Enjoying Fun of Hiking
Traveling Beijing with Xian is one of the most popular itineraries in China - exploring imperial culture in the Forbidden City, Temple of Heaven, Summer Palace, and visiting the world famous Terracotta Warriors in Xian. This is how a classic and regular Beijing Xian tour goes. Want to make your Beijing Xian trip a little adventurous? Here is the idea: hike one of the wild sections of the Great Wall in Beijing, then go to hike Mount Huashan near Xian city. They may not be the type of serious hiking, but definitely interesting and enjoyable.
Highlights of this tour
Ni Hao, welcome to Beijing, the iconic city as well as the capital of China!
You will be met by your local tour guide at the arrival hall of Beijing Capital Airport, or railway station, then be escorted to check in your hotel in downtown by a private comfortable vehicle. The rest of today is on your own to relax. If you want to explore nearby, feel free to get some practical suggestions from your tour guide.
Arrival Ideas: At present, there are many international and domestic flights to Beijing. Besides, you can take a high speed train to this capital city from Shanghai (5-6 hrs), Xian (5.5 hrs), Guangzhou (8-9.5 hrs), etc.
After breakfast, start to explore the historical face of Beijing with a brief visit to Tiananmen Square which is now the largest city plaza in the world. Tiananmen Gate on the northern square was the site where the Chairman Mao announced the establishment of the People's Republic of China. Stepping into the Tiananmen, you will see one of the world’s 5 most important palaces – Forbidden City, a huge palace complex of more than 9,000 rooms where 24 emperors of Ming and Qing Dynasties used to live in. Pass through various doorways to admire the magnificent and well preserved buildings decorated with yellow glazed tile roof, white marble base and splendid colorful paintings. After Forbidden City exploration, take a short visit to Jingshan Park where you can get a nice shot of one watchtower of Forbidden City and take a panoramic view of Forbidden City.
After lunch, drive about 40 mins to the outskirts of Beijing to spend an enjoyable time in Summer Palace, the largest and best-preserved royal garden in China. Stroll around ancient pavilions, mansions, temples, bridges and corridors. Feast your eyes on the vast lotus in Kunming Lake and the colored paintings in Long Corridor.
Optional activity: Option 1: In the Evening, you can watch a wonderful Kungfu Show in the Red Theater (Hong Ju Chang) which usually starts at 19:30. Option 2: You could enjoy the well-known Beijing Opera at Liyuan Theater to appreciate the classic Chinese art performance, 19:30-21:00.
This morning, you will be picked up by your tour guide at hotel, then drive about 2.5 hours to Jiankou Great Wall which is one of the most recommended walls for Great Wall hiking and photography. Its walls and towers are very authentic because there is no any restoration has been done yet. You will start the hike from Xizhazi Village. It then takes about 1 hour to hike along a bushy mountain path from the village up to Zhengbei Tower, the highest watch tower on the Great Wall Jiankou where you can enjoy a panoramic view of how the Great Walls crumbling on the ridges of the steep and narrow mountains. After short rest at Zhengbei Tower, you will keep hiking about 2 hours eastward ups and downs on the rugged wall, passing through 8 wild and crumbling towers at Jiankou, to get to Mutianyu Great Wall which is not crowded yet well-preserved and pretty. Hiking on this section of Great Wall is much smoother and easier compared with Jiankou Great Wall hiking. You will hike about 1 hour on the well-paved steps of Mutiany and pass 9 towers. Lastly, descend the Mutianyu Great Wall. You have 3 choices to come down: 1.Cable car 2.Walk way 3.Tabbogan. Lastly, drive back Beijing downtown. Have a good rest.
Other available Great Wall hikings: A. 1 Day Jinshanling Great Wall Hiking; B. 1 Day Gubeikou Great Wall to Jinshanlin Great Wall Hiking; C. 1 Day Mutianyu Great Wall Hiking; D: 1 Day Huanghuacheng Great Wall Hiking; E: 1 Day Simatai Great Wall Hiking. Different hikings have different prices. Feel free to let your travel consultant know your idea.
Important tips: 1) You'd better wear hiking boots and clothings, and bring trekking sticks, backpack, sun-glasses, sunscreen, snacks, gloves for this hiking tour; 2) Traveler who is not fit or having arthritis, heart disease, hypertension, asthma are not recommended to take this hiking; 3) Kids less than 3 years old and travellers over 80 years old are not recommended to take this hiking; 4) You'd better not wear short pants because some paths are bushy; 5) Please go to toilet at the entrance of the wall before the hiking because there is no toilet on the Wall. Toilet paper should be brought by yourself; 6) This hiking is not available during rainy days, snowy days and strong-wind days, etc.
After breakfast, drive to the imperial site – Temple of Heaven. It was originally used to pay homage to Heaven and pray for harvest, now becomes a bustling place for locals to take part in traditional activities, such as Tai Chi, dancing, kite flying, water calligraphy, etc.
Then get back to the central city to hop on a rickshaw to experience the Beijing Hutongs - small alleys made by neighboring quadrangle dwellings. Shuttle among different Hutongs to get a feel of the old Beijing life style, visit various antique shops and small boutiques, truly feel the historical changes of Beijing, and also pay a visit to a local family’s home in the traditional Hutongs.
Till now, your Beijing tour is about to end. Your tour guide will see you off at the Beijing West Railway Station for your high speed train to Xian (about 5 hours). Be pick up by your tour guide at Xian North Railway Station, and escorted to your hotel in Xian. The rest of today is on your own to explore this ancient capital of China.
After breakfast, drive about 40km to discover one of the greatest man-made wonders in the world – the Terracotta Warriors and Horses, built by the first emperor of China Qin Shihuang to protect him in his afterlife. Over 8,000 life-size warriors, horses and chariots, buried in 3 pits for more than 2,000 years until uncovered by a local farmer in 1974, form an ancient military army with complete battle units of infantry, cavalry, etc. Standing in front of these figures, one can’t help being amazed not only by the ambition of Emperor Qin Shihuang but also by the fabulous artistic skills of ancient Chinese artisans.
After lunch, return back to Xian to take a wonderful stroll on the Ancient City Wall, the largest and best-preserved ancient city wall in China. Enjoy panoramic views of modern Xian while you leisurely examine this well-maintained city wall which is 12 meters high and 18 meters wide with a total circuit of nearly 14 kilometers. This visit is followed by a relaxing wander around bustling and lively Muslim Quarter, a place where you can try different local snacks and explore Muslim culture.
Optional activities: 1). Take a relaxing cycling on the Ancient City Wall; 2). Enjoy a wonderful Tang Palace Dance Show (usually from 8pm to 9pm) after a hearty dumpling dinner at a local restaurant.
After breakfast, your tour guide will pick you up from your hotel. Then you will be escorted to Mount Hua (Huashan) by car, which will take you two hours on the way.
After arrival, take a park bus from the tourist center to the foot of the North Peak of Mount Hua (about 20mins). To save energy and time, you will take cable car up to the North Peak directly (about 10mins). At North Peak, you can get the first views of other four peaks, and watch far away. And only the fourth side of North Peak is the entrance path to other peaks which is named “Ear Rubbing Cliff” for tourists have to climb further up only by pressing the ear close the cliff. Then you will hike about 2 hours to get to the East Peak. On route, you will visit the Heavenly Ladders, Riyue Cliff, Canglong Ling, Golden Lock Pass. Spend some time to view the breathtaking landscape on the East Peak. Continue hiking about 1hour to the South Peak. You will firstly get to Nantian Gate, then get to the famous Plank Road in the Sky which is seen as the most dangerous path in the world. Well, it is dependent on you to take this fearsome path or not. It is a more than 100 meters long, 0.3 meters wide plank road built along the surface of a vertical cliff, which usually takes about 30~45 minutes to walk through and back. Keep walking about 20mins from the Plank Road in the Sky, you will get to the South Peak which is the highest peak on Mount Hua. From South Peak, you can see other four lower peaks. Then take the last hiking about 40 minutes to the West Peak. The West Peak is also called Lotus Peak because of its unique shape. This peak is formed by a huge rock. Hence, it's very steep.
Lastly, walk about 20mins from West Peak to the West Peak Cableway station to take a cable car to descend the mountain. Hanging over 900 meters above the valley, West Peak Cable Car offers breathtaking view of the peaks and valleys of Mount Huashan, which is a highlight you can't miss out.
Transfer back to your hotel in Xian.
Tips: 1) you can pack some favorite foods and drinks with you because there is not much food you can buy on the mountain; 2) it usually needs to queue up (possibly up to hours during crowded days) to enter the Huashan Plank Walk, so it's very important to depart from Xian early and control well your hiking pace on the mountain.
After breakfast, head to Da Cien Temple, a famous Buddhist sutra translation site during the Tang Dynasty. Big Wild Goose Pagoda is the most famous building in the temple. The pagoda, rising to a height of 64.5 meters, was built by the famous Buddhist master Xuanzang to preserve classic scriptures he bought back from India during the early Tang Dynasty. Xuanzang was the prototype character for Tang Seng in the famous Chinese novel “Journey to the West”. (Note: It costs an extra 30 RMB if you want to climb up the Big Wild Goose Pagoda) After (or before) visiting the Giant Wild Goose Pagoda, you will be provided a free experience of trying on the Hanfu which is the solemn costume of the emperors and their families, the ministers and the noble in the ancient dynasties of China. Seize this rare opportunity to take some photos to record this unique memory!
Following is an educational visit to the Shaanxi History Museum where you can ramble in the modern exhibition halls to appreciate historic relics such as porcelains, paintings, and currencies dating from the Zhou to the Tang dynastic periods (1100 BC to 907 AD). (Note: Shaanxi History Museum may be replaced with other activity or attraction because of crowding tourists during July, August and early September. You may check details with your travel consultant.)
The rest of the day is free for you until be escorted to catch the flight/train to leave Xian. Tour ends.
The leisure Yangtze River Cruise, ideal way to explore both the nature and culture of China!
While taking a Yangtze River cruise, you will not only relax in various interesting onboard activities, such as Tai Chi class, dancing shows, parties, but also enjoy the stunning scenery along the mighty Yangtze River. The best highlights are the world-famous Three Gorges Dam and beautiful Three Gorges. At the same time, you will have a flexible choice between different ships of different standard and features, such as Victoria Cruise, New Century Cruise, etc. At China Discovery, we offer you all the best luxury yangtze cruise ships at the best price.
Downstream Cruise: Chongqing - Yichang (4 Days 3 Nights)
Upstream Cruise: Yichang - Chongqing (5 Days 4 Nights)
Guilin, the darling of tourists!
Guilin is famous for having the best landscape under Heaven which can be seen in three most popular places - Guilin, Yangshuo and Longsheng. Only 3 days are needed to get them all in a single trip. You will visit the essential sites in the city, enjoy a relaxing cruise along Li River, and have a pleasant time of countryside exploration in Yangshuo Town. Another highlight is the unique trip to Longji Terrace which is an ideal place for experiencing ethnic culture, hiking and photography.
Shanghai, regarded as the Oriental Paris, is the best place to experience East-meet-West Culture, find hidden tradition within modernity.
Generally speaking, you can spend Day 1 exploring the popular landmarks of Shanghai, such as the Shanghai Museum, Yu Garden, Nanjing Road, the Bund, and Shanghai World Financial Center Tower. The Day 2 is for you to explore deep into the city of Shanghai (such as Old French Concession, Tianzifang or Jade Buddha Temple) and departure.
Beijing / Xian / Shanghai
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