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Day 1: Fly overnight to China
Day 2: Beijing
Meet your Tour Director at your destinationDay 3: Beijing
Take a guided tour of Beijing
With your expert local guide you will visit:
- Tiananmen Square [tyahn-ahn-men]
- Forbidden City
- Summer Palace
Enjoy a dragon boat ride (Available April–October only)
Participate in a tai chi lesson
Enjoy a Peking Duck Dinner
Day 4: Beijing
Take a day trip to Mutianyu
Visit one of the best preserved sections of the Great Wall of China that’s less traveled by tourists
Take a cable car ride for a scenic view of the Great Wall
See the Bird’s Nest Olympic stadium
Take a walking tour of a traditional Beijing neighborhood
Enjoy an authentic Chinese meal with a local family
Day 5: Beijing • Xi'an
Fly to Xi'an [shee-ahn]
Take a bike ride on Xi’an’s ancient city wall
Dumpling class
Make dough. Fold dumplings. Repeat. (Then, eat!) Learn the fine art of Chinese dumpling-making from an expert chef in this hands-on cooking class. Come away with authentic techniques, an understanding of different dumpling types and shapes, and, most importantly, full bellies.
Day 6: Xi'an
Tour Xi’an with an expert local guide
Visit the Terracotta Army archaeological dig site
Participate in a calligraphy class
Visit a street food market in the city’s Muslim Quarter
Day 7: Xi'an • Chengdu
Travel by high-speed train to Chengdu [chung doo]
Tour Chengdu’s most famous pedestrian street
Take a guided tour of Chengdu
With your expert local guide you will:
- Learn about the city’s ancient history
- See why it’s a modern-day economic, transportation, and communication hub
Enjoy a family-style hot pot dinner
Sichuan Opera “face-changing” performance
Don’t let the “opera” in the title fool you. This tea-house performance is all spectacle, complete with acrobats, fire-breathers, puppeteers, and actors skilled in the art of “face-changing,” or rapidly swapping intricate masks depicting different emotions. (Like, 10-masks-in-20-seconds fast.)
Day 8: Chengdu
Spend a half day at a giant panda research center where you will:
- Learn about the center’s research and conservation efforts to save giant pandas
- Observe pandas as they carry out daily activities—everything from eating to sleeping to playing
Bike within a tea plantation and try your hand at picking tea leaves alongside local farmers
Day 9: Chengdu • Dujiangyan
Take in the Chinese countryside on a day trip to a UNESCO World Heritage Site
Explore the Dujiangyan [doo jee-ang yenn] Irrigation System, a feat of engineering dating back to 256 B.C.
Enjoy a cable car ride and short hike to the top of Mount Qingcheng [ching chung]
Day 10: Chengdu • Shanghai
Fly to Shanghai
Visit the Shanghai Tower
Walk along the Bund, a colonial-era center for international banking and trade
Chinese acrobatics show
This evening performance by traditional Chinese acrobats will have you gasping in awe, laughing out loud, and applauding wildly with its unique blend of comedy, magic, theater, and “did they really just do that?” stunts.
Day 11: Shanghai
Take a guided tour of Shanghai
With your expert local guide you will visit:
- Jade Buddha Temple
- Yu Garden, whose name literally means “happiness”
See Nanjing Rd
Day 12: Depart for home
Add 2 more days
Day 12: Shanghai • Hong Kong
Fly to Hong Kong
Ride the Peak Tram to Victoria Peak, the highest point on Hong Kong Island
Explore the Temple Street night market
Take the Star Ferry across Victoria Harbor
Enjoy dinner in Kowloon
Watch the cityscape come alive in a "Symphony of Lights" show
Day 13: Hong Kong
Lantau Island
Lantau Island—the largest of Hong Kong’s 230 islands—is yours to explore. Begin with a 25-minute cable car ride that offers panoramic views of the South China Sea. Visit the Po Lin Monastery and then climb stairs to the island’s main attraction: the world’s tallest outdoor seated bronze Buddha, who stands 111 feet tall and weighs over 250 tons!
Enjoy a dim sum tasting
Day 14: Depart for home
