9 Day Beijing & Shanghai,
A Tale of China's Two Great Cities
(2013)

Your exciting journey begins as you board Air China non-stop flight for Beijing. En route, you cross the International Date Line and lose one day. You will recover this day on the return portion of your trip.      (IM)     
 

Arrive in Beijing in the afternoon. Meet your local representative and transfer to your hotel in the heart of Beijing. Relax and enjoy the evening in China's historic and vibrant capital city.      Traders Hotel Beijing by Shangri-La, or similar 4-star hotel  (IM)     
 

After a hearty breakfast and a tour briefing, you visit the Tiananmen Square. At 100 acres, it is the world's largest public square, flanked by an assortment of historical buildings, huge museums and Communist monuments, including Mao's Mausoleum. One visitor has written, "An army could be massed, and all the kites in the world could fly." You roam the Square; and walk through the Gate of Heavenly Peace, under the famed portrait of Chairman Mao, to enter the Forbidden City, the symbolic center of the Chinese universe and a lasing monument of dynastic China, from which 24 emperors of the Ming and the Qing Dynasties ruled the Middle Kingdom for nearly 500 years (1420-1911).

Completed in 1420, the Forbidden City, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, is the world's largest palace complex and China's most magnificent imperial architecture, consisting of many buildings with 9,999 rooms, on a 250-acre compound, protected by a 20-foot-wide moat and a 32-foot-high wall. Now known as the Palace Museum, the Forbidden City was the exclusive domain of the imperial court and dignitaries where outside visitors were forbidden for 5 centuries. Here you will explore the imperial treasures in the grand palaces and pavilions, exquisite courtyards and gardens in what was once the residence of China's rulers.

Afterwards, you are at leisure to explore Beijing on your own. Or, join our optional afternoon tour to "Old Beijing" Hutongs by Pedi cab, Beihai Park, and Peking Duck dinner.

Optional Excursion: Join our Culture InSites™ Program for a rickshaw ride along Old Beijing's Hutongs (narrow ancient alleys) to discover the sights and sounds of local Beijing life in these traditional Chinese neighborhoods. See the locals as they go about their daily activities; and tour the maze-like alleyways and courtyard houses before it's gone forever. Highlights include visits to a traditional courtyard home, to a local market, and a leisure walk along the "Lotus Lane" lined with bars, restaurants and tea houses. This unique tour features a delicious lunch served at a local family home with a Chinese dumpling-making demonstration. Time permitting, you tour the idyllic Beihai Park. Located northwest of the Forbidden City, this royal park offers a natural balance to the imperial thoroughfares of the palace with a large lake surrounded by willow trees. Folklore attributes the scooping out of the lake and its subsequent pile of the earth to the great Kublai Khan, who used Beihai as his stomping ground before the Ming dynasty upstaged him with the Forbidden City. Dominating Jade Islet on the lake is the White Dagoba, a Lamaist stupa inaugurated for a visit by the Dalai Lama in the 17th century.

Diner tonight is a specially prepared meal of Beijing Duck, cooked to crispy perfection. ($55 per person, including a private, escorted tour, entrance fees, a family lunch, a special Peking Duck dinner and transportation)      (B)     
 

A memorable day awaits! You will take a full day excursion to the Sacred Way of Ming Tombs and the Great Wall of China.

In the morning, you take a drive to the northwest of Beijing to visit the Sacred Way of Ming Tombs, regarded as China's finest example of imperial tomb architecture. En route, enjoy a visit to the jade factory with a presentation and some time for shopping. Situated in a peaceful valley, the Sacred Way was chosen by the Ming emperors as their burial place for its auspicious Fengshui alignment—a ridge of mountains to the north cradles the tombs on three sides, opening to the south and protecting the dead from the evil spirits carried on the north wind. Here you will walk along the elegant Sacred Way that leads to the tombs. Beginning with a grand marble gateway more than 400 years old, the long avenue is lined with 36 massive stone sculptures of officials, lions, elephants, camels and mythical beasts.

After lunch at a local restaurant, you take a scenic drive through the countryside and mountains to reach China's most renowned monument—the Great Wall. The wall was begun in the 5th century BC to keep out foreign invaders. Construction continued for centuries, eventually linking up the walls of the former independent kingdoms. The Great Wall meanders through China's northern mountain ranges from the Yellow Sea to the Gobi Desert—a distance of over 3500 miles! Chairman Mao once said "You haven't walked on the Wall, you haven't been a good Chinese". Today you will have ample time to climb a section of the Great Wall and to get a sense of the enormity of this ancient edifice.      (B,L)     
 

In the morning, you visit the Temple of Heaven, the largest temple complexes in China and a paradigm of Chinese architectural balance and symbolism. One key element in China's architectural genius was the blending of the monumental with the delicate, and the Temple of Heaven is perhaps the finest expression of this mixing of near opposite.

During each winter solstice, the Ming and Qing emperors would perform rites and make sacrifices to Heaven praying for good harvest for their empire. The most striking edifice is the "Hall of Prayer of Good Harvests", which according to the emperor's Fengshui masters, is the exact point where heaven and Earth met. Built in 1420 (without the use of a single nail), this masterpiece of Ming architecture, features triple eaves, dramatically carved marble balustrades, and gorgeous glazed azure roof that symbolizes the color of heaven. This 120-foot-high structure is fixed by four inner pillars represent the seasons, and two sets of 12 columns denote the months and the traditional Chinese division of a day.

Lunch stop at a pearl factory; afterwards, you tour the idyllic Summer Palace, once the summer retreat and playground for the imperial family and royal court during the late Qing Dynasty. Considered the finest Chinese imperial garden, the Summer Palace spans over 700 acres with breathtaking views, temples, pavilions, palaces and halls including the lavishly painted "Long Corridor". It is most associated, however, with the Empress Dowager Cixi who paid for the extravagant Marble Boat with funds meant for the modernization of the Imperial Navy.

Time permitting, we make a photo stop at the "Bird Nest" and "Water Cube", where you visit the exterior portion of the main stadium of 2008 Beijing Summer Olympics. The spectacular Bird's Nest stadium, hailed as the finest arena in the world and the centerpiece of the most expensive Olympics in history, is full of hidden symbolism. In Chinese mythology, the sun is represented by a circle and the moon by a square, reflected by the shape of the bird's nest and the Water Cube aquatic center opposite, reinforced when the venues are lit at night, red for the Bird's Nest and blue for the Water Cube. The shapes also echo the Chinese symbols for male and female, and are built either side of the north-south axis road which runs in a perfect straight line for three miles through Beijing, centered on the Forbidden City.

Later, you are transferred to the airport for a flight to Shanghai, China's vibrant financial and artistic center. Upon arrival, meet your tour guide and transfer to your hotel.      Shanghai Ocean Hotel  (B,L,IM)     
 

Shanghai, literally means "above the sea", is China's largest and most dynamic city, with a population of 18 million. In the 13th century it became a minor county seat and so it remained until the mid-19th century when British commercial ambitions led to war with China. The ensuing Treaty of Nanking allowed the British to trade freely from certain ports including Shanghai. The city soon became an outpost of glamour, high living, and ultimately decadence. In the 1930s, Shanghai is renowned as "the Pearl of the East".

Some places are forever associated with a single landmark and in the case of Shanghai it is surely the Bund. Today, you take a leisure walk along the waterfront promenade of the Bund. The Bund was at the heart of colonial shanghai, flanked on one side by the Huangpu River and on the other by the hotels, banks, offices, and clubs that were the grandiose symbols of western commercial power. See the ships and barges on the Huangpu River, en route to the sea or going upstream to the interior of China. The modernistic Oriental Pearl TV tower looms in the background redefining the skyline.

Across the Huangpu River is the futurist Pudong area. Transformed from once fertile farmland, this new area is rapidly becoming the symbol of modern China with its clusters of shinning metal and glass skyscrapers of world class hotels, international financial institutions, and commercial centers towered above the Huangpu River. You visit the Oriental Pearl Tower, for a 360-degree, bird's eye view of the city. Later, you tour Shanghai Municipal Wax Museum to learn the history of this magnificent city. Afterwards, you enjoy the remainder of the day at leisure for independent exploration.

Optional Excursion: This evening, take advantage of an optional dinner followed by an exciting Shanghai Acrobatics show ($30 per person including a dinner, the acrobatics show and transfer).      (B,L)     
 

Enjoy a full day at leisure in Shanghai to explore on your own. Or, join a very affordable optional tour to the classic Suzhou and canal town Tongli.

Optional Excursion: Suzhou, which is often referred, by the Chinese, as the "Venice of the East", is a 2,500-year-old city renowned the world over for its traditional gardens, ancient canals and silk production. In 1997 Suzhou's classic garden was designated an UNESCO World Heritage Site.

The construction of the Grand Canal in the 7th century created a means whereby silk, the prized commodity from this region could be transported to the Northern capital, Beijing, a distance of over 600 miles. With prosperity came prestige as merchants and artisans plied their trade. During the Ming Dynasty (1368-1644), Suzhou flourished as a place of refinement, drawing an influx of scholars and merchants, who built themselves numerous elegant gardens.

The Chinese garden developed as a synthesis of two concepts linked in Taoist philosophy - scenery and serenity: the contemplation of nature in isolated meditation led to enlightenment. Therefore, the educated and wealthy built natural-looking retreats for themselves with an urban environment. The garden creates poetic and painterly concepts, and aims to improve on nature in creating a picture that looks natural but is in fact entirely artificial. For this the Chinese garden designer used four main elements: rocks, water, plants, and architecture.

Upon arrival, you visit the Garden of the Master of Fishing Nets, and experience all of the elements of a classical Chinese garden. It is said that the Master of the Nets Garden was named after one of its owners - a retired official who wished to become an accomplished fisherman. Dating to 1140, it is considered by many, the finest of all Suzhou's gardens. Although exceptional small, it succeeds, with great subtlety, in introducing every element considered crucial to the classical Chinese garden. It includes a central lake, discreet connecting corridors, pavilions with miniature courtyards, screens, delicate latticework, and above all, points which "frame a view", as if looking at a perfectly balanced photograph. The best known building is the "Pavilion for Watching the Moon", from where the moon can be viewed in a mirror, in the water, and in the sky.

Later, you tour the Silk Spinning Mill, where you will learn how silk is created from the mulberry-munching silkworms to produce thread and fine cloth. Afterwards, you travel to Tongli, a pretty little water town typical of the region. Tongli gives visitors a good idea of what Suzhou must have been like in its heyday. Reminiscent of scenes from traditional Chinese paintings, it is complete with canals, arched stone bridges, cobbled lanes, and tile-roofed wooden houses. Visit a courtyard mansion to learn about the lavish life style of its residents. Then, learn about traditional Chinese wedding customs at a local folklore museum. Take an exciting ride on a gondola and experience the charm of Tongli's waterways. You will have free time to browse and buy some local specialties along Old Street, which is lined with Ming style homes and storefronts. In the late afternoon, you travel by motor coach to Shanghai and enjoy your evening at leisure. ($50 per person, including a private, escorted tour, entrance fees, a lunch and transportation)      (B)     
 

Enjoy a full day at leisure to explore Shanghai on your own. Your tour guide is standby to assist you with the tour information you may need about Shanghai's hidden treasures, eating, playing and shopping. For your convenience, group transportation can be arranged at a very reasonable rate. Or, join our optional day tour to Shanghai's many famous sites, attractions and shopping.

Optional Excursion: Begin your tour in the heart of old Shanghai at the 16th century city bazaar. This complex, with its classical architectural details, maze of walkways and reflecting pools, has been a marketplace and social center for the locals in the past 200 years. Afterwards, we visit the Jade Buddha Temple, which houses two exceptional Buddha statues, each exquisitely carved from a single piece of white jade. Built in the Song-dynasty style, the temple's architectural design is also very impressive—with sharply curved eaves and figurines on the roof.

Continue to the People's Square, the center of life in today's Shanghai, where you see Shanghai's many predominant architectural masterpieces: the Shanghai Grand Theater, MOCA Shanghai, the Museum of Contemporary Art, Shanghai Art Museum, and Shanghai Urban Planning Exhibition Hall, which traces the huge urban development projects which have taken place in recent years, with a whole floor dedicated to a scale model of Shanghai, showing all existing and approved buildings.

We visit the famed Shanghai Museum, an unique and inspiring piece of architecture, home to more than 120,000 cultural relics of ancient China, including a priceless collection of jade, bronze, ceramics, paintings, furniture, etc. Later, you are at leisure to explore and shop at Nanjing Road's emporiums. Shanghai is well known as bargain shopper's paradise. Today, you will find out why.

Your optional tour concludes with an exciting evening cruise on the Huangpu River, offering you an opportunity to see many of Shanghai's famous sites, from the Bund, a relic of Shanghai's golden age, to the dramatic skyline of the futurist Pudong. ($50 per person, including a private, escorted tour, entrance fees, lunch and dinner, and transportation)      (B)     
 

Transfer to the airport for your home-bound flight to U.S. via Beijing. You arrive in U.S. later today.      (B)