DETAILS

FULL LENGTH TOUR DESCRIPTION
PLEASE NOTE: THE DESCRIPTION BELOW REFLECTS OPERATION AS A POST-CRUISE OVERLAND. THE ITINERARY CAN BE REVISED TO OPERATE AS A PRE-CRUISE PACKAGE AS WELL, WITH FLIGHT ARRIVAL AND SHIP EMBARKATION BOTH TAKING PLACE IN BEIJING.

DAY 1 – Beijing
Disembarking your cruise vessel in Tianjin, China, the port for Beijing, take off on an exciting 8 night journey that explores the wonders of Beijing, Xian and the Yangzi River, and ends in the city of Shanghai for your flight home. The adventure begins from the Tianjin pier with an approximate 2½ hour transfer to the city of Beijing, where you check in at your deluxe hotel and have the rest of the day at leisure.

DAY 2 – Beijing
Following breakfast at the hotel, join your experienced guide and head out to see the world-renowned sights of Beijing. First stop is Tiananmen Square for a stroll on the largest public plaza on earth. Lying in the center of Beijing, Tiananmen Square is thought of as the very heart of the city. The Square, in spite of its past events, remains one of the most popular venues in Beijing.

Proceed to the extraordinary Forbidden City, so named for the exclusive nature of the emperors who built and inhabited it. Center of the Chinese world for nearly 500 years, the imperial palace remains the most complete and best preserved collection of ancient buildings in China.

Break for a traditional lunch at the Bai Jia Da Zhai Men Restaurant, then continue your sightseeing with a visit to the Summer Palace and a private boat ride on Lake Kunming. The Summer Palace is the largest imperial garden in the world, a veritable museum of classical Chinese garden architecture. Construction of the Summer Palace began in 1750, commissioned by Emperor Qinglong as a gift for his mother’s birthday, and took 15 years to complete.

Return to your hotel for an evening of independent relaxation and dining.

DAY 03 – Beijing
Start the day with a visit to the Temple of Heaven, a perfect example of Ming architecture, to watch the morning activities of the local people, such as Tai Chi Ballroom Dancing or sword playing. Built in 1420, this huge site (twice the size of the Forbidden City) follows a route traversed by past emperors and their entourages in splendid procession from which the commoner had to avert his eyes.

Next stop, the Great Wall. After an approximate 1½-hour drive you reach the Great Wall at the Mutianyu site. Originally built to guard strategic passes to the plains on which Beijing is located, the magnificent vistas and solitary setting here evoke the grandeur and dazzling achievement of 5,000 years of Chinese civilization. It remains one of the great man-made wonders of the world.

Lunch is served before it’s time to return to Beijing city, which you’ll explore further with a pedicab ride through Beijing’s hutongs. “Hutong” is a Manchurian term referring to the network of small winding alleyways that once covered the city of Beijing. Like a warren of interconnecting alleyways, islands of neighborhoods were created within the larger area of the city. Although many of Beijing’s hutongs are now giving rise to modern skyscrapers, patches of simple courtyard houses have managed to survive the modern age. You’ll also visit the lively Hongqiao Market and/or Silk Street, a popular market for local shoppers and one of Beijing’s best places to buy Chinese pearls.

In the evening, transfer back to the hotel for some time to freshen up before going out for a sophisticated and intimate dinner at Lan Club, located in the Twin Towers in the Chaoyang District. After your elegant meal, return to the hotel to overnight.

DAY 04 – Beijing to Xian
Check out of your hotel this morning and transfer to the Beijing airport for the 1 hour 50 minute flight to Xian. On arrival, transfer to your hotel, making a stop en route to visit the Yangling Museum, which features recent archeological discoveries from Han dynasty tombs. This small museum, built in 1999, represents the culmination of nearby 10 years of excavation work on the area around the tomb of the Han emperor, Jindgi, who died in 141 B.C. While the actual imperial tomb of the emperor and chief consort has yet to be opened, archeologists have excavated more than 20 “satellite tombs” which have yielded a treasure trove of exquisite funerary pieces.

Lunch is on your own at the hotel this afternoon, after which you’ll set out for a visit to the Shaanxi Provincial Museum that is, without a doubt, the finest museum of ancient Chinese history currently in China. The museum is a tapestry of history encompassing your visit to Xian. Opened in June 1991, the museum celebrates the tremendous achievements of Shaanxi Province, one of the recognized cradles of Chinese civilization and capital of 11 ancient dynasties. The Museum is a striking Tang-Dynasty style pavilion and houses around 113,000 historic and cultural artifacts unearthed in Shaanxi. Conclude your visit by viewing the Tang Murals from the vault ("The Tang Dynasty's Tomb Real Murals Exhibition").

Following your museum visit, take a stroll along the top of the City Wall, one of the few remaining City Walls in China. Originally built to provide the inner city with an effective means of defense against attack, the City Wall contains four gates and a large number of towers and bastions. Xian City Wall is the best preserved, oldest and largest ancient city defense system in China and one of the city’s most important landmarks.

Then it’s time to transfer back to hotel to freshen up before for a dumpling dinner at one of the local restaurants. Dumpling, or Jiaozi in Chinese, is one of the most representative and popular Chinese foods, dating back several thousands of years. There are many different types and each is shaped differently depending on what is inside. Following dinner, visit the night market to watch an interesting dumpling making and noodle throwing demonstration. Then return to the hotel for a good night’s sleep.

DAY 05 (must be a Thursday) – Xian to Chongqing
Check out of your hotel and depart for Xian’s Old Quarter and the Small Wild Goose Pagoda. Walking through the Old Quarter, stop at the Great Mosque of Xian, one of the most interesting sites in a city known for its rich history. While the Buddhist traditions of Chinese culture are well known to most visitors, the influence exerted by Islam is not. Yet, of the religious beliefs within China today, no one can claim the strength of belief that Islam does.
The Small Wild Goose Pagoda, less frequently included on a tourist itinerary, is actually one of the most aesthetically pleasing structures in Xian. The pagoda, standing 140 feet high amidst a garden setting, was built in the year 684 in honour of the Tang Dynasty Emperor Gaozong. If you wish, you may climb to the top of the pagoda for a panoramic view of Xian.

Next, leave the city to visit the famous Terracotta Warriors Museum. The terracotta site, a small part of the tomb of Qin Shihuangdi, is made up of three distinct dig "pits", the bronze chariot hall, and a newly opened theatre in the round which shows a short film on the history of the first emperor of the Qin Dynasty (206 B.C. - 220 B.C.). Theories abound, but it is thought the Terracotta Warriors, made from mineral rich soil, were meant to safeguard the emperor's passage to the afterlife and protect his kingdom from attack. Each pit serves a different military purpose, including the vanguard and side flanks, military encampment and strategic headquarters.

After this stunning sight, a boxed lunch is served at The Terracotta Warriors Museum Teahouse. Then, it’s off to the Xian airport to catch your 1 hour 20 minute flight to Chongqing. Arriving in Chongqing, transfer to the pier to board the Yangzi Explorer for your enchanting 660 kilometre (402-mile) cruise on the Yangzi River. After settling into your deluxe cabin and having dinner, the ship will set sail on its downstream course through the Three Gorges region, considered by most Chinese to represent the single most scenic area in all of China.

DAY 06 – Wanxian
Having sailed 360 kilometres (223 miles) downstream from Chongqing, you disembark this afternoon for an excursion of Wanxian, the mountain city known as the gateway to the East Sichuan Basin.

The city, which spreads out over both banks of the river, received its name during the Ming Dynasty (1368 – 1644) and became a Foreign Treaty Port in 1902. The city is guarded by two nine-storied pagodas for good fortune and has ten free markets that sell local produce and seasonal delicacies such as mountain mushrooms and live eels. Enjoy a visit to a local kindergarten, the local market, a local museum and the resettlement community, before returning to the ship. The Yangzi Explorer sets sail this afternoon, heading eastward towards the first of the Three Gorges, the mighty Qutang Gorge which marks the westernmost entrance into the gorges region.

DAY 07 – Qutang Gorge/Wu Gorge/Shennong Stream Excursion/Xiling Gorge
Early this morning your ship will enter the Qutang Gorge through the majestic Kui Men, two imposing cliffs that resemble a towering door into some otherworldly destination. So famous is this imposing scene that its image appears on the Chinese RMB 5.00 Yuan banknote.

As the morning sails by, you reach the Wu Gorge, noted for the sheer, looming appearance of the numerous peaks marking this portion of the river. The cliff faces rise so sharply that legend relates that the “sun rarely penetrates to the river”. The most famous of the peaks is the Shennu Peak (Goddess Peak), which is believed to represent the figure of the maiden Yao Ji, the 23rd daughter of the Queen Mother of the West. According to Chinese folklore, Yao Ji descended to earth when she was 18 and so loved the region of the Wu Gorge that she built a palace there. She also promised to guard travelers through the treacherous rapids and dangerous rock faces of the gorge by turning into the protective peak, while her 12 handmaidens became the 12 sentinel peaks found throughout the gorge.

In the late morning, take an excursion up the Shennong Xi (Stream) where your river guides will teach you the traditions of the Tujia, which include their melodious folk songs. Singing was used as a means of communicating with different communities set back in the cavernous tributary valley when there were few accessible roads or footpaths between villages. The scenery is unrivaled anywhere along the middle course of the River – crystalline waters, rich forest and towering rock formations – the original landscape little altered for thousands of years. The Shennong region is home to several species of endangered flora and fauna including the elusive Golden Hair Monkey and many varieties of medicinal plants.

By late afternoon, you are passing the Xiling Gorge, the longest of the Gorges at some 76 kilometres (47 miles) in length. One of the most memorable passages in the Xiling Gorge is through the Yellow Ox Gorge (Huangniu Xia) where the river widens and sweeps under the Huangling Temple. The temple stands amid groves of orange and pomelo trees (a variety of citrus related to the grapefruit).

This evening, the ship will pass through the ship locks of the Three Gorges Dam Project and continue eastward to Yichang. The Three Gorges Dam Project is due to be completed in 2009. Enjoy another splendid night aboard The Yangzi Explorer.

DAY 08 – The Three Gorges Dam Project/Disembark in Yichang
Your day starts with a morning shore excursion to the Three Gorges Dam Project, which will provide a general introduction to what is currently the world’s largest engineering project.

Later this morning, disembark the Yangzi Explorer in Yichang, where you’ll enjoy lunch and an orientation ride of the city. Soon it’s time to transfer to the Yichang airport for the 1½-hour flight to the city of Shanghai. Upon arrival in Shanghai, transfer to your deluxe hotel to spend the night.

Day 9 - Shanghai
This morning your amazing adventure concludes with hotel check-out and transfer to Shanghai Pudong Airport for your flight home.
 
SHORT LENGTH TOUR DESCRIPTION
This exciting overland journey explores the wonders of Beijing, Xian and the Yangzi River, concluding in the city of Shanghai for your flight home. The adventure begins in Beijing, where you explore such world-renowned sites as Tiananmen Square and the Forbidden City. Watch the locals practice their morning Tai Chi at the Temple of Heaven, and take in dazzling vistas from the Great Wall of China. Then fly to Xian to see the city’s treasures, not least of which are the famous Terracotta Warriors, the earthen army intended to guard a Qin Dynasty emperor in the afterlife. Some of the most stunning scenery in all of China surrounds you on a three night luxury cruise along the Yangzi River. Shore excursions along the way introduce you to many unforgettable local people and places. The final destination is Shanghai, where you leave this magical world behind.
 
TIMING BREAKDOWN
DAY 1
00:00 Departure transfer Tianjin to Beijing
02:30 Hotel check-in, remainder of the day at leisure

DAY 2
09:00 Tour Tianamin Square and the Forbidden City
13:00 Lunch
14:00 Visit Summer Palace and private boat ride on Lake Kunming
17:00 Return to hotel, dinner on your own

DAY 3
07:00 Depart hotel for the Temple of Heaven
08:30 Transfer to the Great Wall
10:00 Arrive Great Wall at the Mutianyu site
13:00 Lunch
14:00 Transfer back to Beijing city
15:30 Commence sightseeing of Beijing’s hutongs
18:00 Return to hotel to freshen up
19:30 Depart hotel for dinner
20:00 Dinner. Return to hotel for overnight

DAY 4
06:00 Hotel check-out and transfer to Beijing airport for flight to Xian. Arrive Xian, transfer to hotel with stop at Yangling Museum en route
13:30 Independent lunch at hotel
14:30 Depart hotel, visit Shaanxi Provincial Museum and walk the City Walls
17:00 Return tranfer to hotel
19:30 Dumpling dinner at local restaurant
20:30 Visit night market to watch dumplings and noodles made. Return to hotel

DAY 5 (must be a Thursday)
07:30 Hotel check-out
08:00 Depart hotel for Old Quarter and Small Wild Goose Pagoda
10:30 Visit to Terracotta Warriors Museum (includes I-max movie, Pits # 1, 2, 3 & Bronze Chariot Museum)
13:45 Boxed lunch at The Terracotta Warriors Museum Teahouse
14:30 Departure transfer to airport. Fly Xian/Chongqing (1 hour 20 minute flight). Arrive Chongqing, transfer airport to Chongqing pier to embark The Yangzi Explorer, which sets sail after dinner

DAY 6
14:00 Disembark ship for shore excursion to city of Wanxian
17:00 Yangzi Explorer sails for Qutang Gorge

DAY 7
06:40 – 07:00 Scenic cruising Qutang Gorge
08:00 – 10:00 Scenic cruising Wu Gorge
10:30 – 13:00 Shennong Stream Shore Excursion
15:00 – 16:00 Scenic cruising Xiling Gorge (West Part)

DAY 8
07:00 – 08:30 Three Gorges Dam Project Shore Excursion
10:30 Disembark in Yichang and orientation ride
13:00 Lunch at a local restaurant
14:00 City tour of Yichang, transfer to airport. Fly Yichang/Shanghai (1½-hour flight)
16:20 Flight departs (schedule subject to change)
17:50 Flight arrives Shanghai, transfer to hotel (approximately 1 hour)

Day 09 – Depart Shanghai Morning - check out of hotel, transfer to Shanghai Pudong Airport
 
OPERATIONAL NOTES
- Meals include eight breakfasts, six lunches and five dinners
- Hotel nights include three nights in Beijing, one in Xian and one in Shanghai
- Includes three nights in Deluxe Cabin aboard Yangzi Explorer
- Includes three group Shore Excursions while aboard Yangzi Explorer
- Internal flights are inclusive of airport tax
- Activity level is Extensive

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