13 Days Panda Holding China Tour: Beijing, Xi'an, Chengdu, Zhangjiajie

With a sunny smile, your private guide will be on time and waiting for you at the arrival hall. A comfortable private car (non-smoking) & experienced driver are ready and will transfer you to the hotel. Get the first impression of China.

Hotel:
Crowne Plaza Beijing Chaoyang U-Town (5-star)
Sunworld Hotel Beijing (4-star)
Dongfang Hotel Beijing (3-star)

Meals: None

Good to Know:
Don't worry about being late. Your guide will be there no matter when you arrive. This tour can be customized just for you.
Our tour guides are not only good at English, but also knowledge of the Chinese culture and history. Most importantly, they are nice people, friendly. You'll enjoy a nice time with them.

Free-Time Ideas:
If you are not suffering from jet-lag, we recommend the following activities:
A: Visit Beijing Zoo to see the cute giant pandas. Zoo opening times:
April 1–October 31: 7:30 to 18:00;
November 1–March 31: 7:30 to 17:00.
B: Watch a fabulous night show, such as the Kungfu Show or the Acrobatics Show.
Ask your China tour guide to help you with tickets.

You will first visit Tian'anmen Square and the Forbidden City in the morning. Then, have lunch in a local restaurant.

Later, you will get on a rickshaw and the rider will take you into the beating heart of Beijing: the hutongs (old alleyways). Follow up by spending some quality time with a local family in a hutong.

Hotel:
Crowne Plaza Beijing Chaoyang U-Town (5-star)
Sunworld Hotel Beijing (4-star)
Dongfang Hotel Beijing (3-star)

Meals: Breakfast, Lunch

Good to Know:
The Forbidden City is the most popular attraction in Beijing, so usually visitors have to take at least half an hour to queue up for entrance tickets. Only 80,000 tickets are sold per day. During the high season, if you don’t get up early to buy the tickets, you may well be shut out.
When you travel with us, however, our tour guide will buy the tickets in advance for you, so that you won’t waste any time standing in a queue and won’t need to worry about whether or not you can get in.

Optional Activities:
Cultural experience: If you are interested in learning to make facial masks for Peking Opera, learning Chinese calligraphy or learning Chinese paper-cutting, just ask us to make a reservation for you. (Each activity takes about 40 minutes and US$5-18.)

In the morning, take a relaxing visit to the Temple of Heaven, where Chinese emperors used to worship God.

Later, visit the Mutianyu Great Wall (2.5 hours' drive from downtown Beijing). This is a less-crowded section of the Great Wall. A cable car takes you up to a good spot, where you can have an easy walk along the wall.

You can return either by cable car, walking down or tobogganing down. Tobogganing down is actually the most popular.

Hotel:
Crowne Plaza Beijing Chaoyang U-Town (5-star)
Sunworld Hotel Beijing (4-star)
Dongfang Hotel Beijing (3-star)

Meals: Breakfast, Lunch

The Great Wall Travel Tips:
Toilets are accessible from the Wall. They are clean and hygienic. You should of course always bring some tissues and wet wipes with you when travelling in China, as there are no tissues at most toilets in China.
Put on your hiking shoes. You can hike at your own pace. If you don't much like hiking, you can take some nice pictures of and from the Great Wall.
Cultural experience: Weather-permitting, at the Temple of Heaven you’ll see locals doing tai chi, making calligraphy and playing traditional instruments, and you can join them if you wish, for experiences you could probably never have in your own country.

Optional Activities:
If a 2-hour hike on the Great Wall at Mutianyu is not enough for you or you want to hike along other parts of the wall, let us know in advance. We can arrange the day according to your preferences.

After breakfast, you will be transferred to visit Summer Palace. The Summer Palace, initially built in 1888, is also known as the Royal Garden Museum. The long gallery, where there are over 8000 paintings about ancient Chinese stories, is the must-see in the Summer Palace.

After a fair well lunch with your Beijing tour guide at the charming traditional Chinese restaurant, later on be transferred to the airport, in just a few hours you'll be in Xi'an, meeting your local Xi'an tour guide.

Hotel:
Wyndham Grand Xian South (5-star)
Grand Noble Hotel (4-star)
Titan Times Hotel (3-star)

Meals: Breakfast

Free-Time Idea:
Quanjude Roast Duck is world-famous. You can taste it at brunch, if you wish. Ask your guide, who will help you to arrange this.

Optional Activities:
Beijing is a big city with many famous attractions not listed above, like the Bird’s Nest, Jingshan Park, the Bell and Drum Tower, the Yonghe Lama Temple and the Fragrant Hills Park. If you’d like to explore the city more, tell us on your inquiry form. We can customize a tour to meet your requirements.

The first Emperor united all of China. Stand face to face with 6,000 statues at the Terracotta Warriors and Horses, created by the first Emperor. It is said the warriors were all sculpted in the shape of powerful or rich people of the time.

After a dumpling lunch, explore the Ancient City Wall, which surrounds the city center. The wall was built in the 13th century on the foundations of the original Tang Forbidden City.

Later, visit the Muslim Quarter. Many souvenir shops, cafés and bars there are operated by Muslim people. At its heart is one of the largest Islamic mosques in China, remarkable for its combination of Chinese architecture and Islamic practice.

Hotel:
Wyndham Grand Xian South (5-star)
Grand Noble Hotel (4-star)
Titan Times Hotel (3-star)

Meals: Breakfast, Lunch

Free-Time Ideas:
Visit the Bell Tower and Drum Tower. When night falls, the towers are lighted, becoming beautiful and romantic. They are not far from your hotel, so you can walk there and back.
The Tang Dynasty Music and Dance Show is also recommended. If you’d like to see it, your guide will help you buy tickets.

Optional Activities:
Weather-permitting, you can bike on (or right round) the city wall.

Continue to explore more highlights of the city. The Shaanxi History Museum is said to record the history of China, and this museum is one of the nation's best. Four major galleries in large, Tang-style buildings house a vast and impressive collection, beautifully displayed.

Then you will visit the Great Mosque and the Muslim Quarter, where the descendants of the Silk Road traders live, making this an exotic addition to the day. It really opens up a side of Xi’an’s history that many travelers miss, being Xi’an’s link to the Silk Road. Now it is a paradise for people who seek local snacks. Your guide will invite you to try some food that you are interested in, such as steamed soup dumplings, a Chinese hamburger, and pancake in mutton soup. After enjoying the historical sites and delicious food of Xi’an, you will be taken to the airport for your flight to Chengdu.

Hotel:
Chengdu Minyoun Royal Hotel (5-star)
Tianfu Sunshine Hotel Chengdu (4-star)
Holiday Inn Express Chengdu (3-star)

Meals: Breakfast, Lunch

Today, enjoy your interesting tour to Chengdu Research Base of Giant Panda Breeding Center or to Dujiangyan Research Base of Giant Panda Breeding Center.

Note:
1. Chengdu Research Base of Giant Panda Breeding Center has no "Panda Holding Project"
2. Dujiangyan Research Base of Giant Panda Breeding Center has "Panda Holding Project"
3. If you want to join a pand holding project, pls choose Dujiangyan Center. The project needs a donation of 1800 CNY/person for this breeding center, then you can sit close to the panda, touch and hold the panda and take photos/videos as you want.

And then, back to downtown Chengdu to visit Thatched Cottage of Du Fu - the former residence of the famous Tang Dynasty poet, You could not miss a chance to Jinli Old Street - elegant style of the architectures tells you what Sichuan looks like during the Qing Dynasty. After that, back to your hotel and free of the rest time.

Hotel:
Chengdu Minyoun Royal Hotel (5-star)
Tianfu Sunshine Hotel Chengdu (4-star)
Holiday Inn Express Chengdu (3-star)

Meals: Breakfast, Lunch

Transfer to the airport for your morning flight to Zhangjiajie. Upon arrival, meet your local Zhangjiajie tour guide at the arrival hall for your transfer to the hotel in Wulingyuan town.

Transfer to visit Yellow Dragon Cave: stretches a total length of 7.5 kilometers with four layers. It’s home to an impressive collections of stalactites and stalagmites, illuminated in a variety of colored lights.

Hotel:
Pullman Hotel Zhangjiajie (5-star)
Zhangjiajie Tianzi Hotel (4-star)
Jinxi International Hotel (3-star)

Meals: Breakfast

Optional Night Activity: Charming Western Hunan Show

Wake up and have breakfast at hotel.

Transfer to Wulingyuan Entrance.

Morning: Take Bailong Elevator up to explore Yuanjiajie, where the Avatar Mountain locates.

Yuanjiajie: It is also called AVATAR Mountain for the movie AVATAR is filmed here. Located in the northwest part of the Zhangjiajie National Forest Park, Yuanjiajie is a naturally formed platform mountain, surrounded by higher summits which are divided by deep valleys. You will enjoy Hallelujah Mountain, NO.1 Bridge in the world and so on.

Afternoon: Go to visit Tianzi Mountain and Yangjiajie.

After the trip, take Yangjiajie cable car down.

Tianzi Mountain: It is known for 4 natural spectacles – the clouds of mist that circle the peaks of the mountain, the amazing views of the rising sun, the moonlit nights and snowcapped winter peaks. They include more than 80 natural platforms to take in the magnificent scenery.

After the trip, be driven back to your hotel.

Hotel:
Pullman Hotel Zhangjiajie (5-star)
Zhangjiajie Tianzi Hotel (4-star)
Jinxi International Hotel (3-star)

Meals: Breakfast, Lunch

Transfer to visit Baofeng Lake.

Baofeng Lake: It is the masterpiece of nature and human beings' wisdom. It is 85 meters above the ground and attains an altitude of 585 meters. With an average depth of 72 meters. All the water is from rainfall and spring without any pollutant. It is pure just like a big crystal among Bao feng mountain Range.When you cruise, you can hear authentic song from Tujia minority people. You can fully understand the harmony and peace between human beings and nature.

Transfer to visit Zhangjiajie Grand Canyon and the Glass Bridge

You will explore the main attractions in Zhangjiajie Great Canyon: One-Line-Sky, Family Portrait, The Millennial Ancient Rattan, Chuangwang Pavilion, the Southern Red Flag Canal, Zhuaxian Spring, Rotten Ship Rock, The Bandit Hole, the World's Highest See-through Skywalk Bridge and so on.

The trip is finished at approximately 17:00 pm. Then be transferred to the hotel and check in.

Hotel:
Zhangjiajie Huatian Hotel (5-star)
Zhangjiajie Best Western Hotel (4-star)
Jinjiang Inn Zhangjiajie (3-star)

Meals: Breakfast, Lunch

Optional Night Activity: Tianmen Fox Fairy Show
Tianmen Foxy Fairy Show is an outdoor musical telling an old Chinese love story, with Tianmen Mountain and its deep valleys as the backdrop. The show is on every night. If you are interested, you can book with us in advance.

Be transferred to Tianmen Mountain Cable Car Station and take the cable car uphill to explore Tianmen Mountain.

Tianmen mountain: It is the highest mountain in Zhangjiajie, with the sea level of 1518M, it is praised to be the soul of Zhangjiajie. Your guide will take you to explore the best scenic spots such as Heavenly bus road, The Glass Skywalk, Tianmen Cave and so on.

The trip is finished at approximately 17:00 pm.

Then be transferred to Zhangjiajie airport for your evening flight to Shanghai. Upon arrival, meet your local Shanghai tour guide at the arrival hall for your transfer to the hotel.

Hotel:
Radisson Blu Hotel Shanghai New World (5-star)
The Bund Hotel (4-star)
Kingstown Hotel Plaza Shanghai (3-star)

Meals: Breakfast

Today worlds collide, starting at the history exhibition (under the TV tower) watch Shanghai literally rise, at nearly 500m it's a breathtaking panoramic view from the Oriental Peal TV Tower. Lunch is arranged at Old Shanghai. After lunch, take a relaxing walk to ancient Yuyuan Garden, followed by the Bund, a must-see colonial waterfront area.

Hotel:
Radisson Blu Hotel Shanghai New World (5-star)
The Bund Hotel (4-star)
Kingstown Hotel Plaza Shanghai (3-star)

Meals: Breakfast, Lunch

Your car, driver and our guide will be ready and waiting at your hotel to get you to the airport on time. Sit back and relax, they will help you check-in and escort you to the correct security gate.

Good to Know:
You may want to add Zhujiajiao Water Town for your last day of the tour, if your flight takes off in the evening or later.