11 Days Golden Triangle+Yangtze Cruise Tour to Beijing, Xian, Three Gorges & Shanghai

Take a 3 days trip on the Yangtze River by the luxury cruise ship, via the modern man-made marvels “Three Gorges Dam”; along with the MUST SEE for the first China visiting, including the capital city “Beijing”, the location of Terra-cotta Warriors and Horses since 210BC “Xi’an”, and the modern city “Shanghai”, this 11 days tour will write down a special page in your lifetime.

Day 1 Arrive Beijing (-/-/-)

Transfer via: International Flight arranged by you

Welcome to Beijing, where the capital, political, and cultural center of China lies.

We meet you at the airport and transfer you to your hotel. After check-in, you have

free time to relax.

Day 2 Beijing (B/L/-)

Visit the historic Tian’anmen Square, followed by the magnificent Forbidden City. In the evening you will enjoy Beijing’s famous Peking Opera at the Liyuan Theatre.

• Tian’anmen Square, the largest city square in the world.
• Forbidden City, which is the largest palace structure in the world and the place where China’s emperors ruled for over 600 years.
• Peking Opera, is not just a singing drama, but is an ancient ingenious and colorful combination of elements from many sources: traditional music, poetry, singing, recitation, dancing, acrobatics, and traditional martial arts.

Day 3 Beijing (B/L/D)

Full day tours to the majestic Badaling Great Wall and Sacred Road, followed by the main Olympic venues for the 2008 Beijing Olympics, including the National Stadium (Bird’s Nest) and the National Aquatics Center nicknamed “the Water Cube“, after that a Peking Duck Dinner concludes your full day activities.

• Badaling Great Wall, is a defensive outpost of the Great Wall— China’s ancient defense works, as a pass of the Ming Great Wall, it occupies a commanding and strategic position. Badaling is the best-preserved section of the Beijing Great Wall.
• Sacred Road, which is a path lined with stone statues of animals, mystical beasts and officials who will serve the emperor in the afterlife.
• National Stadium, it’s also called Bird’s Nest where the Opening and Closing Ce remonies were held.
• National Aquatics Center, nicknamed “the Water Cube” for its unique design. Feel free to take some beautiful picture of these stadiums.

Day 4 Beijing / Xi’an (B/L/-)

Transfer via: Internal Flight on our arrangement. After breakfast, you will visit the exquisite Summer Palace. In the afternoon, take flight to Xi’an, visit Xi’an’s Ancient City Walls, and the Bell Tower.

• Summer Palace, this is one of worldwide famous and classical gardens , also it is listed by the UNESCO as the World Heritage Sites.
• Xian’s Ancient City Walls, was built in the 14th century at the request of Emperor Zhu Yuanzhang (the first emperor of Ming Dynasty), the ancient wall of Xi’an is one of the oldest landmarks of the city. It is also the most complete city wall that has survived in China, as well being one of the largest ancient military defensive systems in the world.
• Bell Tower, was originally built in the Yingxiang Temple in 1384. Then in 1582, it was moved to its present pivotal position, for rebuilding and later restorations. With magnificent carved beams and painted rafters, this classical building is truly elegant.

Day 5 Xi’an (B/L/-)

Today’s highlight is Terra-cotta Warriors and Horses Museum. Visit the excavation site of the Terracotta Army located 30km east of the city. After lunch at a local restaurant, visit the Huaqing Hot Springs, then have another tour to the Big Wild Goose Pagoda.

• Terra-cotta Warriors and Horses Museum, is like a treasure house of QIN Dynasty’s military affairs, Science and technology, art and culture. It has been listed as an UNESCO “World Heritage Site”.
• Huaqing Hot Springs, were a popular retreat with Emperors more than 2,500 years ago, many of whom enjoyed bathing in the perfectly clear mineral water.
• Big Wild Goose Pagoda. Situated at south of the Xi’an city,as one of the main constructions in the famous Buddhist temple-Da-Ci-En Temple, the pagoda is one of the most distinctive and outstanding landmarks for Xi’an City.

Day 6 Xi’an / Chongqing (B/L/-)

Transfer via: Internal Flight on our arrangement.

Visit the Shaanxi Provincial Museum in the morning, and then take the afternoon flight to Chongqing. Tonight, board your deluxe Victoria Cruise Ship and settle into your comfortable outside cabin to begin your memorable cruise downstream.

• Shaanxi Provincial Museum is an architecture of Tang style, “Hall in center, storied buildings in corners”, elegant and dignified, magnificent scale, combination of traditional architecture and modern science, which completely embodied folk tradition, local feature, and epoch spirit. 

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

This morning ,an ashore excursion takes you to see Fengdu’s many Taoist Temples.

• Fengdu, Ghost City, is called “Home of The Chinese Divine Comedy”. It is an artistic treasury of local tradition and culture which is blended with Buddhism, Taoism and Confucianism. Ghost City resembles the justice system of human society to build a strict nether world with the functions of arrestment, detainment, interrogation, judgement and education.The entire area of Ghost City is covered with green trees and exquisite buildings.

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

Cruise through the first of the fabled Three Gorges: Qutang Gorge ,framed by steep mossy cliffs. Then, sail on through Wu Gorge, celebrated for its 12 peaks. At Badong, transfer to a small cruiser for an exciting excursion on Shennong Stream to view its breathtaking small gorges. Next, sail through Xiling Gorge, the last and most scenic of all the gorges. Finally, pass through the dramatic Three Gorges Ship Lock.

• Shennong Stream, is one of the most important ports of call for Yangtze Three Gorges tour. The scenery in the stream looks quite majestic, precipitous and secluded. The banks are settled by Tujia ethnic groups. The natural beauty and local color of Shennong stream have attracted the interest of all the visitors.

Day 9 Yichang / Shanghai (B/L/-)

This morning, stop at Sandouping to view the historic Three Gorges Dam, the largest hydroelectric project in the world. Continue on to Yichang where you board your early afternoon flight to Shanghai. On arrival, transfer to the Shanghai Hotel to check in.

• Three Gorges Dam, is a hydroelectric dam that regarded as historic engineering, social and economic success, with the design of state-of-the-art large turbines. It’s the one of the largest dams in the world, and also attracts tourists because it combines modern project, nature scenery and cultural landscapes.

Day 10 Shanghai (B/L/-)

A full day tours to the Shanghai Museum, the Bund, Nanjing Road, Yuyuan Garden and Yuyuan Market. In the evening you will enjoy a wonderful Acrobatic Show.

• Shanghai Museum, this is a large-scale museum of Chinese ancient art and cultural relics.With a collection of over 120,000 pieces of Chinese art & cultural relics, the museum especially characterize bronzes, chinawares, calligraphies and paitings.
• The Bund, it holds the landscape of Shanghai and is one of Shanghai’s must-see tourist destination. In late 19th century, many foreign-invested banks in the Bund were established in the Bund which was said to become Shanghai’s “Financial Street” or “the East Wall Street”. Thus, the Bund was transformed into a location encouraging financial opportunities. Due to the rich historical value of the Bund, possessing a piece of land in the Bund is not merely a symbol of wealth, but also a symbol of honour.
• Nanjing Road, 5km long , it is one of the main business centres.
• Yuyuan Garden, the garden characterize Chinese architecture style. Built in Ming Dynasty,it used to be a private garden with 400 years’ history.
• Yuyuan Market, a shopper’s paradise filled with local arts and crafts.

Day 11 Shanghai / Departure (B/-/-)

International/Internal Flight arranged by you

After breakfast, you will be escorted to the airport for your flight to your next destination.