Day 1 - Depart USA Board your international flight at LAX via Air China bound for Shanghai. Cross the international dateline.
Day 2 - Shanghai Arrive Shanghai where you will be met and transferred to your hotel.
Day 3 - Shanghai Today visit the Shanghai Museum. This museum possesses more than 120,000 ancient works of Chinese art. Later stroll through the old Shanghai bazaar with the opportunity to sample some famous Shanghai dishes. This is followed by a presentation at a silk carpet factory where you will learn the delicate procedure and production of Chinese silk carpets. This evening perhaps join an optional tour of the famous Shanghai Acrobatic Show.
Day 4 - Shanghai/Yichang/Yangtze Cruise Take time to relax this morning. Later you will be transferred to the airport to board your flight to Yichang, located in the Western part of Hubei Province. Here you will board your Five-Star Victoria Cruise to begin your journey up the Yangtze River. Tonight you will enjoy a buffet Western/Chinese dinner on board. Throughout your stay on board, you may enjoy traditional performances and entertainment, a captain's cocktail party and farewell banquet, Tai Chi lessons, educational lectures and more.
Day 5 - Yangtze Cruise: San Dou Ping/Xiling Gorge Today you have the option to see one of China's man-made wonders- the world's largest electricity-generating plant of any kind, the Three Gorges Dam. The project was begun in 1995 and completed in 2009. Today the Three Gorges Dam provides electricity, flood control and irrigation along the Yangtze River and to many regions of China. Originally proposed by Dr. Sun Yat Sen in 1919, the Three Gorges Dam is a marvel which should not be missed. Return to your ship an set sail past the longest and most famous of the Three Gorges, "Xiling Gorge".
Day 6 - Yangtze Cruise: Wu Gorge/Small Gorges Excursion/Qutang Gorge This morning your ship will sail through the Wu Gorge. With breathtaking mountain scenery on both sides of the Yangtze, serenity and peace will surround you. Today your option is to disembark at Wushan to board a uiser which will take you through the Small Three Gorges of the Daning River, and a sampan ride to the mini-gorges of the Ma Du River. After returning to the ship, depart Wushan and pass through the dramatic Qutang Gorge.
Day 7 - Yangtze Cruise: Fengdu Today you have the option to disembark at the city of Fengdu, also known as the "City of Ghosts". Here you will visit a temple dedicated to the God of the Underworld. The town's extraordinary reputation dates back to the Han Dynasty (206 BC-AD 220). *Alternate shore excursion may visit Wanzhou.
Day 8 - Yangtze Cruise: Chongqing/Beijing Bid farewell to the Yangtze River. Disembark in Chongqing and transfer to the airport for your flight to China's capital city Beijing.
Day 9 - Beijing This morning, after breakfast enjoy some of the most important historical sights of Beijing. Start with Tiananmen Square, the original front gate to the imperial city and one of the world's largest public squares. Then follow your guide on a journey into the past as you visit the Forbidden City. For 500 years, it served as home to the emperor and his household. Enjoy an afternoon visit to a pearl factory where you will learn about the farming and cultivating of pearls in China, followed by a visit to the Summer Palace, the emperors' summer vacation home. This evening is at leisure to rest up for tomorrow's activities. Perhaps join an optional Peking Duck Dinner.
Day 10 - Beijing Today's excursion will give you the opportunity to walk the Great Wall, the single most recognizable symbol of the Chinese nation. The Great Wall spans from Shanhaiguan in the east to Lop Nur in the west, near the edge of Inner Mongolia. This vast wall was constructed by several dynasties to defend and protect their own borders. On the way, stop to learn about the different qualities and grades of jade, the most popular stone of China. Afterwards get an outside view of the "Birds Nest" and the National Aquatics Center (water cube) on the site of the 2008 Olympic National Stadium.
Day 11 - Beijing to USA Your program draws to a close as you transfer to Beijing's international airport to board your flight bound for the United States. Pricing