13 Days Grand China with Pandas Family Tour

On arrival into Beijing Capital International Airport (PEK) or Beijing Daxing International Airport (PKX) be met by your dedicated tour guide outside the baggage claim area. On the way to your pre-booked four or five star inner city hotel, your guide will point out the highlights and history of Beijing. Spend the rest of the day exploring this incredible city.

Meals included: None

After breakfast today explore Beijing with your guide who will collect you from your hotel. Visit the world’s largest city square, Tiananmen Square. Make your way across the road to the magnificent Forbidden City, a culturally historic landmark in China, which was the former residence of Chinese royalty for five centuries. After the Forbidden City tour, you will hop on a rickshaw for a Hutong Tour through this characteristic, maze-like Beijing neighbourhood. Experience Chinese culture and folk arts by learning Chinese brush calligraphy, facial designs of the Beijing Opera and kite making. Before heading back to the hotel, sample the famous local food market Sanyuanli where you can stock up on fruit and snacks for your next day’s trip to the Mutianyu Great Wall.

Meals included: Breakfast

Note: Your tour guide may adjust your itinerary due to closure of the Forbidden City each Monday.

Today after an early breakfast and hotel pickup, the first stop is the Mutianyu Great Wall, a less frequented part of China’s 1,400-year-old iconic landmark located approximately 70 kilometres from Beijing. Take a pleasant and comfortable round-trip cable car transfer over the picturesque scenery, then walk the wall to take in the Ming dynasty guard towers and sensational views. On return to the city in the afternoon, visit the Summer Palace. Appreciate the beautiful gardens and imagine the lifestyle of royalty who enjoyed this summer resort during imperial times. A stopover at Beijing’s stadium and pool – the Bird’s Nest and Water Cube – built for the 2008 Summer Olympics and Paralympics – provides a modern contrast to China’s ancient history. Return to the hotel.

Meals included: Breakfast

Start today with a visit to the remarkable Temple of Heaven, where emperors from the Ming and Qing Dynasties performed ceremonies and rituals to pray for good harvests and blessings for the country. Transfer to the Beijing West railway station and be checked in by your guide to travel by high speed rail train to Xi’an. Approximately a five hour trip, travelling at 300 kilometres per hour, you can relax and absorb the diverse landscape along the way. On arrival at the Xi’an North Station, your local tour guide will meet and escort you to your inner city four or five star hotel.

Meals included: Breakfast

After the breakfast, you will explore Xi’an’s ancient City Wall, currently the largest and best-preserved wall of its type in China. Enclosing China’s former capital city and almost 14 kilometres long, enjoy your free time by exploring on a either a tandem or regular bicycle. Next destination is today’s sightseeing highlight, the world-renowned Terracotta Army. Recognized as the largest underground military base in the world, take in this extraordinary archeological discovery, which houses thousands of unique life-sized figures. Try making your own Terracotta soldier or horse by visiting a local villager’s workshop. Return to the city and for a change of pace, take in the quiet of Xi’an’s Great Mosque, located in the middle of the city’s old block. Built mid seventh century, the Great Mosque is the oldest and largest Islamic mosque in China. Mix with locals and find food of every flavor in Muslim Quarter, which is bustling with authentic eateries and souvenirs. Enjoy the shadow play in a traditional Chinese architecture, Gao’s Grand Courtyard, the former residence of an official in Ming Dynasty. Today’s final destination before returning to your hotel is Xi’an’s famous Bell Tower and Drum Tower Square.

Meals included: Breakfast

After breakfast and check out from your hotel, the tour guide will take you to the Xi’an Museum where you’ll discover over 370,000 relics of Chinese history. Take in the Big Wild Goose Pagoda, one of two iconic Buddhist pagodas in Xi’an. You may have a chance to enter the top of the pagoda and look out over Xi’an’s 1,400 years of history, then take a contemplative walk through the temple and gardens. Following on from the morning’s activities, you’ll be driven to the railway station for your bullet train to Chengdu. On arrival in Chengdu your local guide will meet and transfer you to your hotel, providing a brief introduction to Chengdu on the way.

Meals included: Breakfast

Note: Your tour guide may alter your itinerary as the Xi’an Museum is closed on Tuesdays.

Today, you will work as a panda volunteer when you visit the Dujiangyan Panda Base. In your role, you will clean the working area, prepare bamboos, make panda’s favorite food of “Wowotou” (steamed corn breads), learn scientific facts about the pandas, and closely watch the keepers feeding and training the pandas. Panda keepers will supervise your activities, with translation provided by your guide. A certificate will be provided as a memento from this very special day. Return to Chengdu’s city centre and enjoy a taste of Chengdu watching the Sichuan Opera with the ancient Chinese dramatic art, the magical Chinese mask changing (face changing) and try to work out the secret to this ancient art.

Note: For children under eight years who are accompanied by an adult can take the standard panda tour in the panda base, but due to the age restrictions, they are not able to be the panda volunteers. All children who can be a panda volunteer must meet the health and safety requirements of the research base to preserve the health of the pandas.

Check out of your hotel and be taken by your guide to wander down bustling Jinli Street. Lined with unique regional street food and artisans, you’ll find yourself up immersed in typical local culture. Spend a relaxing morning strolling through bamboo at the Wangjiang Pavilion Park, then sip on traditional Chinese tea before boarding the high speed train from Chengdu to Chongqing where you’ll be met by the local Chongqing guide. You’ll then be escorted to embark on your Yangtze River cruise, with your boat weighing anchor at 9.30pm. Attend a safety, orientation and river briefing when you board the ship.

Meals included: Breakfast

Sail along the Yangtze today and soak in the relaxing pace of travelling this magnificent river, which has inspired poets and peasants alike. Go ashore for an excursion to the Fengdu Ghost City or Shibaozhai (will depend on water level and cruise company). Join the crew at the Captain’s Welcome Party, held in the evening. Sit back and enjoy the Chinese folk dancing and music performance – or get up and be part of it!

Meals included: Breakfast, lunch and dinner

Note: Shore excursions may vary due to different cruise lines and some are optional tours.

Scenic spots along the way: In Chinese mythology, Fengdu Ghost City is considered the final resting place for all souls. Visit this ancient ghost town while on your Yangtze River Cruise. Shibaozhai is a tower nearly 56 metres in height leaning against the Yuyin Hill and is now encircled by a moat after the Three Gorges Dam project in 2003.

Continue sailing past the impressive view of the Qutang Gorge and Wu Gorge. Afterwards, take an excursion to Badong and experience a small wooden boat trip on the magnificent Shennong Stream or Goddess Stream (Shennv Stream). Return to the ship and enter the western section of the Xiling Gorge.

Meals included: Breakfast, lunch and dinner

After breakfast, disembark from the cruise boat at Maoping Pier in Yichang. Take a bus to visit the largest hydroelectric project in the world, the Three Gorges Dam where you’ll take a tour to learn how the dam was designed, built, and how it now serves the local people and region. After the tour, you’ll be transferred by shuttle bus to the Yichang Three Gorges Tourism Center and met by your guide who will escort you to the to the airport for your flight to Shanghai. In Shanghai, your local guide will meet and transfer you to the hotel pointing out this bustling city’s local landmarks along the way.

Meals included: Breakfast

Note: Guests may also choose the optional tour when disembarking at Maoping Pier. Board a ferry and sail through TGP ship’s elevator where you can enjoy a tour of the Three Gorges Dam. Arrangements for this tour are to be made onboard the cruise prior to disembarking.

Commence your tour of Shanghai with a visit to the Shanghai Science and Technology Museum. Start the exploration in the 11 different themes galleries and have fun with the variety activities. A special experience will be watching 3D,4D films in the Science Theaters. Walk Nanjing Road, the busiest shopping precinct in China. Change tempo and visit Yuyuan Garden, where you can marvel at the stunning gardens; then stroll around the nearby Yu Garden Bazaars. Make the most of your afternoon by wandering the quieter streets of Dongping Road or Sinan Road in the Former French Concession, where you will find the essence of classic Shanghai.

Meals included: Breakfast

Note: Your tour guide may alter your itinerary as the Shanghai Science and Technology Museum is closed on Mondays.

Your tour guide will collect you at the hotel and drive you to the airport for your flight home. Alternatively, if your flight departures from Shanghai Pudong International Airport, depending on your flight departure time, your tour guide can accompany you to take the Shanghai Maglev (the fastest commercial high-speed electric train in the world) to the airport as a special experience while your luggage is transferred to the airport by the driver.

Meals included: Breakfast