13-day China Winter Tour

Day 1 Arrival/Beijing
Upon arriving in Beijing, your local guide will meet you and you will be driven to your hotel. The rest of the day is yours to relax, or explore Beijing on your own.

Day 2 Beijing
Meals: B, L
Places to visit: Tiananmen Sqare, The Forbidden City, the Summer Palace, Peking Opera
After having breakfast in your hotel, you will first visit Tiananmen Square followed by the magnificent Forbidden City, home to China's Emperors for over 500 years. After lunch, you will be driven to the Summer Palace, where you will marvel at the opulence of this imperial summer getaway.

Optional Cultural Experience: In the evening you will be mesmerized by a Peking Opera performance in Beijing famous Liyuan Theatre. The opera will have English and French subtitles.

Day 3 Beijing
Meals: B, L
Places to visit: The Mutianyu Great Wall, the Sacred Road, the Changling Tomb, Beijing Duck
The magnificent Great Wall, the Eighth Wonder of the World, is your first stop today. You will be transferred to the Mutianyu Great Wall section,an intact and less touristic part of the Great Wall. Walking along these venerable ramparts provides you a chance to step back in history. After lunch next to the Great Wall you will be driven to visit the Sacred Road, the road leading to the tombs of the Ming Dynasty's Emperors. You will then visit the Chang Tomb, the imperial Ming Dynasty Tomb.

Optional Recommendation: In the evening you will be taken to enjoy a Beijing Duck Banquet at Quanjuede, the oldest and most famous Beijing Duck restaurant in China.

Day 4 Beijing/Harbin
Meals: B, L, D
Places to visit: Beijing Hutongs, St. Sofia Church, Central Street, Ice Lantern Art Show
After breakfast, your guide will meet you and you will be taken on a rickshaw ride through the ancient lanes and alleyways of Beijing Hutongs. After seeing how local Beijingers have been living for centuries, you will be driven to the airport for your flight to Harbin.

Upon arriving in Harbin, you will be driven to the hotel for a short rest. The first site you will visit is the Harbin St Sophia Cathedral church. With Byzantine style and meaning of 'God's wisdom' for name, the church looks so beautiful as if it had been made by God's hands. It was first built in 1907 and rebuilt into brick and wood structure in 1912. It is the largest Orthodox Church in the Far East.

The Central Street, also known the Zhongyang Street. The Central Street is considered as the architectural art galley: Baroque and byzantine lining both sides, including Russian bakeries, French fashion houses and Japanese restaurants and so on. It's a good place to see architectural styles as well as for shopping and taste different Cuisine.

In the evening, you will visit the Ice Lantern Fair at Zhaolin Park. Ice Lantern Fair, also named the Ice Lantern Show, it is hold every year from 5th January to the end of February in Zhaolin Park. The park located in the downtown, it is a small and peaceful place. Still you can see pretty ice sculptures without many crowded.  Especially at night when the ice sculptures are lit then which looks like a magical world.

Day 5 Harbin
Meals: B, L, D
Places to visit: Sun Island, Tiger Park, Flood Control Monument, Ice and Snow World
The Sun Island Scenic Area (Tai Yang Dao).  It's a great place for escaping the hot summer with cool weather and nice scenery, flowers, lakes and cute animals in the forest. When it comes to winter the island will be covered by thick snow and there will be a world-famous snow sculpture show: International Snow Sculpture Art Expo. There are various of massive, huge snow sculptures which is so impressive and amazing.

Then you will make an safari-style adventure in the Siberian Tiger Park. Siberian Tiger Park located on the north bank of the Songhua River. It is the largest natural park for wild Siberian tigers of China, even in the world. There are over 500 Siberian tigers this park. Here you can see wild tigers closely and take some fantastic photos.

In the evening you will go to visit the Ice and Snow World. Located on the north bank of the Songhua River, the Ice and Snow Amusement World is a major attraction of Harbin Interactional Ice and Snow Sculpture Festival dunging the winter. There are full of awesome ice and snow sculptures created by artists from all around world. Kind note that please wear enough layers of proper clothes and warm shoes to keep you away form the freeze especially when you want to stay there longer to enjoy the beautiful scenery.

Day 6 Harbin
Meals: B,L,D
Places to visit: Jihua Ski Resort, Ice Activities.
After having breakfast in your hotel, your guide will meet you and you will be taken to?Jihua Ski Resort. Jihua Ski Resort, also called Jihua Changshou Mountain Ski Resort, sits in Binxi National Forest Park as the nearest SSSSS-level national ski resort to Harbin downtown (38km).This national ski resort is built in a natural basin and surrounded by mountains, the towering peaks snake around and enclose the resort forming a natural wind-sheltered heaven. The resort has 15 different ski slopes, which in total cover a distance of 30 km, cater for beginner, medium and advanced-level skiers. The resort has a ski school, which offers more than 100 professional skimeisters. The resort is the only training base for National Youth Skiing Team. The resort area gets heavy snowfall, with about 150 days of snow every year. It can receive 5,000 people at the same time. It is an ideal place for cross-country skiing.

Day 7 Harbin/Shanghai
Meals: B, L
Places to visit: Oriental Pearl TV Tower, The Bund, Nanjing Road
After breakfast in your hotel, your guide will meet you and you will be driven to the airport for your morning flight to Shanghai. Upon arrival in Shanghai, your local guide will meet you and escort you to your hotel. After lunch you will get a bird's eye view of Shanghai from the Oriental Pearl TV Tower. After, you will be driven to The Bund, known as a museum of Western architecture, and Nanjing Road, known as China's No.1 Shopping Street.

Day 8 Shanghai
Meals: B, L
Places to visit: the Shanghai Museum, Yu Garden, Yuyuan Market
In the morning after having breakfast in your hotel, your guide will meet you and you will be driven to the the Shanghai Museum, arguably the most comprehensive museum in China which will let you explore China's colorful history. You will then pay a visit to the Yu Garden. This stunning example of traditional Chinese garden design is the only surviving ancient garden in Shanghai. You will then be taken to the neighboring Yuyuan Market. This is an extremely fun place, with its traditional architecture, fun shops, and performances. In the late afternoon your local guide will escort you to the airport for your flight to next destination.

Day 9 Shanghai/Suzhou/Shanghai
Meals: B, L
Places to visit: Tiger Hill, the Pan Gate, the Humble Administrator's Garden, the No.1 Silk Factory
In the morning after having breakfast in your hotel, your guide will meet you and you will be driven to the city of Suzhou (1.5 hours). When you arrive in Suzhou, the first stop will be the Pan Gate, an example of an ancient city gate and the only surviving water/land gate in China. After lunch you will then be drive to the Humble Administrator's Garden, one of the four most famous traditional Chinese gardens in Suzhou. After your cruise, you will be taken to the No.1 Silk Factory to see how silkworms create silk which is woven into amazing objects. In the evening you will be driven back to Shanghai.

Day 10 Shanghai/Huangshan
Meals: B, L
Places to visit: Brush Pen Peak, Believe Peak, Xihai Grand Canyon, the Cloud Dispelling Pavilion
You will fly to Huangshan (Yellow) Mountain in the morning. Upon arrival, you will take a cable car to the top of the mountain. You will then check into your hotel and have lunch. After lunch, you will begin your unforgettable tour of the mountain. You will first visit Brush Pen Peak, followed by Begin to Believe Peak. You will be truly awed by the beauty of Huangshan (Yellow) Mountain, its ancient pines, bizarre rock formations and flora and fauna. You will then climb to the Xihai Grand Canyon, perhaps the most beautiful section of the mountain. In the evening you will watch the sun set from the Cloud Dispelling Pavilion.

Day 11 Huangshan Yellow Mountain
Meals: B, L
Places to visit: Flying Rock, Brightness Apex, Turtle Peak, Ink Stick Factory, Tunxi Ancient Street
In the morning your guide will waken you early to catch Huangshan magical sunrise. You will then have your breakfast in the hotel before continuing your tour of Huangshan Yellow Mountain. You will pass Flying Rock, Brightness Apex, and Turtle Peak before taking the cable car down the mountain, where your car will be waiting. You will then be driven back to the city of Huangshan to visit the Ink Stick Factory which will demonstrate for you how China's famous inks were created using natural ingredients. These inks are used in traditional Chinese paintings. You will then visit the Tunxi Ancient Street before checking into your hotel for the evening.

Day 12  Huangshan/Xidi/Hongcun/Shanghai
Meals: B, L
Places to visit: Villages of Hongcun and Xidi
After having breakfast in your hotel, your guide will meet you and you will be driven to the ancient villages of Hongcun and Xidi. These two ancient villages have remained virtually untouched for centuries and their unbelievable architecture and feng-shui design never fails to enchant visitors. In the evening you will be driven to the airport for your flights to Shanghai.

Day 13 Shanghai/Departure
Meals: B
After breakfast, you can have free leisure until meet the guide and transfer to the airport for the flight to your next destination.

Service Ends