10-Day Tour: Beijing, Xi'an, Yangtze Cruise & Shanghai

Arrive in Beijing, the starting city of this 10-day China tour through Beijing, Xi'an, Chongqing, the Yangtze River, 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 Tiananmen Square and Forbidden City sightseeing tomorrow.

After breakfast, visit Tiananmen Square, the large public square linked to modern Chinese history, then enter the Forbidden City, the former imperial palace complex with nearly 10,000 rooms that housed 24 emperors of the Ming and Qing dynasties. Your guide points out glazed-tile roofs, marble bases, and the main halls along the palace axis. After lunch, return to the hotel and rest before the Summer Palace visit and flight to Xi'an tomorrow.

Visit the Summer Palace, the large Qing-dynasty imperial garden on Kunming Lake, with pavilions, temples, bridges, and the Long Corridor of painted historical and mythological scenes along the shore. After lunch, transfer for your flight to Xi'an. Upon arrival, your local guide meets you and takes you to the hotel for two nights before the Terracotta Warriors excursion and Muslim Quarter free time tomorrow.

Visit the Terracotta Warriors Museum, one of the major archaeological finds of the twentieth century, and walk among the excavated pits of life-size clay soldiers, horses, and chariots. After returning to the city, spend free time in the Muslim Quarter, where antique shops, food stalls, and small teahouses line the lanes. Use the afternoon at your own pace before overnighting again in Xi'an.

In the morning, visit the Shaanxi History Museum for collections that explain Xi'an's long role as a Chinese capital and cultural center. Continue to the Big Wild Goose Pagoda, linked to the monk Xuanzang and completed in 652, an important Tang-dynasty Buddhist landmark. After sightseeing, fly to Chongqing and transfer to your hotel for one overnight stay before the mountain-city tour and Yangtze River cruise embarkation.

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 such as Shennong Stream or Little Three Gorges 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 on the middle Yangtze. View the dam from designated lookouts; a ship-lift experience may be available as an optional add-on. Around midday, transfer to Yichang Three Gorges Center Cruise Terminal, where your guide meets you for the high-speed train to Shanghai, about six to seven hours. Upon arrival, transfer to your hotel for one overnight stay.

After breakfast, visit the Jade Buddha Temple, known for its large jade Buddha statues, religious artifacts, and Buddhist scriptures set among Shanghai's modern buildings. Continue to Tianzifang, a craft and cafe district adapted from a traditional residential area with Shikumen architecture. Walk the lanes and browse small shops at your own pace. In the afternoon, your guide escorts you to the airport for the departure flight, closing this 10-day tour.