14 days yangtze river tour (especially in june, july ,august)

day 01 shanghai

our flight arrive at shanghai (arrival time depends on the flight you take). after our trans-pacific flight, it will be good to get a good night sleep as we check in to our hotel.

day 02 shanghai

our sightseeing tour of shanghai takes us to the yu garden, nanjing road, the jade temple, and the famous bund. as we walk along the river at the bund we note the past international influences on shanghai.

day 03 wuhan-yangtze river cruise

(this cruise route will take us 3 days more than from chongqing to yichang because our boat goes up the river not down the river.)

we board a flight bound for wuhan, the capital of hubei province, which is also an important industrial and commercial

center of central china. a brief city tour takes us to the yellow crane tower. in the evening we are transported to the docks to the docks to board our regal cruise ship. our ship departs wuhan in the evening.

day 04 yangtze river cruise (on board)

orientation on board, the ship is passing shashi and gezhouba shiplock. captain welcome banquet in the evening.

day 05 yangtze river cruise (three gorges dam)

our ship makes its first stop at sandouping. visit to the famous three gorges dam. built to control the devastating floods that ravage the river basin each year, the dam will be completed in 2009. re-board in the afternoon and sail through xiling gorge and wu gorge, we arrive wushan in the night.

day 06 yangtze river cruise (three lesser gorges)

the three lesser gorges include the dragon gate, the misty, and the emerald gorge. we disembark the ship and board small-motorized sampans to sail up the daning river. only the sampans allow us access to the three lesser gorges. in the afternoon, we re-board the ship and pass through qutang gorge.

day 07 yangtze river cruise (wanxian city)

our shore excursion today takes us to visit wanzhou city, get a chance to visit the small museums and the local acrobatic show

day 08 yangtze river cruise (chongqing)-xian

our yangtze river cruise ends upon our arrival at chongqing-a city of steep hills this morning, head into town for a brief city tour: visit the zoo to see the giant panda, the museum of general stewell. after lunch, we board a short flight bound for xian.

day 09 xi'an

the highlight of our sightseeing tour today is visit to the terra cotta warriors, who guard the tomb of emperor qin. and another historic sight is the neolithic archaeological site of 6,000 years old banpo village. xian city tour also includes visits to the big wild goose pagoda and the ancient city wall. tonight, after dinner, we enjoy a stage opera of the tang dynasty.

day 10 xi'an-beijing

after breakfast at the hotel, we board a flight to beijing, china's capital city. upon arrival, we take of the solemn temple. check into hotel for some rest.

day 11 beijing

our sightseeing tour takes us to tiananmen square, the world's largest public square, the summer palace and the forbidden city, viewing the splendor in which china's emperors lived. tonight, feast upon world famous peking duck.

day 12 beijing

surely the highlight of any china tour must be the great wall. descend from the wall and head for the ming tomb museum.

day 13 beijing

the morning is free at leisure at leisure until we board our international homebound flight.