17 Days China Tour with Spring Festival & Lantern Festival: Beijing-Luoyang-Xi’an-Guilin-Shanghai

This 17-day tour gives you the chance to experience the bustling holiday atmosphere of the most important holiday of China – Spring Festival. Besides, it covers the popular cities among visitors and impresses you with China’s history, culture, nature and modernity.

New Year Time of 2024: from 9th to 15th Feb.

New Year Time of 2025: from 28th Jan.to 3rd Feb.

Trip Highlights

  • Appreciate the treasures in the Forbidden City
  • Enjoy the atmosphere of Spring and Lantern Festival
  • See the Grottoes in a close distance in Luoyang
  • Explore the underground palace, Terra-Cotta Warriors
  • Enjoy the slow paced life in Yangshuo countryside
  • Explore a classic man-made garden in Shanghai

Customizable Tour Itinerary

Landing in Beijing, you will be met and greeted by your private guide and driver and transferred to the hotel. The guide will take care of your luggage and hotel check-in to ensure you a worry-free start of your China tour.

Meals: No meal, advice freely available

  • Hotels: Hilton Beijing Wangfujing, Regent Beijing, Park Plaza Beijing Wangfujing, Beijing Double Happiness Courtyard Hotel
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Walk through the main gate of the Imperial city, Tian’anmen Square, you will step your feet on the Forbidden City, an imperial living and governing quarters with valuable artworks and traditional gardens. Standing on the central point of the south-north axis of the city and faces the north gate of the Forbidden City, Jingshan Park offers a panoramic view of the Forbidden City.

Gain a deeper understanding of Beijing's history and culture by walking through the streets of the old hutong allays. Talk with the locals when visiting the local family to gain a better understanding of the local life.

Meals: Breakfast, Lunch at Jindingxuan Restaurant with a la carte menu

Feature Dinner option: Peking Roast Duck (Dadong Peking Duck, Qianmen Quanjude Peking Duck), Fangshan Restaurant, Mei Family Restaurant, Bai Family Restaurant

Optional evening activity: Peking Opera, Kungfu Show

Note: Kindly note that there may be big travel crowds during the public holidays in China, especially the Spring Festival. The guide will try to adjust the tour schedule for you and avoid the travel crowds

  • Meals: Breakfast, Lunch,
  • Hotels: Hilton Beijing Wangfujing, Regent Beijing, Park Plaza Beijing Wangfujing, Beijing Double Happiness Courtyard Hotel
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In the morning, go to Ditan Park to attend the Temple fair held every year, where you could watch the folklore performances and taste the local specialties from all over China.

After the busy temple fair, visit the Summer Palace, a large landscape garden based on the West Lake in Hangzhou, drawing on the design techniques of Jiangnan gardens.

Yonghe Lama Temple was the highest standard Buddhist temple in China in the middle and late Qing Dynasty. Go watch the big wood sculpture of the standing Maitreya, whose main body is made of one sandalwood.

Note: Boat cruise in Kunming Lake in Summer Palace is not available from December to March.

Meals: Breakfast, Lunch at Dayali Restaurant with a la carte menu

  • Meals: Breakfast, Lunch,
  • Hotels: Hilton Beijing Wangfujing, Regent Beijing, Park Plaza Beijing Wangfujing, Beijing Double Happiness Courtyard Hotel
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Regarded as "Wuzhen in Beijing",Gubei Water Town is a rare natural old town with a combination of mountains, water and ancient villages. There is also temple fair during the Spring Festival with a variety of local food, snacks, handcrafts making and traditional Chinese performances like lion dance. It attracts visitors from both home and abroad. Snow games are also available. People also like to pray on the Great Wall during the festival. Round ways cable car is available for you to save energy on Simatai Great Wall. All in all, it is a good chance to enjoy the holiday atmosphere during the Spring Festival. 

You could enjoy the sunrise and sunset on the Great Wall as you will spend overnight near the Great Wall.

Meals: Breakfast, Lunch in the local restaurant with a la carte menu

  • Meals: Breakfast, Lunch,
  • Hotels: Beijing Gubei Water Town Hotel, Gubei Zhiguang Hot Spring Holiday Hotel
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After breakfast, drive back to the city area for the train to Luoyang. Drop-off and pick-up will be taken good care of by the guides.

Meals: Breakfast

  • Meals: Breakfast, Lunch,
  • Hotels: Hyatt Place Luoyang, New Friendship Hotel Luoyang, Christian's Hotel
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Shaolin Temple is named so because it is located in the dense forest of Shaoshi Mountain, the hinterland of Songshan Mountain. It is famous not only for its Sutra and Buddhism preaching for such a long time, but also for its first-class martial arts or Wushu. You can watch an amazing Kungfu Show in the temple. You can pay extra to learn some simple movements in martial arts if you wish.

Meals: Breakfast, Lunch in the local restaurant with a la carte menu

  • Meals: Breakfast, Lunch,
  • Hotels: Hyatt Place Luoyang, New Friendship Hotel Luoyang, Christian's Hotel
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In the morning, visit the  Luoyang Old Town, carrying the memory of Luoyang. Try the local snacks and visit a souvenir shops there. Follow on is the solemn and tranquil White Horse Temple before visit one of the heritage sites of China as well as treasure house of ancient stone-carving art, Longmen Grottoes. You will have the chance to watch these stone carvings in a very close distance.

After the tour, have lunch near the Longmen Grottoes before going to the nearby train station.

Meals: Breakfast, Lunch in the local restaurant with a la carte menu

  • Meals: Breakfast, Lunch,
  • Hotels: Sofitel Legend Peoples Grand Hotel Xian, Wyndham Grand Xian South
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As a category of ancient tomb sculptures, Terra-Cotta Warriors has become a golden card of China's ancient splendid civilization and is honored as one of the rare treasures among world's ten ancient tombs. Move on to one of the city's most distinctive and outstanding landmarks, Big Wild Goose Pagoda. Stroll in the pedestrian street near the Big Wild Goose Pagoda to enjoy the holiday atmosphere. There are snack stand and lantern riddles guessing games.

Meals: Breakfast, Lunch at local restaurant near the Terra-Cotta Warriors scenic area with a la carte menu

Feature Dinner option: Defachang Dumpling Restaurant, Lao Sun Jia Muslim Restaurant, First Noodle under the Sun

Optional evening activity: Tang Dynasty Music and Dance Show with Dumpling Banquet

  • Meals: Breakfast, Lunch,
  • Hotels: Sofitel Legend Peoples Grand Hotel Xian, Wyndham Grand Xian South
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Today you can get up a little later and then head to the ancient defense system, the City Wall. You can walk, ride a bike or take the golf car to feel its time-honored history. After that, you will drive to a local family to learn to make Chinese dumplings, one of the foods popular among Chinese. Chinese dumpling consists of meat and minced vegetables wrapped into a piece of dough. You will eat the dumplings for lunch and talk with the host after the lesson.

After the tour, drive directly to the airport. The guide will take care of the check-in. Upon arrival in Guilin, the Guilin guide will wait for you at the arrival hall with a warm smile.

Meals: Breakfast, Lunch in the local family

Notes:

  • If you are vegetarian or vegan, please tell us in advance. The fillings of the dumplings can be changed based on your needs. 
  • Tandem is available for family with small kids on the Xi’an City Wall
  • Bike riding is not available during the bad weather, like storm, heavy rain and heavy snow.
  • Meals: Breakfast, Lunch,
  • Hotels: Guilin Shangri La Hotel, Jolie Vue Boutique Hotel Guilin, Aroma Tea House
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Be ready to savor the natural beauty of this small city by starting the tour to Folded Brocade Hill, where you can get a good view of the Li River, the Duxiu Peak (Solitary Beauty Peak), Fubo Hill (Rippling-Wave Hill), and downtown Guilin. Getting down from the hill top, you will head to Guilin’s largest and most impressive cave, Reed Flute Cave. It is cool in summer and warm in winter.

After lunch, you will visit one of the four most famous ancient towns in Guangxi, Daxu Ancient Town. As you stroll around this town, you will have a real touch of its time-honored history as well as the local life. There are many vendors selling local snacks.

Meals: Breakfast, Lunch at Mc Found Restaurant with a la carte menu

Feature Dinner option: Xiaonan Guo, Gold Dragon Village Restaurant, Yilu Restaurant, The Taste-Made Restaurant

Optional evening activity: Night cruise in Two Rivers and Four Lakes Scenic Area

Note:

  • Wear antiskid shoe when climbing the hill and visit the cave as the ground can be slippery in the cave. 
  • Sedan chair is available at the entrance if there are senior having difficulty in moving in the cave with many steps.
  • Meals: Breakfast, Lunch,
  • Hotels: Guilin Shangri La Hotel, Jolie Vue Boutique Hotel Guilin, Aroma Tea House
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Enjoy the landscape of the rice terrace, experience the minority culture and custom and taste the local food in Longsheng. You will have access to a maze of hiking trails through the rice terraces full of incredible overlooks and views. Get close to the locals by visiting a local family and learning to make bamboo rice with the host. You will find this will be the best lunch you will have during your China tour as it is unique and made by yourself.

Meals: Breakfast, Lunch in the local family

  • Meals: Breakfast, Lunch,
  • Hotels: Guilin Shangri La Hotel, Jolie Vue Boutique Hotel Guilin, Aroma Tea House
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Today, be ready to get up earlier as you will enjoy the most quintessential scenery in Guilin, the Li River by taking a relaxing big boat cruise from Guilin to Yangshuo. It is said that Guilin landscape tops those elsewhere, and Yangshuo landscape tops that of Guilin.

Head directly to West Street after disembark. It has a history of more than 1,400 years and is considered the oldest street in Yangshuo, full of restaurants that are Chinese and Western style, handcraft and souvenir stores, snack stalls, Western bars, cafes, hotels with different styles, and so on.

Meals: Breakfast, Buffet Lunch on the cruise boat

Feature Dinner option: Local Beer Fish Restaurant

Optional evening activity: Impression Show of Sanjie Liu

Note: Please be on time to meet the guide at the hotel lobby in order to catch the Li River cruise. The cruise company will not change its departure time for anyone.

  • Meals: Breakfast, Lunch,
  • Hotels: Yangshuo Banyan Tree Hotel, Yangshuo Mountain Retreat
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If you are tired of sitting on a vehicle, today you can experience something different, a bike riding tour along the countryside. Laughter of the running kids, moo of the buffaloes and the singing of the birds will calm your mood down while riding past them.

You may be hungry after the bike riding. Visit the local market to buy some ingredients before taking the cooking class. You will be amazed that you can make these common ingredients into delicious and delicate dishes with the teacher’s help. Eat your dishes for lunch after the lesson.

After lunch and some rest, you will enjoy the relaxing and peaceful bamboo rafting in Yulong River.

Meals: Breakfast, Lunch in the cooking school

  • Meals: Breakfast, Lunch,
  • Hotels: Yangshuo Banyan Tree Hotel, Yangshuo Mountain Retreat
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Take a free morning doing nothing, just lying on the lounge and appreciate the scenery in front of the hotel.

At the confirmed time, the guide will meet you at the hotel lobby and escort you to the airport in Guilin. Take the direct flight to your next stop, Shanghai.

Meals: Breakfast

  • Meals: Breakfast,
  • Hotels: Shanghai Fairmont Peace Hotel, Grand Central Hotel Shanghai, Central Hotel Shanghai
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Welcome to Shanghai. Do some morning exercises, Taichi, badminton, singing or dancing in Fuxing Park in the morning. After the morning exercise, you will visit Currently China's tallest building (and the second tallest in the world), Shanghai Tower. It is a great place to overview Shanghai city and the Bund from its top floor. A walk along the Bund will be relaxing.

After lunch, you will visit Shanghai City God Temple (Chenghuang Miao), a Taoist temple known for its long history and grand architecture. You can also find a range of shops, restaurants, teahouses at the temple area. Today’s tyour will end with a highlight, Yuyuan Garden. Although repaired for many times, each hall, pavilion, stream, stone and so on in the garden expresses the essence of the landscape design of the Ming and Qing Dynasty in Southern China. During the Lantern Festival, folk art lantern exhibition including garden party and the lantern show will be held here.

Meals: Breakfast, Lunch at Homes Restaurant with a la carte menu

Feature Dinner Option: Nan Xiang Mantou Dian, Green Wave Gallery, Lost Heaven-Yunnan Restaurant Bund Branch

Optional evening activity: Era Time or Shangcheng Acrobatic Show

  • Meals: Breakfast, Lunch,
  • Hotels: Shanghai Fairmont Peace Hotel, Grand Central Hotel Shanghai, Central Hotel Shanghai
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Besides the city tour in Shanghai, you today will take a one day Tongli Water Town tour in Suzhou. Tongli has a history of more than 1000 years and it is listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site. It is famous for its beautiful winding rivers, historic bridges, and ancient residences. You will also have a boat cruise there. Holiday atmosphere can be also found here.

Meals: Breakfast, Lunch in the local restaurant with a la carte menu

Note: There may be a little crowded during the weekend.

  • Meals: Breakfast, Lunch,
  • Hotels: Shanghai Fairmont Peace Hotel, Grand Central Hotel Shanghai, Central Hotel Shanghai
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Weave your hands to the guide and driver. The guide and driver will take care of you all the way from the hotel to the airport and help with the check-in. Wish you a safe flight home.

Meals: Breakfast

  • Meals: Breakfast,
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Price Includes

  • In-country transportationas noted in the itinerary.
  • Admission fees and activity expenses as noted in the itinerary.
  • Luxury or boutique hotels centrally located.
  • Meals in local restaurants as noted in the itinerary with complimentary drinking water.
  • Your own English-speaking guide service.
  • Your own chauffeur and vehicle service.

Price Excludes

  • International transportation.
  • Chinese tourist visa. (which enquired for most foreign passport holders)
  • Travel and medical insurance.
  • Meals, snacks, alcohol, etc. apart from those included in the itinerary.
  • Excess baggage charges.
  • Personal expenses.
  • Sights, excursions and activities not included in the itinerary.
  • Gratuities to guide and driver.

ANY QUESTIONS?

This tour is tailor-made and we can tailor to meet your reqeusts. Your personal travel consultant will contact you within 24 working hours!

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