The rest day is free on youe own to explore the city or relax at hotel.

Day 5: Xian

In the morning, our guide will meet you at the pointed time. Today, you will visit the highlights of Xi'an city.

Firstly, drive you to Terra-cotta Warriors and Horses Museum, it known as “the eighth Wonders of the world”, the museum shows a surprisingly high level in sculpture which is listed as the most significant discovery of the 20th century. Up to now, there has discovered a total of 179 accompanying burial pits of different connotations and various shapes in Qinshihuang’s Mausoleum area. The discovery of these pits has provided all important significance in the research of the burial system of the Qinshihuang’s Mausoleum, the characteristics structures and characteristics of the burial pits. However, what makes people feel amazing is that of all the burial pits, none has been found survived from being burnt down. 

Your lunch is arranged at local restaurant with tasting local cuisine. Such as Liangpi, it is made from rice, this cold noodle dish is a summer favourite through Shaanxi province as well as other places around China. These rice noodles are covered with vinegar, chili, salt, garlic, bean sprouts and small lumps of tofu. Roujiamo,this is the Chinese hamburger. Basically it’s a small oven baked bread bun that is sliced open and filled with slowly braised shredded pork and small pieces of fat. I personally prefer to ask for the ‘Chun Shou Rou Jia Mo’ which is the same thing only this time they use lean meat and it’ll probably only cost you about one or two yuan more. Clearly this is one dish you can’t buy at Muslim street. It will be a Sample but typical and local.

After lunch, you will visit Big Wild Goose Pagoda, also named Giant Wild Goose Pagoda. It is a Buddhist pagoda located in southern Xi'and became the symbol of the old-line Xi'an. It was built in 652 during the Tang dynasty and originally had five stories. The structure was rebuilt in 704 during the reign of Empress Wu Zetian, and its exterior brick facade was renovated during the Ming dynasty. The Big Wild Goose Pagoda attracts numerous visitors for its fame in the Buddhist religion and its simple but appealing style of construction. It is rated as a National Key Cultural Relic Preserve. One of the pagoda's many functions was to hold sutras and figurines of the Buddha that were brought to China from India by the Buddhist translator and traveler Xuanzang.

Today, you will have a Xi'an Dumpling Dinner, which is famous in Xi'an. Our guide will lead you to Shaanxi Grand Opera House and help you find your seat for the most famous Xi'an Dumpling Dinner within the Opera House. In Xian, a must for visitors to try is the delicious dumplings. While tasting those dumplings, customers will be astonished by the cooks' smart cooking methods include steaming, boiling, pan-frying, deep frying, and roasting. It seems that all of the indigenous meat and vegetables can be used for the dumplings' stuffing, such as pork, mutton, beef as well as celery, radish, cabbages, etc. Nowadays, by the cooks' continuously improving, the dumpling has been one of the local best foods to entertain visitors from home and abroad..

After dinner, you will enjoy the local colorful and splendid Tang Dynasty Dance Show, which is a performance of music and dance that imitate the Tang Dynasty over one thousand-year ago. The Tang Dynasty Music and Dance Show, a wonderful performance of the ancient music and dance, is a must when you visit Xian.

Day 6: Xi'an-Gulin

You will have a free time to go around Xi'an before appointed time with our guide. Then, drive you to Xi'an airport for the flight to Gulin. It takes around 2 hours from Xi'an to Guilin.

Upon arrival,our Gulin local guide will pick you up at the exit of airport with a signage "China Private Tour" and take you to have lunch at a local Chinese restaurant. After lunch, drive you to your hotel check-in. The rest day is free on youe own to explore the city or relax at hotel.

After the tour, you will be taken back to your hotel.

Day 7: Gulin-Yangshuo

In the morning, our guide and driver will pick you up from the hotel, drive you to the Pier, where you will start the Guilin Li River cruise to Yangshuo. The boarding time is scheduled at 9:30am, and the whole journey takes about 4 hours. With our guide's company and interpretation, you could immerse yourself in the stunning karst landscape made up of rolling hills, verdant forests, odd caves and tranquil villages along the Li River. A simple Chinese lunch will be offered on board before you reach Yangshuo at 2:00pm. 

After disembarkation, you will drive into the picturesque countryside of Yangshuo by an energy-saving battery car, or you could choose to cycle around at your own pace. At the end of this Guilin-Yangshuo tour, you will be transferred back to the hotel in Guilin by our private vehicle, it takes around 1.5 hours.You will have a dinner before back to hotel.

Day 8: Guilin-Guangzhou

In the morning, our guide will pick you up at your hotel lobby. The first stop is Reed Flute Cave, a natural limestone cave that is estimated to be 180 million years old. Stroll into cave chambers illuminated with multicolored lighting and admire the interior of stalactites, stalagmites and otherworldly rock formations.

    

And then, you will visit Elephant Hill. It is a  riverside park in Guilin, located on the western bank of the Li River. Said to resemble an elephant drinking water, the peak affords panoramic views of the city, Li River and surrounding scenery.

You will have a Chinese lunch at local restaurant. After lunch, transfer to Guilin West Railway Station for the bullet train to Guangzhou. The train takes about three and a half hours, which is very comfortable. 

Upon your arrival, you will be picked up at train station by our Guangzhou lcoal guide and take you for dinner. After dinner, you will be taken back to your hotel in Guangzhou.

Day 9: Guangzhou

In the morning, you will be picked up at your hotel lobby around 9:00am. The first stop is The Chen Clan Academy, is a unique complex and a fascinating monument to South China's culture and to anyone from Guangdong Province with the common surname Chen. You will spend 1 hour inside.

And then, continue your tour to the heart of Guangzhou's Former European Concession, France and England both set up shop on this sandy river island in 1859 toward the end of the Opium Wars, Shamian Island is home to a number of colonial era buildings, including a restored French Catholic church, Our Lady of Lourdes;

Next, pay a visit for Lizhiwan, a 743 meters (813 yards) canal which links Shamian Island and Liwan Lake, you will have the chance to explore this attractive waterway which is surrounded by greenery, period-style buildings and numerous shops and restaurants selling traditional Cantonese food.

You will have a Chinese lunch at local restaurant to try some cantonese food. Guangzhou city also regarded as paradise of food.

After lunch, Yuexiu Park, the largest park in downtown Guangzhou covering an area of 860,000 square meters (212.5 acres) and consisting of three artificial lakes and Yuexiu Mountain's seven hills.

The last stop for the tour is Six Banyan Temple. It is an ancient Buddhist temple which was built in 537 during the Liang Dynasty. 

After dinner, you will be taken back to your hotel.

Day 10: Guangzhou-Hongkong

Our guide and driver will meet you at your hotel lobby and escort you to the train station to Hongkong.Upon arrival, meet your Hong Kong guide and transfer to hotel. The rest day is free on your own to explore the city.

Day 11: Hongkong

Today still free on your own to explore the city. Our guide will give you some good recommendation for shopping,eating...

We recommend Temple Street night market in Kowloon near you hotel, open from 4pm to midnight. There is an astonishing variety of clothing, electronic gadgets, luggage etc. Even if you're not into shopping, the narrow streets and atmosphere are an experience to remember.

Day 12: Hongkong Depature

Our guide and driver will meet you at appointed time, dirve you to airport for your flight to next destinastion or back home. Our service ends!

Price Per Person in US Dollars

Price Includes 1. All transfer and city transportation 2. Air-conditioned car or van 3. Hotels specified in the itinerary, all based     on two persons sharingone standard room; 4. Meals specified in the itinerary: Western     breakfast in hotels Chinese lunch and     dinner in local restaurants 5. Sightseeing: All arrangements mentioned     in the itinerary will be covered All first     admission/entrance fees in the itinerary 6. Tour guide: Conducted by a professional     tour guide

Price Excludes 1. International air-tickets 2. Airport departure tax. 3. International or domestic air tickets which     are not listed in the itinerary. 4. Insurance coverage of personal loss, illness     or damages incurred during your trip 5. Tips to the tour guide and driver 6. Meals not specified in the itinerary. 7. Personal expenses: phone bills, laundry,     optional tours, postage, excess baggage     charge, entertainment fees out of the     itinerary. 8. Single Room Supplement.