Home > China Tours >Classic Tours > 16-day China Southwest Exploration

16-day China Southwest Exploration

Tour code: ETC-B05   

An in-depth journey starts from the historical Beijing to Terracotta army in Xian and hometown of cute panda bear then to the heart of Yunnan which is the home to magical scenery, laid-back ancient towns and splendid minority culture; continue to explore the countryside Yangshuo and breath-taking rice terraces in Guilin then the last stop comes at cosmopolitan Shanghai.

the Tian'anmen Square, the Forbidden City, the Temple of Heaven, the Great Wall, Ming Tomb and Sacred road, Hutongs, the Terra-cotta Warriors and Horses, the Bell Tower, the Wild Goose Pagoda, Provincial Museum , Ancient City Wall, Dujiangyan Irrigation System, Panda Breeding Center, Jade Dragon Snow Mountain, Yu Feng Lamasery, Baisha Mural, Stone Forest, Li River cruise, Yu Long River, Bike ride to the countryside, cooking course, Longji Rice Terraces, Oriental Pearl TV Tower, Yu Garden, Jade Buddha Temple, Zhujiajiao Town, The Bund, Nanjing Road

Tour Date City Tour Brief
1 Beijing
Beijing Arrival
2 Beijing
Tian'anmen Square, Forbidden City, Temple of Heaven
3 Beijing
Great Wall, Ming Tomb, Sacred Road, Pecking Duck Dinner
4 Beijing / Xi'an
Hutongs by Rickshaw, Fly to Xi'an
5 Xi'an
Terra-cotta Warriors and Horses, Bell Tower, Wild Goose Pagoda
6 Xi'an / Chengdu
Shaanxi Provincial Museum, Ancient City Wall, Fly to Chengdu
7 Chengdu / Lijiang
Dujiangyan Irrigation Project, Panda Breeding Center, Fly to Lijiang
8 Lijiang
Jade Dragon Snow Mountain, Yu Feng Lamasery, Baisha Mural
9 Lijiang / Kunming
Free Morning, Fly to Kunming
10
Kunming / Guilin
Stone Forest, Flower and Bird Market, Fly to Guilin
11 Guilin / Yangshuo
Li River Cruise, Shopping at local market Yangshuo
12
Yangshuo
Bamboo Rafting Yulong River, Cooking Course
13 Yangshuo/Longji/Guilin/Shanghai Longji Rice Terraces, Ping An Zhuang Village, Fly to Shanghai
14
Shanghai
Oriental Pearl TV Tower, Yu Garden, Jade Buddha Temple
15 Shanghai
Zhujiajiao Watertown, the Bund, Nanjing Road
16
Shanghai
Shanghai Departure
Day 1 Arrival in Beijing (no meal)
Arrive at Beijing. Our guide will meet you at the airport & transfer to your hotel. Free at leisure for the rest of the day.

Day 2 Beijing (B, L)
Full day trip to the Tian'anmen Square, the Forbidden City, the Temple of Heaven.
- The Tian'anmen Square: The largest city square in the world.
- The Forbidden City: The largest imperial palace in China for 24 emperors' reign during the Ming and Qing dynasties with a history of around 600 years.
- The Temple of Heaven: a masterpiece of architecture and landscape design where the ancient emperors used to pray for the God's bless of the whole nation.

Day 3 Beijing (B, L, D)
Full day trip to the Great Wall, Ming Tomb and Sacred road. Enjoy a famous Peking Duck Banquet for dinner.
- The Great Wall: One of the great wonders in the world and the symbol of China.
- The Ding Tomb: an underground palace for a Ming-dynasty emperors' afterlife.
- The Sacred Road: "the way leading to Heaven" which is guarded on both sides with 12 stone statues.

Day 4 Beijing/Xian by flight (B, L)
Visit Hutongs by rickshaw. Take afternoon flight to xi'an . Arrive at Xian. Be met & transferred to your hotel. Free time at leisure.
- Hutongs: the unique street design to Beijing - some crisscrossing old narrow paths with courtyard houses built on each side. It can be regarded as a window into Beijing folk life.

Day 5 Xian (B, L)
Visit the Terra-cotta Warriors and Horses, the Bell Tower and the Wild Goose Pagoda.
- The Terra-cotta Warriors and Horses Museum: one of the most important archaeological finds in the 20 th century; an army of terra-cotta warriors and the bronze chariots entombed in vast underground vaults at emperor Qin's tomb since 2200 year ago.
- The Bell Tower: first built in 1384, the largest and best preserved of its kind.
- The Wild Goose Pagoda: the city emblem, which was first built in Tang Dynasty for the storage of Buddhist scriptures taken from India by Monk Xuanzang.

Day 6 Xian/Chengdu by flight (B, L)
Visit the Provincial Museum , Ancient City Wall and old city quarters. Take an evening flight to Chengdu. Be met & transferred to the hotel with your private guide & vehicle.
- The Provincial Museum: One of the main museums in China boasting a large collection of unearthed cultural relics of China.
- The Ancient City Wall: the best-kept and biggest city walls in China.

7 Chengdu/Lijiang by flight (B, L)
Visit Dujiangyan Irrigation Project and Panda Breeding Center. Take an evening flight to Lijiang. Be met and transfer to hotel.
- Dujiangyan Irrigation System: 2200+ year old water conservation project, still in use for irrigation and flood-controlling.
- Panda Breeding Center: First opened in 1987, a semi-wild area where those lovely China 's ambassadors can be allowed to freely roam.

Day 8 Lijiang (B, L)
Drive to Jade Dragon Snow Mountain to take a cable car to Yak Meadow. Then visit Yu Feng Lamasery and Baisha Mural.
- Jade Dragon Snow Mountain: the holy mountain of local Naxi People, the soul of Lijiang.
- Yu Feng Lamasery: first built in Qing Dynasty (1644-1911), a mixture style of Han, Naxi and Tibetan architecture.
- Baisha Mural: It was painted in Baisha Town in Ming Dynasty (1368-1644), an interesting co-existence of Buddhism, Taoism and Lamaism in the artworks.

Day 9 Lijiang/Kunming (B)
Free morning for your own exploration. Transfer to airport and fly to Kunming. Be met and transfer to hotel.

Day 10 Kunming/Guilin by flight (B, L)
Full day tour to Stone Forest and local Flower and Bird Market. Drive to airport and fly to Guilin. Be met and transfer to hotel.- Stone Forest: the most famous tourist attraction in Kunming - a typical formation of Karst topography.

Day 11 Guilin/Yangshuo (B, L)
Take a leisurely cruise down Li River enjoying the stunning landscape, and arrive at Yangshuo for one hour free shopping at local market. Overnight at Yangshuo.
- Li River cruise: a wonderful 3.5 hour cruise going down a clear river sided by picturesque scenery. Lunch on board.

Day 12 Yangshuo (B, L)
Bike ride to the countryside escorted by your private guide, then bamboo rafting down Yu Long River (great fun and mild adventurous!). Lunch at local restaurant. Have a cooking course in the afternoon.

Day 13 Yangshuo/Longji/Guilin by car, Guilin/Shanghai by flight (B, L)
Drive to Longji to see the rice terraces and visit Ping An Zhuang Village. Then transfer to airport to fly to Shanghai . Be met and transfer to hotel.
- Longji Rice Terraces: first built in Yuan Dynasty (1271-1368), a feat of farm engineering.

Day 14 Shanghai (B, L)
Visit Oriental Pearl TV Tower, Yu Garden & Jade Buddha Temple .
- Oriental Pearl TV Tower: Best viewing spot of Shanghai located by the Huangpu River with 468 meters high.
- Yu Garden: It used to be a private garden with 400 years' history, it features traditional architectural style of Yangtze Delta.
- Jade Buddha Temple: Most popular Buddhist temple in Shanghai boasting 2 precious jade Buddha sculptures from Burma

Day 15 Shanghai (B, L)
Tour to nearby ancient water town - Zhujiajiao, and transfer back to the Bund and Najing Road for shopping.
- Zhujiajiao Town: an ancient water town featured with traditional lifestyle of Yangtze Delta.
- The Bund: Shanghai 's famous waterfront to see new-erect modern skyscrapers and aged buildings of the colonial period.
- Nanjing Road: the busiest shopping street in Shanghai.

Day 16 Shanghai departure (B)
Transfer to Shanghai Pudong airport for your flight to your next destination.
Service Ends.

PRICES START FROM US$2460 PER PERSON

As all of our holidays are tailor-made it isn’t possible to give an exact price on the web-site as the final cost is dependant on a number of factors. These include the number of people in your party, the season you travel, the standard of hotel (we offer a variety of standards from three-star to super-luxurious) and duration of your trip. However, as aguideline you should expect to pay from US$2460 for the opposite itinerary.

Included Services
Private transfers airport/hotel/airport;
Private tours escorted by an English-speaking guide;
Accommodations with daily breakfast;
Meals specified in itinerary as B=breakfast, L=lunch, D=dinner;
Domestic flights and trains listed;
Admission fees.

Non-included Services,
Visa arrangement;
Excess luggage charge(the luggage allowance at economy class is 20kg);
Personal expense;
Any meals not specified as "B, L or D";
Gratuties to guides and drivers.

Tailor-made Suggestions

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Tibet is a destination of wonders. Stunning landscape and pristine culture heritages always stay in my memory. It is really a place worth many visits!

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