China Value

China Value

Tour Highlights

  • Experience the best value China tour presented below.
  • Learn about the grandeur of the Ming and Qing dynasties with visits to the capital’s Forbidden City, Great Wall, and Temple of Heaven.
  • Come face-to-face with the life-size terracotta warriors in Xian.
  • In Chengdu, watch in delight as panda cubs play with each other, climbing up and down trees, rolling and pushing and kicking like Kungfu masters.
  • Or visit Guilin with its stunning Karst Mountain formations. Cruise down the famous Li River known around the world for its picturesque views.
  • Explore cosmopolitan Shanghai, China’s most modern city, where commerce and technology help shape the nation’s future.

Roundtrip International Air is not included. For pricing, please contact Airtreks at 415-977-7136.

Please choose from one of the following itineraries

 

Day 0 - 1 : Depart USA and Arrive in Beijing

Depart on your international flight to China. Cross the international date line and arrive in Beijing on the following day. After passing through customs, meet your guide and driver who will transfer you to your hotel.

The rest of this day is at leisure.

  • Accommodations: Capital Hotel Beijing
  • Meals Included: None
Day 2: Beijing

 

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
Day 3: Beijing

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
Day 4: Beijing-Xian

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
Day 5: Xian

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
Day 6: Xian-Chengdu

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
Day 7: Chengdu

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
Day 8: Chengdu-Shanghai

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
Day 9: Shanghai

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
Day 10: Depart Shanghai
Transfer to the Shanghai airport for your flight home or continue onto one of our post-tour extensions.

  • Meals Included: B
Day 0 - 1 : Depart USA and Arrive in Beijing

Depart on your international flight to China. Cross the international date line and arrive in Beijing on the following day. After passing through customs, meet your guide and driver who will transfer you to your hotel.

The rest of this day is at leisure.

  • Accommodations: Capital Hotel Beijing
  • Meals Included: None
Day 2: Beijing

 

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
Day 3: Beijing

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
Day 4: Beijing-Xian

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
Day 5: Xian

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
Day 6: Xian-Guilin

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
Day 7: Guilin

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
Day 8: Guilin-Shanghai

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
Day 9: Shanghai

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
Day 10: Depart Shanghai
Transfer to the Shanghai airport for your flight home or continue onto one of our post-tour extensions.

  • Meals Included: B
Great Civilizations Along the Silk Road Tour

Great Civilizations Along the Silk Road Tour

Travel Itinerary
Day 1-2: Travel from the USA to Beijing
Depart the USA on your international flight to China. Cross the international date line and arrive in Beijing the following day. Pass through customs and meet your local guide at the airport greeting area.Transfer to your hotel. The rest of this day is at leisure.

  • Accommodations: New World Beijing
  • Meals Included: Meals Aloft
Day 3: Beijing-Urumqi
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
Day 4: Urumqi-Kashgar
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
Day 5: Kashgar
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
Day 6: Kashgar-Urumqi-Turpan
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 1st century CE and by the 4th 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
Day 7: Turpan-Dunhaung
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 20th 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
Day 8: Dunhuang
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
Day 9: Dunhuang–Xian
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
Day 10: Xian
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
Day 11: Xian-Shanghai
Take a morning flight to Shanghai (approximately 2 hours). What strikes everyone about Shanghai is its vitality. Nothing restrains Shanghai in its immense ambition to achieve world-class status; and in only a few short years it has surpassed Hong Kong as the leading Chinese city.

Transfer to the hotel with lunch on one’s own. Enjoy an afternoon tour of the historic French Concession and walk the Taikang Market Street with boutique shops, galleries and cafes.

Enjoy a farewell banquet at Family Xi’s Garden Restaurant in a historic villa. After dinner explore Xintiandi—a stylish restaurant and shopping district designed by MIT architect Ben Wood. Filled with restaurants, clubs, and fashion boutiques, Xintiandi exudes artistic sophistication and is widely imitated throughout China today for chic redevelopment projects.

  • Accommodations: Radisson Blu Shanghai New World
  • Meals Included: B,L,D
Day 12: Shanghai-US
After breakfast transfer to Shanghai airport for flights home. Arrive in the USA on the same day.

  • Meals Included: B, Meals Aloft
Southern China

Southern China

Travel Itinerary
Day 1-2: Travel from the USA to Hong Kong
Depart the USA on your international flight to China. Cross the international date line and arrive in Hong Kong the following day. Pass through customs and meet your local guide at the airport greeting area. Transfer to your hotel. The rest of this day is at leisure.

Accommodations: Metropark Kowloon
Meals Included: Meals Aloft

Day 3: Hong Kong-Guiyang
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

Day 4: Guiyang
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

 

Day 5: Guiyang-Zhaoxing
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

Day 6: Zhaoxing
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

 

Day 7-8: Zhaoxing-Longsheng
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 (13th 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

Day 9: Longsheng-Guilin
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

Day 10: Guilin (Li River Cruise)
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

Day 11: Guilin-Hong Kong
In the morning, transfer to the Guilin train station for a high-speed train to Shenzhen (approximately 3 hours, 1st 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

Day 12-13: Hong Kong
Explore Hong Kong at your leisure. Your Asia Sublime experts can supply you with recommendations. A guided exploration can be arranged upon request.

Accommodations: Kowloon Metropark

Day 14: Hong Kong-USA
In the morning, depart for the Hong Kong International Airport on your own. Board your flight back to the USA.

Accommodations: Kowloon Metropark

Meals Included: B, Meals Aloft

Metropolis of China

Travel Itinerary

Day 1-2: Tavel from USA to Beijing

Depart the USA on your international flight to China. Cross the international date line and arrive in Beijing the following day. Pass through customs and meet your local guide at the airport greeting area. Transfer to your hotel. The rest of this day is at leisure. Accommodations: Peninsula Hotel  Meals Included: Meals Aloft

Day 3: Beijing

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. Tour the picturesque Houhai district, where well-preserved courtyard homes and narrow hutong alleys border tree-lined lakes. Tour the district by “pedicab” for a closer and more engaging experience of traditional Chinese life. Visit with a local family in their home and have lunch. 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. This evening taste the imperial city’s most famous delicacy, Peking duck, along with other Beijing specialties. Accommodations: Peninsula Hotel   Meals Included: B,L,D

Day 4: Beijing

In the morning, drive to the Great Wall of China Mutianyu, a rugged section of the wall that offers less crowded access (with cable car availability) and a more striking perspective as the wall climbs and winds over the surrounding hills. Here the Great Wall of China presents a visual experience that consistently exceeds visitors’ expectations.  Scholars estimate that the wall, averaging 25 feet in height and nearly as thick, once stretched for 3,700 miles, passing through sixteen provinces. Take the chairlift up to the summit. You may enjoy an Alpine Slide coming downhill after hiking the Wall. Lunch is at Xiaolongpu Restaurant at the foothill of the Wall. The restaurant is famous for fresh farmers’ produce and local flavors. On the way back from the wall, stop by the Olympic village where the 2008 Beijing Summer Olympics took place. View the impressive architecture of the Birds Nest stadium and Water Cube. After dinner, enjoy a performance at the Peking Opera. Accommodations: Peninsula Hotel  Meals Included: B,L

Day 5: Beijing

After breakfast, tour the beautiful grounds of the Summer Palace. The Palace was built in 1888 for the Empress Dowager Ci Xi, using funds originally intended for the Qing Imperial Navy. Saunter through the exquisite royal gardens and take a cruise on lovely Kunming Lake. Also walk the Painted Gallery, the longest garden walkway in China, famous for its lake views. The rest of this day is at your leisure. Your Asia Sublime expert can supply you with recommendations and information. Accommodations: Peninsula Hotel  Meals Included: B,L

Day 6: Beijing-Shanghai

In the morning, take a high speed train from Beijing to Shanghai (about 3 hours, 1st class seats). Transfer to your hotel. After lunch, tour the Shanghai Science & Technology Museum. As one of the largest and newest science museums, enjoy its 13 permanent exhibitions and 4 science theaters including: World of Robots, the Animal Hall, and Space Navigation. The rest of this day is at your leisure. Your Asia Sublime expert can supply you with recommendations and information. Accommodations: Fairmont Peace Hotel   Meals Included: B,L

Day 7: Shanghai

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 Hotel  Meals Included: B,L,D

Day 8: Shanghai-Suzhou (Day tour)

In the morning, take the high-speed train to Suzhou (about 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. Accommodations: Fairmont Peace Hotel  Meals Included: B,L

Day 9: Shanghai-Hangzhou (Day Tour)

In the morning, take the high-speed train to Hangzhou (about 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. Accommodations: Fairmont Peace Hotel   Meals Included: B,L

Day 10: Shanghai-Hong Kong

Take a flight (approximately 2 hours) from Shanghai to Hong Kong and transfer to your hotel. Explore Hong Kong at your leisure for the remainder of this day. Your Asia Sublime expert can supply you with recommendations. Accommodations: Hotel Peninsula  Meals Included: B

Day 11: Hong Kong

After breakfast, explore the Sheung Wan Dried Food & Herbal Market. Hong Kong remains very traditional when it comes to health and beauty aids. Ginseng, deer horn, sea horses and other exotic resources are staples of many Chinese households. Take a walk through the herbal medicine markets and gain insight into old age practices, as shopkeepers and herbal practitioners introduce you to their abundant herbs and medicines. Then stop by Man Mo Temple, a temple for the worship of the civil or literature God, Man Tai and the martial God, Mo Tai. The two gods were popularly patronized by scholars and students seeking progress in their study or ranking in the civil examinations in the Ming and Qing dynasties.The Man Mo Temple is located on Hollywood Road; it was built in 1847. Next, visit the Aberdeen Floating Community, once home to thousands of people living on junks and houseboats. A number of residents remain, though most have moved off the water. Marvel at Aberdeen’s indigenous floating community of fishing families and eccentric houseboat dwellers. Enjoy a Dim sum lunch here. Drive to to Hong Kong’s most famous landmark, Victoria Peak, and take in the panoramic views of Kowloon and the surrounding islands. This evening is at your leisure. Your Asia Sublime expert can supply you with recommendations and information. Accommodations: Hotel Peninsula  Meals Included: B,L

Day 12: Hong Kong

This day is open for you to explore Hong Kong at your leisure. Your Asia Sublime expert can supply you with recommendations.

Accommodations: Hotel Peninsula  Meals Included: B
Day 13: Hong Kong

This day is open for you to explore Hong Kong at your leisure. Your Asia Sublime expert can supply you with recommendations.

Accommodations: Hotel Peninsula  Meals Included: B
Day 14: Hong Kong-USA

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

 Meals Included: B, Meals aloft 
Eastern China

Eastern China

Travel Itinerary
Day 1-2: Travel from the USA to Shanghai
Depart the USA on your international flight to China. Cross the international date line and arrive in Shanghai the following day. Pass through customs and meet your local guide at the airport greeting area. Transfer to your hotel. The rest of this day is at leisure.

Accommodations: Fairmont Peace or Sunrise on the Bund 
Meals Included: Meals Aloft

Day 3: Shanghai
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

Day 4: Shanghai-Suzhou (Day Trip)
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

Day 5: Shanghai-Hangzhou (Day Trip)
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

Day 6: Shanghai-Tunxi
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

Day 7: Huizhou Villages
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

Day 8: Huangshan
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

Day 9: Huangshan-Tunxi-Changsha-Zhangjiajie
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

Day 10: Zhangjiajie
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

Day 11: Zhangjiajie
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.

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

Day 12: Zhangjiajie-Hong Kong
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.

Accommodations: Kowloon Metropark or Peninsula Hotel
Meals Included: B

Day 13: Hong Kong-USA
Transfer to Hong Kong International Airport and board your flight, arrive back in the USA the same day.

 Meals Included: B, Meals Aloft