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12 |
Soft Hiking |
DAYS |
Voir les photos
Holiday Overview
Holiday Overview
Highlights
- Forbidden City and Great Wall hiking
- Leisure time in Chengdu
- Tibetan, Naxi and Dongba Culture Experience
- Lijiang cycling and horse riding trip
Brief Itinerary
- DAY 01 ARRIVE IN BEIJING
- DAY 02 BEIJING CITY TOUR
- DAY 03 BEIJING - JIANKOU - MUTIANYU - BEIJING
- DAY 04 BEIJING - XI'AN
- DAY 05 XI'AN CITY TOUR - CHENGDU
- DAY 06 CHEGNDU
- DAY 07 CHEGNDU - DALI
- DAY 08 DALI / SHIBAO SHAN / SHAXI VILLAGE / LIJIANG
- DAY 09 LIJIANG - THE JADE DRAGON SNOW MOUNTAIN - LIJIANG
- DAY 10 CYCLING AND HORSEBACK RIDING TOUR IN LIJIANG
- DAY 11 LIJIANG / TIGER LEAPING GORGE - LIJIANG
- DAY 12 LIJIANG / HOME
Map & Itinerary
Map & Itinerary
Our
incredible 12 days off the beaten track trip will offer participants a
wonderful experience of some of the finest cultural heritage sties and
spectacular landscapes China beholds. Due to an ancient history and deeply rich
culture, Beijing has a wide range of exciting things to offer and we have developed
a tour that will allow you to experience many of its incredible highlights
including the amazing Forbidden City. Most importantly, you will also
experience a magnificent section of the Great Wall at Gubeikou and a stunning
backdrop of mountainous landscapes.
After
the Great Wall, our journey then continues in the beautiful city of Xi’an,
famous for its old city walls and its impressive bell tower. Xi’an acts as a
perfect platform to visit the amazing Terracotta Army (a UNESCO World Heritage
Site) that includes more than 6,000 individually crafted soldiers of stunning
detail. For lovers of wildlife, Chengdu will also not disappoint as we take a
ride to see pandas at the Chengdu Panda Breeding Centre.
The
last station is Yunnan area. Yunnan, a land of natural beauty and mystery, located
in the most southwest of China, has a vast territory, magnificent mountains and
rivers, abundant natural resources and diverse cultures. Yunnan is a home to 26
ethnic minorities which give a rich color to the land. They contributed with
their colorful costumes, their traditional songs and dances to the attractive
life.
Holiday Itinerary
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ARRIVE IN BEIJING
You will be met at Beijing International Airport by our driver (cannot speak English) and transferred to a hotel in central Beijing. Today you will have an opportunity to rest and recover from the long flight.
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Accommodation Dongfang Hotel Beijing
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BEIJING CITY TOUR
This morning, we will first go to visit Summer Palace. Summer Palace located in a northwestern suburb of Beijing; it is an immense park containing some Chinese traditional architecture and arts. It was built and served as a royal garden during the Qing Dynasty. It exhibits the quintessence of the Chinese classical landscape gardening. The halls, the pavilions, the corridors, the pagodas, the bridges and the water were elaborately arranged. The long Corridor is one of the most exquisite structures in the garden. It is over 700 meters long and decorated with thousands of Chinese traditional paintings.
In the afternoon, we will continue to visit Tian’anmen Square, the largest public square in the world, then follow in the footsteps of emperors, court ministers and eunuchs and head south to the magnificent and colorful Forbidden City. Forbidden City Beijing, also called Imperial Palace Museum, is located in the very heart of Beijing. It remained the residence of the emperors for nearly five hundred years, from the 15th century to the early 20th century, and was the actual and symbolic seat of imperial power. Popularly known as the Forbidden City, it was built in the Ming Dynasty between the 4th and the 18th years of the Yongle period (1406 - 1420 AD). Many of the buildings of the Palace have been repaired and rebuilt, but their basic form and layout remain in their original state. Hike to Jingshan Park, where gives a nice panoramic view of the Forbidden City at the top of Coal Hill.
In the late afternoon, enjoy a Hutong rickshaw tour. As the Forbidden City is the symbol of China's royal family, the Hutongs in Beijing show the real life of the common people. When you visit Hutong by rickshaw, you could really taste the life of common people in Beijing. Lotus Market, located in Houhai area, famous for old hutong and modern bars.
This evening you could choose to go to watch a Chinese opera performance. Peking Opera has a history of about 200 years, now it becomes more and more popular as it is a combination of stylized acting, singing, acrobatics and colorful costumes. There are four main types in Peking Opera: Sheng, Dan, Jing and Chou. They have different characters, costumes and show their inner world by performance.
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Accommodation Dongfang Hotel Beijing
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Meals BLD
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BEIJING - JIANKOU - MUTIANYU - BEIJING
Your last trekking day is again great for photography! The Jiankou section of the Wall is known to be one of most beautiful part of the Wild Wall near Beijing, loved by photographers. After a half-hour climb upwards, through a gentle wooded area, we will clamber out onto a portion of the Wall not visited by tourists.
After a simple breakfast, hike eastwards to Mutianyu Great Wall. The hike itself is quiet and beautiful - in about four hours of passing deserted sections of the Wall in its original state, we will get to the well-known restored section of the Wall - Mutianyu. What a difference between the tourist section and the original Wild Wall we have just seen!
After a late lunch, drive to back to Beijing. Free in the evening.
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Accommodation Dongfang Hotel Beijing
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Distance 10km
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Meals BL
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Time 4-5hrs hiking
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BEIJING - XI’AN
In the early morning, after breakfast, we will go to see the local people doing their morning exercises. Then we will visit the Temple of Heaven. Temple of Heaven was the venue for the Ming and Qing emperors to offer sacrifices to the Heaven and pray for harvest. This temple was built in the 18th year during the reign of the Ming Emperor Yongle in 1420.
At the end of visit, transfer to Beijing West Railway station, take a high speed train to Xi’an. Upon arrival, transfer to the hotel and have a rest.
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Accommodation Forest City Hotel Xi’an
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Meals BL
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XI’AN CITY TOUR - CHENGDU
After breakfast, we will drive to visit the magnificent Qin Terra-cotta Army, one of the greatest archaeological discoveries in the world: a life-size clay soldier poised for battle. Qin's tomb was built in about 2500 years ago and was filled with more than 8,000 soldiers, 130 chariots and 520 horses as well as models of palaces, pavilions, fine vessels, precious stones and rarities. UNESCO listed it in 1987 as one of the world cultural heritages. In the afternoon, drive back to Xian city. We will go to visit the Ancient City Wall, which represents one of the oldest and best preserved Chinese city walls. Bicycle or sightseeing car will be arranged on the wall to go around.
Continue to visit the Great Mosque, and Muslim Quarter.
In late afternoon, transfer to Xi’an North Railway station, take a high speed train to Chengdu.
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Accommodation Holiday Inn Guhou
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Meals BL
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CHEGNDU
In the morning, we will go to the Chengdu Research center of Panda Breeding to have a real chance to get intimate interaction with lovely panda. It has been created and imitated the natural habitat in order that they might have the best possible environment for rearing and breeding. We will spend the whole morning visiting different panda rooms. Here, we can explore the daily life of the cute pandas, eating bamboo at their active time (from 9 o’clock to 11 o’clock), and other rare and endangered wild animals including with black-necked cranes, white storks etc.
In the afternoon, take a 1.5hrs drive visit Leshan Giant Buddha, the looming Leshan Giant Buddha is a Tang dynasty (618-907 AD) relic that is the largest carved stone Buddha in the world at 71 meters. The Buddha, build in AD 713 by a Chinese monk named Haitong to calm the river waters, was crafted from a cliff face. It seems that so much stone from the carving process fell into the river below that it did indeed calm the area’s waters. While often crowded with tourists and battling the effects of pollution, Leshan is nevertheless an exquisite UNESCO world heritage site that is not to be missed for its impressive size and beautiful surrounding area.
After visit, drive back to the downtown.
After dinner, attend the Sichuan Opera—a dazzling show performed with local instruments, hand shadows, candle storytelling, fire spitting, and face changing. Wandering around the local market and bar street Jinli, take local delicacies yourselves and enjoy the leisure life with local people.
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Accommodation Holiday Inn Guhou
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Meals BLD
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CHEGNDU - DALI
Take an early morning flight to Dali, upon arrival, our guide will lead you to visit Three Pagodas of Chongsheng Temple northwest of Dali, occupying a scenic location at the foot of Mt. Cang Shan facing Erhai Lake, built in the reign of Emperor Hongwu of Ming Dynasty, has a history of over 1,800 years. Known for its resilience, This architectural treasure. has survived several eras of severe earthquakes.
Then, we will go for a boat tour on Erhai Lake, watching queues of captive cormorants waiting on the edge of the boat for their turn to do the fishing. The whole lake area is full of interesting and beautiful sites. Lining its banks in the valley is the ancient city of Dali. You can watch the people live their daily lives in a traditional way. That is an interesting backdrop for the scenery. We'll head to Xizhou, an old quiet town which will give you a chance to experience the Bai minority's local market where traders and merchants gather to do the business.
Then extend your tour to the native's hand-made clothing process - tie-die cloth workshop, taste local snacks when your walk along the small streets. By visiting this small town, you gain a better understanding of the history of this ingenious people and an appreciation of a culture that has been important in Chinese history.
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Accommodation Landscape Hotel Dali
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Meals LD
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DALI / SHIBAO SHAN / SHAXI VILLAGE / LIJIANG
In the morning we will make a 1.5-hour drive to Shibao Shan, a stone treasure mountain, which is famous for its red rock formations called Danxia landscape and the Buddhist grottoes that feature unique stone-carving nestled into the pine-forested mountain. Shizhong(Stone Bell) Temple, one of the three largest scenic spots of Shibao Shan, where the bodhisattva Guanyin and other Buddhist images are carved into the rocky mountainside, are over 1300 years old and evidence of the spread of Mahayana Buddhism into Yunnan from Tibet. The Buddhist grottoes contributed to Mount Shibao being known as the ‘Mogao Caves (莫高窟) of Yunnan’, in reference to the famous Buddhist frescoes in the desert of Dunhuang(敦煌) in northwest Gansu province. Walking in the mountain there are dense forests and flowing streams, which makes a beautiful picture.
Then walking 2 hours down from the mountain to Shaxi village, a historical village at the foot of Shibao Shan, nested in a valley. Shaxi village, World Monuments Fund has listed it as one of the 100 most endangered sites in the world. This area was once a bustling trade station on the Southern Silk Road (Tea and Horse Caravan Road), that linked China and Tibet with Southeast Asia, so the ancient remains, frescoes, art and graffiti on the mountains show a mixture of cultural influences from other parts of the world.
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Accommodation Anyin Private Courtyard
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Distance 8km
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Meals BL
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Time 2-3hrs hiking
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LIJIANG - THE JADE DRAGON SNOW MOUNTAIN - LIJIANG
Our car will pick you up from the hotel, and drive about 30KM to Ganhaizi Meadow(3100M), you will take the sightseeing bus for a short visiting through the Baishuihe River, take the chairlift up to visit Jade Dragon Snow Mountain. The cableway will be arranged according to the condition of the mountain. You will hike around 1 hours in the original forest in Spruce Meadow (3200M). Then visit Blue Moon Valley.
After lunch, you will enjoy the Impression Lijiang Ethnic Show directed in Ganhaizi Meadow(3100M). A cultural show demonstrating the traditions and lifestyles of the Naxi, Yi and Bai peoples of the area. The show takes place inside Jade Dragon Snow Mountain Park at 3500m in an outdoor theater specifically designed to showcase the mountain which is used as a backdrop. The production itself was designed by Zhang Yimou, Fan Yue and Wang Chaoge, a cast of over 500 people, and a number of horses
After that, drive to visit Black Dragon Pool and Dongba Culture Museum. Then drive back to hotel.
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Accommodation Anyin Private Courtyard
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Meals BL
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CYCLING AND HORSEBACK RIDING TOUR IN LIJIANG
Road Condition: Paved. Flat road most of the time. Heavy Traffic.
Distance: 65km
Elevation: 2200m-2400m
Time: 4-4.5 hours cycling
Today, you will start your cycling tour from Lijiang Old Town. Cycle to Baisha Old Town first, then stop to visit Baisha Murals. Painted over 1,000 years ago, the murals display the life stories of China’s main religions, including Confucianism, Taoism, and Tibetan Buddhism.
Then go on your cycling to Lashihai Lake. Lashihai Lake, a nature reserve rich in biodiversity. You will start your horse-riding around Lashihai Lake. With an area of 5,330 hectares, Lashihai Lake is about 9.3 km long from south to north and 8.2 km wide from east to west. It is the largest lake in Lijiang County. Surrounded by the mountains, the catchment of Lashihai is about 256.6 square meters.The Rivers of Meiquan and Keluokang are merged together into Lashihai. With good quality of water, which meets water quality requirement of Grade II. It is one of the reserved drinking water sources for the city of Lijiang. Drive back to Lijiang in the late afternoon.
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Accommodation Anyin Private Courtyard
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Distance 65km
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Meals BL
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Time 4-4.5 hours cycling
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LIJIANG / TIGER LEAPING GORGE - LIJIANG
After breakfast, take private bus to Tiger leaping gorge is a canyon on the Yangtze River – locally called the Golden Sands River – located60 kmnorth of Lijiang City. This gorge is formed by two mountains—theJadeDragonSnowMountainand the Haba Snow mountain, with the river flowing in between called theGoldenSandRiver. This gorge is about3700mfrom the top of the mountain to the water surface, and about15 kmin length. It is said that once, in order to escape from the chasing of a hunter, the tiger has to leaping from this side to the other side of the river, the rock that the tiger used now is become the core of this gorge—the ‘tiger leaping stone’ also called the ‘upper tiger leaping gorge’, which is only 30 meters in between the two sides of the river. There we will do a short hike race to exercise the student team consciousness, after lunch, visit the upper tiger leaping gorge.
In the afternoon, drive to Shigu town, where you will have a rafting experience, then visit Shigu town, a military importance historically. You will witness the wonder of the First Bend of the Yangtze River with a big turn from the southward to the east. then our car will drive you to Lijiang Old Town.
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Accommodation Anyin Private Courtyard
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Meals BL
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LIJIANG / HOME
Relax yourself in Lijiang Old Town in the morning. Lijiang, a well-preserved old city of ethnic minorities with brilliant culture, is a central town of the Lijiang Autonomous County of the Naxi Ethnic Minority in Yunnan Province. Located on the plateau which is 2,400 meters above the sea level and embraced by the tree-covered Lion Mountain in the west, Elephant and Golden Row Mountains in the north, vast fertile fields in the southeast and crystal clear water running through, the old Town looks like a big jade ink slab, therefore got the alias the Town of Big Ink Slab (Dayanzhen).
Picked up by our guide and driver at the appointed time, transfer to the airport, take a flight back home.
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Meals B
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Price Policy
Tour Price Policy
Additional details
1. Before you pay deposit to book the tour, we haven’t made any reservation yet. The train, flight tickets and the hotel may different from the itinerary listed.
2. The visiting order of the scenic spots in the itinerary may change according to the traffic condition and other unforeseen things.
3. Tourist insurance is a must before going, please provide us the confirmation of insurance company when sign up.
The price includes
1. Entrance Fees: to scenic spots as listed in the itinerary
2. All the activities fee mentioned in the itinerary: Hutong rickshaw in Beijing; Sichuan Opera show in Chengdu;
3. Private Transfers: Transfers between airports, hotels and scenic spots while sightseeing during the trip by private air conditioned vehicle with a driver.
4. Meals: All meals as indicated in the itinerary (B-breakfast, L-lunch, D-dinner), include Peking duck dinner in Beijing; Hot pot dinner in Chengdu.
5. Guide: As outlined in the itinerary an English-speaking guide and driver will be provided in each city, who will remain with you throughout your time in that city. A new guide and a new driver will meet you at each city on your tour, to provide you with the best local knowledge available
6. Hotel: hotel fees are based on two people sharing one room with king-size bed. All hotels as listed in the above itinerary serve daily western or Chinese breakfast
7. Internal flights
** Day 11/ Flight from Yichang to Shanghai (based on economy class);
8. Trains
** Day 04/ High speed train from Beijing to Xi’an (based on 2nd class);
** Day 06/ High speed train from Xi’an to Chengdu (based on 2nd class)
** Day 06/ High speed train from Chengdu to Chongqing (based on 2nd class)
9. Arrangements: the tour cost includes planning, handling, operational and communication charges
10. Travel Agency Liability insurance
The price does not include
1. International airfare or train tickets to enter or leave China
2. China entry visa fees
3. Excess baggage charges
4. The medicine for the sickness or accident while on the way
5. Personal expenses: expenses of a purely personal nature such as laundry, drinks, fax, telephone calls, optional activities, sightseeing or meals which are not included in the tour itinerary
6. Meals: any meals which are not specified in the tour itinerary
7. Single room supplement
8. Please notice that the price will be much higher during the festival of Labors’ Day, National Day, spring festival
9. Tips to tour guide and driver (recommended USD10-15/guest/day).
10. Tourist accident insurance. NB - you are strongly suggested to buy travel and health insurance before you start out from your home country.
Payment conditions
To confirm your reservation, you must pay a deposit of 30% of the total amount due via the payment link that your local agent will share. The balance is due 30 days prior to departure. The quoted exchange rate is valid for the next 7 days – if the deposit is not paid within this time, the quote will be re-calculated.
Terms and conditions for cancelation
i. Cancellation of the Tour by CAT (local agent):
CAT reserve the right to cancel the postpone tour at any time up to the date final payment is due under the following condition: in our opinion, health and/or safety factors related to conditions in China would make the tour inadvisable. And in this case, all money paid by the participants will be refunded. If the tour is postponed, CAT will offer all those who have signed up the opportunity to have the same tour for a later time, but the price may be changed according to the season. We will notify you of any change, and give you a reasonable period
of time to make your decision. Consumers may, but are under no obligation to, take the tour under these new terms. After final payment has been made, we may cancel the tour only if, in our opinion, health and/or safety factors related to conditions in China would make the tour inadvisable. Since cancellation in this case involves factors which may arise suddenly and are entirely outside our control, including but not limited to natural disasters, civil unrest and epidemic disease, we cannot guarantee a full refund in this case. This is because payment will already have been made to finalize the arrangements and reservation.
ii. Cancellation of the Tour by Consumer:
Any cancellation must be made by sending an email to the local agent. The cancellation fee varies according to how many days prior to departure the cancellation is made:
· More than 30 days prior to departure: 5% of the total holiday cost
· Between 30 and 22 days prior to departure : 25% of the total holiday cost
· Between 21 and 8 days prior to departure : 50% of the total holiday cost
· Between 7 and 3 days prior to departure : 75% of the total holiday cost
· Less than 3 days prior to departure and after the departure date: 100% of the total holiday cost
All cancellations must be in writing and will be effective upon receipt by CAT. No refund will be made to those participants who break the journey regardless of the portions of the package unused. If, owing to serious illness or injury, the participant withdraws from the tour, a refund will be subject to the consent of the local travel agent.
No refund will be made to those participants who have failed to secure valid travel documents such as passport or visas.
