17 Days Montreal Shanghai Guilin Chengdu Lhasa Xian Beijing Tour

There is one direct flight leaving daily from Montreal to Shanghai and the overall travel time is around 15 hours. Please pack your luggage well and get to the airport on the day of flying. (The direct international flight from Montreal to Shanghai suggests to be booked by yourself.)

Stay overnight on the plane.

As you arrive in Shanghai, the megacity and financial hub of China, our local guide will be expecting you at the Shanghai Pudong International Airport. Later, the guide will escort you to your hotel. After you check in, the rest of the day is for you to have a good rest or explore the surroundings yourself.

Stay overnight in Shanghai.

Today we are about to visit some of the highlights of highlights of Shanghai Tour. Starting with fascinating Shanghai Museum, the magnificent 4-story building houses an incredible collection of bronzes, sculptures, ceramics, coins, paintings, calligraphy, costumes and other exhibits in different dynasties. It’s the perfect place for fans of Chinese history and art.

Next comes the Yu Garden. Built in the 16th century during the Ming Dynasty, the Yu Garden used to be the private residence of a senior Government administrator in the Ming Dynasty. For passionate photographer, never miss the chance to photograph Old Street of Yu Garden.

In the evening, we will visit the most iconic building of Shanghai, i.e. Oriental Pearl TV Tower. You can enjoy the amazing panorama of the skyline of Shanghai at night. And as you stroll along the Bund, you will get amazed at the spectacular Huangpu River and dazzling light from buildings of Pudong.

Stay overnight in Shanghai.

In the morning, we would head to the renowned pedestrian precinct Nanjing Road to take a nice stroll. From small boutiques selling handicrafts and other souvenirs to high-end fashion shops, you can shop to your heart’s content. Meanwhile, you can enjoy the local snacks and a great number of distinctive architecture.

Later, you will be transferred to Shanghai Pudong Internatonal Airport to fly to Guilin. After your arrival in Guilin, the guide will greet you and help you get to the hotel. The rest of your day is for rest or explore the city on your own.

Stay overnight in Guilin.

The day will start after breakfast with a relaxing river cruise along the beautiful Li River to Yangshuo Town. Covering around 84 kilometers, this four-hour cruise takes you through the beautiful countryside along the shores of the winding river and past karst hills that seems to have come out of a Chinese painting.

After you disembark in Yangshuo, you will transfer to your hotel, where you can take a break or look around the town, with the stunning countryside that surrounds it enthralling your very senses. In the evening, you can take a delightful walk along the ancient West Street of Yangshuo, where Chinese and western cultures co-exist in perfect harmony. The area hosts some of the best bars and restaurants in the town, and you can enjoy the food and drink or just soak up the relaxing atmosphere.

Stay overnight in Yangshuo.

The morning starts with a four-hour drive from Yangshuo to one of the most beautiful sights in China - the Longji Terraces in Longsheng County. Along the route to Longsheng, you can visit some of the local villages, including the village of Huanglong, where women commonly have hair of more than 1.5 meters long.

On your arrival in Pingan Village in Longsheng County, you can check in and then spend some time exploring the stunning views from the terraces above the village. The rice terraces have paths through them which you can hike along to reach the spectacular lookout points of Five Tigers, Nine Dragons, and Seven Stars with the Moon. The stunning views from these points are breathtaking, and it takes around half a day to hike around them all.

Stay overnight in Pingan.

The rice terraces of Longsheng County are a spectacular sight, and you will have most of the day to explore them more. In the months from June to August the rice fields are a verdant green with the growing rice, but from late September to early November, they turn a golden yellow as the rice ripens ready for harvest. You can take some time to wander around the area and get to speak to some of the locals and learn more about this beautiful land, and it is a great place for photographers.

Later, you will be driven the two hours from Longsheng to Guilin Airport, where you will catch your flight to Chengdu, in Sichuan Province. The flight takes around two hours, and your local tour guide will meet you at the airport and transfer you to your hotel.

Stay overnight in Chengdu.

In the morning, drive for about half an hour to Chengdu Panda Breeding and Research Center, the home to giant pandas, where you will catch pandas' feeding time. They are at their most active, both Adults and Babies. There's a wealth of information and a panda museum in this 230- hectare park 10 km (6 miles) north of Chengdu. It takes about 2.5 hours to visit this site.

In the afternoon, we are expected to drive about 2 hours from Chengdu to Leshan to have an overlook at the famous Giant Buddha by boat. The grand Buddha carved out of the cliffs at the confluence of the Dadu, Minjiang and Qingyi Rivers. You will take a sightseeing cruise to the center of the river and face the huge stone Buddha. Later, we will spend the last night in Chengdu.

Stay overnight in Chengdu.

Tourists will take the morning flight from Chengdu to Lhasa. After your arrival in Lhasa by flight, your guide will greet you and take you to your hotel. Tourists may view the Yarlung Tsangpo River/ Bhamaputra River (the longest and largest river in Tibet) and Lhasa river on their way to Lhasa.

After arriving in Lhasa, you can take a rest and get acclimatized to high altitude. If you feel to go out, then you can go to the Potala Square, where you will enjoy the fountain with different colors and get amazing photos of the Potala and around.

Stay overnight in Lhasa.

Today's tour will first bring you to the Potala Palace which is the winter palace of the Dalai lama. It was put to use since the 7th Century by the 33rd great king of Tibet. The most valuable collections of Potala Palace are the gilded burial stupas of former Dalai Lamas and meditation Cave of the 33rd great king of Tibet.

Then after lunch, tourists head to Jokhang Temple which was founded by the 33rd great king of Tibet in the 7th century. Inside you can see the statue of Buddha Sakyamuni at the age of twelve. Outside, you can see pilgrims making prostrating in front of Jokhang Temple. Around the temple is Barkhor Street, where you can do kora (a religious circle of a building or mountain) with pilgrims and locals, and explore the old market. Besides, we can taste Tibetan tea with locals in tea house.

Optional:
With time permitting, you may go with tour guide to visit Tibetan handicraft art or Tibetan Traditional Medicine center. You can upgrade your service to enjoy Tibetan Culture Show in the evening (fr. 60USD)

Stay overnight in Lhasa.

In the morning, you are going to visit Drepung Monastery which is one of the “great three” Gelug monasteries of Tibet, founded in 1416 by Jamyang choge, one of the Tsongkhapa’s main disciples. You can visit the biggest monastery kitchen inside the monastery and enjoy Buddhist Sculpture Carving workshop near Drepung.

In the afternoon, you will visit Sera Monastery which is another one of the “great three” Gelug monasteries of Tibet. The hot attraction is the monks debate at around 3 - 5 in the afternoon. In addition, you can tour the Tibetan religious scripture printing house. Inside the monastery, you can see three sand Mandalas and colorful Rock Painting of Buddha.

Stay overnight in Lhasa.

The guide will transfer you to the airport and help you board the plane bound for Xi’an. After around 3 hours’ flight, you will land in Xi’an. The local guide will meet you and escort you to your hotels. And the rest of the day is for you to have a rest.

Stay overnight in Xi’an.

The day tour in Xian is impressive too. The Emperor’s Terracotta Army is also one of the eight wonders in the world. These terracotta warriors and horses are the size of a real army, and were buried alongside the Emperor in a vast underground palace.

In the archeological site of Banpo Village, built more than 6,000 year ago, you will see how the resident matriarchal tribe used to survive in the Neolithic age.

Stay overnight in Xian.

In the morning, we will first pay a visit to the Big Wild Goose Pagoda and Shaanxi History Museum. As a landmark of Xi’an, the Big Wild Goose Pagoda was built for storing Buddhist sutras in AD 652, and is seven-layered with a height of 64.5 meters.

Located to the northwest of the Big Wild Goose Pagoda, Shaanxi History Museum is China’s first large-scale national museum. There are more than 370,000 pieces of cultural relics collected in the museum, ranging from simple stone tools of ancient humans to various kinds of objects in social life before 1840. After the tour, you will be transferred to the station to take the high speed train to Beijing. Upon arrival, your guide will meet you and take you to your hotel in downtown area.

Stay overnight in Beijing.

Today is guided tour to Forbidden City and Summer Palace which are the traditional must-see places in Beijing. The Forbidden City is the best preserved imperial palace in China and the largest ancient palatial structure in the world. The splendid architecture of the Forbidden City represents the essence and culmination of traditional Chinese architectural accomplishment.

The Summer Palace is the largest royal garden in the world built in Qing Dynasty. The grandeur and beauty of the Palace is overwhelming and is sure to impress anyone.

Stay overnight in Beijing.

The Great Wall tour proves that China was one of the strongest countries in its history. Stretching thousands of kilometers, the Great Wall protected the ancient Chinese against the invasion of the enemy from its north side for more than 1000 years; the Great Wall was listed as one of the world's eight wonders. Mutianyu Great Wall, featured “graceful”, enjoy the best quality among all Wall sections, 80km north-east of Beijing with 22 ancient watchtowers, about one every kilometer. (Cable car is optional if you do not want to walk)

Then you will visit the Ming Tombs, the burial site of the emperor Zhuli, the third emperor of the Ming Dynasty who ruled for 22 years until his death in 1424. Stay overnight in Beijing.

Stay overnight in Beijing.

In the morning, you will first visit the historic Temple of Heavens, which is the largest city square in the world and the spiritual heart of China, and then move on to the famous Hutongs, the traditional courtyard residence in narrows alleys in Beijing. It is a great place to know the folk culture and old quarters of Beijing city.

After that, the guide will transfer you to the airport and help you get on board. There is one direct flight leaving daily from Beijing to Montreal and the overall travel time is around 13 hours. Hope you have a nice trip home and look forward to traveling with you again! (The direct international flight from Beijing to Montreal suggests to be booked by yourself.)