Itinerary

Day 01 Hometown / Beijing
Begin your “Hello China” adventure by flying with Air Canada from your hometown.

Day 02 Arrive Beijing
Arrive Beijing in the afternoon. Upon arrival, you will be met and transferred to your hotel. Dinner at the hotel. (D)
Hotel: 5* Oriental Bay or similar

Day 03 Beijing
Hotel breakfast.  Visit the Imperial Palace - the “Forbidden City” - the sequestered world of China’s final emperors.  After lunch, your tour takes you to the Temple of Heaven, established on the site that feng shui masters determined was the place where Heaven and Earth meet - this is where emperors presided over prayers and rituals for good weather and bountiful harvests.  (B/L/D)

Day 04 Beijing
Head to the outskirts of Beijing to marvel at the Great Wall, and - if you wish - to take the opportunity to scale its heights.  After lunch, visit one of the thirteen Ming Tombs laid out in a valley north of Beijing, also in strict accordance with the rules of feng shui.  This evening you will feast on a Peking Duck Dinner.  (B/L/SD)

Day 05 Beijing
Hotel breakfast.  Take a morning stroll around Tian’anmen Square - this vast square and its periphery are home to some of the grandest monuments and government edifices in China.  After lunch, enjoy a coach ride to the Summer Palace - much as it was when the Empress Dowager Cixi retreated to this rolling, regal landscape of lake, pagodas, and pavilions.  Enjoy a boat ride on Kunming Lake before heading back to Beijing.  In the afternoon embark on a very enjoyable bicycle rickshaw tour of a “Hutong” – one of Beijing’s traditional old neighbourhoods.  Tonight, enjoy a Martial Arts Kung Fu Performance.  (B/L/D)

Day 06 Beijing / Yichang / Yangtze River Cruise
Morning flight to Yichang.  Upon arrival enjoy a half-day city orientation before boarding the deluxe MS East Kingfor an overnight stay.  (B/L/D)
Cruise ship:  5* MS East King (outside cabin)

Day 07 Yangtze River Cruise
An on-shore excursion will take you to tour the Three Gorges Dam site - the largest hydro-electric project in the world.  Reboard the MS East King to step up through the 5-stage ship locks and enter the first gorge - Xiling Gorge, the longest and what was historically the most hazardous of the Yangtze's three gorges.  Tonight, enjoy the Captain's Welcome Dinner, followed by a Singing and Dancing Performance.  (B/L/D)

Day 08 Yangtze River Cruise
A local tender will take you from the MS East King up the Shennong Stream.  Where the Shennong Stream becomes shallow, you'll board a traditional wooden pea boat, and local Tujia boatmen will haul your boat up the fast running Shennong Stream by ropes.  Return to the ship and set sail again, entering the second gorge - Wu Gorge - renowned for its odd, misty rock formations and its backdrop of soaring mountains.  Later in the afternoon the ship will enter the third gorge - Qutang Gorge, the shortest but the most dramatic of the Yangtze's Three Gorges.  (B/L/D)

Day 09 Yangtze River Cruise
This morning you'll arrive at lofty Shibaozhai Buddhist temple.  An on-shore excursion will be arranged.  Reboard the MS East King for a farewell dinner.  (B/L/D)

Day 10 Chongqing
Arrive Chongqing in the morning.  Visit Erling Park and the Three Gorges Museum.  Then on to Chongqing Zoo – home to some celebrity panda bears.  Afterwards, enjoy wandering around Chongqing's Cizikou Ancient Town.  Western buffet dinner at hotel.  (B/L/D)
Hotel:  5* Hilton or similar

Day 11 Chongqing / Xi'an
Morning flight to Xi’an, once the capital of eleven dynasties.  After lunch, you will visit the Big Wild Goose Pagoda and the Shaanxi Provincial Museum.  Western buffet dinner at the hotel.   (B/L/D)
Hotel: 5* Hyatt Regency or similar

Day 12 Xi’an
Full day in Xi’an.  Tour one of the most amazing archaeological finds of the 20th Century at the Terra Cotta Warriors Museum - the burial grounds of Emperor Qingshi Huangdi with its thousands of life-sized terra-cotta warriors and horses assembled to guard his afterlife.  After lunch, visit  the Ancient City Wall.  Tonight, you will be treated to a traditional Xi’an special Dumpling Banquet and Tang Dynasty Show.  (B/L/SD)

Day 13 Xi’an / Guilin
Morning flight to Guilin.  Upon arrival, meet your local guide and visit Elephant Trunk Hill, and Reed Flute Cave.  This evening you'll enjoy a Guilin Folk Dance and Music Show.  (B/L/D)
Hotel: 5* Guilin Sheraton or similar

Day 14 Guilin
Embark on a tranquil Li River cruise.  Your ship will wind its way through the classically beautiful landscape of Guilin's rounded limestone mountains.  Disembark at Yangshuo, where you'll have some time to wander through its colourful market before heading back to Guilin by coach.  Western buffet dinner at hotel.  (B/L/D).

Day 15 Guilin / Shanghai
Morning free until transfer to Guilin Airport to catch your flight to Shanghai.  Dinner on arrival.  This evening you will enjoy an amazingly skilful Chinese acrobatic performance.  (B/L/D)
Hotel: 5* The Regent or similar

Day 16 Shanghai
Tour a silk factory.  Then stroll through Yu Yuan Garden in the heart of old Shanghai.  After a local cuisine lunch, promenade along The Bund - a terrific vantage point from which to view the grand colonial buildings along Zhongshan Donglu, the busy traffic of the Huangpu River, and ultra-modern Pudong on the opposite shore.  If time permits, some free time to shop on Nanjing Road.  Tonight enjoy the farewell dinner.  (B/L/D)

Day 17 Shanghai / Hometown
After breakfast, free time until your transfer to Shanghai International Airport to board your flight back home.  (B)

Bon Voyage!