China Glimpse
--8 Days

Special Price: $1299 + tax

SFO / Beijing / Xian / Shanghai / SFO

Day 1: USA – Beijing
We start our Tour by boarding Air China wide bodied Boeing 747 flight bound for Beijing, China, the capital of modern China. Our flight CA 986 departs out of SFO at 2:20 pm. The group will meet at SFO Air China counter at 11:20 am, and a briefing about the China trip will be given by a waytochina staff before checking in. We are going to cross the international Date Line and spend the night during the 11.45-hour flight.

Day 2: Beijing ( D )
Arrive in Beijing in late afternoon at 5:05 pm, and we will be warmly welcomed by our English-speaking local guide. Transfer to the hotel. A welcome dinner is reserved for us. While in Beijing, we stay at the Chang An Grand Days Hotel 5 * , or The Century Ocean BW Hotel 4 *.

Day 3: Beijing ( B, L, D )
Beijing is the Capital of China, once served as the Capital City for 5 dynasties over a period of 800 years. We start today’s tour from the Tiananmen Square – the largest square in the world, accommodating half a million people at once. The present Tiananmen Square has an area of 440,000 square meters and has become a relaxing place for the common people to fly kites and walk. Behind the Tiananmen Gate Tower is the Palace Museum, also known as the Forbidden City. The City was built between 1406 and 1420 and served as the Imperial Palace for 24 Emperors of the Ming and Qing Dynasties. This complex, being the world largest Imperial Palace, features more than 800 buildings with resplendent golden-glazed roofs, red lacquered pillars and vermilion walls. In the afternoon we will tour the Temple of Heaven where the Ming and Qing Emperors worshipped the God of Heaven and preyed for a good harvest. You can visit the most brilliant buildings there, the Circular Mound Altar (Yuanqiutan), Imperial Vault of Heaven (Huangqiongyu) and Hall of Prayer for Good Harvest (Qiniandian) from south to north. What’s more, you can have a chance to experience the magnificent atmosphere of the Echo Wall around the Imperial Vault of Heaven.
Evening entertainment today is a formal Acrobatic Show.

Day 4: Beijing ( B, L, S )
After breakfast in the hotel, we will take our coach to the Great Wall, one of the Seven Wonders of the World. The Wall is about six thousand kilometers in length from east to west across the country, and it is said to be the only manmade structure visible from the Moon.
In the afternoon we will marvel at the incredible Ming Tombs, where 13 of the 16 Emperors of the Ming Dynasty were buried. What’s more, a stroll along the Sacred Road with its stone statues is especially interesting. Sacred Road is the gateway to the 13 tombs, nobody was allowed to ride on horse-back or in a sedan-chair when entering the road. The stone figures that flanked the road functioned as an imperial garrison in the tomb area.
We will enjoy the famous Peking Duck banquet for dinner.

Day 5: Beijing – Xian ( B, L, D )
We will visit the Summer Palace, which was built in 1750 as a royal recreational resort. About 75% of the Garden was covered with water --- the Kunming Lake. Among its famous features are the 700-meter-long corridors with its wonderful Painted Gallery, the Marble Barge, the 17-arch bridge and several magnificently painted pavilions and pagodas. It is said that the huge amount of money used for building the Summer Palace was supposed to build a Chinese Navy, however, the huge Marble Barge by the vast Lake was the only thing relating to the Navy. We will take an afternoon flight to Xian ( if seats available we are taking Air China flight CA 1225, departure at 3:25 pm, arrival at 5:15 pm ). While in Xian, we stay at the Gloria Plaza Hotel 4 * or the Bell Tower Hotel 4 * .

Day 6: Xian ( B, L, D )
Xian is the Capital of Shaanxi Province. It was once the largest city in the world and also the starting point of the famous ancient Silk Road. During its 6,000 years of history, eleven ancient dynasties had claimed Xian as their Capital. Today, our tour begins with a visit to the astonishing underground ruins, Museum of Qin Terra-Cotta Warriors and Horses. Concealed under earth, those thousands of life-sized clay warriors, horses and chariots, as part of the Tomb of Emperor Qinshihuang, were discovered accidentally by a farmer while digging out a well near his home. We will go to the excavation site to see those lifelike warriors and horses. In the afternoon, we will take a walk along the City Wall. It's the most complete city wall that has survived in China, as well being one of the largest ancient military defensive systems in the world. Then we go to the ancient Big Wild Goose Pagoda, built in the Tang Dynasty. It is known as the best-preserved Buddhist temple complex in China.

Day 7: Xian - Shanghai ( B, L, D )
We will fly to Shanghai today ( if seats are available we will take China Eastern Airlines Flight MU 2155, departure at 9:35 am, arrival at 11:20 am ) Shanghai is the largest commercial center in China, and the largest city in Asia. It is nestled in the fertile Yangtze River Valley, a home to 14 million people. We will visit the Jade Buddha Temple, which is famous for its huge Jade Buddhas, each of them was carved out of a single piece of Jade. Enjoy your night tour on the famous sleepless commercial street, Nanjing Road and the beautiful Bund by the Huangpu River. While in Shanghai, we stay at the Hengsheng Peninsula Hotel 4 *, or the Guang Dong Hotel 5 *.

Day 8: Shanghai – SFO( B, L )
We will visit Yuyuan Garden, a finely designed maze of elegant pavilions and ponds in the old part of the city. In the afternoon, we will be transferred to the Pudong Airport for our flight back home. Our flight is CA 985, departure at 4:05 pm, arrival in San Francisco the same day at 12:15 pm. ( End of the Tour )

Note: Single room supplement is $195 for the whole trip.