Golden Autumn 12 Days Adventure and Culture Tour in China 

Tour Date: 10/22/2012 to 11/02/2012

Vacation Overview

Autumn is the best season to visit Beijing and southeast of China. This customized cultural and adventure depth tour offers you an exploring travel experiences in China for both natural wonders and cultural heritages. In this trip, you will hike the Great Wall; visit the Forbidden City and the Tiananmen Square. You will fly to southeast of China to hike the spectacular Yellow Mountain, the Tranquil Qiyun Mountain; visit the mysterious Hui ancient villages; hike or try zipline in the stunning bamboo forest. You will go to Zhejiang province to explore the famous West Lake on a bike, and then drive south to visit the romantic ancient water town. Lastly you will visit Shanghai – the biggest metropolitan city in China to experience the modern side of China. No matter it’s your first time or fourth time to travel to China, this trip will become a trip of your lifetime.

Day 1: Home Country – Beijing (Arrival)

Arrive in Beijing, welcome at the Airport and transfer to the hotel. The rest of the day is free for you to explore this ancient capital. Stay in ShangDa Hotel or similar 4 star hotel.

Day 2: HIke the Great Wall in Beijing (B, L, D)

After breakfast, drive to JinShanling Great Wall. Lunch at local Chinese restaurant

Enjoy a full afternoon hiking tour at JinShanling Great Wall and GuBeikou Area. The autumn view of hte Great Wall is the best! 

Transfer back to hotel after dinner. Stay in ShangDa Hotel or similar 4 star hotel.

Day 3: Vist TianAnMen Square, Forbidden City and Temple of Heaven in Beijing  (B, L, D)

After breakfast, visit the TianAnMen Square and the Forbidden City; Lunch at local Chinese restaurant. In the afternoon, visit the Temple of Heaven, then transfer to the airport for domestic flight to Huangshan City.

Stay in Huangshan International Grand Hotel (5 star).

Day 4:  Hike to Visit Mysterious Ancient Hui Village - HongCun, TaChuan, MuKeng and Bamboo Forest  (B, L, D)

Today we''ll spend whole day to explore the mysterious ancient Hui villages and have a chance to fly over a bamboo forest.

Drive to visit Hongcun  - the World Cultural Heritage site, the Oscar-awarded movie" Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon" was filmed there. HongCun Village is built in the shape of an ox. The locals liken LeiGang Hill as the ''head'', two huge trees on the hill as the ''horns'', the residences in the village as the ''body'', a winding stream as the ''intestines'', a crescent pond as the ''stomach'' and the four bridges as the ''four feet''. The architecture and carvings of the approximately 150 residences dating back to the Ming and Qing Dynasties are said to be among the best of their kind in China. One of the biggest of the residences open to visitors, Chenzhi Hall, also contains a small museum.

We''ll hike a couple of miles to TaChuang Village - a small tranquil village mostly renowned for its photogenic autumn scenery. TaChuang was built align with the shape of the mountain to create a pagoda shape. The hundreds of years old folk houses were well-arranged upon the mountain, tier upon tier, making it all look like a pagoda if seen from above. Limpid creeks wind their way through the village, adding vitality to the tranquil atmosphere of the village. That’s how the village got its name with the pagoda-like houses and the creaks. TaChuan Village boasts numerous ancient giant trees, such as Chinese tallow trees, maples and camphor tree. Many of them have grown for hundreds of years that it needs several people hand in hand together to surround the trunk. The best time to visit TaChuan village is autumn (October and November), when the tree leaves turn multi-colored, creating a gorgeous sight, attracting many visitors and photographers. It’s one of so-called 3 Grand Autumn Sceneries in China, the other 2 being Fragrant Hill in Beijing and Jiuzhaogou, a national tour destination in Sichuang Province. 

We''ll hike another 2 miles to MuKen village - another small village resting in a six-km-long valley. It has approximately 90 people who live a simple and traditional lifestyle and all bear the same surname - Fu. Covered by bamboo forest, the valley is like a giant emerald. Sometimes the winds bend the treetops all the way into the recesses of the valley, like waves on a sea of green. Ang Lee, the director of “Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon” was stunned by the beauty of Mukeng and picked the bamboo forest as a scene featured a decisive battle – two swordsmen fought a contest on the treetops. The scene impressed many people and attracted more and more travelers to Mukeng, as well as painters and photographers.

If you like, try the zipline to fly over the bamboo forest like the swordsmen.

Transfer to the foothill of the Yellow Mountain. Stay in JianGu Hotel (4 stars),

Day 5: Hike Yellow Mountain (Huangshan) (B, L, D)

Of all the notable mountains in Asia, Mt. Huangshan (Yellow Mountain), to be found in the south of Anhui province of China, is probably the most famous. The famous scrolls of Chinese black and white paintings of high mountains, rocks, trees and sea of clouds come alive in Huangshan Mountains. This marvelous mountain area was listed on the UNESCO World Cultural and Natural Heritage in 1990. There is an old saying well known throughout the country "No need to see any other mountains after Huangshan!"

Huangshan has spectacular landscape with its four unique scenes: sunsets, peculiarly shaped granite peaks, pine trees, and view of sea of clouds. Huangshan has all, the steepness, the grace, the elegance, and so on. It has inspired countless Chinese painters and poets for thousands of years.

Take the Yungu Cable Car up to middle of the mountains. Hike to see the ShiXing Peak, Lion Peak, Stone Monkey Gazing Over the Sea of Clouds. In the afternoon, hike through the most spectacular Grand Canyon of the West Sea. 

Stay in BaiHai Hotel in the mountain (4 star). 

Day 6: Hike Yellow Mountain & Hot spring (B, L, D)

Watch the sunrise in the early morning. After breakfast, hike to see Carp Back Peak, Thin Strip of Sky, Old Monk in Meditation, One-Hundred-Steps Ladders, Lotus Peak which is the top peak of Mt. Huangshan with an elevation of more than 1884 meters above sea level.. Take the Jade Screen Cable Car down the foothill of the mountains from the western steps. Drive back to downtown of Huangshan city and enjoy the hot spring.

Stay in Huangshan International Grand Hotel (5 star).

Day 7:  Hike the Qiyun Mountain & Stroll on the Tunxi Old Street (B, L, D)

In the morning, we’ll drive to hike Qiyun Mountain. Qiyun is one of the four holy places of Taoism in China, deeply revered and yearned for by Taoists. Its peaks, rocks and caves are red, giving the area the name "Landform of Rosy Clouds”. We will hike Moonlight Street, Cloud Rock Caves, and Tower-Upon-Tower. 

After lunch, drive 30 minutes to visit a Tea Museum. Huangshan City produces the most tea of all China''s cities, now with 125200 acres of tea plantations. It manufactures 56,000 tons of special and excellent tea in a year. While sampling all kinds of the finest Huangshan tea, we’ll enjoy the demonstration of traditional way of tea serving. You never know the tea would taste much better if served correctly.

Later you will have plenty of time to explore and shop at Tunxi Old Street. Originated in Song Dynasty (960-1279), Tunxi Old Street is located at the center of Huangshan City. The 1.2 miles street was paved with maroon flagstones at the width of 5-8 meter. The 2 or 3-story shops along the street still inherit the traditional design 800 years ago, which is "shop in the front, and house or workshop at the back". Tourists can walk along to buy all kinds of local souvenirs like paintings, tea, crafts, and Four Treasures of Chinese study: brushes, ink sticks, ink slabs and rice paper.

Stay in Huangshan International Grand Hotel (5 star).

 Day 8: Cruise on XinAn River & Drive to HanZhou (B, L, D)    
Drive to Shexian County to take a river cruise tour along the Xinan River. The line is from Peach Blossom Dam - Pu Kou NanYuan Kou -Shendu. It is a 3 hour boat ride. Relax and enjoy the sceneries along the river. We have the chances to visit the small villages along the riverside, listen to local opera in a village theater and mingle with locals.

After lunch, we’ll drive to HanZhou - the capital of Zhejiang province. With enchanting natural beauty and abundant cultural heritages, Hangzhou is known as ''Heaven on Earth'' and one of China''s most important tourist venues.
Stay in ZiJing Grand Hotel (5 star). 

 Day 9: Visit HanZhou and Bike around the famours West Lake (B, L, D)

In the morning, we’ll take a cruise on the famous West Lake and visit some of the islands. The West Lake is one of the top ten tourist attractions in China. The cultural landscape of the West Lake initiated in the 9th Century, took shape in the 13th Century and had been thrived since the 18th Century. For about ten centuries, it has always been the spiritual home of Chinese culture elites, the paradise for all strata of Chinese people and a well-known lake in China with the longest history and biggest influence. It was inscribed on the World Heritage List on June, 24, 2011, by the committee of the 35th World Heritage Conference in Paris.
After lunch, we’ll jump to a bike and leisurely cycle around the lake to visit the Lei Feng Tower and other scenic spots.Afterwards, we''ll visit the National Silk Museum. No visitor to the West Lake and Hangzhou can fail to learn something of this city''s most famous products, namely silk and Longjing (Dragon Well) Tea. Since the Tang Dynasty (618-907) silk products from Hangzhou have found their way all over the world. The National Silk Museum is the first Chinese national museum to be dedicated to silk culture and is the largest of its kind in the world.
Drive to Wuzhen, a historic scenic water town in northern Zhejiang Province. If you like, ride in a boat along the river in Xizha Scenic Zone of Wuzhen after dinner. 
 Stay in TongAn Hotel (5 star)

 Day 10: Tour Ancient Water Town Wuzhen  (B, L, D)

Wuzhen, the last resting-on-water town in China, has a history of more than one thousand years. Due to its warm and humid climate, and abundant rainfalls and sunshine, the products here are rich, making Wuzhen well-known as “the town of fish, rice, and silk”. In the town, watercourses and flagstone streets extend in all directions. The native residents live peacefully in their old houses by the water, just like their ancestors. Drive to Shanghai after touring Wuzhen, you can take time to tour the famous Nanjing Road and the stroll the Bund waterfront promenade.

Stay in Suzhou Hotel (4 star).

 Day 11:  Explore Shanghai - Yuyuan Garden, Jade Buddha Temple, Oriental Pearl TV Tower (B, L, D)

In the morning, we''ll climb the Oriental Pearl TV Tower located by the Huangpu River with 468 meters high. It has the best viewing spot of Shanghai and you have the chance to walk on the glass plank road within the tower. 

Yuyuan Garden, also called ''Eastern Garden'', is a typical classical Chinese garden. The finely structured pavilions, winding cloisters, decorated walls and crystal pond together make the garden a charming and tranquil land in the bustling city.

Jade Buddha Temple is the most popular Buddhist temple in Shanghai, boasting 2 precious jade Buddha sculptures from Burma.

Stay in Suzhou Hotel (4 star).

Day 12: Shanghai - Departure to your home country

Transfer to airport for the flight to your home country.

Included:
1. Domestic flight from Beijing to Yellow Mountain
2. Hotels:
      • Two nights 4 star hotel in Beijing
      • Five nights 5 start hotel in Yellow Mountain
      • One night 5 star hotel in HanZhou Mountain
      • One night 5 star hotel in Wuzhen water town
      • Two nights 4 star hotels in Shanghai
2. Meals include B (Breakfast), L(lunch), D(dinner) indicated in the itinerary
3. Transportation by air-conditioned motor coach for the while trip
4. Visiting tickets in Beijing, Yellow Mountain, HanZhou, WuZheng and Shanghai.
5. Hot Spring; Cruising XinAn River; Cruising and biking around West Lake Cruise
6. Transportation from/to Airports to hotels
7. One glass of beer or spring water or soda for each meal.

Not included:
1. Tips to tour guides/drivers
2. Tips for bag boys in the hotels
3. Your own shopping
4. Food/drink not included in the itinerary
5. Visa application fee
6. International Flight to/from China

Tour Price:  $1988 for HCO members and $2188 for mon-members/guests with a $200 deposit due at RSVP by 9/18/12. Final payment due by 10/01/12. Single supplement is $380.