23-Day China Tour: Yunnan and Yangtze River Cruise

Meals: No Meals 
Recommended Hotel: Sunworld Hotel Beijing Wangfujing ★★★★

Arrive in Beijing, meet your guide at the airport and transfer to the hotel. The rest of the day is free to recover from your journey.

Beijing City View

Meals: Breakfast, Lunch
Recommended Hotel: Sunworld Hotel Beijing Wangfujing ★★★★

Begin at Tian'anmen Square and continue into the Forbidden City, the former imperial palace at the center of Beijing. Visit the Temple of Heaven in the afternoon. The optional Peking Opera is available in the evening at your own expense.

Forbidden City

Meals: Breakfast, Lunch
Recommended Hotel: Sunworld Hotel Beijing Wangfujing ★★★★

Travel to Mutianyu Great Wall, a well-preserved and accessible section of the Great Wall. Return toward the city and stop outside the Bird Nest and Water Cube for photographs. An optional Peking Roasted Duck  dinner can be arranged at your own expense.

Mutianyu Great Wall

Meals: Breakfast, Lunch
Recommended Hotel: Bell Tower Grand New Century Hotel ★★★★

Take a Hutong Tour by rickshaw through Beijing's traditional lanes, then transfer to the railway station for the high-speed train to Xi'an .

Beijing Hutong

Meals: Breakfast, Lunch
Recommended Hotel: Bell Tower Grand New Century Hotel ★★★★

Visit the Terracotta Warriors, then continue to the Xian City Wall and browse the food stalls and shops of the Mulism Quarter. The optional Tang Dynasty Show with Dinner is available in the evening at your own expense.

Terracotta Warriors

Meals: Breakfast, Lunch
Recommended Hotel: Sunshine Tianfu Hotel ★★★★

Visit the Shaanxi History Museum, then continue to the Small Wild Goose Pagoda and the neighboring Jianfu Temple and Xi'an Museum. Board the late-afternoon, second-class high-speed train for the approximately four-hour journey to Chengdu.

Collections of Shaanxi History Museum

Meals: Breakfast, Lunch
Accommodation: Sunshine Tianfu Hotel ★★★★

Visit the Chengdu Research Base of Giant Panda Breeding for 2–3 hours to observe giant pandas in a habitat designed around their natural behavior. After lunch, drive to Mt. Leshan and see Leshan Giant Buddha either from the walking route or by boat. Return to Chengdu for a free evening.

Notes: Ask your guide if you would like to arrange Sichuan Opera as an optional evening activity.

Mt. Leshan

Meals: Breakfast, Lunch
Accommodation: Guilin Bravo Hotel ★★★★

After breakfast, visit People's Park and pause at a local teahouse to observe everyday park life.

After a Sichuan lunch, continue to Wuhou Temple and walk through neighboring Jinli Ancient Street.

Transfer to the airport for the flight to Guilin, where your guide will meet you and take you to the hotel.

People's Park

Meals: Breakfast, Lunch
Recommended Hotel: Guilin Bravo Hotel ★★★★

Drive about two hours to the Longji Rice Terraces Scenic Area. Walk among the terraced fields, visit a local Zhuang and Yao community and sample regional food before returning to Guilin in the late afternoon. A Four Lakes night cruise is optional.

Longji Rice Terraces

Meals: Breakfast, Lunch box
Recommended Hotel: Guilin Bravo Hotel ★★★★

Transfer to the pier for the four-hour Li River Cruise , with lunch served on board en route to Yangshuo. After disembarkation, walk along West Street, then cycle through the Yangshuo countryside and Yulong River area before returning to Guilin.

Li River Cruise

Meals: Breakfast, Lunch
Recommended Hotel: Cachet Boutique Kunming Artime ★★★★

Visit Elephant Trunk Hill and the limestone formations inside Reed Flute Cave before transferring to the railway station for the high-speed train to Kunming.

Elephant Trunk Hill

Meals: Breakfast, Lunch
Recommended Hotel: Cachet Boutique Kunming Artime ★★★★

Begin at Green Lake, where residents gather for music and recreation, then browse Flower and Bird Market for handicrafts and antiques. After lunch, explore The Stone Forest, a karst landscape of narrow paths and weathered limestone formations.

Green Lake

Meals: Breakfast, Lunch
Recommended Hotel: Gurong Hotel ★★★★

Take the approximately two-hour bullet train to Dali, then cycle beside Erhai Lake after arrival. The lake sits in a fault-formed basin and is an important feature of the Dali landscape.

In the afternoon, visit the Three Pagodas and Xizhou Bai's Houses, including Yan's Courtyard. Continue to Dali Ancient Town for hotel check-in and a walk through the old town.

Three Pagodas

Meals: Breakfast, Lunch
Recommended Hotel: Lijiang Golden Path Hospitality Hotel ★★★★

Enjoy a free morning in Dali, then take the approximately two-hour train to Lijiang. Your guide will meet you and arrange hotel check-in. Afterwards, explore Lijiang Ancient Town and its centuries-old lanes.

Lijiang Ancient Town

Meals: Breakfast, Lunch
Recommended Hotel: Lijiang Golden Path Hospitality Hotel ★★★★

Drive about half an hour to Jade Dragon Sown Mountain using the cable-car and scenic-van services in the area. After lunch, visit Yufeng Temple and the Baisha Mural in Baisha Village.

Jade Dragon Snow Mountain

Meals: Breakfast, Lunch
Recommended Hotel: Blossom Hill Inn Shangri-la ★★★★

Drive about four hours to Shangri-la, taking in the highland scenery along the way before checking in.

Shangri-La

Meals: Breakfast, Lunch
Recommended Hotel: Blossom Hill Inn Shangri-la ★★★★

Visit Songzanlin Lamasery in the morning, then continue to Potatso National Park , whose main sights include Shudu and Bita lakes connected by the scenic-area vans.

Songzanlin Monastery

Meals: Breakfast
Recommended Hotel: Victoria cruise ★★★★★

Fly to Chongqing, directly or via Kunming, and board your Yangtze River Cruise. Yangtze is China's longest river and carries you through the Three Gorges toward Yichang.

Chongqing City View

Meals: Breakfast & Lunch& Dinner
On Board: Victoria cruise ★★★★★

[06:30-08:30] Early-bird coffee and tea are followed by tai chi and a buffet breakfast on board.

[09:00-13:30] Join the included shore excursion to Fengdu's Jade Emperor site. An additional visit to Fengdu Ghost City is available at extra cost, followed by buffet lunch on board.

[16:00-21:30] Attend the captain's welcome reception and buffet dinner. The additional FengYan SanGuo “Romance of the Three Kingdoms” show is available in the evening.

Fengdu Ghost City

Meals: Breakfast & Lunch& Dinner
On Board: Victoria cruise ★★★★★

[06:30-08:30] Early-bird coffee and tea are followed by tai chi and a buffet breakfast on board.

[07:30-10:15] Enjoy activities on board or join the additional excursion to White Emperor City at extra cost.

[10:45-13:00] Sail through Qutang Gorge and continue scenic cruising in Wu Gorge, with buffet lunch served on board.

[15:15-21:45] Take the shore excursion to Goddess Stream, then attend the captain's farewell banquet and crew cabaret in the evening.

Qutang Gorge

Meals: Breakfast
Recommended Hotel: Sunrise On The Bund Hotel ★★★★

[06:00-07:45] Buffet breakfast

[07:45-10:45] Disembark at Maoping cruise terminal and visit the Three Gorges Dam Site.

After the visit, meet your local guide and have lunch at a local restaurant. Transfer to the railway station for the approximately 7.5-hour high-speed train to Shanghai, where your guide will meet you and arrange the hotel transfer.

Three Gorge Dam

Meals: Breakfast, Lunch
Recommended Hotel: Sunrise On The Bund Hotel ★★★★

Start at Yuyuan Garden, then continue through Chenghuangmiao Old Street to the Bund. After lunch, visit the Jade Buddha Temple and Shanghai Oriental Pearl TV Tower. The Acrobatics Show is available as an optional evening activity.

The Bund Shanghai

Meals: Breakfast

Transfer to the airport for your homebound flight and conclude the 23-day private China tour.

Service Ends