15 Days Yangtze River Cruise and Avatar Mountain China Tour

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.

Drive about one hour to the outskirts of Xi’an and admire the formidable underground army of Terracotta Warriors, which has been guarding ‘First Emperor’ Qin for over 2,000 years. Back in the city, walk on the ancient city wall, which divides the city into its inner and outer parts. Riding a bike on the massive wall is recommended.

Dinner is according to your own arrangement. Feel free to ask your tour guide for some insider recommendations. Transfer to the airport for your evening flight to Zhangjiajie. Upon arrival, meet your local Zhangjiajie tour guide at the arrival hall for your transfer to a Zhangjiajie city hotel.

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

Meals: Breakfast, Lunch

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

Optional Night Activity: Charming Western Hunan Show

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

It takes about 45 minutes from Zhangjiajie City to Zhangjiajie Great Canyon.

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 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 Yellow Dragon Cave.

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.

Then be transferred to downtown Zhangjiajie 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 Walkway, Tianmen Cave 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.

Transfer to the train station for your Yichang-bound train (K1474, departing at 09:15 and arriving at 14:18). To ensure the most comfort for your China train experience, we book soft-sleeper carriages, where 4 people share a cabin.

Upon arrival at Yichang Train Station, meet your local guide for your port transfer, and board your Yangtze River Cruise, which embarks at 21:00.

Hotel: Century Ledgend (Deluxe Cabin)

Meals: Breakfast

Sail through the first gorge – Xiling Gorge, and pass through the five-step ship lock and have a shore excursion to the world-famous Three Gorges Dam site. In the evening, a welcoming banquet is held, hosted by the captain. There’s no dress code for the Yangtze River cruise; wearing comfortable clothing for traveling is completely fine.

Hotel: Century Ledgend (Deluxe Cabin)

Meals: Breakfast, Lunch and Dinner

Good to Know
Tai chi exercise led by a teacher is offered in the early morning every day.

Take a shore excursion to visit Shennong Stream in small wooden boats, and see the mountain and water scenery more intimately. The cruise proceeds through Wu Gorge and Qutang Gorge.

You have the option of visiting White Emperor City (CNY280 per person extra), the source of inspiration for many ancient Chinese poets. Enjoy some interesting performances presented by the ship crew in the evening.

Hotel: Century Ledgend (Deluxe Cabin)

Meals: Breakfast, Lunch and Dinner

You will have a shore excursion to Shibaozhai, a craggy hill by the Yangtze with a red pavilion and a walkway to the temple at the top of the hill. The Captain’s Farewell Banquet is held in the evening.

Hotel: Century Ledgend (Deluxe Cabin)

Meals: Breakfast, Lunch and Dinner

The cruise will dock at Chongqing port at around 9 am. Your local tour guide will pick you up from the port for your airport transfer and flight to Shanghai. Upon landing in Shanghai, your Shanghai tour guide will meet you at the arrival hall for your hotel transfer and a good rest.

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.