12 Days Giant Panda Fun for Family: Beijing Xian Chengdu Guilin and Shanghai

Welcome to China! Be met and welcomed by your private guide and driver at the Beijing Capital International Airport and transferred to your hotel in downtown area. Your guide will help you with hotel check-in procedures. Relax at hotel to get refreshed and your wonderful family vacation in China gets started!

• Hotels: Beijing Aman Summer Palace, Beijing Double Happiness Courtyard Hotel, Beijing Fairmont Hotel

Great Wall

Today your family will enjoy the time travel into history from the 20th-century Tiananmen Square to the 15th-centurury Forbidden City.

Tiananmen Square is located in the heart of Beijing, where there many important historical events happened, including the founding of New China in 1949. Walk into the Imperial Palaces of the Ming and Qing Dynasties, or previously named Forbidden City, where 24 emperors used to ascend the throne. Initially built in 1406, Forbidden City covers an area of 720,000 square meters, with over 9000 rooms making up the world’s largest ancient wooden architecture groups.

Take a hutong tour to witness the traditional lifestyle of Beijing that continues in the quaint quadrangle dwellings. Here you can learn from the local artists on how to draw a Beijing Opera mask, really interesting for the kids.

At night, there is an optional show of Shaolin Kungfu that may interests you.

• Meals: Breakfast, Lunch,

Beijing Bird's Nest

Constructed in 1420, the Temple of Heaven was where the Ming and Qing emperors annually feted heaven to pray for a good harvest. Admire the Qinian Hall, Huangqian Hall and other beautiful architectures of Temple of Heaven. Here you can learn Tai Chi from a master. With the soft Tai Chi moves, you will feel very energetic.

For your family fun, we arrange you a cableway up and a toboggan ride down Mutianyu Great Wall. Standing on the top of mountains, the kids will see the Great Wall look like a giant dragon flying to the place as far as their eyes can’t reach. Learn from your knowledgeable tour expert about the facts of this greatest architectural project in the history of human civilization.

You’re encouraged to taste the most popular dish of Beijing – Peking duck for dinner (optional).

• Meals: Breakfast, Lunch,

Temple of Heaven

Visit Summer Palace in the morning. With beautiful mountain and river landscape, the site of Summer Palace had been constructed as a royal garden ever since the 11the Century, and extended to an area of over 1000 hectares in the early 20th Century. A boat cruise is included for you to enjoy happy family time in Summer Palace.

Take a super-fast high speed train from Beijing to Xian.

• Meals: Breakfast, Lunch,
• Hotels: Sofitel Legend Peoples Grand Hotel Xian, Wyndham Grand Xian South

Summer Palace with Dragon Boat Cruise

The eighth wonder of the world, the Museum of Terra-cotta Army was built at the three burial pits of Mausoleum of the First Qin Emperor (259 – 210 BC). Pit one is home to the main force of chariots and infantry, with about 6,000 life-size terracotta warriors. Pit two is composed of chariots, cavalry and crossbowmen. Pit three is the command system of the army.

Then your family will go visit a cave house – a traditional dwelling in Northwest China – to learn from an artisan the way to make a mini terracotta warrior.

Thereafter, exercise your legs on the bicycle and bike through the ancient city wall of Xian, which is the longest and best-kept one in China. View Xian’s modern development and ancient past for a dramatic contrast.

Important notes: the family-friendly activities in Xian including mini terracotta warrior making and City Wall biking are not available in winter.

• Meals: Breakfast, Lunch,

Xi'an Ancient City Wall biking

In the morning, go rambling the Muslim Quarter, where the Chinese Han people and Muslim Hui people live in harmony. There is also a wide spectrum of local foods and snacks to taste.

Then visit the scenic area of Small Wild Goose Pagoda, an 8th-century Buddhist architecture heritage. Enjoy watching the Shadow Play and Puppet Shows, two valuable intangible culture heritages of China and very interesting art shows that always amuse its audience, especially the children. (The shows are not available on every Tuesday or in winter, when we’ll arrange you another similar show in Gao Grand Courtyard).

Visit a local family, and join the friendly hosts to make dumplings. Traditionally Chinese people have dumplings on important days like the Lunar New Year. The children can make different shapes of dumpling by imagination.

Move to Chengdu by another high speed train.

• Meals: Breakfast, Lunch,
• Hotels: Buddha Zen Hotel Chengdu, Grand Hyatt Chengdu, JW Marriott Hotel Chengdu

Chinese shadow puppet show

Visit Chengdu Research Base of Giant Panda Breeding in the morning - the best time to observe the adorable pandas when they are most active and having fun in the natural habitat. Also know more about giant pandas’ history, lifestyle and breeding research results.

Then have pleasant hours in China’s first cuisine museum, the Sichuan Cuisine Museum, where your family will be introduced the kitchen of ancient China with a wide arrange of cooking utensils. There is even a food street that you can taste various snacks for free. Also attend a cooking class, your family then can make several authentic Chinese dishes.

• Meals: Breakfast, Lunch,

Chengdu Panda Base

Fly from Chengdu to Guilin. Upon arrival, pick up and transfer to your hotel. Explore Reed Flute Cave, which is a huge, magical underground palace, with various shapes of stalactites and stalagmites resembling animals, tables, buildings, waterfalls… illuminated by colored lights.

• Meals: Breakfast, Lunch,
• Hotels: Jolie Vue Boutique Hotel Guilin, Guilin Shangri La Hotel, Sheraton Guilin

Reed Flute Cave

Take a 4 to 4.5-hour cruise through Li River, embraced by ragged Karst peaks of different looks. Picture yourself boating on a Chinese landscape painting. If you’re lucky, you may see local fisherman fishing with cormorants. 

Go ashore in Yangshuo. Walk the bustling West Street - time-honor alleyways are lined with snack stalls, souvenir shops, cafes, restaurants… Then your family will delve deep into Chinese art by taking a calligraphy class. You will be taught to write Chinese words with brush and in an artic way. And the kids will also learn to be patient and stay focused.

Enjoy Impression Liu Sanjie night show, performed in the outdoor with real landscape as the backdrop (optional).

• Meals: Breakfast, Lunch,

Li River cruise

Tour Yangshuo Countryside by bike or by your private vehicle. Flee away from the tourists and crowds and get close to the nature. It is a pastoral world of traditional villages, liquid rivers, endless farmlands, flower fields, limestone hills… You can experience a relaxing, worry-free life here.

Fly from Guilin to Shanghai, the most dynamic city in China.

• Meals: Breakfast, Lunch,
• Hotels: Four Seasons Hotel Pudong Shanghai, Grand Hyatt Shanghai, Grand Central Hotel Shanghai

Yangshuo countryside biking

Take a cultural tour of Shanghai. Stroll around the Yuyuan Market district, including an in-depth visit of Yu Garden, the best traditional garden in Shanghai, Bridge of Nine Turnings, and the old streets lined with different kinds of local specialty shops and food stalls.

Tour the Bund, used to be the foreign concession in the 19th-20th Century and witnessing Shanghai begin its thriving modern history. See the exotic building clusters in the Bund of Shanghai alongside Huangpu River. Then ascend the observation deck of The Oriental Pearl Tower in Lujiazui Financial District, one of the iconic landmarks and highest building in Shanghai, to view Shanghai’s stunning skyline. Also visit Shanghai City History Development Museum to trace the city’s turbulent modern history.

Later discover Shanghai’s creative, vibrant modern art at M50 Creative Park, known as the fashion landmark of Shanghai. Artists from different parts of the world have converted the industrial buildings into art studios.

Don’t miss the best Shanghai acrobatics show (optional) if you’re looking for some excitements for family.

• Meals: Breakfast, Lunch,

Great Wall

Enjoy breakfast and relaxing time at hotel before your private guide and driver transfer you to the airport for departure. Board your international flight back home. It is the perfect end of your 12 days China family vacation.

• Meals: Breakfast,

Shanghai Pudong area