Day 6

Destinations: Suzhou

Today's Activities:Early in the morning, your local guide will expect you at Suzhou railway station. Breakfast will be on your own. Your Suzhou tour starts from the Tiger Hill, which is known as the No. 1 scenic spot in Suzhou, where you will be impressed by the “oriental leaning tower of Pisa” the Tiger Hill Tower, the sword-shaped pond, the time-honored Lu Yu Well and many aged cliff-side inscriptions. Since Suzhou is well-known for its delicate gardens, your next stop will be the biggest classical landscape garden in Suzhou, the Humble Administrator's Garden. As the “mother of Chinese garden”, it makes full use of the limited space, presenting a peaceful and quiet landscape with refreshing ponds, pavilions, ornamental perforated windows, cloisters, hills, ancient trees, green grass and colorful flowers. Then you will visit another famous Suzhou garden, the Garden of the Master of the Nets, which is famous for its exquisite buildings and ingenious layout.

Meals: Lunch

Day 7

Destinations: Suzhou - Zhouzhuang - Suzhou

Today's Activities:Today you will take a side trip to Zhouzhuang, the No.1 Water Town in China. Surrounded by the riverway, the town features clear water, elegantly crafted bridges, gurgling streams and classical buildings, as well as distinctive local traditions. In the town, you will specially visit Shen House, which is a Qing-dynasty style complex built in 1742. In the Shen House, you will see ancient halls and yards connected by arcades and bridges and exquisite decoration of wood, brick and stone carvings. Before dusk, you will return to the hotel in Suzhou.

Meals: Lunch

Day 8

Destinations: Suzhou-Hangzhou

Today's Activities:Morning is free at leisure and lunch is on your own arrangement. If you would like to see more Suzhou gardens other than those in the itinerary, we suggest the Lingering Garden and the Lion Grove Garden, both of which are representative Suzhou gardens. In the Lingering Garden, artificial hills, clear ponds, plants, elegant halls and pavilions, zigzagging corridors and white walls make perfect combinations of all-sized landscapes. The Lion Grove Garden is renowned for the exquisite artificial hills, which resemble lions in all kinds of poses, hence the name. In the afternoon, our guide will see you off at Suzhou Railway Station. You are going to arrive in Hangzhou in two hours by a high-speed train and then proceed to the hotel in downtown with our Hangzhou tour guide.

Meals:

Day 9

Destinations: Hangzhou-Beijing

Today's Activities:In the morning, you will visit the Six Harmonies Pagoda, which is a 59.89-meter-high (196 feet) octagonal pagoda with a history of 1,500 years. Looking from outside, you can see thirteen stories, but there are actually 7 stories inside the pagoda. Then you will visit the famous Lingyin Temple (Temple of Soul's Retreat), one of the ten most famous Buddhist temples in China. Not far from the Lingyin Temple, you will come to the famous West Lake. You will marvel at the luring landscape of beautiful lakes, elegant hills, shady trees, refreshing springs and streams, as well as many aged historical relics. Late in the afternoon, you will take a flight to Beijing. Our guide will pick you up at the airport and transfer you to the hotel.

Meals: Lunch

Day 10

Destinations: Beijing

Today's Activities:The first attraction in Beijing is the famous world's heritage, the Badaling Great Wall, which is the best-preserved section of Chinese Great Wall and renowned for its solidity but zigzag walls, strategic importance and gorgeous landscape. To avoid having lunch at shopping site restaurants, you will have Sichuan food at a popular local restaurant. After lunch, you will visit the Sacred Way and the Ming Tombs. You will learn about the special funeral customs from the statues of human figures and animals standing along the two sides of the Sacred Way, which is the first attraction of the Ming Tombs. Lying on the mountain, the Ming Tombs is a cluster of tombs for 13 emperors in the Ming Dynasty. Except for the huge tombs, you can also see many historical items and traditional Chinese buildings in this imperial cemetery. On the way back to downtown, you will have a short stay when driving by the Bird's Nest (Olympic National Stadium) and take photos with it.

Meals: Lunch

Day 11

Destinations: Beijing

Today's Activities:In the morning, after a short stroll around the world's largest city square, Tiananmen Square, you will come to the famous Forbidden City. Namely the Palace Museum, the Forbidden City is the largest imperial palace complex in the world, boasting grand palaces with high red walls and golden roofs, exquisite architecture and vast storage of cultural relics. As is our practice to avoid the tourist eateries arranged by most agencies, we will offer you an a la carte lunch at a nice and elegant Cantonese cuisine restaurant. In the afternoon, you will visit the Temple of Heaven, the imperial altar for the emperors of the Ming and Qing dynasties to worship for good harvest. The unique buildings, ancient pines, and beautiful landscape will leave you a deep impression. Dinner today is the famous Beijing Duck Dinner at the Quanjude Roast Duck Restaurant. Then a lively Chinese Kung Fu Show at the Red Theatre will give you a memorable Beijing night.

Meals: Lunch&Dinner

Day 12

Destinations: Depart from Beijing

Today's Activities:If time permits, our guide will escort you to visit the Summer Palace. As the largest imperial garden in China, the Summer Palace earns its fame for the harmonious combination of garden design and natural beauty. You can see the ancient houses, corridors, bridges and towers casually dotted among the lakes and hills, but still make perfect landscape. After that, we will transfer you to the airport for your homeward flight. Our guide will help you handle the boarding card and then say farewell.

Meals: