The journey begins with your transpacific flight departing from a city of your choice. You'll lose a day upon crossing the International Date Line.

Meet your guide on arrival in late afternoon and transfer to the hotel. The balance of the day is at leisure. You could have a good night sleep. Tonight’s dinner is not included.

Following breakfast, you will start your tour from the largest public square in the world—the Tiananmen Square, and then enter the Forbidden City, home of Chinese emperors for more than 500 years. In the afternoon, you will visit the harmonious Temple of Heaven, one of the best examples of Ming Dynasty architecture in China, also an ornate sanctuary where Chinese Emperors worshiped the Gods. Then visit Chinese herb store. Welcome dinner, feast on the emperor’s cuisine—The Beijing Roast Duck Banquet will be arranged at a leading city restaurant. After dinner, you may attend an optional energetic show—”legend of Kungfu” at your own expense($30/person).

An unforgettable outing includes a walking to the wondrous Great Wall, at Juyong guan, where you will have the chance to climb a portion of this 3,700-mile vista and marvel. Zigzagging from east to west along the undu-lating mountains, the Great Wall, said to be visible from the moon, was built to hold off tribal invaders from the north. Its dramatic descends steep ridges and narrow valleys will scatter a good landscape for your camera. Then you’ll have an opportunity to shop at the largest Jade Center of Asia and Cloisonné Factory. In the afternoon, visit the Ming Tomb and walk through the Sacrificed Way features the giant animal sculptures group. Back to city, enjoy outside view of the Bird’s Nests and Water Cube. After dinner, cap off the day by attending an energetic performance of Acrobatic Show.

Today you are free to explore the city at your own leisure. You may choose the optional Hutong tour ($30/person) to visit the old alleyways on the rick-shaws. In the evening, take an overnight soft-sleeper train to Xi’an (approx. 12 hours).

Arrive in Xi’an in the morning. Eastern terminus of the fabled Silk Road and one of the ancient capitals of China, Xi'an is home to the Terra Cotta War-riors and Horses. Designed to follow the first emperor of the Qin Dynasty (221-206 BC) into eternity, the Terra Cotta Warriors Museum located about 30km east of the city represents one of the greatest archeological discoveries of the 20th Century in the world. Tonight we enjoy a special Imperial Dumpling Banquet and spectacular music and dance show reminiscent of the Tang Dynasty (618-907 A.D.), a period generally considered a golden era of the Chinese civilization.

Visit the Shanxi Provincial Historical Museum in the morning. Enjoy a special local noodle lunch and noodle making demonstration. After lunch visit the Ancient City Wall which is not only the most complete city wall that has survived in China, but also one of the largest and most complete ancient military defense systems in the world. Then visit the Big Wild Goose Pagoda, the symbol of the city. It is said to have been built to house and protect Buddhist scriptures collected by the Chinese monk, Xuan Zang, the key figure in the classical Chinese novel, “Journey to the West”. Fly to Shanghai in the evening, the modern metropolis and commercial center of China.

Start your memorable tour of Shanghai by walking along the famous Bund, a mile-long stretch along the Huangpu River. Lined by the colonial architec-tures of European design, this area is the best place to capture the western influences of the old days. Continue to visit the Ming Dynasty Yu Garden which is considered to be one of the four greatest Chinese gardens. Our final stop will be the bustling shopping district—Nanjing Road. After dinner you may join an optional tour, a Night Cruise on the Huangpu River ($30/person) at your own expense.

After breakfast, visit the Shanghai Museum to see ancient Chinese art, furniture and jade. The rest of the day is free for individual pursuits. You may use the time to do some last minute souvenir and gift shopping or fur-ther explore the city at your own leisure.

The tour guide will transfer you to the airport for your onward or home-bound flight.