Beijing Xi'an Essentials

Welcome to China! Once you retrieve your luggage and go through customs at Beijing Airport, you will easily spot your guide warmly greeting you with a banner bearing your name. A comfortable car will then take you to the reserved hotel. After checking in, we suggest you have a good rest to recover from the long haul flight.

Accommodation: The Great Wall Hotel Beijing - the former Sheraton

In the morning, you will meet other group members at the hotel lobby. Here starts your exciting trip as your guide takes you for a walk across Tiananmen Square, the world's largest public square, where you will get past surrounding landmark buildings, such as the Monument to the People's Heroes, Chairman Mao Memorial Hall, and the Great Hall of the People. It is also the entrance to the marvelous Forbidden City, your next stop.

The Forbidden City has been the ancient imperial palace complex for more than 500 years, from Ming Dynasty to Qing Dynasty (1368 – 1911 AD). Apart from the grandeur inside the forbidding walls, the surrounding moat is also drawing people’s attention. 52 m (56.9 yd) wide, 4.2 m (13.8 ft) deep, the serene moat was part of the Forbidden City’s fortification. Its width set just enough distance to protect people on the city wall from deadly arrows shot from below. For anyone who wanted to sprint swimming across the river, he would either exhaust his explosive strength, which normally carries a human up to 50 meters, to get limp and vulnerable, or be entangled in the water weeds grown at its bottom. In each case, the moat contributed to making the Forbidden City truly “forbidden”.

While touring in the Forbidden City, in addition to the most significant sites, we will also visit the Treasure Gallery, which is missed by most tours of other travel agencies. Located at the northeastern corner, it is where you can see the most expensive and private treasures left by royal households. A representative is a gold wine goblet named “Jinou Yonggu”, designed by an emperor, the meaning of which implies the hope of permanent existence of Qing Empire. It was regarded by later Qing emperors as one of their few heirlooms.

Around noon time, enjoy an a la carte lunch with Peking Roast Duck (valued at CNY150.00 per person and included in our price) at a famous local restaurant. While eating the duck, try to eat more crispy skin than meat, just as local expert foodies do.

Then visit Yonghe Temple (Yonghe Lamasery) and then Temple of Heaven. The lamasery was used by the Qing government to unite Tibetan Buddhists, or people of Mongolian, Tibetan, and Manchu ethnic minorities for political reasons, while the Temple of Heaven is a royal altar complex where emperors worshipped heaven for good blessings.

You will spend this special evening in a prestigious theater appreciating Peking Opera, China’s most far-reaching drama form that has gained international fame. Singing and dancing are two major elements of the art. But unlike western operas, some dances you will watch here are actually more like acrobatics, which is what makes Peking Opera distinctive. Today, apart from enjoying a colorful show, we will also arrive earlier to watch the artists wear heavy makeups, which, along with those difficult dances, will make the whole scene even more dramatic. After the show, we will escort you back.

Meals: Western buffet breakfast, A la carte welcome lunch

Today, you will be picked up from hotel and taken to visit the grand Mutianyu Great Wall, the most beautiful section of the Great Wall of China. The round-way cable car will be reserved. You will have a vigorous morning climbing the winding and majestic wall, and be rewarded with stunning vistas. Most interestingly, your guide will invite you to clink glasses filled with red wine for this moment. As the Wall area is protected from commercial pollution, restaurants are very limited in terms of both number and quality, so we suggest you have some fast food as lunch around the site.

In the afternoon, we will first drive by the Olympic Stadium (Bird's Nest), to appreciate the splendid building from outside and take memorable photos. Then we head to the Hutong area. Hutongs are ancient narrow lanes lined with traditional Chinese courtyard houses, both of which are compelling chapters to tell the history of the city. Today, you get to tour through Hutongs by rickshaw and experience authentic traditional life of Beijing’s ordinary people. To add much joy to the tour, you will also be invited to pay a family visit inside one of those courtyard houses. As it’s getting late, we will take you back.

Meals: Western buffet breakfast

Make full use of this morning to visit giant pandas in Panda Hall, Beijing Zoo. As they love the cold and morning time is relatively cooler, you get to observe them when they are most active. Then we take you to travel around the royal Summer Palace garden, which is honored as “the Royal Garden Museum” due to its broad views, classic design and fine preservation.

Then bid farewell to your guide and fly to the next ancient city, Xi'an. There, the local guide and driver will welcome you at the airport and escort you to the hotel.

Meals: Western buffet breakfast, Lunch
Accommodation: Crowne Plaza Xi'an

Your China group tour will continue from the World's Eighth Wonder, the Terracotta Army. You will see life-size terracotta soldiers and horses, as well as ancient weapons and chariots, all made 2,200 years ago as funeral objects for Emperor Qin Shi Huang (259 – 210 BC), who founded China’s first empire. To avoid the crowds at Terracotta Army, you will set out from the hotel a bit early in the morning.★ What Makes Us Different

► Pay a Visit to Home of the First Discoverer of the Terracotta Army
Next, we will continue our trip with a special family visit. In 1974, a group of farmers first discovered the stunning underground army when they were digging a well. Among them, Mr. Yang Zhifa is widely considered the first discoverer and even former U.S. President Bill Clinton had asked to meet him. Today, you will have a chance to communicate with Mr. Yang or his family and witness some memorable objects, such as the replica of the first terracotta warrior he unearthed, the hoe he used to dig out its head and the wooden cart used to carry it.

► Make a Mini Terracotta Warrior and Carve Your Logo On It
Today’s another highlight is to make a mini terracotta warrior by yourself. In a workshop, an instructor will show you the detailed progress step by step. For a better experience, the clay is specially taken from 7 to 9 meters (23 to 30 feet) underground, just the same as that of the original Terracotta Warriors. There are several mini molds with various poses for your choice, some with lifelike appearances and one with a cartoonish look. After the molding process, carve facial details with a knife. You can even leave your own logo on your little project, just as the ancient artisans did in the Qin Dynasty (211 – 206 BC). The whole making process lasts around 40 minutes and at last, you can take your masterpiece back home.

In the afternoon, explore the Giant Wild Goose Pagoda. It is a well-preserved famous pagoda built in 707 AD during the Tang Dynasty. In the evening, the splendid Tang Dynasty Music and Dance Show over a Dumpling Dinner will surely give you great enjoyment. It’s time for you to get back now; we will drive you to your hotel.

Travel Tip: Since the theater is usually not open in Jan, Feb, Mar and Dec, we will not arrange the show and dumpling dinner for tours during those periods.

Meals: Western buffet breakfast, Dumpling dinner

The whole morning will be devoted to the City Wall area. The encircling City Wall Park will be your first stop. It is the best place to know about the local people's daily life and their ways of entertainment. You will also have a chance to learn to do Tai Chi boxing – the most popular school of Chinese Kung Fu exercise - from a master in the park. Then you ascend to the City Wall of Xi'an. It was an expansion project started in the early Ming Dynasty, based on the city wall of the imperial city of Tang Empire (618 – 907 AD). Through five times of large scale restorations in history, it finally became a mighty fortification, and now is the most intact and largest ancient city wall in China in existence. What's more, cycling on the Wall is a very interesting activity. You can try at your own expense if you like.

You will have lunch at the Muslim Quarter, the living quarters of Xi’an’s Muslims and a bustling food street for locals and international foodies. Apart from Liang Pi (cool skin noodles) or Rou Jia Mo (Chinese hamburger), which are most tasted local specialties, you can also try some snacks like Gui Hua Gao (steamed osmanthus cake), which is loved for its spongy texture and moderate sweetness.

Afterwards, you will head to the airport or railway station on your own. Your guide will help you hail a taxi. Since this is a group tour, guests will have different departure schedules. If you need us to arrange private transfer or reserve the departure flight or train ticket to your onward destination, please contact your travel consultant; we will be happy to serve. Have a nice trip and hope to see you again!

Meals: Western buffet breakfast, Local flavor lunch