China Tour

In contrast to the other tours, we have chosen for this tour 2-3 stars hotels according to the Chinese categories, which however are clean and proper. Moreover you will take a night train instead of the plane three times. Furthermore, you will get more time at your disposal than you have got in the other tours.

Itinerary:

Arrival at Beijing Capital International Airport. Greetings by your tour guide and transfer to the hotel. The rest of the day is at your disposal.

Visit the world-famous Tian'anmen Square (Tian'anmen Guang chang) in the morning. Enter the Forbidden City (also called the Palace Museum) through Tian’anmen Square Gate. The Forbidden City is on the UNESCO World Heritage List. It is a masterpiece of Chinese palace architecture of the Ming and Qing era and it demonstrates imposingly the integration of traditional architecture in ancient northern China into the art of palace building. Afterwards visit another landmark of Beijing, the Temple of Heaven (Tian Tan). It is also on the UNESCO World Heritage List, because it is a unique expression of the Chinese concept of the relationship between heaven and earth.

In the morning, go to the Badaling Great Wall by bus. You can climb up to the wall through a scarped staircase and enjoy the scenery from above. Afterwards, you will visit the Summer Palace (Yi He Yuan). It is an imperial garden, where the Chinese gardening is perfectly reflected. That's why it is on the UNESCO World Heritage List.

This day is at your disposal. You can, for example, visit the Beihai Park, the Hutongs and the Lama Temple. Or do some shopping at the Wangfujing Street as well. In the late afternoon, transfer to the train station and go to Xi'an by night train in a first class sleeping wagon.

Arrival in Xi’an in the morning and transfer to the hotel. After breakfast, go to the excavation sites and visit the Army of TerraCotta Warriors (Bing Ma Yong), which is a part of the grave of the first emperor of China, Qin Shi Huang (221-210 BC). The grave, including the TerraCotta Warriors, is on the UNESCO World Heritage List. Besides thousands of life-size TerraCotta Warriors and Horses guarding the Tomb of the first emperor of China, you can see two bronze models of horse carriage and warrior (Tong Che MA) from that time. They were found in ducts beside the burial mound. Return to Xi’an in the afternoon. Afterwards visit the Big Wild Goose Pagoda (Da Yan Ta) in the Dacien temple built in 652 A.D., which is considered as Xi'an's landmark.

In the morning, you will visit the Bell and Drum Tower square (Zhong Gu Lou) and the Muslim Old Town with its numerous small shops and restaurants. There you will visit the Great Mosque (Qingzhen Si; or Hua Jue Si), which is built in the typical Chinese temple architectural style. The afternoon is at your disposal. You can, for instance, visit Xi’an City Wall or the Shaanxi History Museum (Shaanxi Lishi Bowuguan), one of the most beautiful museums in China. You will get the best overview of Chinese history, starting from Paleolithic to the end of the emperor era.

This morning, go by train (seat in the first class wagon) to Luoyang. After the arrival, transfer to the hotel.

Today, go by bus to the Longmen Thousand Buddha Grottos nearby the former capital Luoyang, which are carved into the cliffy bluff of the Yi River. The about 1,350 grottos with approximately 100.000 sculptures of the 5th to 10th century demonstrate the importance of the Buddhism in China at that time. They are on the UNESCO World Heritage List. Afterwards, you will visit the Temple of the White Horse, which is said to be the first state- aided construction of a Buddhist Monastery (68 AD under Emperor Ming of the East Han Dynasty).

After breakfast, go by bus to the famous Shaolin Monastery, which was founded in 495. Here, you will see a martial art performance by the monks. Afterwards, visit the cemetery of the abbots and of the famous monks – the so-called Pagoda Forest. Here, there are more than 240 stupas of a height between 1 and 14 m and a diversity of shapes, which have developed within 1,200 years. It is followed by visiting the widely-used traditional Cave-Houses, which are dug into the loess. In these lodgings, which are warm in the winter, while cool in the summer, where people live in the same way like hundreds of years ago till today. After the return to Luoyang, if time permits, you can visit the Old Town and the Museum of Folklore. In the evening, transfer to the train station and go by night train in a first class sleeping wagon to Suzhou.

After the arrival in Suzhou and the transfer to the hotel, you will visit the picturesque Humble Administrator's Garden, which was built in the 16th century. It is the largest and most representative garden in Suzhou. Afterwards, visit the Garden of the Master of the Nets (Wangshi Yuan). It is the smallest, but perhaps the most impressive private gardens in Suzhou. Because of its able use of space, it appears as if it were a much bigger garden. They are two of the nine gardens in Suzhou, which are on the UNESCO World Heritage List.

Go to Shanghai by train in the morning. After the arrival, transfer to the hotel. Then you will visit the 421 m high Jinmao Building, which is a wonderful blend of traditional Chinese style with gothic influence. Enjoy a broad view from the nowadays highest observation deck of the world down to the fastest growing city of Asia. Afterwards, visit the historic Old Town of Shanghai with its labyrinth of narrow lanes and experience the everyday life there. Later, you will go to the Bund, a famous street along the Huangpu River with its European colonial architecture.

This day is at your disposal. You can, for example, go shopping in the Nanjing Road or the Huaihai Road, or visit the Shanghai Museum.

In the morning, go by train to Hangzhou, which is mentioned in a saying: “In heaven there is the paradise, on earth, there are Hangzhou and Suzhou”. It takes about 4 hours. After the check-in in the hotel, you will visit the legendary West Lake, a huge landscape garden, which was an exemplar for the Summer Palace in Beijing. There you can make a boat trip at the lake and visit the numerous sights. This lake forms the cityscape of Hangzhou till today.

In the morning, you will visit the Pagoda of the Six Harmonies, which was built in about 970 at the behest of the king of Wuyue, in order to restrain the tide of the Qiantang River, a famous phenomenon, which you can see twice, only at the beginning and middle of every lunar month. The pagoda had not only sacral functions, but also functioned as a lighthouse. In the afternoon, you will visit the Temple of the Soul’s Retreat nearby the West Lake, which is said to be the foremost research centre relating to the Chinese Buddhism culture. Afterwards, transfer to the airport and fly to Guilin.

Today, you will make a sight-seeing tour in the city Guilin, which is located amidst karst cones hills. Visit the stalactite cave Ludiyan (Reed Flute Cave) as well as the Elephant Trunk Hill (Xiangbi Shan), Guilin’s landmark, and the Fubo Hill, where you can get a nice view of the city and the surrounding hills.

Go for a cruise on the Li River through a picturesque karst landscape with its typical cone-shaped hills, rice fields between the mountains, bamboo forests, and bathing water buffalos, which impart a romantic picture of South China to you. The boat trip ends at the small river haven of Yangshuo. After the arrival in Yangshuo, you can experience the impressing karst landscape by bike or have a round trip by electrical minibus through the villages, along rice fields and between beautiful hills. Overnight stay at the West Street Guesthouse in Yangshuo.

A suggestion for the evening: Impression Liu Sanjie, directed by the famous Chinese film director Zhang Yimou. He will be the leading director of the opening and closing ceremony of the 2008 Olympic Games in Beijing. The evening performance is a wonderful presentation of local dance and singing.

The day is at your disposal. Enjoy a beautiful and relaxing day that few travelers can experience. Wander through the narrow lanes and saunter at the market. Explore the impressing karst landscape by bike or tricycle. Hike in the mountains, through rice fields and the villages along the Li River and the Yulong River, where life has hardly changed for centuries. You can visit the lanes and courtyards by yourself.

The day is at your disposal, too. In the afternoon, go to Guilin by bus. Afterwards, go to Guangzhou by train in a first class sleeping wagon.

Arrival in Guangzhou in the morning. Transfer to the hotel and breakfast. Afterwards, you will go by bus to the Southern Yue Tomb Museum (Nanyuewang Mu) from the second century BC. Among the more than 1,000 sacrificial jade objects, which you will find in the 10 exhibition halls, the most attractive are the clothes worn by the Emperor Nanyue himself. They were made of 2,291 jade patterns. After that, you will visit the ancestral Temple of the Chen Family, one of the richest families in Chinese history. The temple was built between 1890 and 1894 and is one of the best preserved buildings of the old Guangdong style and it is famous for its ornate and elaborate decoration. Afterwards, transfer to the landing stage of the ship to HongKong. The crossing takes about two hours. After the arrival, transfer to the hotel.

The day is at your disposal. Explore the peninsula Kowloon with the Jade and Bird Market, the cultural life in the temples and monasteries, or use the rest of the day for shopping - Kowloon is the most important trading centre of the Far East. Return flight in the late evening.

End of the travel.

B: Breakfast     L: Lunch     D: Dinner

Tour No.: BT3 Budget Tour 3

For individual groups

Number of participants	Peak season	Single room extra charge	Shoulder season	Single room extra charge	book
2-5 pers.	1730 USD	335 USD	1700 USD	305 USD

If you are a group with more than 5 persons, you can get more favourable prices. Please note that the prices may vary due to exchange rate fluctuations (RMB to USD) slightly. The prices above were computed by the rates as 1 USD= 7.9 RMB.

Peak season: May, September and October
Shoulder season: March, April, June, July, August, November

The hotels:
Beijing Home Inn **
Xi'an 3e Hotel**
Luoyang New Friendship Hotel***
Suzhou Yuanwailou Hotel***
Shanghai Motel 168 **
Hangzhou Zhongshan Hotel***
Guilin Jingxiu Hotel***
Yangshuo West Street Guesthouse**
Hong Kong YMCA International House*** Price includes:
-- All overnight accommodation in double rooms shared by two adults with    breakfast
-- Meals as listed in the itinerary
-- All transfers and entrance tickets as listed in the itinerary
-- Inland flight tickets including all fees
-- Local English-speaking tour guides
-- Tickets for the Night trains in the first class sleeping wagon (compartments    of four beds)
Price does not include:
-- International flight tickets
-- Visa for China
-- Personal expenditures, tips etc.
Note:
-- If you choose the second class sleeping wagon (six beds in a    compartment) in a train, $21 could be saved per person.
-- Children less than 12 years old can be given discounts.
-- The hotels, trains and flights listed in the itinerary may be changed into the     ones of similar category if necessary.
-- The prices do not apply to the Spring Festival, the May Day Holiday (30th     April. –7th May.), the National Day Holiday (30th Sep.–7th Oct.), the     Peony Festival in Luoyang (10th April – 8th May, 2006) and the period     of the Formula 1 racings in Shanghai (25th Sep.–5th Oct., 2006).
-- If you need more information, please contact us.