9 Days Yangtze Cruise from Beijing & Xian, Chongqing, China River Cruises

The Temple of Heaven in Beijing

Day 1 Beijing Arrival

Welcome to Beijing! Clear the customs and retrieve your baggage by yourself upon arrival, be greeted by our tour guide in the Arrival Hall who is holding a sign on which says your name; transferred by your private car/van to your hotel downtown. The rest of the day is your own time.

Day 2 Beijing (B, L)

Today you will first visit the world's biggest city plaza, the Tiananmen Square; then walk to the marvelous "Egg" (National Centre for the Performing Arts) to take some pictures from its outside; subsequently, go to the Forbidden City, the most complete imperial palace in China; and later proceed to the impressive Temple of Heaven. After the sightseeing tour, be driven back to your hotel.

Day 3 Beijing (B, L, D)

After breakfast, drive to the Badaling Great Wall (about 80 km, 1.5hours) where you will experience at first hand the wonder of the Great Wall. For lunch you'll sample some delicious fare in a local restaurant. Afterwards, visit the Sacred Way and Changling, one of the Ming Tombs; on the way back to your hotel, you might make a stop at the Beijing Olympic Village to take some photos of the Bird's Nest and the Water Cube from the outside; Feel a little bit tired? Not to worry! We will arrange a foot massage (free of charge) for you, just relax and enjoy it! With a Peking Roast Duck dinner you will complete today's tour!

Day 4 Beijing (B, L)

After breakfast, you will marvel at the exquisite Summer Palace, the imperial garden.

Then head to visit the Drum Tower dating from 1420. Ascending the big Drum Tower, you will have a bird's eye view of the surrounding communities of Hutongs and Siheyuan from here. And then move on to an ordinary family courtyard home for a tea break. Afterwards, take a rickshaw to visit the most famous Hutongs keeping the original layout in the Shichahai area. Then move on to the Prince Gong's Mansion.

After the tour, our guide will escort you to the airport and take the flight to Xian.

Day 5 Xian (B, L, D)

In the morning be picked up at your hotel then driven to the Terra-cotta Warriors and Horses; the most significant archeological excavations of the 20th century, It is one of the most popular tourist spots not to be missed by any visitor to China. After lunch, move on to visit the Big Wild Goose Pagoda and the Ancient City Wall; enjoy the local specialty Dumpling Dinner served in a fine restaurant in the evening.

Day 6 Flight to Chongqing from Xian (B, L)

Today will be free until your guide picks you up to the airport and flight to Chongqing. After arriving in Chongqing city be met and transferred to the Chongqing downtown. Your tour guide and driver will take you to the Chongqing zoo to see the Giant Panda, and then visit the Ciqikou Old Town, if time permits. Then, you'll be transferred to the Cruise pier, and board the ship from 17:00 to 20:00. Your lifetime Yangtze river cruise starts in Chongqing at around 22:00. (note: the aboarding time changes based on the cruise ships, season, water level, weather, etc.)

Day 7 Yangtze River Cruise (B, L, D)

Shore excursion to the Fengdu Ghost City to check why it has been regarded as the "City of Ghosts".

Day 8 Yangtze River Cruise (B, L, D)

Shore excursion to Lesser Three Gorges by smaller vessels.

The Lesser Three Gorges, like a shinning pearl hiddden in remote mountains, are much smaller, narrower and have some dramatic scenery to offer. That is the most splendid river adventure throughout China for you.

Note: Some cruise ships make the shore excursion to the Shennong Stream. You have the final say on which excursion to make, as we can book any of the cruise ships at great rates!

Day 9 Yangtze River Cruise & Yichang Departure (B, L)

Today's highlight is your morning excursion to the world-famous Three Gorges Dam. Be prepared for your check-out procedure and the ship will arrive in Yichang at about 11:30. Our guide will expect you on board and visit the Yichang Museum if time permits. After lunch at a local famous restaurant, drive to the Yichang airport to your next destination or back to your home.

The Forbbiden City

Breakfast: If you are staying in a star hotel, breakfast is usually included.

Lunch and Dinner:
We don’t usually include lunch and dinner in our tour itinerary. We do arrange lunch or dinner for you at your request though. However, we prefer to give you the freedom to choose the food you want and pay on the spot. From our previous customers' responses, we find that most of our clients prefer to leave the dinners open on their own so that they can enjoy some time to themselves. They can choose either to go to a local restaurant for a little adventure or to have a simple dinner in the hotel where they stay. They may also prefer to choose a restaurant which appeals to their own unique tastes.
We have created a list of our favorite restaurants in Tibet and hand-picked some local restaurants to recommend to our customers.

Terra-cotta Warriors and Horses

Getting more people in the group is a great way to save money. Our group tour is very suitable for solo travelers and students. When inquiring, please ask our travel consultants if there are other people also travel alone and indicate if you would mind to travel with like-minded people.
Our group tour is a join-in tour. You will travel with other visitors from all over the world. You will share the costs of hiring vehicle, guides and accommodation with other visitors.

Our group size is from 2-20 people. To make sure the tour guide is able to take good care of everyone in the tour, there will be less than 8 people for most of our group tours. We had handled tours only had 3-4 peoples, which is like a private tour.