11 Days China Golden Triangle Tour with Yangtze Cruise

Full Itinerary Day by Day

Day 1 Beijing Arrival

Welcome to Beijing, the capital of China, rich in history and culture.

Your lifetime Silk Road tour begins with welcome from your local guide at the Beijing airport. Then be escorted to your hotel in a private vehicle. The rest of today is yours to acclimatize or explore the vast metropolis on your own.

Day 2 Beijing ( B, L )

Today's tour begins to visit the Tiananmen Square, the world's largest plaza. Walking through Tiananmen Gate, you'll enter the splendid Forbidden City (Palace Museum), China's No.1 palace complex adorned with imperial treasures.

In the afternoon, you'll marvel at the Temple of Heaven where the emperors worshipped heaven and prayed for peace and harvest.

After the tour, you’ll be escorted to your hotel, and the rest of today is free for yourself.

Day 3 Beijing ( B, L )

After breakfast, drive about 70km to witness one of the Seven Wonders of the World - the Great Wall. Visit the Mutianyu, a less crowded yet well-preserved segment of the Great Wall built in the Ming Dynasty. It will more than live up to all of your expectations! You’ll take a cable car to ascend the Great Wall, then hike the most beautiful and interesting part of Mutianyu and climb up its rising towers to enjoy scenic views of the wall as it wriggles along mountain ridges and you take brag-worthy photos. After the exciting time, descend by cable car. (Note: If energy permits, you can hike up or down which takes about 40 minutes to climb steps. Please tell your likes to your travel consultant.)

Continue your trip to Sacred Way, a 7-kilometer-long passage leading to the Imperial Tombs of 13 Emperors of Ming Dynasty. The Emperor, known as the Son of the Heaven, who came from Heaven to his country through the Sacred Way, also would return to Heaven through this road. Take a walk through the largest archway in China and Great Palace Gate and you’ll see the magnificent stone guard of 12 sets of mythical animals and 12 officials. Then drive back to Beijing city and take a short stop at the Beijing Olympic Village to view its famous Bird’s Nest and Water Cube from the outside.

Optional activity: After the whole day’s tour, treat yourself a great dinner to taste the famous Peking Roasted Duck at Quanjude.

Day 4 Beijing & Flight to Xian ( B, L )

Today after breakfast, you'll visit the fabulous Summer Palace, the largest and best-preserved imperial garden in China, the next 'must see' site after the Great Wall and the Forbidden City.

Then you will be escorted to the airport for a 2-hour flight to Xian, the ancient heart of China. Upon arrival in Xian, your local guide will greet and guide you to your hotel. The rest of the day is free on your own.

Day 5 Xian ( B, L )

Today your first stop is to join the ranks of the incredible Terracotta Warriors, the forbidding sentinels of a death defying emperor, starting out through the silent millennia of history.

In the afternoon, visit the Ancient City Walls, the largest and best-kept city walls on earth. Strolling and cycling on the Walls is quite an enjoyable experience. Today’s tour ends to visit the Bell Tower, a famous landmark of Xian ancient city.

Day 6 Xian & Flight to Chongqing ( B, L )

Today after breakfast, you'll visit the Great Mosque, a tranquil and historic mosque that has served Xian's Muslim community for more than a millennium. By the way, you'll stop by the Muslim Community.

Then head to the age-old Big Wild Goose Pagoda, the symbol of the old-line Xian, a well-preserved ancient building and a holy place for Buddhists.

After lunch, be transferred to the airport and take a flight to Chongqing (1 hour and 10 minutes), the Yangtze cruise pier. Be met and transferred to the Cruise pier, and board the ship in the late afternoon. Your lifetime Yangtze River Cruise starts in Chongqing. (Note: the departing time changes based on the cruise ships, season, water level, weather, etc.)

Day 7 Yangtze River Cruise ( B, L, D)

Shore excursion to the Fengdu Ghost City. It is on Ming Mountain, located on the northern bank of the Yangtze 176 kilometers downstream from Chongqing. In Fengdu, you could check why it has been regarded as City of Ghosts and learn some Chinese Ghost Culture.

Day 8 Yangtze River Cruise ( B, L, D )

Shore excursion to Lesser Three Gorges by smaller vessels.

The Lesser Three Gorges, like a shinning pearl hidden in remote mountains, are much smaller, narrower and have some dramatic scenery to offer. That is the most splendid river adventure throughout China for you.

Note: Some cruise ships make the shore excursion to the Shennong Stream. You have the final say on which excursion to make, as we can book any of the cruise ships at great rates!

Day 9 Yangtze River Cruise & High Speed Train to Shanghai from Yichang ( B)

Today's highlight is your morning excursion to the under constructed Three Gorges Dam. Be prepared for your check-out procedure and the ship will arrive in Yichang at about 12:30. Upon arrival in Yichang downtown area, you'll be escorted to Yichang East Railway Station for a high speed train to Shanghai. 

Be met and transferred to you hotel in Shanghai, and the rest of today is at your own pace.

Day 10 Shanghai ( B, L )

After breakfast, you'll visit the Shanghai Urban Planning Exhibition Center, a must-see for all true Shanghainophiles to witness how Shanghai became a cosmopolitan city from a shabby fishing village.

Then walk leisurely around the beautiful Yu Garden, a pleasant enough, well-contained classical Chinese garden, and savor some local flavor snacks at the Yu Garden Bazaar.

Later to visit the Wukang Road to appreciate its old French-style villas and special colonial culture. In the evening, enjoy the breathtaking Acrobatic Show. (Optional)

Day 11 Shanghai Departure (B, L)

After breakfast, head to the famous Bund to witness Shanghai’s skyline, and stroll along China's No.1 shopping street, Nanjing Road.

Then ascend the Jinmao Tower to get an amazing bird’s eye view of this metropolis. Then continue to Jade Buddha Temple to admire the largest jade Buddha in the world and exquisite religious artifacts.

After the tour, be transferred to the airport for your flight to next destination or back to home.

Free Quote for the Trip

Practical Info about Traveling with Us

Restaurant & Food

The restaurants we will take you for lunch or dinner are all designated tourist restaurants approved by local tourist administration bureau. They have very good sanitary conditions and the food is prepared fresh and clean.

Note: If you have any special dietary needs, just let your travel consultant know while booking.

Vegetarian food Requirement

Vegetarian food in Chinese cuisine culture is usually divided into 3 categories: the Monastery Vegetarian Food, the Court Vegetarian Food and the Folk Vegetarian Food. And the main ingredients are: soybean, taro powder, mushrooms, fresh vegetables and tofu (bean curd). It will be easier to find the vegetarian restaurants in big cities of china, such as: Beijing, Shanghai, Xian, HK, etc.

If allergic to some food

We suggest you to list any food or ingredients that you are allergic to and let our travel consultant know. Then your travel consultant will mark them in the guide’s itinerary, so that our guides in different cities can make some preparations and arrangements in advance.

Do our guide and driver join the meal with us?

The tour guides and driver will be at the same restaurants with you, but they will only join the meal when you invite. Sometimes the drivers are shy to join as they usually eat fast and could not understand English talk around the table, so the guide will be with you more often.

Will we be able to try some local foods during our visit?

Yes, you will. There will be some meals excluded in your itinerary as you like, and your private guide will be delighted to give you some suggestions and take you to the local restaurants, if you are interested in local food tasting. But remember, some local snacks may not match your stomach, so ask your guided for more information before eating.

Vehicles

We offer sedan cars, SUVs, business vans (MPV), and different types of buses. Different vehicles will be used according to different group size.

Shopping

What to buy in China?

In China, there are myriads of souvenirs for visitors, and each city has its own specialty.

Some of the best buys are:

• Beijing: Cloisonné; Fresh water pearls
• Xi'an: Replicas of the Terra Cotta soldiers; Tangsancai (Tang Dynasty hand painted China); Antique Furniture
• Shanghai: Silk carpets
• Hangzhou: Longjing Tea; Silk
• Suzhou: Silk
• Guilin: Scroll paintings; China Southern Sea Pearls
• Yunnan: Mounted Butterflies; Pure tea; Dali Batik (tie-dyed fabric)
• Xinjiang: Carpets; jade articles
• Tibet: Thang-ka（tanka）(Sheep skin wall hangings)

How to bargain?

Bargains are not acceptable in big supermarkets and department stores. But in some night markets or tourist shops, you can bargain for a lower price, since the vendors always ask for very high price for a certain item. You’d better ask the opinion of the guide first, and then the guide will tell you the real value and quality of the item. Please note that when the bargain is processing, the guide will be hesitate to help as it may annoy the bosses. Just try to let the guides know you will bargain in advance.

What to do with persistent vendors?

If you do not need something from them, just do not ask for price. Some of the venders are very persisted, and if they keep selling things to you, you can simply say “No, thanks.” (Chinese pronunciation: ”Bu, XieXie”). If they do not give up, you just keep silence. Silence is sometimes useful to handle this situation.

More Tips for free-time shopping

• 1. If you think you have no desire or interest, you do not feel embarrassed to let our guide know DIRECTLY (since some of our guides are enthusiastic in taking you shopping)
• 2. Better to choose the shops run by the state when buying expensive articles.
• 3. Do not shop everything in one city, because every place has its unique local products which worth buying.
• 4. Do not feel obligate to buy anything only because the shop attendants are very kind to you.
• 5. Be smart consumers. Do not spend big money on things you are not familiar with. Do ask for shop guarantee, contacts and certificates when purchasing big items like antiques, jade, arts pieces.
• 6. Leave plenty of time for transactions. When you see something you like - buy it. Usually, you would not find it elsewhere and you would not have time to go back.
• 7. Always verify the date of antiques before you purchase them. Antiques dated before 1795 cannot legally be exported.
• 8. Articles made from rare wild animals are contraband and will be confiscated by customs without compensation.

Private tour & Group Tour

A: Private tours

• 1. Private guide, driver and vehicle are for your exclusive use; no matter you are individually, or in a family or friends group. The tour is run exclusively for you without strangers.
• 2. Every itinerary can be customized to meet your specific interests/ wishes, that is, you can choose your favored hotels, sightseeing spots, the tour length, means of transportation, budget, etc. All are free of charge.
• 3. Start the tour on any date you want.
• 4. Escort you through the whole tour. All private transfers during the tour are offered, including airport/train station transfer, hotel-attractions round trip transfer.
• 5. The sightseeing during the tour could be based on your own timetable and pace. Flexible to change at your short notice.
• 6. Ideal for people who need considerate care and assistance, such as elderly, the disabled, families with small children.

B: Group tours

• 1. Low Price;
• 2. Share a guide and driver;
• 3. Share a clean, safe and air-conditioned vehicle;
• 4. Good chance for you to meet and make friends from all over the world;
• 5. Tour date is fixed and unchangeable.

Emergency calls

Call your guide, or if you can’t find your guide, call your travel consultant or our office immediately. All the phone numbers include in our confirmation letter. Keep the letter with your during your trip.

Note: As our Beijing office is using the different guide arranging system, so we will not be able to provide the Beijing guide information until the day before you arrival, but once we have it, we will email you immediately.

Check What our delighted customers are saying about our services

Jack,

Please meet my friend Darrell.

I have been telling Darrell what a great trip we had in Dunhuang and Xian. Also how wonderful our guides and drivers were when we were there.

Darrell is interested to do a family trip to China. I will leave you and him to connect.

Best,

Karen

Karen‚ Australia, April 30, 2025

Hi Elk,

We had a wonderful experience during our trip, and much of that is thanks to the excellent service provided by your guide and driver.

Guide:

• The guide was professional, and personable.

• She provided insightful background at each site, which greatly enriched our understanding and of the places we visited.

• Itinerary was handled smoothly and flexibly.

• The support throughout the trip, made the experience enjoyable and worry-free.

Driver:

• The driver was punctual, and ensured a safe and comfortable journey throughout.

Overall, both the guide and driver were professional and helpful. A special thanks to you whose support went above and beyond expectations. From the early planning stages to the end of our journey, your attentive and quick responsiveness gave us peace of mind. We especially appreciated the thoughtful gesture that truly made a difference. We would be happy to recommend CD to others.

Jessica

Jessica‚ Singapore, April 30, 2025

Dear Leo,

Frank and I have arrived safely in our respective homes and it will take us some time to digest our 4-week trip “Kashgar to Beijing”.

But I wanted to quickly email you to thank you for organising this trip for us. The whole thing ran like clockwork, your logistics were spot-on with guides and drivers always available and on-time. Inevitably – with the knowledge of hindsight – we would make some changes: some days were a bit short on activities, some attractions somewhat underwhelming,...but these details are always part of travel and we write them down to experience.

I think we certainly picked the right time for our visit; except for the grand total of 2 hours, we had sensational weather. And we have been very fortunate with relatively small crowds of tourists – the only exception was at the Mogao Caves, where we spent 2 hours queuing in a chaotic crush.

Once again, Leo, we thank you for your efforts and producing a wonderful custom-tailored trip. I will have no hesitation in recommending your great services and feel free to use this email as a reference.

All the very best

Dirk

PS I may well consider another trip in the next couple of years; if you could recommend an itinerary (South and East China), I would be happy to study it.

Dirk‚ Australia, April 30, 2025

Hi Shirley, for sure!

We appreciate very much all the attention and excellent service provided from every local partner! It was a great experience!

Kawai

Kawai‚ Britain, April 30, 2025

Dear Shirley,

Thank you for your message. Everything on the cruise was excellent — the staff were kind and professional, the activities well organized, and the meals very enjoyable. I had a great experience throughout.

Best regards,

Jonathan

Jonathan‚ Fance, April 29, 2025

Check What our customers are saying about us on Tripadvisor.com

We are one of the few China travel agencies who have kept active and received lots of feedbacks and reviews during pandemic years!

Richard

"This is my 3rd group trip with China Discovery planned by Jack Li. A wonderful itinerary of 19days/18days from Guilin, to Guizhou and Hunan..." read more »

Reviewed on April 30, 2025

Richard

"This is my 3rd group trip with China Discovery planned by Jack Li. A wonderful itinerary of 19days/18days from Guilin, to Guizhou and Hunan..." read more »

Reviewed on April 30, 2025

How Our Teams Serve you at China Discovery

"Highest Standards of Quality and Honesty" is the core value of each specialized team at China Discovery.

Eveyone in our company is working hard for only one goal, which is to ensure the highest level of service, luxury, and attention to detail from the minute you begin planning your trip, to the day you return home.

1-on-1 Travel Consultant

Our travel consultants are professional, experienced and responsible, helping you from the very beginning to the end of your China trip!

After sending us an inquiry, one of our travel consultants will get back to you within 0.5~23.5 hrs. In the next few days, he/she will be working closely with you to formulate a customized tour plan, as well as providing professional suggestions based on your travel interests, time, and budget.

Beside, he/she will keep in contact with you during your entire tour in China, continually checking if everything is going well as planned.

We're working at Chengdu Bamboo International Tours, local based in Chengdu.

Local Tour Guides

Our local guide in every destination is not only very friendly, enthusiastic but also very informative and knowledgeable.

Once you arrive in the destination, the patient and punctual guides will pick you up and take you to get under skin of the city at your own pace. By in-depth discovery and explanation, they’ll show you more about the history, culture, customs and authentic local life. Throughout the journey, they're not only expert guides who take care of all the details but also fellow travelers who are dedicated to help you explore in comfort and style.

Our guides are passionate about what they do, and it shows all the way!

Local Drivers & Vehicle

Using our private transfer service makes you comfortable, relaxed and worry free all the way!

Our private service includes licensed drivers with many years’ driving experience and air-conditioned, non-smoking, clean and well-maintained cars/vans. Drivers are local, polite, friendly and helpful, taking you to your tourist sites, hotels, airport/train stations in safety. All kinds of vehicle are offered, and yours depends on the size of your group. Usually, we offer sedan cars, SUVs, business vans (MPV) and different types of buses, all with extra space for your luggage.

Our private transfer service guarantees you the highest comfort!

Comfortable & Homelike Hotels

In each destination, you’ll enjoy a comfortable stay in a great location!

The hotels we choose are based on star rating, great locations, well-equipped facilities, cozy bed, high quality service and guests’ feedbacks. Choices are a lot ranging from luxury 5 star, comfortable 4 star to budget 3 star. You could decide where to stay to best suit for your budget and likes. Generally, the hotels have both Western and Chinese breakfast with a wide choices.

If you have already got an ideal hotel, please feel free to tell our travel consultants and they'll book the hotel for you.

Have good sleep in our well-selected hotels in all the destinations of China.

Meals & Dining

We can satisfy all the dietary requirements no matter you want Chinese local food, western food, vegetarian food or muslin food.

The restaurants we will take you for lunch or dinner are all designated tourist restaurants approved by local tourist administration bureau. They have very good sanitary conditions and the food is prepared fresh and clean.

There will be some meals excluded in your itinerary as you like, and your private guide will be delighted to give you some suggestions and take you to the local restaurants to taste like Beijing Roast Duck, Xian Dumpling Dinner, Sichuan Hotpot, etc., if you are interested in local food tasting.

All the dining options will satisfy your stomach!