11-Day China Tour: Beijing, Yangtze Cruise, Shanghai

Arrive in Beijing, the starting city of this 11-day China tour through Beijing, Chongqing, the Yangtze River, Chengdu, and Shanghai. Your guide greets you at the airport and transfers you by private vehicle to your hotel. Check in and rest after the international flight, using free time to settle in and adjust to the time difference before Temple of Heaven and Forbidden City sightseeing tomorrow.

Visit the Temple of Heaven, where Ming and Qing emperors once prayed for good harvests, and walk the park grounds used by local residents today. Continue to Tiananmen Square, then enter the Forbidden City, the former imperial palace complex with nearly six centuries of history. Your guide explains the main halls, courtyards, and museum collections as you move from south to north through the palace axis before returning to the hotel.

Travel about 80 kilometers northeast of Beijing to the Mutianyu Great Wall, a section known for closely spaced watchtowers and brick battlements on both sides of the wall. Walk the restored ramparts among the forested ridges, then enjoy a late lunch at a local restaurant before returning to the city center. The afternoon ride gives time to rest after the climb and prepare for the Summer Palace visit and flight to Chongqing tomorrow.

Visit the Summer Palace, the large Qing-dynasty imperial garden on Kunming Lake, noted for lakeside corridors, hilltop temples, and classic Chinese garden design. After lunch, transfer for your flight to Chongqing. Upon arrival, your local guide meets you and takes you to the hotel for one overnight stay before the mountain-city tour and Yangtze River cruise embarkation the next day.

After breakfast, watch the Liziba light rail pass through a residential building, then walk Shibati and Shancheng Lane for local street life. Continue to the Liberation Monument shopping district and Hongyadong, the hillside stilt-house complex overlooking the confluence of the rivers. In the evening, transfer to Chaotianmen Pier and board your Yangtze River cruise between about 18:00 and 20:00, with sailing expected around 21:00 for the Three Gorges sector ahead.

Spend the morning on the Yangtze River cruise with optional onboard activities such as Tai Chi on deck, coffee on the observation areas, cultural talks, or evening entertainment. Join a shore excursion to Fengdu Ghost City in Fengdu County, a well-known Three Gorges Reservoir site linked to folk stories of the underworld. Walk the temple and statue areas with your local guide, then return to the ship for dinner and overnight sailing toward the Three Gorges.

Sail through the classic Three Gorges corridor, watching the steep canyon walls of Qutang Gorge and Wu Gorge from the sun deck when weather allows. Shore programs may be arranged near Fengjie, Wuxi, or Badong depending on the cruise schedule. Premium ships often offer a morning visit to Baidi City at Fengjie for an extra fee, then smaller boats into side streams at Wu Gorge in the afternoon. Tonight join the captain's farewell gathering and onboard performances.

After breakfast, disembark at Maoping Port and visit the Three Gorges Dam in Xiling Gorge near Yichang, the large hydroelectric project that reshaped the middle Yangtze. View the dam from designated lookouts and learn about the construction background; a ship-lift experience may be available as an optional add-on. Around midday, the cruise transfer takes you to Yichang Three Gorges Center Cruise Terminal, where your guide meets you for the high-speed train to Chengdu and hotel check-in.

After breakfast, drive about one hour to the Sanxingdui Museum in Guanghan, roughly 50 kilometers north of Chengdu. Explore bronze, jade, pottery, and gold finds from the ancient Shu capital, including the bronze standing figure, bronze sacred tree, gold staff, and masks with protruding eyes. These collections show a distinct Bronze Age culture often compared with other early civilizations for its craft and imagery. After the visit, fly to Shanghai and transfer to your hotel for two nights.

Visit Yu Garden, a classical Chinese private garden with rockeries, ponds, and Ming-style halls in the Old City area. Take a Huangpu River cruise to compare the historic Bund waterfront with the modern towers of Lujiazui across the river. Finish with a walk along The Bund to see the colonial-era bank buildings facing the skyline. Your guide times the program so you can enjoy photos and a relaxed pace before tomorrow's departure transfer.

Enjoy free time at the hotel or nearby depending on your flight schedule. When it is time to leave, your guide escorts you to the airport for the departure flight, closing this 11-day China tour from Beijing through Chongqing, the Yangtze River cruise and Three Gorges Dam, Chengdu's Sanxingdui Museum, and Shanghai. Confirm terminal details and boarding timing so luggage and travel documents are ready for check-in.