Beijing Xian Luoyang Suzhou Hanzghou Shanghai 12 Days Train Tour

Arrival in Beijing, met and transferred to your hotel in Beijing. In the afternoon, visit Temple of Heaven , the place where the emperors of Ming and Qing Dynasties worshipped heaven and prayed for peace and harvest. You are at your leisure to take a good rest or explore the city for the remainer of the day.

Meal: No

Starting the day with a visit to Tiananmen Square , the world largest square of this kind. You will be given the details of all the buildings in and around the square including Mao's mausaleum, the National Museum, the Parliament Building. Then go through an underground tunnel to the imperial palace, also known as the " Forbidden City ", the complex of imperial palace, which was home to the Emperors of Ming and Qing dynasties for over 500 years.

Today you have a la carte lunch with an a la carte menu at a nice local Cantonese restaurant, where you could enjoy the authentic Chinese food. After lunch, continue to visit Summer Palace , the largest and most beautiful Chinese imperial garden. It is regarded as a museum of gardens in China. Then visit a Tea market where you can taste the famous Chinese tea and see Chinese tea ceremony in a big Chinese tea market and buy the local Chinese teas.

After the tour, transferred back to your hotel.

Meals: Hotel Western breakfast and a la carte lunch

After breakfast, you are picked up at your hotel around 8:00am. Drive to the Ming Tombs ( Dingling, one of the 13 Ming Dynasty Tombs complex ). From the Yongle Emperor onwards, 13 Ming Dynasty Emperors were buried in this area. You will visit Dingling, the tomb of the Wanli Emperor, which is the only one of the Ming Dynasty Tombs to have been excavated. Visited the Jade Factory where they explained the difference types of jade and how jade can be carved in a great variety of shapes.

After Chinese lunch, head to Mutainyu Great Wall to start your highlight of your Beijing tour, hiking the Great Wall of China, a massive military defense works which was left from the Ming dynasty. It is a very spectacular view. You will take lots of pictures. Back to your hotel.

Meals: Hotel Western breakfast and Chinese lunch

Pick up from your hotel in Beijing around 6:00am and take early morning high-speed train No.651 starting from Beijing West Railway Station at 7:05am for Xian. Arriving at Xian North Railway Station at 12:48 , met and transferred to a local restaurant for Chinese lunch.

Afternoon visit The Great Mosque , the biggest and most preserved complete Chinese existent mosque. First built at the Tianbao first year (742 years) during Tang Dynasty, it was rebuilt by Song, Yuan, Ming and Qing, and has formed present scales. The whole mosque has more than 12,000 square meters, the floor space more than 4,000 square meters, keeps the construction mostly in the Ming Dynasty styel. So the Mosque here in Xi'an has much Chinese traditional touch in both its design and artistic outlook.

Then visit the City Wall . The main magnet of Xian is the city wall, which is the most complete city wall that has survived in China, one of the largest ancient military defensive systems in the world. Stay overnight in Xian.

After having the local flavor - Dumpling Dinner , enjoy Tang Dynasty Show in the evening. Transferred back to your hotel.

Meals: Hotel Western breakfast and dumpling dinner

After breakfast, visit the Terra-cotta Warriors. The original site was found by a local farmer drilling a well in 1974. Now it has turned into the most important attraction in Xian - Terracotta Warriors and Horse Museum. It is located about 30km east of the Xian City. The museum includes Pit 1, Pit 2 and Pit 3 as well the exhibition hall of the chariots and horses. The Pit 1 is the largest of the three. The museum and the mausoleum are listed as UNESCO world's cultural heritage. .

Today you have a la carte lunch with an a la carte menu at a nice local restaurant, where you could enjoy the authentic Chinese food. After lunch, first visit Shaanxi Provincial History Museum, a large modern museum of the national level. It is a giant architectural complex in the Tang-dynasty style. It occupies an area of 70,000 square metres, and the construction area being more than 50,000 square metres. It focuses on the highlights of the Shaanxi culture and depicts the development of the Chinese civilization.

Then move on to Big Goose Pagoda for a visit. Big Goose Pagoda is one of the oldest structures in China, originally built in 589 in the Sui Dynasty. The Big Goose Pagoda is situated in the Da Ci'en Temple, four kilometers south away from the center of the city. It is one of the city's most distinctive and outstanding landmarks, possibly the most beautiful building left in Xian today.

Meals: Hotel Western breakfast, a la carte Chinese lunch

Pick up from your hotel in Xian. Transferred to Xian North Railway Station and take the high speed train G654 (8:50-10:34) for Luoyang. Upon arrival at Luoyang, met by our tour guide in Luoyang. First visit the Longmen Grottoes. It is situated on the Yihe River bank, about 12 kilometers from Luoyang city. It is one of the three most valuable Buddhist cave and rock carvings in China. The grottoes were first carved during the Northern Wei Dynasty (386-534), when the rulers relocated their capital from Datong to Luoyang at the end of the 5th century. The Longmen Grottoes were listed as a World Heritage Site in Nov, 2000.

After Chinese lunch, visit Luoyang Museum . The Luoyang Museum is a city-level historical museum of China. The first floor is dedicated to the basic exhibition depicting the Heluo Civilization (Luoyang’s history and culture). The second floor is mainly designed for 7 exhibition rooms for 7 themed exhibitions – Exhibition of Calligraphy and Painting, Exhibition of Ancient Treaure of Luoyang, Exhibition of pottery figurines of Han and Tang dynasties, Exhibition of tri-colored earthen wares of Tang Dynasty, Exhibition of Qing Imperial cultural relics and Exhibition of ancient fresco Art

Continue to visit the White Horse Temple, the first Buddhist temple in China, the important cradle of Chins’s buddhism, which was introduced into China from India in 68AD in Eastern Han Dynasty (25 AD – 220 AD) , the same year when the white horse temple was built.

Meals: Hotel Western breakfast and Chinese lunch

After breakfast, drive directly from your hotel in Luoyang to Shaolin Temple （80km). Shaolin Temple is located in the Songshan Mountains, 100 km south-east of Luoyang. Shaolin Temple is famous not only as one of China's most important Buddhist temples, but also as the center of Chinese kung-fu. First constructed in 495. It was listed as UNESCO's World Cultural & Natural Heritage List in 2010 as part of the "Historic Monuments of Dengfeng.

After the tour in Shaolin Temple, transferred to Luoyang Longmen Railway Station and take high-speed train (about 6 hours) to Suzhou. Upon arrival, met and transferred to your hotel in Suzhou.

Meals: Hotel Western breakfast and Chinese lunch

After breakfast, visit Humble Administrator's Garden. The Humble Administrator’s Garden is one of the four most famous private gardens in Suzhou, crowned as the World Cultural Heritage Site along with other classical gardens of Suzhou.

Then walk along Pingjiang Road. This 800-year old street is the best preserved ancient “water lane” ( in contrast with “water town”) in Suzhou. The 1600-meter cobblestone path runs alongside with a canal with willows dipping their branches in the water, cute little bridges that cross and all flanked by old white-washed local houses.

Move on to Net Master Garden,the best and most celebrated as a model Ming Dynasty Garden in all of Suzhou. Then you will be arranged to stop at the Ancient City Gate and Grand Canal for photo taking and exterior viewing ( the admission fees for the two attractions are not included). The Panmen City Gate is the oldest city gate in existence in Suzhou city. Then have a short tour of a silk spinning factory to see how Chinese silk has been produced since the 14th century.

Then have a short tour of a silk spinning factory to see how Chinese silk has been produced since the 14th century before you are transferred to Suzhou Railway Station and take train D5471 (18:15-21:03) for Hangzhou.

At the end of your Suzhou trip, you are transferred to Suzhou Railway Station and take the highspeed train No. G7387 (16:38 18:07） from Suzhou to Hangzhou. Upon arrival at Hangzhou, met and transferred to your hotel in Hangzhou. You have your own leisure time to explore the city of Hangzhou for the rest of the day.

Meals: Hotel Western breakfast and Chinese lunch

After breakfast, head to a wharf at West Lake for one hour boat cruise. There are many lakes named "West Lake" in China, but the "West Lake" here in Hangzhou is usually considered the most beautiful among all. It is surrounded by hills on its three sides, with an area of about 6.5 square kilometers.

Finish your cruise at the Huagang Park Wharf. Move on to Huagang Park ( Fish Viewing at the Flower Pond Park ). The Huagang Park was a private garden of an official in the Southern Song Dynasty about 800 years ago. Now it has been greatly renovated and turned into large park of over 20 hectares.

Continue to visit Leifeng Pagoda. Ascending to the top of the pagoda and looking down, one has a panoramic view of West Lake and the whole city of Hangzhou. Leifeng Pagoda is the most visible landmark on West Lake. It is a five story tall tower with eight sides, located on Sunset Hill south of the West Lake.

After lunch, first head to Lingyin Temple. Lingyin Temple is a Buddhist temple of the Chan sect nestled in the Flying Peak north-west of Hangzhou. The Flying Peak features a large number of grottos and religious rock carvings. Then you are taken to Longjing Tea Plantation to experience the traditional method of making Longjing (Dragon Well) Tea as well drinking, picking, smelling or buying.

At the end of your Hangzhou trip, you are transferred to Hangzhou Railway Station and take the highspeed train No.G7352 (18:30 19:39) from Hangzhou to Shanghai. Upon arrival at Shanghai, you are collected and transferred to your hotel in Shanghai and free for the rest of the day.

Meals: Hotel Western breakfast and a la carte Chinese lunch

You have free morning to take it easy and catch up on things. Picked up fron your hotel for Chinese lunch, then continue to visit Yu yuan Garden. Yuyuan is the famous gardens in Shanghai where you will see how a large beautiful garden was made by a rich rice merchant 400 years ago. Adjoining these gardens is an old shopping area with narrow streets and buildings that were of a typically old Chinese style. There are many small streets and lanes where vendors sell their products and food stuffs to the tourists and local people. Shopping at a local silk store.

Finally visit the new development zone in Pudong - Lujiazui , which is teeming with the futuristic, avant-garde buildings - Oriental Pearl Tower, Jin Mao Building, Bank of China Tower. Taking the elevator to the 88-storey Observation Deck of Jinmao Tower where you will have a spectacular view of the whole city.

Meals: Hotel Western breakfast and Chinese lunch