OVERNIGHTS: Beijing 3, Xi'an 2, Luoyang 2, Zhengzhou 1, Shanghai 2
HIGHLIGHTS: Tiananmen Square, The Bund, Ming Tombs, Temple of Heaven, Terra Cotta Warriors, Shanghai Museum, Forbidden City, Summer Palace, Hutong Tour, Banpo Museum, Wild Goose Pagoda, Shaanxi Provincial Museum, Longmen Grottos, White Horse Temple, Shaolin Temple, Yellow River, Yu Yuan, Great Wall
DOUBLE OCCUPANCY WITH PORTERAGE: All participants stay in double rooms. Adults save $350 with the reduced adult surcharge. Porterage is included.
Learning Objectives
• Students will learn about the history and philosophy of Chinese martial arts
• A visit to Tiananmen Square and the surrounding buildings and monuments will offer students the opportunity to learn about key events and periods in Chinese history and of its current communist governmental system.
• Students will learn about the divine rule of emperors and the nature of life during the height of their power.
Day-by-Day Itinerary
DAY 1: OVERNIGHT FLIGHT Depart from the USA.
DAY 2: BEIJING Arrive in Beijing. Meet your tour manager and transfer to the hotel.
DAY 3: BEIJING A full-day tour of Beijing today includes visits to the Forbidden City, a maze of buildings off-limits to the public for 500 years, and the Temple of Heaven. At Tiananmen Square, view the impressive Great Hall of the People.
DAY 4: BEIJING Today visit one of the Seven Wonders of the Medieval World, the Great Wall, followed by a Hutong tour and a visit with a local family.
DAY 5: XI'AN This morning, visit the world famous Beijing Zoo—be sure to stop and see the Pandas! Then visit the Olympic site. This afternoon, fly to Xi'an and settle into your hotel.
DAY 6: XI'AN Enjoy an excursion to the World Heritage Site of the life-size Terra Cotta warriors. Then travel to the Banpo Museum, an excavated Neolithic village. Your final stop today is the Wild Goose Pagoda with its many figurines of Buddha. Dinner tonight is at a local restaurant.
DAY 7: LUOYANG This morning, visit the City Wall, the largest and most intact castle of the Ming Dynasty. Your tour also takes you to the Shaanxi Provincial Museum, which exhibits relics of past dynasties and displays precious art treasures and stone carvings of the Han and Tang dynasties. Board a bus this afternoon to Luoyang.
DAY 8: LUOYANG Built on the hillsides along the Yi River, the Longmen Grottos are among the greatest stone sculpture treasures in China. Their intricate carvings will astound you. You'll also visit White Horse Temple. Established in 68 A.D., it is believed to be the first Buddhist temple built by the government in China.
DAY 9: ZHENGZHOU On the way to Zhengzhou today, you'll stop in Shaolin to visit the Shaolin Temple, enjoy a Kung Fu performance and learn the philosophy of this martial art. Continue on to Zhengzhou for dinner and a night's rest.
DAY 10: SHANGHAI Before a flight to Shanghai, visit Huang He—the Yellow River—to see the waterway that has changed course many times throughout history.
DAY 11: SHANGHAI A full day sightseeing tour of Shanghai shows you the city's old town highlights, including the Shanghai Museum and Yu Yuan, as well as modern Shanghai's City Planning Exhibition Center, the Bund and Nanjing Road. Enjoy dinner at a local restaurant during your last night in China.
DAY 12: DEPARTURE Depart for the USA.