Day 1 - Beijing
After a leisurely start to the day you will then be met by your Tour Director who will escort the group for lunch at a local restaurant. Highlights this afternoon include the Panda House of Beijing Zoo and the Summer Palace.
Hotel: CTS Plaza (or Similar) Meals: LD

Day 2 - Beijing
After breakfast at your hotel, you will first visit the Tiananmen (Heavenly Peace) Square, the largest public square in the world. The next destination this morning is the Forbidden City, the largest and most well preserved imperial residence in China today, within the enclaves of its ancient walls and 50-metre wide moat, a labyrinth of palaces, gardens and pavilions. After lunch at a local restaurant visit the Temple of Heaven, served as an exclusive altar for Chinese monarchs during the Ming and Qing dynasties. Dinner at your local restaurant. Meals: BLD

Day 3 - Beijing
Breakfast is included this morning at your hotel. Renowned as the only man-made structure visible from outer space, the Great Wall of China is in our sights this morning. The mammoth fortification is an unimaginable 3,375 miles long, constructed over a period of 2,000 years since the start of the warring states to fend off the invaders from the north. After a local lunch our tour continues this afternoon to the Cloisonne Factory en route to Ming Tomb and the Sacred Way at Changling - the burial place of 13 Ming emperors. A special Beijing (Peking) duck dinner awaits you at Quanjude restaurant tonight as a big finale to your Beijing trip. Meals: BLD

Day 4 - Beijing / Xi'an
After breakfast at your hotel you will be transferred to the airport for a morning flight to Xi'an, the capital of Shaanxi Province and, for 11 dynasties from the 11th Century, the former capital of China. Upon arrival you will be escorted to your city hotel, home for the next 2 days and, after a restaurant lunch, visit the city wall of Xi'an. Included excursions this afternoon take you to see the Bell Tower, situated at the heart of the city. Dinner at your at your local restaurant.
Hotel: Diamond Hotel (or Similar) Meals: BLD

Day 5 - Xi'an
Breakfast is provided at your hotel this morning. Afterwards we will visit the most magnificent finds in this historic region: The City Wall, The Tomb of Emperor Qin Shi Huangdi and the Terracotta Warriors - more than 6,000 life-size figures include the ranks of men along with bronze replicas of chariots and horses. Said to be modelled on men of the day, each soldier's face is individual; every one has its own expression. We have lunch locally before visiting the Great Mosque and the Shaanxi History Museum, finishing the day off with a special Tang Dynasty Dinner & Show. Meals: BLD

Day 6 - Xi'an / Chongqing / Cruise
A morning flight is arranged to Chongqing after breakfast at your hotel. We arrive in time for lunch at a local restaurant before visiting the Ealing Park and the Old city of Ciqikou, an old and quiet town built in the Ming and Qing Dynasties that offers a glimpse of the peaceful laid-back lifestyle in the Sichuan countryside. After the excursions this afternoon we dine at a local restaurant before boarding the Yangtze River Cruise for a three night sail.
Hotel: Yangtze Cruise Boat Meals: BLD

Day 7 - Yangtze River Cruise
Your morning is spent on the cruise and we come ashore after lunch for an afternoon excursion to Fungdu, also known as Ghost City; its numerous Mingshan Mountain temples are intriguingly bedecked with statues of demons and devils. We will visit the temples before returning to the cruiser for a special Captain's Dinner and a lively evening of song and dance performances. Meals: BLD

Day 8 - Yangtze River Cruise
Our journey today is spectacularly scenic, cruising through the Yangtze's Three Gorges - which form a 120-mile stretch of the river. The first is the narrow Qutang Gorge, its walls rising sheer from the water where the river narrows to a swirling rush just 300 feet wide. Next is the 25-mile Wuxia Gorge, steeped in myth and mystery and overlooked by Fairy Peak - the tallest of twelve sister-peaks said to protect the river's travellers. There's an afternoon shore excursion to the Shennong Stream, then we rejoin the vessel for the last and longest of the gorges. The 48-mile Xiling is a group of several small gorges, including the Blue Cliff and Shadow Play. Meals: BLD

Day 9 - Yichang / Shanghai
Your riverboat cruises past the famous four rockface silhouettes - a monk, a Buddhist master, the pig Zhu Bajie and the ape king Sun Wukong - before arriving at Maoping where we disembark and continue our journey to the mammoth Three Gorges Dam, afterwards we head for Yichang to lunch before taking an afternoon flight to Shanghai. Upon arrival you will be escorted to your next hotel for the next 2 nights. Dinner at a local restaurant.
Hotel: Days Hotel (or Similar) Meals: BLD

Day 10 - Shanghai
Breakfast provided at your hotel. Our tour this morning takes us to the Bund, featuring many European style buildings from pre-1949 times, as well as the cornucopia of shops - selling everything from silks to theatre props, musical instruments, art and antiques. Afterwards we will visit the Yuyuan Garden, with over 30 pavilions linked by a maze of corridors and bridges over peaceful ponds. The rest of morning time is spent at the Jade Buddha Temple, with its two white jade statues and treasures including Tang dynasty scrolls and a 19th Century “Tripitaka” Buddhist canon. Enjoy the acrobatic show this evening after dinner at a local restaurant. Meals: BLD

Day 11 - Shanghai / Guilin
You will be transferred to the airport this morning after breakfast at the hotel for a scheduled flight to the magical landscape of Guilin - where we spend the next 2 nights. We will arrive just in time for lunch at a local restaurant before we head for our excursion this afternoon to the Elephant Trunk Hill with its extraordinary scenery. Dinner is provided at a local restaurant and the rest of the night is free at leisure.
Hotel: Bravo Hotel (or Similar) Meals: BLD

Day 12 - Guilin
This morning's excursion is easily the highlight of this tour as we take a morning cruise on the Li River Today; float past tiny settlements where children play while women wash their laundry in the river, water buffalos wander along the banks, and the world-famous cormorant fishermen (man and bird) ply the waters in bamboo boats. Lunch is provided onboard before we arrive at the little village of Yangshuo, where you can shop for local souvenirs before returning to Guilin in time for dinner. Meals: BLD

Day 13 - Guilin / Hong Kong
After breakfast at the hotel the rest of morning is free at leisure, then we will depart for our final excursion in Guilin - the Reed Flute Cave, after lunch at a local restaurant. The scenery in this cave is just as bizarre as the terrain above ground; the 240 metres deep cave contains many stalactites, stalagmites, stone pillars, stone curtains and stone flowers in numerous forms, as well as over 70 inscriptions on the wall with some dating back to A.D. 792 during the Tang Dynasty.You will be transferred to the airport this evening for a flight to Hong Kong - our final destination for the remaining 2 nights of our tour.
Hotel: Regal Kowloon (or Similar) Meals: BL

Day 14 - Hong Kong
An introduction to Hong Kong Island this morning after breakfast shows you Victoria Peak, harbour-side Aberdeen, and the beautiful beach of Repulse bay, and gives you the chance to enjoy a sampan ride. You will enjoy the Dim Sum Lunch at Aberdeen and the time is your own for the rest of the day to explore the lively Hong Kong, perhaps for a fantastic shopping spree, or join our optional excursion for Bauhinia Cruise. Meals: BL

Day 15 - Hong Kong
After breakfast the rest of the day is free at leisure until you are transferred to the airport for your return flight. Meals: B