DAY-BY-DAY ITINERARY:

Day 1 • Depart San Francisco for Beijing
Fly transpacific aboard United Airlines.

CHINA

Day 2 • Arrive Beijing
Upon arrival, you are met and escorted to your hotel.
Presidential Plaza Beijing

Day 3 • Beijing

See the highlights of Beijing: Tiananmen Square and the Imperial Palace in the Forbidden City including the Jewelry Section, continue on to the exquisite Summer Palace with a boat ride on Lake Kunming (weather permitting). This evening you are invited to a Peking Duck dinner party.
Presidential Plaza Beijing
MEALS: American Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner Party

Day 4 • Beijing

Today visit the ancient Great Wall and walk along its ramparts. Continue on to a cloisonné factory to see the artisans at work. Then stroll along the Sacred Way to the Ming Tombs and Chang Ling Exhi­bition Hall.
MEALS: American Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner

Day 5 • Beijing/Xi'an

Morning at leisure before flying to historic Xi'an. Check into your hotel.
Jinshi International Hotel
MEALS: American Breakfast, Lunch, Buffet Dinner

Day 6 • Xi'an

Visit the terra-cotta legion of warriors, no two alike, buried for over 2200 years; the Bronze Chariot and view the Circle Vision Movie. After lunch, on to the Shaanxi Provincial Historical Museum. Jinshi International Hotel
MEALS: American Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner

Day 7 • Xi'an/Chongqing

The morning is at leisure in Xi'an. After lunch, fly to Chongqing where you will visit the Stilwell Museum with its memorabilia of the Flying Tigers, American pilots who volunteered to aid the Chinese prior to Pearl Harbor. If time permits, explore the local market area near City Hall. Check into your hotel.
Harbour Plaza Hotel
MEALS: American Breakfast, Lunch, Buffet Dinner

Day 8 • Yangtze River Cruise: Chongqing/Fengdu*

Board your cruise ship this morning and set sail. Enjoy the ship's amenities before arriving in Fengdu this afternoon. A shore excursion includes Mingshan Hill's unique temples, with its statues of ghosts and devils.
Board Victoria Cruises' ship
MEALS: American Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner  

Day 9 • Yangtze River Cruise: Qutang Gorge/Daning River Small Gorges or Shennong Stream/Wu Gorge/Xiling Gorge

Cruise through the first of the fabled Three Gorges: Qutang Gorge hemmed by mossy cliffs. At Wushan, sail up the Daning River via cruiser to view the dramatic Small Gorges. Continue by sampan to the picturesque mini-gorges of the Ma Du River with its clear, swift running water, unusual rock formations, and monkeys and goats along the banks. Alternatively, your excursion may be on Shennong Stream with its impressive small gorges. Sail on downstream through scenic Wu Gorge, celebrated for its Twelve Peaks. Next, cruise into Xiling Gorge, the last and most scenic of all the gorges. This evening, pass through the amazing ship lock at the Three Gorges Dam.
MEALS: American Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner

Day 10 • Yangtze River Cruise: Xiling Gorge/San Dou Ping/Yichang

After breakfast, visit San Dou Ping to see the massive Three Gorges Dam, the world's largest hydroelectric project. After your tour, board the ship at the eastern mouth of the Xiling Gorge, in Yichang.
MEALS: American Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner

Day 11 • Yangtze River Cruise: Wuhan

Arrive in Wuhan, a fusion of three cities spanning the Yangtze River. Disembark for a city sightseeing tour, including a visit to the Hubei Provincial Museum. Continue your downstream cruise later this afternoon.
MEALS: American Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner

Day 12 • Yangtze River Cruise: Guichi/Huangshan

The area around Guichi is well-known for its stunning natural beauty. Today's memorable shore excursion takes you to spectacular Huangshan Mountain, revered throughout China. Depending on weather and road conditions, your visit may be to dramatic Jiuhuanshan, the Mountain of the Nine Lotuses. Experience the feeling of walking into a living Chinese landscape painting as the sheer peaks and their breathtaking vistas unfold before you. Sail on downstream from Guichi this evening.
MEALS: American Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner

Day 13 • Yangtze River Cruise: Nanjing

Arrive in Nanjing this morning, where your city tour visits Sun Yat-sen Mausoleum and a Qing Dynasty style bazaar. Board your ship and continue toward Shanghai.
MEALS: American Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner

Day 14 • Shanghai

Sail into Shanghai today where you disembark and transfer to the hotel. Balance of day at leisure.
Hua Ting Hotel & Towers
MEALS: American Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner

Day 15 • Shanghai

Enjoy the rich dynastic collections of the Shanghai Museum, the Jade Buddha Temple, a carpet factory, The Bund, the famous shopping areas on Nanjing or Huai Hai Road, and a charming performance at the Children's Palace.
MEALS: American Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner

Day 16 • Shanghai

Today is at leisure. You may take an optional tour.
MEALS: American Breakfast, Buffet Dinner

Day 17 • Depart Shanghai for San Francisco.

Fly homeward today aboard United Airlines.
MEALS: American Breakfast

CULTURAL HIGHLIGHTS:
BEIJING: 3 Nights Presidential Plaza Beijing
Tiananmen Square • Forbidden City's Imperial Palace • Summer Palace • Lake Kunming Cruise • Peking Duck Dinner Party • Great Wall • Cloisonné Factory • Sacred Way to Ming Tombs • Chang Ling Exhibition Hall

XI'AN: 2 Nights Jinshi International Hotel
Terra-Cotta Warriors • Bronze Chariot • Circle Vision Movie • Shaanxi Provincial Historical Museum

CHONGQING: 1 Night Harbour Plaza Hotel
Stilwell Museum's WWII memorabilia of the famed Flying Tigers

YANGTZE RIVER CRUISE: 6 Nights Victoria Cruises' ship (outside cabin with balcony)
Victoria Cruise Downstream from Chongqing to Shanghai; shore excursions at Fengdu (or Wanzhou) • Daning River's Small Gorges • San Dou Ping (Three Gorges Dam) • Wuhan • Guichi • Huangshan • Nanjing

SHANGHAI: 3 Nights Hua Ting Hotel & Towers
Shanghai Museum • Jade Buddha Temple • Carpet factory • The Bund • Nanjing or Huai Hai Road Shops • Children's Palace Performance

 

ALL INCLUSIVE FEATURES:
• Round-trip transpacific air transportation
• United Mileage Plus® members earn: frequent flyer credit with the purchase of each air/land tour package
• All intra-China air/land transportation
• Escorted by a professional Tour Manager
• 9 nights in deluxe and superior first class hotels; 6 nights aboard Victoria Cruises' ship in outside cabin with balcony
• 15 breakfasts, 13 lunches, 14 dinners
• Round-trip transfers between airport and hotel, baggage handling, hotel taxes and service charges
• Sightseeing, cultural activities and performances as noted
• $100,000 Automatic Flight Insurance for transpacific air ticketed by PDTours
• USTOA $1 Million Travelers Assistance Program

MONDAY DEPARTURES; WEDNESDAY ARRIVALS ON UNITED AIRLINES: