CTS Tours

• China Regular
• Golden China
• China Highlights
• China Spectacular
• China Experience
• Majestic Yangtze
• China Panorama
• Grand China
• China UNESCO Heritage Tour
• Tibet Express
• Silk Road Discovery
• Colourful Minority Cultures
• Splendid China
• Splendors of South & Western China
• China Specials
• America
• Indochina
• Japan Tours
• India Tour
• Booking form

China Experience

A highly rewarding 11 nights, 12 days tour to Beijing, Xi'an, Hangzhou, Wuzhen and Shanghai, from $3,060 (Tour Code: ED)
Guaranteed departure with minimum two passengers!

Day 01 Australia

Fly from Australia to Beijing, the dynamic capital of the People’s Republic of China. Once the imperial city of Mongol. Ming and Manchu emperors, Beijing today is still extraordinarily rich in historical sites and cultural relics. After clearing airport formalities, meet your CTS guide and transfer to your hotel.

Day 02 Beijing (B/L/D)

Tour the Tian’anmen Square, the biggest public square in the world. You will also be able to have a photo stop at The National Centre for the Performing Arts, formerly known as the National Grand Theatre, and colloquially described as The Egg. The Centre, an ellipsoid dome of titanium and glass surrounded by an artificial lake, seats 6,500 people in the three halls and is 200,000 m2 in size. Afterwards, visit Forbidden City, the vast complex of palaces, which was home to successive Emperors for more than 500 years. Included is admission to the living quarters, museum and jewelry sections. Tonight you will experience the famous Beijing Duck banquet for your welcome dinner.

Day 03 Beijing (B/L/D)

Morning tour to the Great Wall at Juyongguan section, stretching almost 4,000 miles from the Pacific Ocean to the sands of Central Asia and befittingly crowned one of the ten wonders of the world. Along the way, you will stopover at China National Stadium (Bird’s Nest) and China National Aquatics Centre (Water Cube) for taking photos, then stop at a jade carving factory where you can watch artisans at work. Continue to the Summer Palace, the largest and the best preserved of all imperial palace gardens, which boasts such delights as the famous Marble Boat and the ornately painted ‘Long Corridor’, and take a boat ride on its Lake Kunming if the weather permits. After dinner, you will witness the amazing Beijing Acrobatic Show.

Day 04 Beijing (B/L)

In the morning, enjoy a pedi-cab tour of Hutong – the ‘old city’ neighbourhoods of narrow alleyways and courtyard gardens, experience local life on a family visit and kindergarten if opens. After lunch, tour to the Temple of Heaven, the 500-year old Temple houses altars on which sacrifices and offerings were laid to the gods in a glorious setting of gardens, tress and sculptures. Then, we tour to the brand new Qianmen Street, which is also called the Heaven Street, because there were 23 emperors during China’s Ming and Qing dynasties walking through this street to pray and make sacrifice at the Temple of Heaven. Centuries ago, Qianmen Street had become a commercial and amusement center due to its convenient location connecting the Forbidden City and communities in ancient Beijing. Also visit a local market if time permits. Evening at leisure

Day 05 Beijing/Xi’an (B/D)

Morning, transfer to the airport for a flight to Xi’an. Upon arrival, visit the Big Wild Goose Pagoda. Today you will sample the Xi’an dumpling dinner. Afterwards, you will see the Tang Dynasty Show.

Day 06 Xi’an (B/L/D)

Morning tour to the greatest archaeological discovery of the century, more than 2,000 year-old Terracotta Warriors interred with the Emperor Qin Shi Huang. Included are the Circle Vision Movie and Bronze Chariot. On the way to the Terra-cotta Warriors and Horses Museum, we visit Xi’an Art Ceramic and Lacquer Ware Factory, which focus on the reproductions of terra-cotta warriors and horses and lacquer ware products. The craftsman in the factory, with professional knowledge, have made the replica of terra-cotta warriors and horses that popularly accepted as souvenirs and gifts by both Chinese and foreign visitors. In the afternoon, we walk through the lively Muslim Quarter and market, visit to the Great Mosque, a best-preserved Islamic mosque in China and focus for the 30,000 Chinese Muslims of Xi’an.

Day 07 Xi’an/Hangzhou (B)

After breakfast, free at leisure to explore this historical city. Take evening flight to Hangzhou. Upon arrival, transferred to your hotel.

Day 08 Hangzhou (B/L)

Visit the Hua Gang Park and West Lake. You will surely appreciate the fabled scenery such as ‘Broken Bridge’, ‘Autumn Moon over the Calm Lake’ and ‘ Three Pools mirroring the Moon’. You will take a short cruise tour on the West Lake, then visit Lingyin Temple, which is among the ten most famous Buddhist temples in China and has a history of over 1000 years. Hangzhou is famous for Longjing Green Tea; you will visit a tea plantation to taste its famous tea as well as learning about the ancient tea making process.

Day 09 Hangzhou-Wuzhen-Shanghai (B/L/D)

In the morning, take a side trip to Wezhen, a famous water-town famous in the south of China. On both sides of a slabstone-paved street stand pubs, restaurants, pawnshops, weaving and dyeing establishments, and other businesses, all housed in wooden structures of brown. Rivers and creeks spanned with stone bridges in various designs flow through the town, and the Beijing-Hangzhou Grand Canal passes by. Old waterside houses and outside corridors can be found here and there. This is the ancient town of Wuzhen. Late in the afternoon, we will travel by coach to metropolitan Shanghai.

Day 10 Shanghai (B/L)

In the morning tour we will visit the Bund, a popular promenade along the Huangpu River, where the old meets the modern in Shanghai. You may see the local people performing Tai Chi during your stroll along the Bund. Afterwards, we will visit the Old Town with its winding alleyways, lined with shops, teahouses and restaurants, and then to the elegant and tranquil Yu Garden. In the afternoon we will visit Shanghai Xintiandi, which is a new tourist attraction in downtown Shanghai, featuring the city’s unique “Shikumen” houses and a maze of narrow alleys, which have been converted into cafes, restaurants, bars, art retail shops. Dinner will be on your own arrangement.

Day 11 Shanghai (B)

A free day to shop till you drop or to explore this booming city on your own path.
From 01 May to 31 October 2010, World Expo 2010 Shanghai might be the important event. The theme of Expo 2010 is “Better City, Better Life,” representing the common wish of the whole humankind for a better living in future urban environments. The quest for a better life has run through the urban history of mankind. Through different sub-themes, Expo 2010 will create blueprints for future cities and harmonious urban life styles, providing an extraordinary educational and entertaining platform for visitors of all nations.
The Expo Site covers a total area of 5.28 square kilometers, including the enclosed area and outside areas of support facilities. The Expo Site spans both sides of the Huangpu River, with 3.93 sq km in Pudong and 1.35 sq km in Puxi. The enclosed area measures 3.28 sq km. There are 12 pavilion groups, eight in the Pudong Section and four in Puxi, each with an average area of 10–15 hectares.
CTS Australia will provide you one-day World Expo ticket on complementary basis (standard day only). The transfers will be on your own arrangement.

Day 12 Shanghai/Australia (B)

Today you are free for some last minute shopping before being transferred to the airport for your flight back home.

Day 13 Australia

Arrival in Australia