Our five nights at Guilin Ming Garden were great as well! It is certainly our favorite place in China. The apartment is remodeled, extremely clean and has a great view; having internet access is a nice touch and there is plenty of room for our entire family. After a long day of fun, it was relaxing to come home to delicious home cooked meals prepared by our nanny Mrs Huang.She made us feel right at home with her traditional Cantonese home cooked dinners: her normal dinner consist of soup, two meat dishes and two vegetable dishes; very much like the meals our Cantonese parents made for us when we were younger and the meals had brought back fond memories.
-Helen Lee
European Homeland Heritage Tour A
This tour starts and concludes in two different cities with claims to the title "largest". Beijing has the largest geographical area and Shanghai has the largest population. In Beijing, you can get a glimpse of the royal family life in the Forbidden City and climb one of the world's wonders-the Great Wall! Then continue your trip to another breath-taking wonder-the Terra Cotta Soldiers and Horses Museum, in China's ancient capital Xi'an. After such splendid exploration along the history lane, relax by getting close to nature when visit the panda research base in Chengdu, where you can see and even hug the adorable pandas. Your last destination Shanghai, know as "pearl of the east", is a very modern city and famous around the world for its financial and business status. Don't miss the charm!
Tour Overview
Tour Code: CHHT-EHHTA
Trip Duration: 14 days/13 nights
Beijing, Xian, Chengdu, Shanghai
Departure Dates: Every FridayDay 1 : Depart for Beijing En Route
meals: N/A
Take flight to Beijing.
Day 2 : Beijing
meals: N/A
Arrive in Beijing. Our English-speaking tour guide and driver will meet you at the airport exit and transfer you to hotel.
Day 3 : Beijing
meals: B/L
Day 4 : Beijing
meals: B/L
Begin your day with a tour at the Great Wall Mutianyu. Constructed more than 2,000 years ago by China's first emperor, the ancient wall is 6,350 km or about 4,000 miles in length. Stop at the Beijing's Cloisonne (Jingtailan) Factory to learn about the intricate cloisonne making process after your Great Wall experience. Cloisonne originated in 1426 and became popular during the reign of Ming Emperor Jingtai.
Day 5 : Beijing/Xian
meals: B/L/D
After breakfast, visit the Forbidden City. Listed as a world heritage site in 1987, the Forbidden City contains the largest group of intact palace structures in the world. The palace is 720,000 square meters in size and contains 9,999 rooms, numerous pavilions, gardens and courtyards. Then continue on to the Tiananmen Square. Noted as the largest city square in the world, the square was initially designed for political rallies and important gala events. Today the square is flanked by the Forbidden City in the north, the Great Hall of the People in the west, Mao TseTung's Mausoleum in the south and the Museum of Chinese Revolution and the Museum of Chinese History in the east. In the afternoon, explore the imperial gardens of the Summer Palace originally built in 1750 and later rebuilt in 1886. Located in the western outskirts of the city, the Summer Palace is the leading classical garden in China and a UNESCO world heritage site. After dinner, get onboard a luxury express train for your overnight journey to Xian. Beijing/Xian Train Z19 Soft Sleeper ( 9:24P/8:25A + 1 day ) ( Your local guide has tickets )
Day 6 : Xian
meals: L
Arrive early this morning in China's ancient capital city of Xian. Your English-speaking tour guide and driver will pick you up at the train station. After breakfast in local restaurant, visit the Shaanxi Provincial History Museum for an in-depth look at China's extensive history with more than 2,000 items on exhibit. In the afternoon, get on top the 950-year-old city wall and ride a bike; be sure to enjoy the panoramic view of the city. Built during the early Ming Dynasty with a core of mud covered by three layers of bricks, it is the only city wall to remain intact in China today.
Day 7 : Xian
meals: B/L
Day 8 : Xian/Chengdu
meals: B/L
This morning, your English-speaking tour guide and driver will transfer you to airport.Xian/Chengdu by air ( Your local guide has tickets )Your English-speaking tour guide and driver will pick you up at the airport and transfer you to hotel.After lunch, visit the People's Park with tea house & garden. Full of vegetation and shade, it is a great place to visit with friends or family. You'll be surprised to see so many people exercising together to traditional Chinese music. People dance, do tai chi, play badminton or sing Chinese Opera songs. The Teahouse is as relaxing and shady a setting as any place in Chengdu.
Day 9 : Chengdu
meals: B/L
Embark on an extraordinary journey to the Panda Breeding Research Base this morning. Everyone will have the rare opportunity to hold and hug a baby panda; something everyone in the family is sure to enjoy. Continue on to Huanglongxi which is a 1700-year-old scenic town in Sichuan Province. It has been lovingly restored to retain its old world charm, so that visitors can walk the streets as they would have done a couple of centuries ago.
Day 10 : Chengdu/Province
meals: B
Depart Chengdu and travel to the capital city of the designated province for an orphanage visit. Lotus guides will sensitively and carefully assist your family as you embark on this most meaningful portion of your return trip. On this initial day of the city visit, one can spend time strolling the area and absorbing a sense of the city and locale.
Day 11 : Province
meals: B/L
Your orphanage visitation typically includes a lunch meeting with the orphanage director and staff. If your family wishes to be in touch with the foster family, Lotus can also arrange a time for you to reunite if contact information is available. After lunch, you may explore your child's finding site. Record the day's events in your journal or just relax with your family this evening.
Day 12 : Province/Shanghai
meals: B
This morning take some final glimpses around your child's province to capture your special memories. Then depart for Shanghai.
Day 13 : Shanghai
meals: B/L
Begin your adventure with a relaxing walk along the Bund near the Huang Pu River. Then visit the Yu Yuan Garden and enjoy its intricately designed pathways, pavilions, koi stocked pools and quiet courtyards; then pass by the shops and restaurants in YuYuan Bazaar on your way to lunch. In the afternoon, visit the Jade Buddha (Yufo) Temple. As you enter the temple grounds, you might hear prayers of the monks and glimpse the smoke of incense curling toward the sky.
Day 14 : Leave Shanghai
meals: B
Meet your private English-speaking tour guide and driver at the hotel lobby and transfer to the Shanghai Pudong Airport for your international flight back home.
Valid: Apr 01, 2011- March 31, 2012
 | 2-5 Persons | 6-9 Persons | 10 Persons | Hotel Single Supplement |
| Standard Class | $1679.00  | $1469.00 | $1329.00 | $270.00 |
| Deluxe Class | $1949.00 | $1729.00 | $1529.00 | $495.00 |
| Superior Class | $2199.00 | $1999.00 | $1729.00 | $700.00 |
| City | Standard Class | Deluxe Class | Superior Class |
| Beijing . | Golden Palace Silver Street Hotel | Novotel Peace Hotel | Nikko New Century hotel Beijing |
| Xian . | Xian Shengpeng Hotel | Xian Titan Times Hotel | Sheraton Xian Hotel |
| Chengdu . | Civil Aviation Hotel | Tianfu Sunshine Hotel | Sheraton Chengdu Lido Hotel |
| Shanghai . | East China Hotel | Holiday Inn Vista Shanghai | Huating Hotel & Towers Shanghai |
| Hotel | Indoor Pool | Outdoor Pool | Gym | Safe Box | Refrigerator | Hair Dryer | Kitchen |
| Golden Palace Silver Street Hotel | |||||||
| Novotel Peace Hotel | √ | √ | √ | √ | √ | ||
| Nikko New Century hotel Beijing | √ | √ | √ | √ | √ | ||
| Xian Shengpeng Hotel | |||||||
| Xian Titan Times Hotel | √ | √ | √ | √ | √ | ||
| Sheraton Xian Hotel | √ | √ | √ | √ | √ | ||
| Civil Aviation Hotel | |||||||
| Tianfu Sunshine Hotel | √ | √ | √ | √ | √ | ||
| Sheraton Chengdu Lido Hotel | √ | ||||||
| East China Hotel | √ | √ | √ | ||||
| Holiday Inn Vista Shanghai | √ | √ | √ | √ | √ | ||
| Huating Hotel & Towers Shanghai | √ |
Inclusions
- Beijing/Xian soft sleeper train ticket
- Xian/Chengdu air ticket
- Airport (or bus station) /hotel/airport (or bus station) transfer as listed in itinerary.
- All listed sightseeing and tour programs with private English-speaking tour guide and private van or bus with driver.
- Hotels and meals as stipulated in itinerary. (B = Breakfast, L = lunch, D = Dinner)
Exclusions
- International Airfare.
- Some meals.
- Tipping to tour guide and driver.
- Chinese visa.
- Expenses of a personal nature.
- Orphanage visit filing fee to the Provincial Civil Affair Bureau.
- Side trips to the designated provinces on Day 10-12 and the airfare of Chengdu - province city - Shanghai which can be arranged with extra cost by us
- The cost of holding the panda and taking a picture is additional to the entry fee. The costs are USD185.00/per person for holding a baby panda. Although the Pandas are cute and adorable, they may inflict accidental injuries in their playful nature
Important Remarks
- To qualify for a child discount, a child has to be under 12 year old on last day of tour.
- In China, a child over 3'10" tall is charged adult fare for admission tickets, transportation fare (except for airfare) and meals in restaurant. Lotus Travel's assumes all children under 12 years old to be under the height of 3'10" and quotes you a child's fee. If your child exceeds this height limit, you might be asked to pay for transportation fare and admission ticket difference by your tour guide while in China.
- Twin beds in China hotels, about 50 inches wide, are closer in width to the 54" double size beds in the U.S., and much wider than the 39 inches wide twin beds found in U.S. homes.
- A soft sleeper train compartment is equipped with two bunk beds and sleeps four. If there are less than four people in your party, Lotus Travel highly recommends purchasing the extra seats in the compartment to ensure privacy.
- If your itinerary state "free time" or "free day", no activities will be planned for you, neither will you have a tour guide or driver.
- It might be worthwhile purchasing travel insurance; the Travelex plans we recommend covers children under 16 for free with an adult coverage. Please see attached document for detail.
- A Chinese visa is good for 3 months only. We can apply about 2 months before your departure. If you want our service, a regular visa-processing fee is $100, which include consulate application fee and express mail fee.
- Lotus Travel offers a very affordable cell phone rental package to help you stay in touch with families while in China. Please contact us for detail.
Notes:
- Deposit: 20 percent of the total tour cost deposit is due at the time of registration
- Balance: Balance is due 60 days before departure
- Terms & Conditions: Our terms and conditions are listed on Lotus Travel Terms and Conditions
Note: Customer Commitment - Each Lotus agent is committed to respond to each email with an acknowledgement of receipt within 24 hours. If you do not receive email acknowledgement within 1 business day, please check your spam box for our agents'response e-mail or send your notice to iris@lotustours.net or call 1-800-956-8873.