12 Day Yunnan Rafting Trip (Upper Reach of Yangtze in Lijiang)

Day 01  Arrive in Beijing

Activities: Arrive in Beijing and transfer to hotel. The rest of the day is on your own. Just relax and take a leisured stroll around the city. You can excurse and reveal this charming city by person. Happy travel!

Accommodation:Holiday Inn Central Plaza Beijing

Meals: No Meals

Day 02  Beijing

Activities: After breakfast, leave Beijing by deluxe motor coach. Today you will climb the Great Wall, one of the world's fantastic architectural achievements. The tour continues to the renowned Sacred Way leading to the famous Ming Tombs. Roasted Peking Duck is recommended for your dinner, which is exclusive in our quotation. Feel free to contact our travel advisor about the details and cost.

Accommodation:Holiday Inn Central Plaza Beijing

Meals: B/L

Day 03  Beijing

Activities: This morning, explore the best of Beijing with a visit to Tiananmen Square, the world's largest square, and the incomparable Forbidden City. After lunch, visit the spectacular and vast Summer Palace with an optional boat ride on Lake Kunming. A Peking Opera show after dinner is recommended for your night show, which is exclusive in our quotation. Feel free to contact our travel advisor about the details and cost.

Accommodation:Holiday Inn Central Plaza Beijing

Meals: B/L

Day 04  Beijing -  - Kunming

Activities: In the morning, visit the Temple of Heaven, where dynastic Chinese rulers historically worshipped the Emperor of Heaven. After lunch, fly to Kunming. Upon arrival in Kunming, you will be transferred to hotel.

Accommodation:Golden Dragon Hotel Kunming

Meals: B/L

Day 05  Kunming -  - Lijiang

Activities: Take a morning flight to Lijiang, sightseeing in the old town, which is a World Culture Heritage. Stay overnight in Lijiang.

Accommodation:Lijiang Jian Nan Chun Hotel

Meals: B/L

Day 06  Lijiang -  - Shigu

Activities: Drive to Shigu, a small town by the side of Yangtze, prepare for the hiking next day. Overnight in a local guesthouse.

Accommodation:Local Best

Meals: B/L

Day 07  Hiking

Activities: Hiking by the Yangtze down to Tiger Leaping Gorge. Stay in a local guesthouse.

Accommodation:Local Best

Meals: B/L

Day 08  Hiking

Activities: Hiking down to Juglans regia Garden. Stay at a local guesthouse.

Accommodation:Local Best

Meals: B/L

Day 09  Lijiang

Activities: End of hiking. Transfer to Lijiang.

Accommodation:Lijiang Jian Nan Chun Hotel

Meals: B/L

Day 10  Lijiang -  - Kunming

Activities: Take a morning flight back to Kunming, sightseeing in the city. You will visit the Green Lake Park and the Stone Forest. At the end of the day, you will be transferred back to your hotel.

Accommodation:Golden Dragon Hotel Kunming

Meals: B/L

Day 11  Kunming -  - Beijing

Activities: Fly to Beijing, visit Beijing Hutong.

Accommodation:Holiday Inn Central Plaza Beijing

Meals: B/L

Day 12  Depart from Beijing

Activities: Transfer to Airport for homebound flight.

Accommodation:

Meals: B

Day 01  Arrive in Beijing

Beijing, China's capital and a well-known tourist city of the world, offers sights and cultural relics found nowhere on earth. The city has its own individuality that is the flavor of Beijing. The quadrangle, small alley, tricycle, boiled mutton, roasted duck, Peking Opera, arts and crafts you can see, hear and feel them all only when you come to the city yourself. Relax and wander around the city. You can take your pace to explore the city and buy some souvenir for your family or friends.

Day 02  Beijing

Today you will visit the Great Wall and Ming Tombs.
Great Wall: The Great Wall was initially built in the Spring and Autumn Period. During the following 2,000 years, the construction, connection and restoration of the wall had never ceased. The present Great Wall was largely built in the Ming Dynasty. The Badaling stretch, the best preserved portion of the Ming Great Wall, was widely realized as the essence of the Ming Great Wall. Standing on the top of Badaling and looking to the distance, one will be amazed at the great wonder of the Wall.In 1961 it was listed by the Chinese State Council as a key national historical heritage protection site. Later in 1988,it was nominated by the UNESCO as a world cultural heritage.
Ming Tombs: The Ming Tombs, located in Changping District, about 50 kilometers from the northwest of Beijing, are surrounded by mountains on three sides. The imperial cemetery covers an area of 120 square kilometers and there are 13 Ming Dynasty emperors buried there (along with 23 empresses and a number of concubines, princes and princesses), thus it is also called The 13 Mausoleums. These tombs are the best preserved Chinese imperial tombs and have been nominated by UNESCO as world cultural heritage.
Beijing Roast duck: Beijing Roast duck is thought to be one of the most delicious dishes all over the world; most visitors coming to Beijing will never forget to have a try. Eating Peking duck is seen to be one of the two things you are absolutely supposed to do while in Beijing.

Day 03  Beijing

Today you will visit Tiananmen Square, Forbidden City and Summer Palace.
Tiananmen Square: Tiananmen (the Gate of Heavenly Peace), is located in the center of Beijing. It was first built in 1417 and named Chengtianmen (the Gate of Heavenly Succession). At the end of the Ming Dynasty, it was seriously damaged by war. When it was rebuilt under the Qing in 1651, it was renamed Tiananmen, and served as the main entrance to the Imperial City, the administrative and residential quarters for court officials and retainers. The southern sections of the Imperial City wall still stand on both sides of the Gate. The tower at the top of the gate is nine-room wide and five-room deep. According to the Book of Changes, the two numbers nine and five, when combined, symbolize the supreme status of a sovereign. During the Ming and Qing dynasties, Tiananmen was the place where state ceremonies took place.
Forbidden City: Forbidden City also known as Palace Museum was home to 24 emperors of the Ming and Qing Dynasties. In the ancient time, the emperor claimed to be the son of the heaven and therefore their supreme power was conferred upon them from the heaven. Their residence on the earth was built as a replica of the Purple Palace where the God lived in the Heaven. Such divine place was certain forbidden for the ordinary people and it is why the Forbidden City is so called. The museum is a real treasures house of Chinese cultural and historical relics, recognized as one of the most important five palaces in the world. The splendid architecture of the Forbidden City represents the essence and culmination of the traditional Chinese architectural accomplishment. In 1961 the Palace Museum was listed as one of the important historical monuments under the special preservation by the Chinese central government and in 1987, it was nominated as the world cultural heritage by the UNESCO.
Summer Palace: UNESCO has this to say of the Summer Palace: a masterpiece of Chinese landscape garden design. The natural landscape of hills and open water is combined with artificial features such as pavilions, halls, palaces, temples and bridges to form a harmonious ensemble of outstanding aesthetic value. The Summer Palace, in the Haidian District, northwest of central Beijing, is said to be the best preserved imperial garden in the world, and the largest of its kind still in existence in modern China. It's hardly surprising that, during the hot Beijing summers, the Imperial Family preferred the beautiful gardens and airy pavilions of the Summer Palace to the walled-in Forbidden City. Dowager Empress Cixi took up permanent residence here for a time, giving rise to some wonderful tales of extravagance and excess.

Day 04  Beijing -  - Kunming

Temple of Heaven: The Temple of Heaven is a large park and temple complex situated in more or less the south central area of Beijing. Its center piece is a large tower built, it is said, entirely of wood and not using a single nail. Having said that, the main features of the park are its trees and inhabitants. The park is filled with more than a thousand species of tree, some of which are hundreds of years old, despite their relatively small size. One thing you could notice here is that most of the architecture here. The park also attracts local residents by the thousand each day that come to practice singing, martial arts, Peking opera, chess, dancing, calligraphy. Of course, this can be said of many parks in Beijing, but the Temple of Heaven attracts more than its fair share.
Kunming is a prefecture-level city and capital of Yunnan province, in southwestern China. Because of its year-round temperate climate, Kunming is often called the "Spring City" or "City of Eternal Spring".

Day 05  Kunming -  - Lijiang

Today you will fly to Lijiang and visit the Lijiang Ancient Town.
Lijiang Ancient Town: Lijiang Ancient Town, which is perfectly adapted to the uneven topography of this key commercial and strategic site, has retained a historic townscape of high quality and authenticity. Its architecture is noteworthy for the blending of elements from several cultures that have come together over many centuries. Lijiang also possesses an ancient water-supply system of great complexity and ingenuity that still functions effectively today.
As its center there is a square. It was first built in 1126 in the late Song Dynasty and in 1253 Kublai (the first emperor of the Yuan Dynasty) was stationed here on his march into the south. Lijiang is worldly renowned as an ancient town built in a simple and artistic style and scientifically laid out. It was listed as a national historical and cultural city in 1986.

Day 06  Lijiang -  - Shigu

Appreciate the scenery in Shigu.

Day 07  Rafting

Experience the scenery on the way to The Tiger Leaping Gorge.

Day 08  Hiking

Experience the scenery on the way to Juglans regia.

Day 09 Ljiang

Lijiang: Lying in a broad and fertile valley dominated by the snow-mantled peaks of Jade Dragon Snow Mountain, the town was founded as Dayan, a large Naxi settlement first built during the Southern Song Dynasty eight centuries ago. Once you are in Lijiang, a small and quiet city newly constructed outside the ancient town, you will find hard to return to the hustle and bustle of the large cities and cannot wait to explore the ancient town.

Day 10  Lijiang -  - Kunming

Green Lake Park: Two long dikes divide the lake into four parts. It consists of a group of 4 small lakes linked by bridges in the traditional style. Brightly painted pavilions on the islands inside the park, tree-lined walks, flowers, and the local populace enjoying themselves by exercising in various specialist groups all add to the appeal of the park. Green Lake is surrounded by a ring road, and along the edge of that are restaurants and tea houses (some with rooftop dining), shops, and hotels, including the upscale Green Lake Hotel and Harbour Plaza Hotel.
Stone Forest: Stone Forest is about 120 km from Kunming City and requires only a three-hour drive. It covers an area of 400 square kilometers and includes both large and small forest as well as many other scenic spots. It has been know since the Ming Dynasty as the First Wonder of the World. The magnificent, strange and steep landscape of the Stone Forest creates countless labyrinthine vistas, all of which feature stones in various formations. Animals, plants, and even human figures can be found here. Some are elegant, some are rugged, and each is lifelike with its own distinguishing characteristics.

Day 11  Kunming -  - Beijing

Hutong Tours: The Beijing Hutong (old lane) areas have a very special and important position in the rich history and culture of Beijing. The alleys give a wonderful glimpse into the world of yesterday in Beijing. While visiting the Beijing Hutong, you can appreciate the dramatic changes that the rest of Beijing has undergone. The Beijing Hutong is made up of lanes or alleys formed by lines of pre-modern siheyuan, four-sided compounds with houses around a courtyard.

Day 12  Depart from Beijing

In the past few days you have had a wonderful time in China. You must be fascinated about China. We sincerely hope to see you revisit China again.