18-day tour of East & West Culture with Splendid Solar Eclipse Viewing
Itinerary
Day 1 Mon 06-Jul-09 Beijing Arrival
Welcome to China. Upon arrival, our local guide will take you to your downtown hotel. The rest of the day is on your own to explore the city.
Day 2 Tue 07-Jul-09 Meal(s) (B+L+D) Beijing
Sightseeing: Tiananmen Square / Forbidden City / Temple of Heaven / Beijing Duck Dinner
Today you will start the day with a trip to the largest public square in the world: Tiananmen Square. Tiananmen Square is regarded as a symbol of China and capable of holding one million people.
Then you'll head to the Forbidden City, which consists of more than 9,000 rooms and covers an area of 72 hectares. Forbidden City is the largest and the best preserved Imperial Palace in the world.
After lunch, you take a short drive to the Temple of Heaven, which was built specifically for worship of heaven and prayers for good harvests during the Ming and Qing dynasties. The entire complex is a treasure trove of ancient Chinese architectural designs and arts and was listed as UNESCO’s World Cultural Heritage in 1998.
Tonight, enjoy a Beijing Duck Dinner.
Day 3 Wed 08-Jul-09 Meal(s) (B+L) Beijing
Sightseeing: Badaling Great Wall / Spirit Way / Ming Tombs
After breakfast, you will visit the Badaling Great Wall where you will experience at first hand the wonder of the Great Wall. For lunch you'll sample some delicious fare in a local restaurant. Afterwards, take a short drive to visit the Spirit Way and one of Ming Tombs. Spirit Way is an impressive marble archway as well as the entrance to the Ming Tombs flanked with many animal and human statues on the left and on the right of the avenue.
Ming Tombs are the representative royal tombs of the Ming Dynasty tombs. Thirteen emperors of the Ming dynasty from 1368 to 1644 were buried there.
Day 4 Thu 09-Jul-09 Meal(s) (B+L) Beijing
Sightseeing: Summer Palace / Lama Temple
Today you will start the day with a trip to the Summer Palace, which has a history of over 800 years. All the man-made hills, halls, pavilions and temples, including Kunming Lake and Longevity Hill, blend together harmoniously in spite of their individual styles. After lunch, you will also pay a visit to the Lama Temple. It is a typical Tibetan Monastery in Beijing and reveals various architectural styles from Han, Mongolia, Manchuria and Tibet, and the impressive 60-foot Maitreya Buddha, carved form a single sandalwood tree.
After visiting Lama Temple, you will go directly to the airport to take a flight to Xian and transfer to the downtown hotel.
Day 5 Fri 10-Jul-09 Meal(s) (B+L)
Beijing – Urumqi by air
The morning is at your leisure before taking your flight to Urumqi. Upon arrival, transfer to the downtown hotel. The rest of the time is free.
Day 6 Sat 11-Jul-09 Meal(s) (B+L) Urumqi
Sightseeing: Heavenly Lake / Southern Pasture / West White Poplar Gully
Get up early in the morning and drive about 110km to visit Heavenly Lake (Tian Chi). Surrounding the Heavenly Lake are snow-capped mountains, glacier forests and grassland alpine lakes, featuring a vertical natural landscape belt. It is a beautiful place to take a stroll around. Then you will also visit Southern Pasture. One of the most spectacular spots here is the West White Poplar Gully. Traveling through this narrow verdant gully is a unique experience for sightseers who love snowcapped peaks, waterfalls, dragon-spruce trees and wildflowers.
Day 7 Sun 12-Jul-09 Meal(s) (B+L)
Urumqi – Turpan by air
Sightseeing: Jiaohe Ruins / Karez Well / Emin Minaret
Get up early in the morning and drive about 380km to Turpan. After checking in at the hotel, you will visit Jiaohe Ruins, which has a long history of about 2,300 years. Jiaohe Ruins is the largest and best preserved ancient city built from compressed earth anywhere in the world.
After lunch, you will visit Karez Well, which is a delicate irrigation system devised by the smart Xinjiang people 2,000 years ago. Then you will head to Emin Minaret, the largest ancient Islamic tower in Xinjiang.
Day 8 Mon 13-Jul-09 Meal(s) (B+L+D)
Turpan – Dunhuang by train
Sightseeing: Gaochang Ruins / Baizikeli Thousand Buddha Cave / Flaming Hill
After checking into the hotel, your first stop in this city is Gaochang Ruins, the largest set of ancient city ruins ever found in the Western Regions. Afterwards, you will visit Baizikeli Thousand Buddha Cave, one of the most important Buddha grotto relics in Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region. Then you proceed to visit Flaming Hill - the hottest place in China. After having dinner, you will take train to Dunhuang. Your home stay tonight is on the train.
Day 9 Tue 14-Jul-09 Meal(s) (B+L) Dunhuang
Sightseeing: Echoing-Sand Dune / Crescent Lake
Upon your arrival in the morning, you will be met and transferred to the hotel. After checking in at the hotel, you will visit Echoing-Sand Dune and the Crescent Lake. Each time the wind blows, there is a sound from the mountain and when there is a breeze, the sound is like musical instruments, hence the name Echoing-Sand Mountain. Crescent lake is located in the arms of Echoing-Sand Mountain, appearing clear and beautiful.
Day 10 Wed 15-Jul-09 Meal(s) (B+L)
Dunhuang – Lanzhou by air
Sightseeing: Mogao Cave
You spend today on the site of Mogao Caves, which is located 25 kilometers (about 15.5 miles) southeast of Dunhuang City. It is regarded as the premier Buddhist spot in China. After lunch, you will take flight to Lanzhou and transfer to the hotel. The rest time is free at disposal.
Day 11 Thu 16-Jul-09 Meal(s) (B+L) Lanzhou
Sightseeing: Bingling Thousand Buddha Caves / Liujiaxia Reservoir
You spend the day at Bingling Thousand Buddha Caves. There are 183 caves existing with 694 stone statues, 82 earth statues and murals of 900 square meters (9, 688 square feet).
On the way to Bingling Caves, there is the beautiful Liujiaxia Reservoir, where the crystal water lying among the yellow earth mountains is quite a sight.
Day 12 Fri 17-Jul-09 Meal(s) (B+L)
Lanzhou – Xiahe by private van
Sightseeing: Sangke Grassland
Get up early in the morning and drive about 280km to Xiahe County and check in at the hotel. Then you will visit the Sangke Grassland, an ideal natural rangeland. The rest of the day is on your own to explore the county.
Day 13 Sat 18-Jul-09 Meal(s) (B+L)
Xiahe – Lanzhou by private van
Sightseeing: Labrang Monastery
You spend the morning visiting the famous Labrang Monastery, which is one of the six largest monasteries of the Yellow Sect of the Lamaism. After lunch, you will drive back to Lanzhou.
Day 14 Sun 19-Jul-09 Meal(s) (B+L) Lanzhou – Xian by air
Sightseeing: Provincial History Museum / City Wall
Take your flight to Xian and transfer to your hotel. After that you will visit the Provincial History Museum, which houses a large collection of historic and cultural artifacts unearthed in Shaanxi Province. Later you mount the City Wall. It was restored in the Ming dynasty and is considered as the largest and most intact Ming Dynasty castle in the world. From there you can have a good view of Xian.
Day 15 Mon 20-Jul-09 Meal(s) (B+L) Xian
Sightseeing: Terra Cotta Soldiers Museum / Bell Tower / Big Wild Goose Pagoda
Today you will visit what has been called the 8th Wonder of the World the Terracotta Warriors and Horses Museum. It is one of the most important archaeological excavations and cultural findings in the 20th century. After lunch, you will drive back to downtown city to visit the Big Wild Goose Pagoda. The Big Wild Goose Pagoda is one of symbols in Xian and a remarkable milestone of Chinese architecture. Afterward, you will head to visit the Bell Tower. Originally built in 1348, the Bell Tower in Xian is situated in the very heart of the city and is the most well-preserved and best-known one in China.
Day 16 Tue 21-Jul-09 Meal(s) (B+L) Xian – Shanghai by air
Sightseeing: Yu Garden / Shanghai Xin Tian Di
Get up early in the morning and check out from the hotel, then take your flight to Shanghai and transfer to the hotel. After freshening up, you will visit the Yu Garden, a former private garden, called a work of art, designed with different styles of the traditional Chinese horticultural art. Then you will stroll along Shanghai Xin Tian Di, which has become an urban tourist attraction that holds the historical and cultural legacies of the city.
Day 17 Wed 22-Jul-09 Meal(s) (B+L) Shanghai
Sightseeing: viewing solar eclipse/ Jade Buddha Temple / Oriental Pearl TV Tower / Bund / Nanjing Road
Following an early breakfast we will depart for the eclipse viewing site which will be announced in the morning. Depending on the weather we will travel to the east or west of Jiaxing and this decision will be made in real time. We will locate our site in this zone where up to 5m 52s of totality can be seen. Then you will visit Shanghai Museum which is The biggest museum in China, with a collection of over 120,000 pieces of Chinese art & cultural relics. Then transfer to Yu Garden. It is characteristic of the architectural style of the Ming Dynasty and it used to be a private garden with 400 years' history. In front of the garden, there is a market called Yu Market. After lunch you will visit Oriental Pearl TV Tower. Standing by the Huangpu River at 468 meters high, the Oriental Pearl TV Tower is the highest TV Tower in Asia.
Day 18 Thu 23-Jul-09 Meal(s) (B)
Shanghai – Next Destination
The morning is at your leisure before boarding your flight back home.
Price
| Person | 1 | 2-5 | 6-9 | |
| Price per person( USD $ ) | 5 Star | 5181 | 3241 | 2772 |
| 4 Star | 4730 | 3012 | 2542 | |
| 3 Star | 4412 | 2861 | 2382 | |
Price list
Price Includes:
a. Entrance fees to all the scenic spots as listed above in the itinerary
b. Hotel accommodations with breakfast as specified (If there is no Western breakfast available, we have to arrange Chinese one instead)
c. All meals as specified in the itinerary. B=Western or Chinese breakfast, L=Chinese lunch in a local restaurant, D=Chinese dinner in a local restaurant
d. Internal flights including taxes and fuel fee or train/bus tickets as listed in the itinerary
e. Professional local guides and drivers in each destination city
f. Private Transfers between airports, docks, hotels and scenic spots while sightseeing in each destination city by the private air conditioned car or van
g. Luggage Transfers between airports/docks and hotels
h. Arrangements for the planning, handling, operational and communication charges
i. Government taxes.
Price excludes:
a. International air and train tickets for coming to and leaving from mainland China
b. Visa fee
c. Excess Baggage Charges
d. Meals which are not specified with "B", "L" or "D".
e. Personal expenses such as drinks, laundry, tips to guides or drivers, FAX, telephone, excess baggage charges
f. Gratuities, tips to guides and drivers
g. Personal loss, illness or damages incurred during your trip
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