12 Days China Tour with Ice and Snow Festival: Beijing-Tianjin-Harbin-Shanghai

After landing in Beijing, meet the guide at the arrival hall of Beijing airport. The Beijing guide will take care of you from the very beginning to the end of your Beijing tour.

Meals: No meal, advice freely available

• Hotels: Hilton Beijing Wangfujing, Regent Beijing, Park Plaza Beijing Wangfujing, Beijing Double Happiness Courtyard Hotel

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Walk through Tian’anmen Square; you will enter the Forbidden City, a treasure trove housing numerous collections of the royalties.

Want to see the Forbidden City from a different way after lunch? Jingshan Park will satisfy your needs, which offers commanding view of the Forbidden City and part of the Beijing city.

Today’s tour will end in the interlaced narrow alleys – Hutong. A leisure walk is nice to get close to the local lifestyle. Visit a local family to listen to their interesting stories in the courtyard houses.

Meals: Breakfast, Lunch at Jindingxuan with a la carte menu

Feature Dinner option: Peking Roast Duck (Dadong Peking Duck, Qianmen Quanjude Peking Duck), Mei Family Restaurant, Fangshan Restaurant, Bai Family Restaurant)

Optional evening activity: Peking Opera, Kungfu Show

• Meals: Breakfast, Lunch,
• Hotels: Hilton Beijing Wangfujing, Regent Beijing, Park Plaza Beijing Wangfujing, Beijing Double Happiness Courtyard Hotel

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Considered the supreme achievement of traditional Chinese architecture, Temple of Heaven is a large religious complex for emperors in Ming and Qing Dynasty to pray for harvest. Now it is a popular park for locals doing morning exercises. You will have an hour Taichi lesson here with the guidance of the master.

Located 40 miles (65km) to the north of Beijing city proper, the Mutianyu Great Wall has breath-taking scenery but fewer tourists. It is suitable for people in all ages as it is equipped with cable car, chairlift and toboggan.

Meals: Breakfast, Lunch at Xin Shuang Quan Restaurant with a La Carte Menu

• Meals: Breakfast, Lunch,
• Hotels: Hilton Beijing Wangfujing, Regent Beijing, Park Plaza Beijing Wangfujing, Beijing Double Happiness Courtyard Hotel

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Drive about 15km from the city center and take in the stunning view in the imperial summer resort, Summer Palace. Except for the chilly winter, boat cruise is usually available in the Kunming Lake, which allows you a different angle to see the garden. Yonghegong Lama Temple is a Tibetan Buddhist temple in the northeast, corner of Beijing, which was first built in 1694 as the residence of Prince Yong of the Qing dynasty.

After the tour and lunch, drive to the train station for the train to Tianjin.

Meals: Breakfast, Lunch at Dayali with a la carte menu

Note: Kindly note that boat cruise on Kunming Lake is usually not available from December to March as the water will freeze.

• Meals: Breakfast, Lunch,
• Hotels: Crowne Plaza Tianjin Meijiangnan, Friendship Hotel Tianjin

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Although essentially a business street, Ancient Culture Street attracts visitors to see its special architectural styles, admire its classic cultural features, buy various folk crafts, and taste the delicious local snacks. Stop by and take a photo of the Tianjin Eye. It is actually a sky wheel that stretches across the Haihe River. It looks like an eye on a bridge and is one of Tianjin's famous landmarks.

Go appreciate the wood carvings in Guild Hall (Tianjin Theater Museum) after lunch, which is the most complete and largest hall building in Qing Dynasty. Stroll at Italian Style Street, a comprehensive area with multi-function of tourism, commerce, leisure, entertainment and culture. Today’s tour ends with the visit of a magnificent structure in Tianjin, the Porcelain House. It is known as the Museum of Ancient Chinese Porcelain.

Meals: Breakfast, Lunch at the local restaurant with a la carte menu

• Meals: Breakfast, Lunch,
• Hotels: Crowne Plaza Tianjin Meijiangnan, Friendship Hotel Tianjin

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In the morning, visit the miniature of the Great Wall of China, Huangyaguan Pass. Surrounded by abrupt mountains, it is one of the most important passes with barbicans, turrets, emplacements, barracks and other indispensable military facilities orderly arranged. Dated back to the Sui Dynasty and rebuilt during the Liao Dynasty, Dule Temple is one of the only three remaining temples from the Liao Dynasty in China.

Go for lunch after the tour and before going to the train station. The guides will take care of the drop-off and pick-up.Meals: Breakfast, Lunch at the local restaurant with a la carte menu

• Meals: Breakfast, Lunch,
• Hotels: Shangri-La Hotel (the best hotel in Harbin ), Sofitel Wanda Harbin, Jingu Hotel

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Harbin International Ice and Snow Festival is usually held from 5th January to the end of February. There are so many activities, like ice sculptures at Harbin Ice and Snow World and Stalin Park, Ice sculpture Garden party at Sun Island, Ice Lantern Exhibit at Zhaolin Park as well as the winter swimming competition, ice hockey match and snow football match etc.

In the morning, you will do some regular sightseeing. The first stop is Central Pedestrian Street, which is the epitome of Harbin. Its unique architectural culture and the European life of Harbin people are clearly reflected here. Grasp a photography opportunity of St Sofia Orthodox Church from the outside. It is one of the landmarks of Harbin. Attend an ice sculpture exhibition at Sun Island Scenic Area and watch the Siberian Tigers in the park from a close distance. As a large comprehensive amusement park, the Ice and Snow World, it offers many art and culture activities, like ice cartoon, themed snow performances, acrobatics on ice and ice sculpture exhibition etc.

Meals: Breakfast, Lunch at the local restaurant with a la carte menu

Note: It is very important to keep warm when you are outdoors in Harbin

• Meals: Breakfast, Lunch,
• Hotels: Shangri-La Hotel (the best hotel in Harbin ), Sofitel Wanda Harbin, Jingu Hotel

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Located in Binxi National Forest Park, Jihua Ski Resort is the nearest SSSSS-level ski resort to Harbin downtown (38km). It caters for beginner, medium and advanced-level skiers. Here you can do skiing, snowboarding, sightseeing, ice and snow karting, snowmobiling, sledding, tires sliding, flying disc, snow football, spinning top on the ice, tug-of-war competition.

Meals: Breakfast, Lunch at the local restaurant with a la carte menu

• Meals: Breakfast, Lunch,
• Hotels: Shangri-La Hotel (the best hotel in Harbin ), Sofitel Wanda Harbin, Jingu Hotel

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Your Harbin tour starts with a leisure walk in Stalin Park, where you could see Harbin Flood Control Memorial Tower in the middle. Continue to watch the exciting winter swimming, one of the most popular activities in winter among Harbin people.

Your fairytale Harbin tour ends here. After lunch, take the flight to Shanghai, where you will start another different exploration with the Shanghai guide.

with a la carte menu

• Meals: Breakfast, Lunch,
• Hotels: Shanghai Fairmont Peace Hotel, Grand Central Hotel Shanghai, Central Hotel Shanghai

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Shanghai is totally a different city from Xi’an. It is more like a metropolis with many tall buildings. In the morning, you will visit the local Fuxing Park, where you can see lots of locals doing morning exercises. You can join them for the dancing or Taichi etc. After the morning exercise, you will visit a classic man-made garden, Yuyuan Garden, with a history of over 400 years. Nearby is the City God Temple, which hosts a range of shops, restaurants, teahouses. After lunch, you will go up to Shanghai Tower for the panoramic view of the Bund and Shanghai city. It is Currently China's tallest building and the second tallest in the world. A leisure walk on the Bund ends your day.

Meals: Breakfast, Lunch at Homes Restaurant with a la carte menu

Feature Dinner Option: Nan Xiang Mantou Dian, Green Wave Gallery, Lost Heaven-Yunnan Restaurant Bund Branch

Optional evening activity: Era Time or Shangcheng Acrobatic Show

• Meals: Breakfast, Lunch,
• Hotels: Shanghai Fairmont Peace Hotel, Grand Central Hotel Shanghai, Central Hotel Shanghai

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Besides the city tour, the nearby Tongli Water Town worth a visit. Tongli has a history of more than 1000 years and it is listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site. It is famous for its beautiful winding rivers, historic bridges, and ancient residences. You will also have a boat cruise there.

Meals: Breakfast, Lunch at local restaurant with a la carte menu

• Meals: Breakfast, Lunch,
• Hotels: Shanghai Fairmont Peace Hotel, Grand Central Hotel Shanghai, Central Hotel Shanghai

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No tour is arranged for you today. Meet the guide at the hotel lobby at the confirmed time. We can arrange the Maglev train ride to Pudong airport if you are interested in, or we will drive you directly to the airport.

Meals: Breakfast

• Meals: Breakfast,

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