Welcome to China! Upon your arrival, your friendly tour guide holding the welcome sign with your name will greet you at the arrival hall. Then you will be transferred to your hotel and have a rest to recover from jet lag. The rest of the day is free for you to explore the city or the neighborhood of the hotel on your own.

After a night's sound sleep, get refreshed for today's exploration. You will first take a leisurely walk through Tiananmen Square to get to the Forbidden City, the largest collection of wooden palace preserved today. As the imperial palace for both Ming and Qing Dynasty, Forbidden City was home to 24 emperors and witnessed the rises and falls of the two dynasties from the year 1420 to 1912. Take a guided walk to explore different palace buildings to learn about the ancient imperial life and constructional arts. Especially, follow your insider guide of Elysian Tour to visit some palaces ordinary groups do not cover for a more in-depth discovery of Forbidden City.

Then ride a rickshaw through the small Hutong alleys to explore the old grassroots life of Beijingers. You will pay a visit to an old courtyard of a local family and learn Chinese calligraphy with brush and ink. You could write down your name and keep your work as a memorable souvenir or gift home.

The magnificent paintings in the Forbidden City

Hutong vendor

Today, your tour will begin with the less crowded Mutianyu Great Wall. Snaking around on top of the mountains for over 13,000 miles, the Great Wall successfully stopped nomadic groups' invasion and protected central Chinese states and empires. Mutianyu Great Wall is the longest part extant today that is preserved in very good condition. A Round-trip Cable Car is included to make your exploration easier and to save more time for your hiking on the wall.

Afterwards, drive back to the city and have a stopover to the Bird's Nest and Water Cube to shoot some great photos of Beijing's new iconic structures.

Then, drive to the imperial garden Summer Palace and stroll along the peaceful lake, taking in the picturesque scenery of gardens, halls, and pavilions harmoniously arranged.

The quieter Mutianyu Great Wall

The Summer Palace

Visit the Temple of Heaven in the morning, soak up the beautiful architectures where emperors used to hold ceremonies, praying for good harvest and luck for next year. Encounter the locals gathering here for morning exercises, a lively scene of local life. You are more than welcome to join these friendly local people to exercise together.

Afterwards, you will be taken to the railway station to take a 4.5-hour high-speed train to travel to Xian, another ancient capital of China. Upon arrival, meet your friendly Xian guide and get back to your hotel.

Temple of Heaven

Today's first stop is the Eighth Wonder of the World Terra-cotta Warriors and Horses Museum about 1-hour drive from downtown area. Be amazed by the warriors' sizes, unique faces, distinctive facial expressions, hair styles, figures as well as uniforms, that were vividly made to protect the emperor in his afterlife. Remember the First Emperor of China who asked to connect the separate defensive walls into the complete Great Wall? He is also the emperor these life-sized underground army were built to protect.

Then drive back to the city to visit the best-preserved and most complete City Wall. Follow your guide to take a stroll on top and have an overview of this old capital. Shoot some photos of the great architecture from the best angles or cycle around the wall if you like.

Afterwards, drive to the famous local bazaar Muslim Quarter and admire the ancient Great Mosque built in traditional Chinese style built about 1,000 years ago. Enjoy some free time and have some bargained shopping before getting back to your hotel.

Terra-cotta Army

Great Mosque

After breakfast, approach to the famous Small Wild Goose Pagoda built in the 8th century and learn about its architectural miracle. Then follow the master to learn the famous local shadow puppet, an old craftsmanship with a history of over 2,000 years.

On the way to the airport, visit the Hanyang Tombs (Hanyangling Mausoleum), tomb of Emperor Jingdi, a truly hidden gem definitely worth your time to discover the glory of the grand Han Dynasty (BC206-AD221). You will marvel atop a glass walkway and see the naked terra-cotta miniatures without arms of the concubines, maids and eunuchs together with hundreds of clay animals of different sizes.

Afterwards, fly to China's beautiful scenic city, Guilin. Upon arrival, your Guilin tour guide will warmly greet you and then take you to hotel.

Shadow Puppet Making: Supported by a local NGO, the chance of learning to make a shadow puppet allows more and more people around the world to learn about the traditional art.

Small Wild Goose Pagoda in winter

Make a shadow puppet

Savor unique vistas of the breathtaking Longji Terraced Fields (Dragon's Backbone Rice Terraces) with changing views in different seasons popular for scenic, adventure and photographic travel. Follow your guide to hike along the slopes and delight in the captivating scenery of the enchanting paddy fields. Enjoy the encounters with the local minorities in traditional costumes and appreciate their wooden stilt houses built along the way. Afterwards, sit back and drive back to Guilin.

This morning, you will take a 4-hour Li River Cruise to get to Yangshuo, a wonderful chance to take in the fascinating karst landscapes of Guilin. During the peaceful journey, you will be like traveling in a masterpiece of a traditional long scroll painting, seeing various grotesque karst pinnacles that bring challenges to your imagination, some water buffalos showering or wandering in shallow water or fishermen fishing with their cormorants.

Upon arrival in Yangshuo, start your bike adventure around the rural village with your guide and absorb the enchanting rural views. Make some stops at the interesting or breathtaking spots and snap some photos.

Night activity: The famous cultural show Impression Liusanjie performed with natural mountain and river as stage is recommended for a wonderful night.

This morning, you will drive back to Guilin from Yangshuo and travel to the iconic Elephant Trunk Hill, which is naturally shaped like an elephant drinking water at the bank of Li River.

Then drive to Reed Flute Cave with a history of 700,000 years and be amazed at numerous stalactites in various shapes decorated by different-colored lights. Your tour in this astonishing natural scenic city concludes here and you will fly to Shanghai.

Reed Flute Cave

Elephant Trunk Hill

Visit the essence of traditional Chinese garden -- Yu Garden and enjoy the beautiful layout which presents the philosophy of Chinese people's life.

Then head to the bustling Nanjing Road and the Bund which is granted as the World Architecture Museum.

Proceed to Shanghai World Financial Center to get a bird's view of Shanghai from the top and see the modern side of China.

Continue your visit to Xintiandi (New World of Shanghai) to appreciate Shanghai's traditional Shikumen constructions, whose narrow lanes are full of charming and fashionable shops, bars and restaurants today. Follow your guide and discover the old Shanghai life in Inside Shanghai, a traditional Shikumen residence of 1920s.

Yu Garden

Inside Shanghai

Farewell to China! Your memorable China trip ends and your guide and driver will escort you to the airport for your departure flight. Have a nice journey home!