The Imperial Yangtze

Day 1 : Beijing

Upon your arrival at the Beijing airport, you will be met and transferred to your hotel. Enjoy the rest of your day at leisure.

Day 2 : Beijing

First on your tour this morning will be a visit to the Temple of Heaven, where Emperors of the Ming and Qing dynasties used to attend annual ceremonies of prayer for a good harvest. Weather permitting, you might also see some of the local people doing their morning exercises in the park outside the complex.

Afterwards continue to Tiananmen Square, the largest city square in the world and spiritual heart of China. Here, you’ll walk through the Tiananmen Gate into the Forbidden City, which houses the Imperial palace from the Ming and Qing dynasties and is one of the grandest palace complexes that remain today.

Continue to the enchanting Summer Palace, the imperial summer resort of the Qing dynasty, located on the northwestern outskirts of the City. Included in the tour will be a 15 minute boat ride on the lake set in the middle of the magnificent gardens.

Day 3 : Beijing

Today’s full day tour starts with a 1.5 hour drive to the magnificent Great Wall, the longest wall in the world that stretches around 6,700 km and was built over 2,000 years ago. Travel by cable car to the Mutianyu section of the wall, where you can walk along the ramparts and enjoy the gorgeous views as well as be amazed by the incredible construction of the wall itself.

Enjoy lunch at a restaurant nearby before you continue to the Chang Tomb, the largest and best preserved of the 13 tombs near Beijing. The layout is identical to the tomb of the first Ming emperor in Nanjing and similar to a miniature version of the Forbidden City. Afterwards visit the Ding Tomb, the burial site of Emperor Wanli, the 13th emperor of the Ming Dynasty, who ruled for 48 years until his death in 1620.

Day 4 : Beijing > Xi’an

Morning flight to Xi’an, the ancient imperial capital of Chang’an and eastern departure point of the Silk Road. Upon arrival, you will be met and sightseeing is arranged for you to the infamous underground army of Terracotta Warriors. Six thousand intricately-carved, life-size clay statues of terracotta warriors and their horses stand in battle formation, and have been protecting the mausoleum of Emperor Qin Shi Huang, the first emperor in Chinese history, for over 2,200 years.

In the evening you will be taken to the Tang Dynasty Palace, a leading theatre and restaurant, where dinner will be served while you watch the Tang Dynasty Show, featuring cultural music and dance performances from the Tang Dynasty.

Day 5 : Xi’an > Chongqing > Yangtze River Cruise

This morning enjoy a walk on the ancient City Walls, one of the oldest and best preserved walls in China. Afterwards visit the Islamic Quarter, home to a sizeable community of Chinese-Muslims, and stroll along Muslim Street, a narrow bazaar-style street lined with shops selling local delicacies, snacks and souvenirs. Continue to the Big Wild Goose Pagoda, built to house the sutras brought back from India by Xuanzang, a Chinese Buddhist monk famous for his travels in the early Tang Dynasty.

Continue afterwards to the airport for your flight to Chongqing where, on arrival, you will be transferred to your comfortable 5-star Yangtze River Cruise vessel.

NB: Embarkation is in the evening and dinner tonight is included.

Day 6 : Yangtze River Cruise

For the next couple of days you will cruise downstream on the Yangtze and discover a river full of amazing natural beauty and historic relics. Make the most of the onboard activites, shore excursions, buffet meals and evening entertainment, all arranged to delight and enthrall you.

Start your morning with a Tai Chi class on the sundeck before breakfast, in preparation for the day ahead. Later ypou will visit Fengdu Ghost City, a large complex of shrines, temples and monasteries dedicated to the afterlife and located on the Ming mountain.

Enjoy the rest of your day at leisure.

In the evening, as an optional activity, you can enjoy the famous performance “The War Fire of Three Kingdoms” – a large real landscape show with Yangtze River as the background and magnificent Three Gorges as the stage. Located in Yangtze River Three Gorges International Golden Tourism Belt, it makes full use of combined brand effects of the Yangtze River, the Three Gorges and Three Kingdoms, integrates local natural, cultural and ecological resources of Zhongxian County, and creates a cultural feast with loyalty spirit as the soul.

Or make the most of onboard activities.

Day 7 : Yangtze River Cruise

This morning you have the day at your leisure onboard or you can join an excursion to White Emperor City. Also known as the “City of Poems”, the complex is located on an island, as a result of rising waters from the building of the Three Gorges Dam. It is also one of the best places to admire the views of the Kui Gate, at Qutang Gorge.

After lunch, you will disembark for a ride along the Shennv Stream on a traditional longboat (sampan) to visit Bamboo Gorge. As you float gently through this stunning riverine gorge flanked by verdant forest, you’ll see evidence of early settlements.

Day 8 : Yangtze River Cruise > Yichang > Shanghai

Enjoy a final breakfast onboard the vessel before disembarkation at Maoping pier in Yichang. Upon disembarkation, enjoy an excursion to the Three Gorges Dam Site, the largest water conservancy project ever undertaken by man. The construction of the dam, which has been a dream for several generations of Chinese people, began in 1994. This incredible structure is 2,335 metres long, stands 185 metres high, is 18 metres wide on the top and 130 metres wide at the bottom.

After optional tour your visit to the Three Gorges Dam Site, you can join an optional tour of the Three Gorges Dam Ship Elevator or disembark at Sandouping pier of Yichang for your onwards train journey to vibrant Shanghai.

Day 9 : Shanghai

A full day of visits have been arranged for today, including the Shanghai Museum, often ranked as China’s best museum, with a fine collection of over 120,000 pieces of Chinese artifacts, followed by a stroll through Yu Garden to enjoy a beautiful landscape of pagodas, pavilions, rockeries, fountains, ancient trees and precious flowers. Outside Yu Garden, get a taste of Shanghai’s local life in the Yuyuan Market.

You will also visit the Jade Buddha Temple, an active temple with 70 resident monks that is mostly known for its sitting Jade Buddha and a reclining Jade Buddha. In the late afternoon, walk down the Bund along the Huangpu River, where trading houses and banks were headquartered in the 1920s and 1930s, and then enjoy a bird’s eye view of modern Shanghai from the Shanghai World Financial Centre.

NB:The Shanghai Museum is closed on Mondays. Depending on your day of arrival, the order of sightseeing in Shanghai may need to be changed.

In the evening you will be treated to an incredible Acrobatic Show, held in a typical Shanghainese setting. The Acrobatic Show is one of the oldest performing arts in China, with its history tracing back to Neolithic times, absorbing during its development through the years the features of opera, dance and Chinese Kungfu. Enjoy the many breathtaking and stunning performances, such as Hoop Diving, Silk Stripes and the Pyramid of Chairs, each as unforgettable as the next.

Day 10 : Shanghai

The morning is free to spend at leisure until your transfer to the airport for your departure flight.