GT_10_9BCCYB

10DAYS/9 NIGHTS BEIJING/CHENGDU/YANGZTE CRUISE/BEIJING
Group Tours

Departure Dates Double Occupancy Single Occupancy

May 10, 24 USD 1822 USD 2290

June 7, 21 USD 1785 USD 2252

July 5, 19 USD 1785 USD 2252

Aug 2, 16, 30 USD 1785 USD 2252

Sept 20 USD 1861 USD 2367

Oct 4, 18 USD 1861 USD 2367

Nov 15, 22 USD 1813 USD 2279

As the capital of China, Beijing is one of the world's truly imposing cities, with a 3,000-year history and 11 million people. Covering 16,808 square kilometers in area, it is the political, cultural and economic center of the People's Republic of China . Situated in northeast China, Beijing adjoins the Inner Mongolian Highland to the northwest and the Great Northern Plain to the south. Five rivers run through the city, connecting it to the eastern Bohai Sea. Administratively, the Beijing municipality equals the status of a province, reporting directly to the central government. Rich in history, Beijing has been China's primary capital for more than seven centuries. China's imperial past and political present meet at Tiananmen square, where the Forbidden City palace of the emperors gives way to the Great Hall of the People congress building and the mausoleum of Chairman Mao Zedong. The old city walls have been replaced by ring roads, and many of the old residential districts of alleys and courtyard houses have been turned into high-rise hotels, office buildings, and department stores. Beijing, a dynamic city where the old and new intermingle, remains a magnet for visitors from inside and outside China.

The history of Chengdu as well as its name can be traced back 2,400 years. Praised as 'the best place for living', Chengdu is a city brimming with a strong leisurely ambience. The handcrafts of the city have been famous for thousands of years and include brocades and embroideries. Sichuan Cuisine with hot flavor is welcomed all over the country. Few people do not know about the Giant Panda. Their symbolic black and white fur-color distinguishes them well from any other animals. Giant Panda, with only about one thousand left in the wild, is also the most well known endangered animal in the world. The rare animal is endemic to China, though some of the habitats were found in northern Vietnam and other nearby areas over half a million years ago. Since the very beginning, most of the research works on Giant Panda have been carrying out on-site at the Giant Panda's natural habitats. Wolong is a part of the Sichuan Province of China. From Chengdu, it is about four hours' drive. Wolong is a highland with almost one thousand meters above sea level. Due to the altitude at Wolong, the weather among the four seasons of the year is highly contrasting.

Chongqing is a well-known city with a history of more than 3000 years. It is the famous historical and cultural city in China. Chongqing is the birthplace of the Bayu Culture. At present, Chongqing is a municipality directly under the Central Government with the largest area, the most administrative districts and the largest population. The original area of the whole city is 82,000 square kilometers, governing former Chongqing, Wanxian, Fuling cities as well as 43 districts, cities and counties in the Qianjiang Region. Chongqing has a population of 30,020,000, most of them are of Han nationality. 49 other ethnic minorities, such as Tujia, Miao, Hui, Man, and Yi also live here but retain their own traditional customs. The colorful local customs have already become an important tourist attraction in Chongqing.

Lying on the northern bank of the Yangtze River, Yichang covers an area of about 8,108 square miles. It is an ancient city and its history can be traced back for 4,000 years. Now, after thousands of years' development, the city stands out with its various unique characteristics. Located in the middle of China, Yichang is the transportation center which connects the eastern and the western parts of China. Yichang has abundant water resources.

	Schedule:
	Day 1	Arrive at Beijing. Transfer to Doubletree by Hilton Beijing for 3 nights stay.
	Day 2	Beijing. Full day visit to Forbidden City & Tiananmen Square & Great Wall. (B,L,D)
	Day 3	Morning visit Hutong and afternoon outside visit of the Beijing National Stadium and National Aquatics Center. (B,L,D)
	Day 4	Take flight from Beijing to Chengdu Transfer from Chengdu Airport to Chengdu Greenland Hotel for 2 nights stay (B,L,D)
	Day 5	Chengdu Full day city tour visit Panda Breeding Center & Jinli Ancient Street & Wangjiang Tower Garden ( B, L, D)
	Day 6	Morning by train (approximately 4 hours train) to Chongqing Embark in the evening for 3-nightYangtze River Cruise. (B, L, D)
	Day 7	Cruise with Shore Excursion to Fengdu or Shibaozhai or Wanzhou (B, L, D)
	Day 8	Cruise sail through Qutang Gorge/Wu Gorge and the Three Gorges Dam ship Locks .Excursion to Daning River Small Gorges or Shennong Stream (B, L,D)
	Day 9	Morning visit Three Gorges Dam site. 1:30 pm disembark Yichang, and then take flight from Yichang to Beijing Transfer from Beijing Airport to Doubletree by Hilton Beijing Hotel for 1 nigh stay. (B, L,D)
	Day 10	Transfer from Doubletree by Hilton Beijing Hotel to Shangh ai Airport Departure from Beijing (B)

The price includes:

Hote is: Double Occupancy

Doubletree by Hilton Beijing Standard room for 4 nights, with ABF daily
Chengdu Greenland Hotel Standard room for 2 nights, with ABF daily

All airport transfers

All entrance fees to all sightseeing

Private English Speaking tour Guide, and Driver

Yangtze River Cruise Ticket

Train Ticket

Chengdu to Chongqing

All domestic airfare (Economy Class)

Beijing to Chengdu
Chengdu to Chongqing
Yichang to Beijing

This price excludes:

Gratuities for the Guides and Drivers
Incidentals in hotel such as dry cleaning, phone, mini bar
Inbound and outbound international air

Note:

Hotels used may be changed prior to tour but will be replaced with similar category of hotels
Price and availability subject to change without notice until deposit is received

The Forbidden City

Forbidden City was the imperial palace during the Ming and Qing dynasties which is the largest palace complex in the world. It surrounded by 10-meter high walls and a 52-meter wide moat. It covers 74 hectares and has 9,999 rooms. In the forbidden city, you can get more knowledge about the eastern architecture, splendid painted and beautiful craftwork.

Tiananmen Square
Tiananmen Square is the largest downtown square in the world. It covers an area of 44 hectares, big enough to hold one million people. Here is the most sacred place for Chinese people. Beijing is the heart of China, and Tiananmen Square is the heart of Beijing.

The Great Wall

The Great Wall is perhaps China's most famous and most mythologized site. Several sections are conveniently visited from Beijing, including at Badaling, the most popular site, about 70 km (43 mi.) northwest of Beijing and at Mutianyu, 90 km (56 mi.) northeast of Beijing. These impressive brick and earth structures date from the Ming dynasty, when the wall was fortified against Mongol forces to the north. The Ming wall is about 26 feet tall and 23 feet wide at the base, and could accommodate up to six horsemen riding abreast. Watch towers, built on high points every 200-300 meters or so with small garrison forces, used fire signals or fireworks as a means of communication. These stretches of the wall are part of a system that extends from the Shanhaiguan fortress on the Bohai Gulf in the east to the Jiayuguan fortress in the west, altogether some 6000 km (3700 mi).

Beijing National Stadium (Outside)

Location: Olympic Green Anding Rd
No.3, Chaoyang district
The Beijing National Stadium, also known as the bird's nest, will be the main track and field stadium for the 2008 Summer Olympics and will be host to the Opening and Closing ceremonies. In 2002 Government officials engaged architects worldwide in a design competition. Pritzker Prize-winning architects Herzog & de Meuron collaborated with Arup Sport and China Architecture Design & Research Group to win the competition. Contemporary Chinese artist, Ai Weiwei, is the Artistic Consultant for design. The stadium will seat as many as 100,000 spectators during the Olympics, but this will be reduced to 80,000 after the games. The structural elements mutually support each other and converge into a grid-like formation - almost like a bird's nest with its interwoven twigs. The spatial effect of the stadium is novel and radical, yet simple and of an almost archaic immediacy, thus creating a unique historical landmark for the Olympics of 2008.

National Aquatics Center ( Water Cube)

Location: Olympic Green Anding Rd
No.3, Chaoyang district
The Water Cube employs water as a structural and theatrical "leitmotiv" with the square, the primal shape of the house in Chinese tradition and mythology. The structure of the water cube is based on a unique, lightweight construction, developed by Arup and CSCEC with PTW, and derived from the structure of water in the state of aggregation of FOAM as deduced by. Behind the apparently random appearance hides a strict geometry found in natural systems such as crystals, cells and molecular structures. By applying novel materials and technology, the transparency and randomness is transposed into the inner and outer skins of ETFE cushions. Unlike traditional stadium structures with gigantic columns, beams, cables and back spans, to which a facade system is applied, in the water cube design the architectural space, structure and facade are one and the same element. Conceptually the square box and the interior spaces are carved out of an undefined cluster of foam bubbles, symbolizing a condition of nature that is transformed into a condition of culture. The appearance of the aquatic centre is a "cube of water molecules" - the WATERCUBE.

Hutong Tour

Hutong is an ancient city alley or lane typical in Beijing. Surrounding the Forbidden City, many were built during the Yuan, Ming, and Qing dynasties. Hutong is composed by Siheyuan which the traditional residence of Beijingers, each consisting of a rectangular courtyard surrounded by one-storied tile-roofed houses, usually one to six meters wide.

By visiting Hutong, it is a good way to see how traditional residents live and a kind of life style that keep several hundreds. Visit local family who live in Hutong and talk with them to known how they live. Taste the real Chinese family dishes in courtyard.

Panda Breeding Center

The giant pandas are not only a Chinese national treasure but are also beloved by people the world over. They are found only in Sichuan, Shaanxi and Gansu provinces. In total there are fewer than 1000, of which 80% are distributed within the territory of Sichuan province. Therefore, when visitors from home and abroad come to Chengdu, Sichuan Province one of their main objectives will be to see the giant pandas for themselves.
Located just 10km (6miles) away from downtown Chengdu, the Chengdu Panda Breeding Center has been created and imitates the pandas' natural habitat in order that they might have a the best possible environment for rearing and breeding. The Center cares also for other rare and endangered wild animals. The Center covers an area of 560 mus (92 acres), 96% of which is verdure. Giant pandas, lesser pandas, black-necked cranes, white storks as well as over 20 species of rare animals are fed and bred there throughout the year. Verdant bamboo, bright flowers, fresh air, a natural hill scene and a beautiful artificial view are merged ingeniously at the base.

Jinli Street

Jinli Street was the most famous place for baldachin-a rich, ornate cloth. And it was one of the busiest commercial streets during the Shu Kingdom (221-263). Hence, it is known as 'First Street of the Shu Kingdom'. In order to reclaim the street's prosperity of former days, it was restored with contributions from the Wuhou Memorial Temple and was opened to public in October of 2004. Since then visitors from all over China and abroad gather in this ancient street to relax and admire the traditional-style buildings. At the time of the Three Kingdoms period, the production of the famous Shu brocade (a rich silk fabric with raised patterns in gold and silver) was centralized at the southern bank of the Jinjiang River in Chengdu, adjacent to the historical Temple of Marquis Wu. The area was originally known as Jinguan or Jinli, and during the later Tang and Song Dynasties, Jinli became another name for the city of Chengdu. Chengdu was the capital city of the Kingdom of Shu (221-263). Due largely to the leadership of Zhuge Liang (an outstanding politician and strategist) and other personages of the Kingdom of Shu, the "Sanguo" (Three Kingdoms) culture took strong root here. And here still exists some of the richest of the remains of the Three Kingdoms Period. The geography of the area is relatively simple. Adjacent to Jinli Street is the ancient Temple of Marquis Wu , while the Jinjiang River lies to the north and the Rainbow Bridge to the east. By combining the spirits and styles of the Qin, Han, Ming and Qing Dynasties and the Three Kingdoms period, along with the folk customs of western Sichuan , Jinli has enriched the "Sanguo" culture.
Renovation of the street was completed at the end of 2004. Visitors from all over China and abroad gathered here in this ancient street to relax, take in the surroundings, and perhaps taste some of the local specialties. It is said that citizens of Chengdu are particularly fond of dining and socializing, and perhaps this is what helps to create the city‘s leisurely ambience. Chengdu has been newly designated as one of the ten most livable cities in China.

Wangjiang Tower Garden

Located on the south bank of Jinjiang River , Chengdu , Wangjiang (in Chinese, overlooking the river) Tower Park is one of three famous cultural relics in Chengdu , along with Wuhou Memorial Temple and the Thatched Cottage of Du Fu. While Wuhou Temple honors the legendary minister of Shu, Zhuge Liang, and Du Fu Cottage honors the Sage of Poetry, Wangjiang Tower is dedicated to a woman, Xue Tao, a poet in the Tang Dynasty (618-907). Since in the past women lacked social status, the story of Xue Tao is all the more fascinating.

Bamboos will get your attention as you enter the park. Xue Tao loved bamboo; over 150 kinds of bamboos from home and abroad grow here in her honor. Wangjiang Tower Park with its elegant garden of bamboo is the finest in Chengdu . The 39-meter- (128-foot-) high Wangjiang Tower is the greatest building in the park. Of the four stories of the tower, the upper two are octagonal while the lower two are square with every eave layer exquisitely decorated with sculptures.

Yangtze River Cruise

Coursing over a distance of 6,380 kilometers, the mighty Yangtze is the longest river in China and the third longest in the world after the Amazon in South America and the Nile in Africa. It begins at Qinghai plateau at southwest, and flows through nine provinces, some major industrialized cities and into Yellow Sea after Shanghai in the east. It is also a cradle of ancient Chinese civilization. However, Yangtze River also floods every year causing loss of lives & millions of dollars. Therefore, the government decided to build dams to control the water; and Gezhouba & Three Gorges dams are born. Highlights of the cruise include the famed Three Gorges "Qutang, Wu and Xiling" showcasing dramatic scenery, deep valleys, verdant landscapes and stunning vistas; shore excursions of the Small Gorges with visits to either Shennong Stream Gorges or the Daning River; and the Three Gorges Dam Site, the world's largest construction project and an engineering marvel.

Doubletree by Hilton Beijing
168 Guang An Men Wai Avenue, Beijing, China 100055

The new hotel is conveniently situated next to the Central Official District of Beijing (COD) and Beijing's prestigious Financial Street business district.The hotel has 547 rooms.

Hotel Amenities:

Automated Teller (ATM)
Baggage Storage
Car hire service desk Beverage Area, Complimentary
Concierge Desk
Foreign Currency Exchange
Furrier
Gift Shop
Laundry/Valet Service
Lounge
Luggage Hold
Multi-Lingual Staff Room Service
Safety Deposit Box

Hotel Description

Guest Rooms: Designed in a contemporary style, this 30 square meter room is equipped with working and seating areas, 32 inch flat TV, HSIA, iron/ironing board, standing shower, in room safe and coffee, tea maker.

Location: The Doubletree by Hilton Beijing hotel is located at the South West 2nd Ring Road, just 38 km / 24 mi from Beijing Capital International Airport (PEK). Our stylish new hotel is conveniently situated next to the Central Official District of Beijing (COD) and Beijing's prestigious Financial Street business district. Our guests enjoy fast and easy access to all of Beijing's major attractions. The Doubletree by Hilton hotel is within 7 km / 4 mi of the historic Dong Cheng District and Tian'anmen Square, the red-walled Forbidden City and Imperial Palace, Beijing Zoo, Panjia Yuan Antique Market and the Temple of Heaven.

Restaurant: Chinese cuisine offering delicious food in a fantastic environment! The restaurant is located on the 3rd floor and features 12 private dining rooms.

Green Land Hotel Chengdu
N No.99#, Zhonglieci West Street, Qingyang Districe, Chengdu, Sichuan, 610016, China

Sichuan Green-land Hotel is a four-star business hotel with Green-conception. Located in Chengdu commercial, financial, cultural convergence zone from the Tianfu Square , Chunxi Road Pedestrian Street moves away alone, neighboring business travel environment unique. Superior environment, convenient transportation, good service, so you feel at home warmth and comfort. What you savor business trip comfort and convenience. The hotel has 228 rooms

Hotel Amenities:

Epidiascopes Recorder
VD/VCD/DVD Player
Laser-Ferule Stage-Lights
Paper-shelf Television
Air conditioning system
Satellite TV
Sauna
IDD/ DDD mini bar.

Hotel Description

Guest Rooms: The building has 38-floors, 228 senior comfortable viewing rooms. Room decoration for delicate, elegant features, and equipped with high-speed broadband Internet access, satellite TV, international long-distance and other modern facilities and equipment to offer you the perfect environment to stay.

Location: It is located in the Chengdu city centre, about 3 kilometers from the railway station and 16 kilometers from the airport. The convenient location of the hotel provides easy access to central business district of the city and some of the famous sights.

Restaurant: The Chinese Restaurant serves Sichuan, Lu and Cantonese cuisine, the cafe on 4th floor offers western and Asia food. The hotel lobby lounge is an ideal place for a evening cocktail.