Enchanting China | 11 Days 10 Nights Pure-Play Small Group Tour of Shanghai + Zhangjiajie + Xi'an + Beijing

Welcome to the magic city - Shanghai. Our driver will meet you at the airport/train station exit and escort you to your downtown Shanghai hotel for check-in. You can arrange the remaining time freely. If you are tired, you can rest at the hotel to recharge; if it is still early, you can also take a stroll nearby. Suggested ways to arrive 1. By plane: Shanghai has two airports - Shanghai Pudong International Airport (PVG) and Shanghai Hongqiao International Airport (SHA), with many direct domestic routes, such as Beijing, Xi'an, Chengdu, Kunming, Harbin, Hong Kong, etc., as well as direct international routes, such as Malaysia, Singapore, Los Angeles, Japan, etc. Transportation is very convenient. 2. By train: Shanghai has 5 train stations in total. You can take high-speed trains to Shanghai from Beijing (4.5-6 hours), Xi'an (6-7.5 hours), Huangshan (2.5-3 hours), Guangzhou (7-8.5 hours), Suzhou (0.5 hours), Hangzhou (about 45 minutes), Wuhan (3.5-4.5 hours), and other places.

After breakfast, you will head to the Lujiazui business district in Pudong, Shanghai, to visit the tallest building in Shanghai and even in China - [Shanghai Tower]. Here, you will take the world's fastest sightseeing elevator (73.8 km/h) directly to the "Top of Shanghai Observatory" on the 118th floor, 546 meters above the ground, and enjoy a 360° panoramic view of Shanghai's magnificent skyline and the city's full scenery, overlooking famous surrounding buildings. If you are interested, you can also send a special blessing from above the clouds to family and friends at the Top of Shanghai Air Post Office, currently the world's highest post office. Afterward, visit the [Shanghai Museum East], admire various exquisite precious cultural relics, and gain a deeper understanding of China's long and profound history and culture. The Shanghai Museum East has many cultural relics on display, and especially worth seeing are those famous treasures of the museum: • Da Ke Ding: This bronze vessel from about 3,000 years ago has a majestic and solemn appearance and is an outstanding representative of China's Western Zhou bronze culture. • Shang Yang Fang Sheng: As a relic of Shang Yang's reforms, it was not only a physical standard for weights and measures in the Qin Dynasty, but also carries the ultimate code of the rise of Great Qin's economy. • Zi Zhong Jiang Pan: On this bronze water basin vessel from the Spring and Autumn period are carved more than 30 lifelike aquatic animals. When clear water flows into the basin, these animals all rotate 360°, endlessly fascinating, and it further demonstrates the superb craftsmanship of the ancients. Afterward, head to [Yu Garden], known as the "finest garden in the southeast," to enjoy the scenery of China's classical Jiangnan gardens. Yu Garden was first built in the 38th year of the Jiajing reign of the Ming Dynasty (1559 AD), more than 460 years ago. It was originally a private garden built by Pan Yunduan, the Ming Dynasty provincial administration commissioner of Sichuan, for his father to spend his later years in comfort. Strolling along Yu Garden's winding paths, you can admire China's ingenious garden layout, exquisite classical architecture, and superb brick carvings, stone carvings, clay sculptures, and wood carvings. Yuyuan Bazaar near Yu Garden is a very lively district where you can taste the most authentic Shanghai cuisine or browse various traditional Chinese handicraft shops. Afterward, you can walk along [Nanjing Road Pedestrian Street], known as "China's No. 1 Commercial Street," to the Bund, about 2 kilometers in total. Along the way, you can appreciate Shanghai's architectural style from the 1930s and 1940s and browse various century-old time-honored brand stores. [The Bund] is located on the west bank of the Huangpu River and is one of Shanghai's landmark attractions, known as the "Exhibition of World Architecture." It gathers 52 exotic buildings of different styles, such as the Shanghai Club, Peace Hotel, HSBC Building, and others. Stepping into it feels like entering the golden age of the former Wall Street of the East. Standing by the river, you can also look into the distance at landmark buildings such as Shanghai Tower, Oriental Pearl Tower, Jin Mao Tower, and Shanghai World Financial Center. Tips: 1) Yu Garden is closed on Mondays, so the visit will be changed to Shanghai City God Temple; 2) Shanghai Museum East is closed on Tuesdays, so priority will be given to trying to arrange the People's Square branch. If the People's Square branch cannot be reserved, other downtown attractions will be coordinated as replacements.

After breakfast, you will have some free time in Shanghai until the driver takes you to the airport to catch your flight to Zhangjiajie. Welcome to Zhangjiajie. Our driver will greet you at the airport exit and take you to the hotel in Wulingyuan Scenic Area for check-in. The total distance is 35 kilometers, and the drive takes about 1 hour. After arriving at the hotel, you can arrange your time freely.

Today you will have a full day to visit the Wulingyuan Scenic Area. First, you will go to China's first national forest park - [Zhangjiajie National Forest Park]. Take the scenic area shuttle bus to the Bailong Elevator, known as the "World's No. 1 Elevator." This elevator once broke the Guinness World Record for the highest outdoor elevator and is also the fastest and heaviest outdoor sightseeing elevator. It takes only 66 seconds to smoothly take you from the foot of the mountain to the top, letting you experience the shock and excitement of rising from a deep valley straight into the clouds in an instant. After reaching the mountaintop platform, you can take in the magnificent surrounding mountain scenery. Then hike into the real-life Pandora world - Yuanjiajie. This is the filming location of the movie "Avatar" and the site of the real-life Hallelujah Mountain (formerly known as South Heaven Pillar). Here, you can walk along the trails and visit major attractions such as Mihun Terrace and the Back Garden in sequence. You can also immersively enjoy Zhangjiajie's fantastical peaks as you walk, and gain a deeper understanding of Zhangjiajie's geological and landform features during the visit. Afterward, take the shuttle bus to visit [Tianzi Mountain Nature Reserve], known as the "King of Peak Forests." Here you will hike to Helong Park to see the bronze statues of Marshal He Long and his warhorse, and enjoy the magnificent scenery of towering peaks from the nearby viewing platforms. Then go to Dianjiang Terrace to overlook the spectacular scenery of the West Sea peak forest and feel the awe-inspiring view of numerous peaks standing like soldiers in formation. Finally, visit Ten-Mile Gallery and take the scenic area mini-train through scenery that resembles a traditional Chinese ink painting. After the visit, return to the hotel to rest.

After breakfast, you will head to visit the Zhangjiajie Grand Canyon, hailed as "one of the most beautiful canyons in the world," and experience the world's longest and highest fully transparent glass bridge - the Yuntian Crossing Glass Bridge. This is the world's first cable-stayed glass suspension bridge with a large variable spatial cable system, with a total length of about 375 meters, paved with 99 pieces of fully transparent glass. From a distance, the glass bridge is as thin as a cicada's wing, "invisible" in the landscape and sky. The bridge deck is about 300 meters above the valley floor. Walking on the bridge, you can take in the magnificent scenery of the entire grand canyon and look down at the deep canyon below, which is very thrilling and exciting. Afterwards, you will visit the mirror-like Baofeng Lake. Baofeng Lake is nestled among surrounded mountains, with clear emerald waters reflecting the blue sky, white clouds, and surrounding peaks, resembling an exquisite ink painting. You can take a ride on an antique-style boat through the landscape, immersively enjoying the beauty of the surrounding lake and mountains, and enjoying a leisurely and peaceful time.

This morning, you will head to visit [Tianmen Mountain National Park]. Tianmen Mountain is about 8 kilometers from the center of Zhangjiajie and is the foremost sacred mountain of western Hunan, as well as a mountain suitable for visitors of all ages. You will take the cable car directly to the summit (about 30 minutes), and from the cable car you can take in the 99-bend winding mountain road and the magnificent surrounding mountain scenery. After reaching the summit, visit Tianmen Temple, one of only five Buddhist temples in the world that preserve a Buddha relic, and also enjoy the pleasant views of the layered green peaks all around. Afterwards, you can set off on two exciting cliffside walkway hikes. First, walk the fully transparent glass skywalk, 1.6 meters wide and 60 meters long; walking on it feels like strolling above the clouds, with majestic mountain scenery beside you and a bottomless deep valley below your feet, making it very thrilling. Then walk the 1,600-meter-long Guigu Plank Road, which clings to the cliff face like a giant dragon, allowing you to overlook the mountains as you walk, an experience both thrilling and spectacular. Next, take the escalator to Tianmen Cave, the most unmissable attraction in Tianmen Mountain Scenic Area and the world's highest natural mountain-piercing karst cave. After sightseeing, take the elevator to the cable car station, then ride the cable car down the mountain. Finally, head to Zhangjiajie Airport to fly to Xi'an. After arriving in Xi'an, our driver will greet you at the airport exit and take you to a hotel in downtown Xi'an to check in. Note: Due to the influence of flight schedules in different seasons, if direct winter flights are suspended, a connecting flight may be arranged, or a train to Changsha followed by a flight to Xi'an.

After breakfast, you will drive about 40 kilometers (1 hour) to visit the Terracotta Army, one of the "Eighth Wonders of the World." The 【Terracotta Army Museum】 is a site museum built on the original location of the terracotta pits and is also China's largest ancient military museum. Under the vivid commentary of a professional guide, you will visit Pits No. 1, 2, and 3 in sequence, learning about the historical background of the Terracotta Army, its craftsmanship, and the little-known stories behind these thousand-year-old clay figures buried in the long river of history. In the afternoon, you will visit the historic Xi'an Ancient City Wall. The 【Xi'an Ancient City Wall】 was first built in the Ming Dynasty, also known as the Xi'an Ming City Wall, and is one of the largest and best-preserved ancient city walls in China. You can climb onto the wall, walk on the historic blue bricks, and feel the charm of the ancient city wall, or take a bicycle tour to enjoy the superb scenery formed by the ancient city wall and the modern cityscape together. In addition, near the Xi'an Ancient City Wall, you can also visit the amazing Bell Tower and Drum Tower. The Bell Tower and Drum Tower were first built during the Hongwu period of the Ming Dynasty, about 600 years ago. The two buildings echo each other from afar and are magnificent. When night falls, the lights of the Bell Tower and Drum Tower illuminate together, creating a spectacular scene.

After breakfast, you will visit Xi'an's famous cultural landmark - the Big Wild Goose Pagoda. The Big Wild Goose Pagoda is located within the Daci'en Temple and is the earliest and largest existing Tang Dynasty square pavilion-style brick pagoda, with seven stories and a height of about 64 meters. Here you can admire the ancient architectural style, view the Buddhist scriptures and statues brought back from Tianzhu by Master Xuanzang housed in the pagoda, and also climb this thousand-year-old pagoda to overlook the cityscape of Xi'an. Then you will visit Xi'an's famous food culture street - Muslim Quarter, to experience the local lifestyle while tasting local specialty snacks. After the tour, our driver will take you to Xi'an Railway Station to take a high-speed train to Beijing. Upon arrival in Beijing, our driver will greet you at the railway station exit and take you to a downtown Beijing hotel for check-in. You can arrange the remaining time freely. If you are tired, you can rest at the hotel to recharge; if it is still early, you can also stroll around the neighborhood.

After breakfast, you will visit the world-renowned Tiananmen Square. [Tiananmen Square] is located on Beijing's central axis and is the largest city-center square in the world. It holds an important place in Chinese history and has witnessed countless major historical events. Here you can view the majestic Tiananmen Gate Tower and learn about China's long history and culture. Afterwards, cross the square to visit the Beijing Palace Museum. [The Forbidden City], also known as the Purple Forbidden City, is located at the center of Beijing's central axis. It was the imperial palace of the Ming and Qing dynasties and is the world's largest and best-preserved complex of wooden palace architecture. Here you can visit the important halls along the central axis in turn, admiring the splendid and exquisite ancient palace architecture while following your guide's commentary to learn more about the historical stories of the Forbidden City. Afterwards, you can also visit the nearby [Jingshan Park] (about a 15-minute walk) to overlook the panoramic view of the Forbidden City and the magnificent scenery of Beijing. In the afternoon, you will drive to visit the famous royal garden, the Summer Palace. [The Summer Palace] is the largest and best-preserved imperial garden existing in China, one of China's four great gardens, and is known as the museum of imperial gardens. The scenery in the garden is beautiful, with its pavilions, towers, lakes, and bridges offering endless delightful views. Tip: The Forbidden City in Beijing is closed on Mondays, so the visiting order will be adjusted according to the actual situation.

After breakfast, you will drive 73 kilometers (about 1.5 to 2 hours) to visit the Mutianyu Great Wall, part of the Great Wall of China, one of the Seven Wonders of the World. The 【Mutianyu Great Wall】 is the longest and best-restored section of the Great Wall in China, and has the reputation of being "the most outstanding section of the Great Wall." You can first take the cable car to Tower 14, then hike westward, enjoying the magnificent mountain scenery and the winding, majestic views of the Great Wall along the way, before reaching the highest point at Tower 20 to complete your Great Wall journey. After visiting the Great Wall, return to downtown Beijing and, along the way, view the exteriors of the 【Bird's Nest】 (Beijing National Stadium) and the 【Water Cube】 (Beijing National Aquatics Center), and take photos with them. Then return to the hotel and have a good rest.

After breakfast, we will conclude this wonderful journey. Our driver will take you to the airport or railway station for your next destination. If you wish to extend this trip and explore more destinations in China, such as Chengdu, Yunnan, Tibet, Xinjiang, Harbin, etc., you can also contact our customer service to arrange it for you. We look forward to welcoming you again someday in the future.