2005 China Trip - Itinerary

Extraordinary Wonders of China & the Yangtze River

April 2005

Detailed Day by Day Itinerary

Apr 17 DAY 1    DEPART HOME / FLY OVERNIGHT

DAYS 2-5    BEIJING, CHINA

Apr 18
Day 2 - When you arrive in China’s political and cultural capital, you’ll be greeted at the airport and assisted to your Superior First-Class hotel in downtown Beijing. Enjoy a welcome drink and a relaxing evening to rest before the tour.

Apr 19
Day 3 - The glories of Beijing unfold before you beginning with a tour of vast Tian’anmen Square, the great plaza where Mao held million-man parades and where today locals stroll and children fly kites. Following lunch in a local restaurant, you’ll tour the Forbidden City, the vast 15th-century complex of palaces, courtyards, and gardens that was once home to the emperors of the Ming and Qing dynasties. In the evening, enjoy a Welcome Banquet of Peking Duck, a dish developed 300 years ago by a royal chef of the Qing Dynasty.

Apr 20
Day 4 - Enjoy a full-day tour to the remarkable Great Wall where it winds through wooded hills. You’ll also visit the Ming Tombs, burial sites of 13 Ming Dynasty emperors. Your route takes you along a scenic avenue called the Way of the Spirit.

Apr 21
Day 5 - You’ll go on a remarkable trishaw (bicycle-powered rickshaw) ride through the narrow lanes of a hutong, one of Beijing’s traditional neighborhoods. In the afternoon, visit the Summer Palace, set among parklike grounds with an expansive lake, and the Peking Zoo, home of giant pandas. In the evening, you’ll attend a performance of the Peking Opera.

Presidential Plaza Hotel (3B,3L,2D)

DAYS 6-7    XI’AN, CHINA

Apr 22
Day 6 - From Beijing, fly to ancient Xi’an in central China.

Apr 23
Day 7 - Tour the Ming Dynasty city walls and the Small Wild Goose Pagoda, a delicate tower with 15 tiers. For lunch savor jiaozi, tasty dumplings sculpted to depict their contents. Afterwards, marvel at the 2,200-year-old Terra Cotta Army — more than 7,000 life-size ceramic horses and warriors in full regalia — first unearthed in 1974. Later, attend an elaborate Tang Dynasty banquet with musical entertainment.

Grand Castle Hotel (2B,L,2D)

DAYS 8-9    HANGZHOU, CHINA

Apr 24
Day 8 - After a morning at leisure in Xi'an you're off to lovely Hangzhou.

Apr 25
Day 9 - Explore the city in depth on a full-day tour, beginning with a cruise on tranquil West Lake and a stroll along the lakeside. Afterwards, visit a tea village where you can discover how tea is harvested, dried, and served. Lunch in the home of a local farmer is also included. Later visit Lingyin Temple, a monastery that houses a magnificent 60-foot statue of the Buddha carved in camphorwood.

WTC Grand Hotel (2B,L,D)

DAYS 10-12    SHANGHAI, CHINA

Apr 26
Day 10 - In Hangzhou you’ll visit the Huqingyutang Traditional Chinese Medicine Museum. In the afternoon, relax for a scenic journey by First-Class train to Shanghai, the most “Western” of mainland Chinese cities.

Apr 27
Day 11 - On a full-day tour of Shanghai explore the Bund, a sweep of grand European-style architecture along the riverfront; visit the Shanghai Museum; and stop at a Children’s Palace, a form of school dedicated to teaching Chinese youth traditional arts.

Apr 28 Day 12 - On a full-day visit to Suzhou, a charming city of gardens, visit the exquisite Master’s Net Garden, take a boat ride on a canal, visit pagoda-topped Tiger Hill, and tour a silk spinning factory.

Hilton Shanghai (3B,3L,D)

DAYS 13-16    YICHANG / EMBARK VICTORIA CRUISES

Apr 29
Day 13 - You’ll fly to Yichang to board your comfortable Victoria Cruises ship. For the next four days, the panorama of the Yangtze and its magnificent gorges unfurl before you. You’ll tour the massive Three Gorges Dam project, then cruise upstream through the Three Gorges themselves, beginning with Xiling Gorge. Next day, you’ll go on a motorboat trip up a Yangtze tributary, either among the “little gorges” of the Daning River or the forests and cliffs of Shennong Stream. Then cruise between the 12 mist-shrouded peaks of dramatic Wu Gorge and beneath the over-hanging cliffs of Qutang Gorge. You’ll also stop to visit a Yangtze River town.

Apr 30

May 1

May 2 Victoria Cruises Ship (4B,3L,4D)

DAY 17    DISEMBARK / CHONGQING, CHINA / GUILIN, CHINA

May 3 Day 17 - Disembark your Yangtze cruise in Chongqing, where you’ll visit lovely Erling Park and the General Joseph Stilwell Museum, dedicated to the American general who helped the Chinese resist Japanese soldiers in World War II. In the afternoon, you’ll fly to beautiful Guilin.

Lijiang Waterfall Hotel (B, L)

DAY 18    GUILIN, CHINA

May 4 Day 18 - Enjoy a scenic Li River motorboat cruise through a classic Chinese landscape of villages, bamboo groves, and jagged limestone peaks.

Lijiang Waterfall Hotel (B, L, D)

DAYS 19-21    HONG KONG, CHINA

May 5
Day 19 - You’ll explore Guilin’s Reed Flute Cave and Seven Star Park before flying to dynamic Hong Kong and settling into your hotel in Kowloon.

May 6 Day 20 - On a tour of Hong Kong Island on you’ll pass historic Repulse Bay, drive to the top of Victoria Peak for the incredible panoramic view, and take a sampan ride through Aberdeen floating village.

May 7 Day 21- This day is at leisure, with a Farewell Dinner.

Royal Pacific Hotel & Towers (3B,L,D)

May 8 DAY 22    RETURN HOME
(B)