16 days best cities & classic yangtze river cruise

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includes: beijing, suzhou, hangzhou, chongqing, yangtze river, wuhan, mt. lushan, mt. huangshan, nanjing, yangzhou & shanghai

d1 arrive in beijing, you will be met by our local guide at the airport and transferred to your hotel.

d2 beijing served as the capital for 5 dynasties over a period of 800 years with each emperor identified as a dragon sent from the heaven. begin your city tour with a visit to the summerpalace, 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 palacemuseum, more commonly known as the forbidden city, until recently, opened only to the emperor's family. this complex, the largest imperial palace ever built in the world, features more than 800 buildings with 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 heaven where the ming and qing emperors prayed to the heaven for a good harvest.

d3 here is your chance to climb the great wall of china! this wonder of the world, built 2600 years ago, was one of the two man-made structures seen by the naked eye of us astronaut neil armstrong from outer space. later visit the ming tombs, burial place of thirteen emperors and their families of the ming dynasty. yearlong excavations have uncovered many rare treasures such as the gold royal crowns and the silk robes. tonight's special dinner gives you a real taste of the peking duck.

d4 take a morning flight to shanghai, china's largest metropolis with a population of 14 million. and then travel by coach to suzhou , city of gardens and waterways. your first stop is the well-arranged and elegant lingeringgarden, suzhou landmarks. afterwards attend a demonstration of silk needlework at the national embroidery institute. stay overnight in suzhou.

d5 in the morning visit the hanshan (cool hill) temple and tiger hill. continuing through the scenic countryside, you are on your way to the other side of " paradise ", hangzhou. stay overnight in hangzhou.

d6 you will know why hangzhou is praised along with suzhou as " paradise on earth ". the day's 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 (soul retreat) temple which houses an 82 feet buddha carved from camphor wood. stay overnight in hangzhou.

d7 morning, drive straight along the freeway to shanghai. fly to the mountain city, chongqing, where you will board the luxurious boat to start your yangtze river adventure.

d8 set sail early and disembark later at fengdu, the city of the ghosts. when strolling around the magnificent temples, please don't feel uneasy with those lifelike statues of ghosts. according to the local legend and superstition, the dead come to fengdu and the devils go to the hell.

d9 today you will cruise through some of the most impressive and scenic gorges in the world. lush green hills and sheer rock cliffs border the qutang and wu gorges. the misty canyons peaked with magnificent pagodas have long been a favorite motif of traditional chinese painting. each gorge is different in nature, and each bend of the river reveals a new view, each more breathtaking than the previous. when arriving at wushan, you will disembark, and then board a motor boat to see the little three gorges. this evening victoria cruise will serve you a captain's dinner party.

d10 this morning you will visit the gigantic and much publicized hydroelectric project, the three gorges and gezhou dams. between these dams is xiling gorge, the last and largest of the three gorges. around the bend in the river stretches a vast plain. your cruise continues to yichang, a thriving city and " gateway to southwest china ". later in the day you will reach jingzhou, one of the important cities in central china.

d11 today you will arrive wuhan, the capital of hubei province. visit the yellow crane tower for a commanding view of the mighty yangtze river. cruising to lushan in the evening.

d12 today you will visit mt.lushan. there are almost 3000 villas on the mountain, among which the most famous one is called meilu , named after mrs. jiang.

d13 you will arrive in the town of guichi in the morning. and then travel by coach to mt.huangshan, the only mountain listed among the china's top ten scenic spots. 7 hours sightseeing on mt.huangshan. continue cruising to nanjing.

d14 in the morning, you will arrive in nanjing. visit dr. sun yat-sen's mausoleum and the mausoleum of the first emperor of the ming dynasty. continue to yangzhou, a 2,480 year-old charming city famous for its unique style of painting and calligraphy. city tour for 4 hours.

d15 your ship comes to an end at the city of shanghai. shanghai, once a tranquil but 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 city. stroll along the bund, china's most famous waterfront stretching about one mile along the huangpuriver. stay overnight in shanghai.

d16 after a relaxed breakfast in your hotel, we will transfer you to the airport and see you off.