Day 1 Arrival Xian

Upon your arrival at Xian Xianyang International Airport, meet your Xian local driver at the baggage area and be dropped off at your Xian hotel.

Day 2 Terracotta Warriors Museum, Banpo Museum, City Wall

09:00:  With a sunny smile, your tour guide will greet you at your hotel lobby. Your day tour commences. You will head for Terracotta Warriors Museum first.

09:50: Arrive at the Terracotta Warriors Museum. Your guide will explain every detail of this museum, its history and other interesting facts. You will be fed with tons of knowledge. Being the most significant excavation of the 20th  century,  the Terracotta Army is a must-see sight for people coming to Xian. You will not only admire the craftsmanship of the different statues and ancient weapons in the three pits, but also learn about the motivation and significance of why this mausoleum was so grandly built.

12:30:  Savour the most authentic local lunch (lunch is for your own account). Xian is one of the famous food cities in China. For lunch, you will be faced with a variety of choices such as a Chinese Hamburger, Baozi (steamed stuffed bun), Spicy soup, Tofu Jelly, Deep - fried dough sticks, Pita Bread Soaked in Mutton Soup, Biang Biang Noodles, Guokui, to name but a few.

13:30: Depart the Terracotta Warriors and return to the city. It takes about 50 minutes to get back to the City from the Terracotta Warriors museum, during which time you can have a little rest and be prepared for the afternoon tour.

14:20: Visit the Banpo Neolithic Village Museum. Dating back about 6,000 years, the Banpo Neolithic site is a typical representation of Yangshao Culture.  At the sight, there are 46 locations of houses. that are mainly in two forms - circular and square. While the architectural structure is also in two forms - half-cave and wooden house on the ground. All the houses are well arranged. There is a rectangular building in the village center, functioning as the public area. While other small houses seem to be the accommodation for common people. In the living area, there are over 200 caves and buildings interlaced together for the storage of food and tools. There are also tombs on site suggesting that this was a matriarchal clan society. From all these, you will have a general idea of how people lived back then.

16:00: Visit the Ancient City Wall in a style that suits your preferences. You can either walk or ride a bike, or even take a golf cart (golf carts and bikes for your own account). This City Wall is the best preserved and most complete wall that has survived through China’s long history. It is about 12 meters high, 12 to 14 meters wide across the top and 15 to 18 meters thick at the base. The entire circumference is about 13.7 kilometers. It can take a while if you choose to walk the whole way around.

17:00: Head back to your hotel and end your day tour.

Recommended activity: Tang Dynasty Dinner Show.




    

Day 3 Xian day tour to Shaanxi History Museum, Big Wild Goose Pagoda, Bell Tower, Muslim Quarter

09:00:  Be ready to be picked up by your friendly tour guide.

09:30 - 12:00: Visit the Shaanxi History Museum. It’s the first comprehensive modern museum and one of the largest museums in China. Designed in the Tang Dynasty architectural style, it houses about 370,000 items including bronze, gold, jade, pottery, paintings, murals, etc. from antiquity to the Qing Dynasty, many of which are considered national treasures. If you are a culture addict, it’s the perfect place for you to study Chinese history.

12:00 - 13:00 Have lunch at a local restaurant (For your own account).

13:10 - 15:00: Visit the Big Wild Goose Pagoda. Located inside the Da Ci En temple, it was built in the Tang Dynasty to store all the Buddhist Sutras and Buddhist figures that Xuan Zang brought back from India. It’s the largest and oldest square pagoda ever built. Today, it has been remodeled and enlarged into a large park where local people come to relax on sunny days. If you come here at night, you will see local people dancing and singing, children running, fountain show performances and various small stalls selling local snacks.

15:20 - 16:00: Climb the Bell Tower. The Bell Tower was built in 1380, and was originally in the center of Xi'an City. The tower base is square and covers an area of 1,377 square meters. The whole tower is 8.6 meters high, 35.5 meters wide and built completely in brick and timber structure. Before the Bell Tower moved, there was a copper bell in the tower named the "Jingyun Bell". Its sound could be heard for several kilometers. Whether considering the shape, the sound, or the engraving technology, the bell reflects the high level of craftsmanship of the metallurgy in the Tang Dynasty. The Jinglong Bell moved with the Bell Tower, and the Jingyun Bell was preserved in the Beilin museum of Xi'an. The big iron Jinglong Bell in the Bell Tower was made in the Ming Dynasty and it weighs 2,500 kilograms. It measured time for the city for more than 400 years. Nowadays, the clear and loud time signal given from the tower is a recording of the sound of that bell.

16:00- 17:00: Take a stroll in the Muslim Quarter. Learn about all kinds of folk art and taste various snacks here. This block is famous for its various foods and is regarded as a tourist spot for the tourists coming from all around the world, but also a place for locals to enjoy snacks and entertainment. It is especially popular with the locals in the summer where you will find them gathering for snacks and amusement.  In addition to Beiyuanmen Street, Daxuexi Street and Xiyangshi, there is also a large area including Dapiyuan, Dongyangshi, Beiguangji Street and Qiaozikou which old Xian locals call “Fangshang”. Here you will find the true Xian lifestyle if you are willing to explore.

17:40:  Transfer to the Xian North Railway Station for D308 (19:44 - 06:26).




    

Day 4 Zhujiajiao Water Town, Yuyuan Garden, World Financial Center, the Bund.

06:26:  Your Shanghai tour guide will meet you at the Shanghai Central Train Station upon your arrival. You can check in your hotel first and freshen up a little.

09:00 - 12:00: Start your amazing Shanghai tour with the Zhujiajiao Water Town. This town was a significant trading hub with nearby countries 1700 years ago, and boats were used to ferry all kinds of wares here. Lining the banks are many houses built in rows with interlaced narrow paths connecting each other. The best way to see the town is from a boat where you can enjoy a leisurely ride observing the life along the river (Boat ride for your own account). Walking the streets is also fun to be part of the bustling life.

12:00 - 13:00: Enjoy authentic local food under the guidance of your tour guide.

14:00 - 15:30: Visit the Yuyuan Garden and old Bazaar area. Situated in Anren Jie, Yuyuan Garden is the only fully restored classical Chinese garden in Shanghai. It was initially built by government officer Pan Yunduan in 1577 as a resort for his parents to spend their remaining years in comfort and happiness. “Yu” in Chinese signifies pleasure and satisfaction, thus, the garden was named as “Yu”. As a perfect model of the south Chinese landscaping style garden of the Ming and Qing dynasties, it is a MUST for all tourists coming to Shanghai. Wandering in pavilions, corridors, streams, courtyards and other natural features of the Garden, you will be rewarded with peace and pleasure.

15:50 - 16:30: Travel to the top of the World Financial Center and enjoy a birds-eye view of Shanghai city. Located in the Pudong district, it’s a skyscraper with mixed usage such as offices, shopping malls, conference rooms, a hotel and observatory decks. Up on the observatory deck you will enjoy a full view of the city.

16: 40 - 17:10: Walk on the Bund. Located on the west bank of the Huangpu River in Shanghai, the Bund was originally a pathway for boatmen and hard laborers; while nowadays, the Bund has become the most characteristic view and the most recognized symbol of the city with its rich cultural connotations of hundreds of years. For the Europeans, it was like the Wall Street in the east, where prosperous trading took place and massive fortunes were made and lost. Other famous Shanghai landmarks like the Oriental Pearl TV Tower and the Jinmao tower stand proudly across the river from the Bund creating a stark contrast between the old and the new Shanghai, and a must see on your tour.

17:30:  Drop-off at your hotel.

Recommended activity: Huangpu River Cruise.




    

Day 5 Shanghai - Xian by train G1920, 09:24- 16:25.

07:30: Your Shanghai driver will pick you up and drop you off at the Shanghai Hongqiao Train Station. You will take G1920 and head back to Xian.

16:25: Meet your local Xian driver at the Xian North Railway Station and head back to your Xian hotel.