This morning, arrive at the gate of the Forbidden City, the abiding symbol of imperial China. Truly one of the great achievements of civilization, its construction employed hundreds of thousands of workers between 1406 and 1420. Marvel at its expansive architecture, magnificent imperial gardens, and many museums of Chinese antiquities and treasures. Take a walk through Tiananmen Square on your way to a delicious lunch at the lovely Hua’s Garden Restaurant

• Accommodations:  Capital Hotel Beijing
  
• Meals Included: B,L

Head northeast for the Great Wall of China. Encounter this extraordinary rampart at Badaling, a rugged section of the wall that offers easy access by foot or cable car. The Great Wall presents a visual experience that dramatically exceeds visitors’ expectations every time. Construction of a few miles of the wall on such jagged peaks seems nearly miraculous, but the rampart stretches for 3,700 miles and passes through 16 provinces.

Visit the Sacred Way and the Ming Tombs nearby.

This evening, savor the imperial city’s most famous delicacy, Peking duck, along with other Beijing specialties.

• Accommodations: Capital Hotel Beijing
  
• Meals Included: B,L,D

This morning, explore the Temple of Heaven, one of the finest creations of the Ming dynasty. This stunning architecture realizes the eternal Chinese desire to incarnate heaven in material form and represents the most advanced principles of mechanics and geometry of the time.

Fly to the ancient Tang dynasty capital of Xian (about 3 hours, economy class). Meet your local guide and transfer to your hotel.

The rest of this day is at leisure.

• Accommodations: Holiday Inn Xian
• Meals Included: B,L

Our second day in Xian begins with a viewing of the extraordinary 2,300-year- old terracotta warriors in the tomb of China’s first emperor, Qinshihuang. The warriors still stand at the original site where farmers discovered them in 1974.

Visit the Wild Goose Pagoda, where the ancient Buddhist sutras from Tang dynasty (600-900AD) are kept. During this dynasty, the famous monk Xuanzang traveled to India and brought back great amount of Buddhist classics. He toiled for years translating and organizing the scriptures at the temple.

Enjoy a tour of Xian’s Ancient City Wall by bicycle.

This evening, enjoy an optional dumpling dinner and show at the Tang Dynasty Restaurant.

• Accommodations: Holiday Inn Xian
• Meals Included: B,L

This morning, transfer to the Xian train station for the high-speed train to Chengdu (about 4 hours, 1st class seats). Chengdu is the hub of classical Chinese culture with a vision towards the future. Above all Chengdu is known for its unbelievable Sichuan cuisine and the adorable Giant Pandas.

Meet your guide and transfer to your hotel. The rest of this day is at leisure.

• Accommodations: Dorsett Grand Chengdu Hotel
  
• Included Meals: B

This morning, visit Chengdu Panda Breeding Center beautifully landscaped with lush plants and lakes. Meet with 60 some pandas and their caregivers. The highlight comes at the kindergarten where panda cubs play with each other, climbing up and down trees, rolling and pushing and kicking like Kungfu masters. The Atlanta Zoo’s panda girl was returned to China in 2010 and has lived here since. Also, visit the Small Red Panda Center with 40 small pandas in residence who roam freely.

In the afternoon wonder People’s Park where throngs of locals gather to practice Taiji, fly kites, or do synchronized dance. Wonder the lovely Bonsai Garden in the park with beautiful tropical and native plants grown for decades in large ceramic pots. Visit Kuanzhaixianzi, a traditional district with restored courtyard houses from Qing dynasty. Lining the old alleyway, beautiful tea houses, art galleries, bookstores, boutique shops, and restaurants make this area a popular destination for locals.

• Accommodations: Dorsett Grand Chengdu Hotel
  
• Meals Included: B,L

In the morning, transfer to the Chengdu airport for your flight to Shanghai (about 3 hours, economy class). Meet your local guide and transfer to your hotel.

The rest of this day is at leisure.

• Accommodations: Ambassador Hotel Shanghai
  
• Meals Included: B

In the morning, tour the French Concession in historic district and stop by Taikanglu Road with galleries and fine boutique shops. Next, visit the Shanghai Museum and view its wonderful collection of Chinese ceramics, paintings and furniture.

After lunch at a local restaurant, tour Yuyuan Gardens, designed in six unique parts, making the garden seem much larger than it really is. You will find one of the best Ming rockeries here, and wending the zigzag bridge to Huxingting Teahouse is a delight.

This evening, enjoy an optional show of the world famous Shanghai Acrobats.

 

• Accommodations: Ambassador Hotel Shanghai
  
• Meals Included: B,L

Transfer to the Shanghai airport for your flight home or continue onto one of our post-tour extensions.

• Meals Included: B

 

This morning, arrive at the gate of the Forbidden City, the abiding symbol of imperial China. Truly one of the great achievements of civilization, its construction employed hundreds of thousands of workers between 1406 and 1420. Marvel at its expansive architecture, magnificent imperial gardens, and many museums of Chinese antiquities and treasures. Take a walk through Tiananmen Square on your way to a delicious lunch at the lovely Hua’s Garden Restaurant

• Accommodations:  Capital Hotel Beijing
  
• Meals Included: B,L

Head northeast for the Great Wall of China. Encounter this extraordinary rampart at Badaling, a rugged section of the wall that offers easy access by foot or cable car. The Great Wall presents a visual experience that dramatically exceeds visitors’ expectations every time. Construction of a few miles of the wall on such jagged peaks seems nearly miraculous, but the rampart stretches for 3,700 miles and passes through 16 provinces.

Visit the Sacred Way and the Ming Tombs nearby.

This evening, savor the imperial city’s most famous delicacy, Peking duck, along with other Beijing specialties.

• Accommodations: Capital Hotel Beijing
  
• Meals Included: B,L,D

This morning, explore the Temple of Heaven, one of the finest creations of the Ming dynasty. This stunning architecture realizes the eternal Chinese desire to incarnate heaven in material form and represents the most advanced principles of mechanics and geometry of the time.

Fly to the ancient Tang dynasty capital of Xian (about 3 hours, economy class). Meet your local guide and transfer to your hotel.

The rest of this day is at leisure.

• Accommodations: Holiday Inn Xian
• Meals Included: B,L

Our second day in Xian begins with a viewing of the extraordinary 2,300-year- old terracotta warriors in the tomb of China’s first emperor, Qinshihuang. The warriors still stand at the original site where farmers discovered them in 1974.

Visit the Wild Goose Pagoda, where the ancient Buddhist sutras from Tang dynasty (600-900AD) are kept. During this dynasty, the famous monk Xuanzang traveled to India and brought back great amount of Buddhist classics. He toiled for years translating and organizing the scriptures at the temple.

Enjoy a tour of Xian’s Ancient City Wall by bicycle.

This evening, enjoy an optional dumpling dinner and show at the Tang Dynasty Restaurant.

• Accommodations: Holiday Inn Xian
• Meals Included: B,L

This morning, transfer to the Xian Airport for your flight to Guilin (about 3 hours, economy class seats). Guilin is world famous for its spectacular karst limestone formations, vertical mountains thrust up from the seabed some 300 million years ago.  Eroded over the millennia by water and winds, these picturesque mountains, immediately recognizable to anyone familiar with Chinese painting, have provided inspiration for countless Chinese artists.

Meet your guide and transfer to the Elephant Hill Park and Reed Flute Caves.

• Accommodations: Guilin Bravo Hotel
• Included Meals: B

This morning, cruise down the Li River, winding past Mural Hill, Folded Brocade Hill, Crescent Moon Hill, and many more.  The four-hour cruise navigates some of the region’s most stunning karst formations. 

Travel to Yangshuo and wander lively Xijie Street, filled with restaurants, crafts shops, and local inns. Xijie is the home away from home for numerous Westerners and so exudes a cosmopolitan air as well as an invitation for a rollicking good time.

After disembarking, tour Liugong & Mushan villages, a gorgeous agricultural valley surrounded by distant karst scenery.  Walk into the fields to enjoy another experience of rural China, this time in the middle of a visual paradise.

After dinner, transfer back to Guilin in the evening.

 

• Accommodations: Bravo Guilin Hotel
  
• Meals Included: B,L

In the morning, transfer to the Guilin airport for your flight to Shanghai (about 3 hours, economy class). Meet your local guide and transfer to your hotel.

The rest of this day is at leisure.

• Accommodations: Ambassador Hotel Shanghai
  
• Meals Included: B

In the morning, tour the French Concession in historic district and stop by Taikanglu Road with galleries and fine boutique shops. Next, visit the Shanghai Museum and view its wonderful collection of Chinese ceramics, paintings and furniture.

After lunch at a local restaurant, tour Yuyuan Gardens, designed in six unique parts, making the garden seem much larger than it really is. You will find one of the best Ming rockeries here, and wending the zigzag bridge to Huxingting Teahouse is a delight.

This evening, enjoy an optional show of the world famous Shanghai Acrobats.

 

• Accommodations: Ambassador Hotel Shanghai
  
• Meals Included: B,L

Transfer to the Shanghai airport for your flight home or continue onto one of our post-tour extensions.

• Meals Included: B

Take a morning flight (approximately 4 hours) to Urumqi the capital of the Xinjiang province in western China. The story of the Silk Road unfolds at the Xinjiang Museum, which houses fascinating exhibits from more than 12 minority groups. Meet with the museum curator to learn about the priceless museum artifacts, including 3000 year-old mummies recently excavated from nearby sites. Among them is the perfectly preserved “Beauty of Loulan” that is more than 3800 years old.

• Accommodations: Grand Mercure Urumqi Jualing
• Meals Included: B,L

This morning, tour Nanshan Pasture about 40 miles outside Urumqi and situated in the Kelawucheng Mountain range. Here Kazaks continue to herd sheep and horses as their ancestors did in a picturesque landscape of snow-covered peaks and emerald-green grasslands.

In the afternoon, visit the city historic district, where traditional Islamic life still goes on. Also, wander the lively market with endless stalls of handicrafts, silverware, jade artifacts, silk and garments.

For dinner, we enjoy the special opportunity to sample Uighur cuisine.

In the evening, fly to Kashgar (approximately 2 hours) and check into your hotel.

• Accommodations: Yuexling JinJiang International Hotel
• Meals Included: B,L,D

Historically Kashgar was an important hub for the northern and southern Silk Roads, a quintessential caravan city.

This is the day to wander the Great Market, the quintessential central Asian experience, with its vast throngs of horses, traders, shoppers, hagglers, and the merely curious. The Great Market has been at the center of Kashgar’s commercial life since the Tang dynasty (600-900ADE).

Visit the Id Kah Mosque, an Islamic structure in the central Asian style. The grand main hall has intricately carved wood columns finished in flower patterns. So extensive are the facilities here that seven thousand worshippers can attend service at one time.

Admire the Aba Khoja Mausoleum, an impressive complex of four prayer halls, lecture hall, and mausoleum. The halls exude sophistication with the exquisitely painted wood beams supported by intricately detailed columns and capitals. The impressive minarets and dome are covered with floral and geometric patterns, scalloped edges, and finials.

If time permits, visit a local village.

• Accommodations: Yuexling JinJiang International Hotel
• Meals Included: B,L,D

Fly to Urumqi (approximately 2 hours) in the morning and drive to exotic Turpan via the freeway (approximately 3 hours). Turpanis situated 400 feet below sea level, one of the lowest elevations on earth. Because of the aridity an astonishing array of artifacts have survived in near pristine condition.

First, we make our way to the Thousand Buddha Caves hewn into the sides of the Sengim Gorge. Then, we let our imaginations soar amid the vast ruins of Gaochang, a city surrounded by 33 foot high walls. Gaochang was founded as a garrison town in the 1^st century CE and by the 4^th century had become the capital of the western Han Empire. It was abandoned during the early Ming era. The ruins are extensive, though in a diminished state after centuries of erosion.

• Accommodations: Tuhua Petroleum Hotel
• Included Meals: B,L,D

Wander the site of Jiaohe, the ancient walled capital that originated in the Han dynasty. This was a fortress intended to protect against raids by the Xiongnu. The ruins date mostly to the Tang dynasty, and include a large Buddhist stupa.

Visit the karez irrigation site. Used throughout Xinjiang, this ingenious system of irrigation taps into natural underground water sources by using a network of subterranean tunnels that channel water to the fields.

Examine the collections of the Underground Museum at Astana. The museum director will give us an overview of the artifacts and contents of graves that provide such a fascinating window on the history of the Silk Road. Numerous expeditions in the 20^th century, including one by Aurel Stein in 1914, have unearthed more than 10,000 objects.

Enjoy dinner at local’s home with a minority music and dance performance.

Tonight, settle in our cabin accommodations for the overnight train to Dunhuang. The unyielding austere desert outside the window reminds us of the interminable difficulties the Silk Road posed to travelers, difficulties that were only resolved in recent times.

• Accommodations: Overnight Train, First Class soft sleeper
• Meals Included: B,L,D

Arrive in Dunhuang in the morning and transfer to the hotel. Dunhuang is one of the world’s great repositories of religious art and provides an excellent window onto ancient life along the Silk Road.

After lunch, wander the local market and visit Dunhuang Museum with historic artifacts from the region.

It’s time to get out in the sun and nothing is more fun than riding camels over the sand dunes at Crescent Moon Spring.

• Accommodations: Silk Road Dunhuang Hotel
• Meals Included: B,L,D

In the morning, visit the Mogao Caves. They are cut into steep stone cliffs and so provide a secure shelter for the thousands of Buddhist murals and statuary within. We wander at our leisure through a succession of grottos, marveling at the interiors of Buddhas and Bodhisattvas unchanged since the Tang.

Meet with a scholar from the Dunhuang Research Institute to learn about recent excavations and the ongoing effort at cultural preservation. We’ll also investigate a newly built museum featuring replicas of ancient Dunhuang art and religious artifacts.

Afternoon flight (approximately 2 hours) to the ancient Tang dynasty capital of Xian, formerly known as Changan. Meet your local guides and transfer to your hotel.

Stroll the Muslim Quarter. Chinese Muslim culture traces its heritage from the flourishing Silk Road culture of the Tang dynasty. Evening is open for you to explore at your leisure and dinner is on your own.

• Accommodations: Hilton Hotel
• Meals Included: B,L

Our second day begins with a viewing of the extraordinary 2,300-year-old terracotta warriors in the tomb of China’s first emperor, Qinshihuang. The warriors still stand on the original site where they were discovered by farmers in 1974.

In the afternoon, explore Shanxi History Museum and its artifacts spanning many dynasties. The curator will greet us and provide an introduction to the museum’s unique collections

Visit the Wild Goose Pagoda, where the ancient Buddhist sutras from Tang dynasty (600-900AD) are kept. During this dynasty, the famous monk Xuanzang traveled to India and brought back great amount of Buddhist classics. He toiled for years translating and organizing the scriptures at the temple.

Our day concludes with a dumpling banquet at Defachang Dumpling restaurant, where we’ll feast on over twenty kinds of Chinese dumplings, a Xian specialty.

• Accommodations: Hilton Hotel
• Meals Included: B,L,D

• Accommodations: Radisson Blu Shanghai New World
• Meals Included: B,L,D

After breakfast transfer to Shanghai airport for flights home. Arrive in the USA on the same day.

• Meals Included: B, Meals Aloft

Fly from Hong Kong to Guiyang (approximately 1.5 hours) and have lunch onboard. Upon arrival, transfer to Kaili on the new freeway (2 hours drive).

Meet your guides and check in to your hotel.

In the afternoon, tour a village nearby. Dinner is at the hotel. After dinner, walk the nearby market square.

Accommodations: Grand Metropark Hotel
Meals Included: B,D

Visit minority villages outside Kaili: Jidao Miao Village, Datang Miao Village, and Paika Village.

In the afternoon, visit Taiyanggu, a Dong & Miao Minority Costume Museum. Meet Ms.Yang Jian-hong, director and owner of the first private museum in the region. Enjoy a private guided tour of the stunning 110 pieces of Dong and Miao minority costumes she has collected over 10 years. The museum has 3 stories with beautiful exhibit rooms and precious clothes, some over 100 years old. Yang earned her master degree in minority fashion design from Beijing Central Minority Institute. Currently she is launching a reproduction effort by hiring local minority women to preserve the traditional handicraft technique. They are carefully making reproductions of each costume. Her hope is to take the reproductions outside of China on a tour, so the rest of the world can see their beautiful traditional crafts. It takes one year and over 10,000 yuan ($1800) to re-create one piece.

Return to Kaili (15 minutes drive) for the evening.

Accommodations: Grand Metropark Hotel
Meals Included: B,L

 

In the morning, drive to Yangjia ( approximately 1.5 hours). Tour Gaoyao village, a 10-minute walk to the top of the hill for a bird’s-eye view of the rice terraces and the distant villages on the hillside–just stunning! Spend 30 minutes here.

Drive along the highway to Rongjiang (approximately 1 hour 15 minutes) and take in the picturesque countryside. Have lunch in Rongjiang at a local restaurant.

Continue on to Huanggang (approximately 1.5 hour drive on the highway) to visit the Huanggang Dong Village. 300 households (1600 people) live in this ancient village with 800 years of history. There are 5 drum towers and traditional architecture all around. The village is one of the best-preserved Dong villages in the region. Immerse yourself in the traditional ways of life and folk customs.

 Drive to Zhaoxing (approximately 1 hour on the highway) and check into your hotel. Enjoy a village tour with dinner at a local restaurant.

Accommodations: Zhaoxing Indigo Lodge 
Meals Included: B,L,D

In the morning, drive up to Tangan Village. Go on a hiking tour of Tanganzai through rice terraces to Xiage Village. For a more rigorous hike, walk back to Zhaoxing (3-4 hours). Those who prefer a more leisurely hike, can explore for two hours and take the bus back to Zhaoxing for lunch.

Lunch is at a local restaurant in Zhaoxing.

In the afternoon, explore local villages and meet with local families. Wander Jitang Village, Dengjiang Village and Nongbang Village. Meet the locals, visit their homes, buy clothes and hand made fabrics from local women and play with the children–make sure to bring candies as kids love them!

Accommodations: Zhaoxing Indigo Lodge 
Included Meals: B,L,D

 

Drive to Longsheng (approximately 4 hours) along the beautiful river and scenic mountains. Spend two nights at the lovely Li An lodge. Longsheng is famous for rice terraces cut into precipitous hills that farmers have cultivated since the Yuan dynasty (13^th ADE). Spring and summer are a particularly beautiful seasons as the paddies fill with water and reflect the changing panorama of the sky. A little later, skeins of luscious green rice plants create remarkable views throughout the valley. Longsheng is the home of Yao and Zhuang minorities who both continue to don colorful dress and carry on their traditions. Hike the rice terraces and explore the village markets and delightful craft shops.

Accommodations: Li An Lodge
Meals Included: B,L,D

Continue to explore the paths and life of Longsheng until early afternoon, then drive to Guilin (approximately 1 hour). Guilin is world famous for its spectacular karst limestone formations, vertical mountains thrust up from the seabed some 300 million years ago.  Eroded over the millennia by water and winds, these picturesque mountains, immediately recognizable to anyone familiar with Chinese painting, have provided inspiration for countless Chinese artists. Dinner is at the Zuoan Restaurant.

Accommodations: Shangri-La Hotel 
Meals Included: B,L,D

This morning, cruise down the Li River, winding past Mural Hill, Folded Brocade Hill, Crescent Moon Hill, and many more. The four-hour cruise navigates some of the region’s most stunning karst formations. After disembarking, check in to your hotel. Then take a ride to Liugong & Mushang villages, a gorgeous agricultural valley surrounded by distant karst scenery.  Walk into the fields to enjoy another experience of rural China, this time in the middle of a visual paradise.

In the evening explore lively Xijie (West Street) filled with restaurants, shops, and local inns. Xijie is the home away from home for numerous Westerners and so exudes a cosmopolitan air as well as an invitation for a spirited, good time. After dinner on your own, enjoy Zhang Yi-mo’s show “Impressions of Sister Liu.” Zhang is a world famous movie director with Oscar nominated movies like “Raise the Red Lantern”, “Hero” and “House Full of Daggers”. He was the director of the opening of the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing.

After the show, transfer back to your hotel in Guilin. Dinner is on your own.

Accommodations: Shangri-La Hotel 
Meals Included: B,L

In the morning, transfer to the Guilin train station for a high-speed train to Shenzhen (approximately 3 hours, 1^st class seats). Cross the border into Hong Kong and transfer to your hotel.

The rest of this day is at leisure.

Accommodations: Kowloon Metropark
Meals Included: B

Explore Hong Kong at your leisure. Your Asia Sublime experts can supply you with recommendations. A guided exploration can be arranged upon request.

In the morning, depart for the Hong Kong International Airport on your own. Board your flight back to the USA.

Meals Included: B, Meals Aloft

Tour the French Concession in the historic district and stop by Taikanglu Road with galleries and fine boutique shops.

After lunch, tour Yuyuan Gardens, designed in six unique parts, making the garden seem much larger than it really is. You will find one of the best Ming rockeries here, and enjoy walking the zigzag bridge to Huxingting Teahouse.

Cross the Huangpu River and visit the Pudong economic district. Ride the elevator to the top of the tallest building in Asia, the new Shanghai City Center, for a bird’s-eye view of the old and new Shanghai by the Huangpu River.

In the evening, enjoy a banquet at Dingxiang Garden Restaurant, serving impeccable Shanghai cuisine.

After dinner, go to a performance of the famous Shanghai Acrobats.

Accommodations: Fairmont Peace or Sunrise on the Bund
Meals Included: B,L,D

In the morning, take the high-speed train to Suzhou (approximately 30 minutes, 1st class seats). Suzhou is known as the “Venice of the East” where river canals are found more often than streets. Visit the Humble Administrator’s Garden, with countless pavilions surrounding the tranquil lakes and gardens.

Ride a boat on the Grand Canal to Tiger Hill, with beautiful bonsai gardens.

After lunch, take a tour of the Silk Museum to learn about one of China’s most venerated crafts.

In the evening, transfer back to Shanghai. Spend the rest of the evening at your leisure, dinner is on your own.

Accommodations: Fairmont Peace or Sunrise on the Bund
Meals Included: B,L

In the morning, take the high-speed train to Hangzhou (approximately 1 hour, 1st class seats). Enjoy a gentle hike up Gushan Hill by the West Lake. Traditional architecture, landscape gardens, pavilions and museums line up the hillside with a bird’s-eye view of the West Lake and Hangzhou City.

At lunchtime, visit the Meijiawu Tea Plantation and meet tea farmers who continue the ancient art of Longjing tea cultivation. Enjoy lunch at a tea farmer’s home.

In the afternoon, tour Lingyin Temple, one of the earliest grand Chan Buddhist temples remaining in China today.

Take a boat ride on West Lake and tour the charming gardens on the isles.

In the evening, transfer to Shanghai. Spend the rest of the evening at your leisure, dinner is on your own.

Accommodations: Fairmont Peace or Sunrise on the Bund 
Meals Included: B,L

Depart the Shanghai airport on a flight (approximately 1 hour) to Tunxi (Huanghshan City) in nearby Anhui province. Anhui boasts an idyllic landscape of rice cultivation unspoiled by industrialization. Unending greenery gives the impression of vast, well-tended parkland. Upon arrival, tour the Museum of Huizhou Folk Architecture and Ink Factory.

Spend the remainder of the day at your leisure.

Accommodations: Crowne Plaza Hotel 
Included Meals: B,D

Spend the whole day visiting the UNESCO World Heritage Site of Xidi Village. Situated in the rich green and sparkling waters of surrounding rice paddies, the village appears just as it did centuries ago. You can feel the authenticity of the rural life as you wander the stone lanes on pathways between towering vertical walls that at times narrow to shoulder width. Xidi Village dates to 900AD. Picturesquely ringed by hills, it is known as “a village in a Chinese painting.”

Lunch is at a local restaurant featuring traditional Anhui cuisine.

In the afternoon tour the quiet Pingshan Village with centuries old Huizhou architecture. This is one of oldest villages with the most historic buildings preserved. A Song dynasty temple (950AD) still stands close to exquisite family temples of Ming and Qing dynasties. A movie producer restored an ancient courtyard into a boutique inn with a trendy theme bar and cafe.

Return to Tunxi in the late afternoon. The evening is free and dinner is on your own.

Accommodations: Crowne Plaza Hotel 
Meals Included: B,L

Today, take a bus (approximately 1 hour) to Anhui’s crown jewels, the incomparable Huang Mountains. Because these mountain tops are often above cloud level they offer intriguing natural light effects as well as views of the clouds from above, including the famed Sea of Clouds phenomena. The staggering beauty of granite precipices emerging from fog banks has inspired Chinese artists for centuries.

Walk forty minutes to your hotel and check into modest, yet adequate rooms. Vistas of amazing beauty lie a few minutes from the hotel. Every direction offers a unique view, as can be gathered from the scenic names of, the Nine Dragons, Daoist Priest, Ox Nose, and Hunchback. Choose between short strolls on nearby paths or longer hikes along the summit ridge.

Accommodations: Xihai Hotel 
Meals Included: B,L,D

In the morning transfer back to Tunxi (approximately 1 hour). Arrive at Tunxi airport and take a flight to Changsha (about 2 hours).

After lunch, take a flight (approximately 1 hour) from Changsha to Zhangjiajie. Meet your local guides and check into your hotel.

The rest of the day is at your leisure and dinner is on your own.

Accommodations: Crowne Plaza Zhangjiajie Wulingyuan                     
Meals Included: B,L

Today visit the Wulingyuan park with a local guide. This UNESCO world heritage site features stunning sandstone pillars strewn across the canyon. Its odd geological formations were featured in James Cameron’s film, “Avatar.” Take the Tianzi Shan cable car to the top of the canyon and tour the precipices and walkways for stunning panoramic views of the park. Descend down the Bailong Heavenly Elevator to the valley floor and walk back to the entrance next to the Golden Whip River.

Tonight, enjoy dinner at a local restaurant featuring Hunan cuisine.

Accommodations: Crowne Plaza Zhangjiajie Wulingyuan 
Meals Included: B,L,D

This morning, take the world’s longest cable car to the top of Tianmen Mountain. Cliff face walkways wind around the mountain (about 7km for a full loop of the top), including a section of glass walkway and the Heavenly Peak Pavilion, a temple built atop the mountain during the Tang dynasty. Take a bus on your descent that will travel through the hole of the mountain.

Stop by the Yellow Dragon Cave. This Karst Limestone cave is over 15 kilometers long with underground streams, stalactites, stalagmites, and a variety of stone formations lit by colorful lights. (Entrance fee and optional boat ride not included).

This evening, enjoy authentic Hunan cuisine.

In the morning, take a flight from Zhangjiajie to Hong Kong (approximately 2 hours).

Spend the rest of the day at your leisure. Your Asia Sublime expert can supply you with recommendations.

Transfer to Hong Kong International Airport and board your flight, arrive back in the USA the same day.