Arrive in Beijing
The tour guide will meet you at Beijing International Airport, and then transfer you to hotel.

Beijing

Beijing served as the capital for 5 dynasties over a period of 800 years with each emperor identified as a dragon sent from heaven.  Begin your city tour with a visit to the Summer Palace, built in classical Chinese style in 1750 as a royal recreational resort.  Among its famous features are the 700-meter-long corridor with its wonderful Painted Gallery, the Marble Barge, and several magnificently painted pavilions and pagodas.  Next stop is the Palace Museum, more commonly known as the Forbidden City, until recently opened only to the emperors family. This complex, the largest imperial palace ever built in the world, features more than 800 buildings with over 9,000 rooms, resplendent golden- glazed roofs, red lacquered pillars and vermilion walls.  See the high-walled "Inner City" with its government buildings. 

Sightseeing continues at the Temple of Heavenwhere the Ming and Qing emperors prayed to heaven for a good harvest.

Beijing

Here is your chance to climb the Badaling Great Wall of China!  Built 2600 years ago, it is one of the two man-made structures seen by the naked eye of USastronaut Neil Armstrong from outer space.  Later visit the Ming Tombs, the burial place of thirteen emperors and their families of the Ming Dynasty.  Year-long excavations have uncovered many rare treasures such as the gold royal crowns and the silk robes. 

Beijing/Xian

In the morning fly to Xian.  Visit the Wild Goose Pagoda and the ancient city walls

As the symbol of the old-line Xian, Big Wild Goose Pagoda (Dayan Pagoda) is a well-preserved ancient building and a holy place for Buddhists.  It is located in the southern suburb of Xian City, about 4 kilometers (2.49 miles) from the downtown of the city. Standing in the Da Cien Temple complex, it attracts numerous visitors for its fame in the Buddhist religion, its simple but appealing style of construction, and its new square in front of the temple.  It is rated as a National Key Cultural Relic Preserve as well as an AAAA Tourist Attraction.

The first landmark visitors will encounter in Xian is the Ancient City Wall, which stretches round the old city.  The northern side runs parallel to the railway.  Xian was originally a walled city, and even today the wall is considered a landmark dividing the city into the inner part and the outer part.  The city wall is massive - tall, long and thick. The South Gate and North Gate are the two main entrances to the inner city.  The city itself is neatly arranged along the city wall.

Xian

Xian, the cradle of Chinese civilization, was the state capital of 73 emperors spanning 11 dynasties during 1100 years dating from 4,000 B.C.  After a visit to the Huaqing Hot Springs,also known as the site for the famous Xian Incident, you will visit another wonder of the ancient world - the Terra-Cotta Warriors.  Concealed under earth, those thousands of life-sized clay warriors, horses and chariots, as one part of the tomb of Emperor Qinshihuang, were accidentally discovered by a farmer while he was digging out a well.  You would also see some archaeologists still working on site to uncover the rest part of the vast tomb complex of Emperor Qinshihuang, the first emperor in Chinese history, and also the initiator of the Great Wall.

Xian/Guilin

Take an early morning flight to Guilin, a southwest city famous for its splendid natural scenery. The Reed Flute Cave, with another beautiful name as the Art Palace of Nature, features fantastic natural stalactite and stalagmite formations, artfully illuminated by multicolored lights.  Another magnificent view you will not miss is Elephant Trunk Hill. 

Guilin/Shanghai

Cruising down the Li River, you will be entering a real life gallery.  You will see fishermen use trained cormorants to catch fish.  You will pass along the picturesque riverbank and see limestone hill vistas.  Disembark at Yangshuo to experience a colorful local market.  In the afternoon fly to Shanghai, the largest metropolis of Chinawith a population of 14 million.

Shanghai
Shanghai, once a tranquil yet busy fishing village, and long known as a paradise for adventurers in the years before 1949, is now the largest commercial and financial center of China.  Sightseeing includes the Old town, a finely designed maze of elegant pavilions and ponds in the old part of this city.  Then stroll along the Bund, Chinas most famous waterfront stretching about one mile along the Huangpu River.  Visit the Shanghai Museum, one of the largest museums in China. Afterwards, ascend the Tower of the East Pearl (Asias tallest TV tower) in the newly developed Pudong District.

Hangzhou 
Today you will be on your way to Hangzhou.  You will now know why Hangzhou is praised along with Suzhou as "paradise on earth".  The days activities begin with a cruise on the beautiful West Lake with stops at a typical teahouse and jewel-like pagodas. After lunch, visit the centuries old Lingyin Temple.   

Suzhou
Travel by coach to Suzhou, a city of gardens and waterways.  Your first stop today is the well-arranged and elegant Lingering Garden,Suzhoulandmarks.  Occupying an area of 23,300 square meters (about 5.8 acres); Lingering Gardenis located outside Changmen Gate in Suzhou, Jiangsu Province.  Originally a classical private garden, it is one of the four most famous gardens in China.  Possessing typical Qing style, it is well-known for the exquisite beauty of its magnificent halls, and the various sizes, shapes, and colors of the buildings. In 1997, the garden was recorded on the list of the world heritage by UESCO.
Afterwards attend a demonstration of local silk embroidery needlework at the National Embroidery Institute.  After lunch, visit the Hanshan (Cool Hill) Temple and Tiger Hill.

Shanghai

Return to Shanghai by coach, and then board your homeward flight.