14 day China Odyssey from Shanghai to Beijing

In the morning you’ll be driven to the Hangzhou airport, where you will have an evening flight to Guillin. Located in Guangxi province in southwest China. Upon arrival at the Guillin airport, you will be met by your guide, who will take you to your hotel. You cruise down one of the world’s most stunning rivers, the Li. Gorgeous karst peaks give you surprises at each bend of the limpid river under the blue sky. Water buffalo patrol the fields, peasants reap rice paddies, school kids and fisherman float by on bamboo rafts. With its breathtaking scenery and taste of a life far removed from the concrete metropolis, the scenery along the Li River become one of China's top tourist destinations. Some of the highlights you will see on your 7-8hour cruise will be Elephant Trunk Hill, a hill resembling an Elephant taking water from its trunk, Pagoda Hill, just a few minutes away from the Elephant Trunk Hill, Daxu Town, an ancient river town, and of course you will also see local fisherman and workers over their normal course of work. The cruise down the Li River offers a fascinating insight into the lives of the local population here.

Our cruise will terminate at Yangshuo, a lush and exotic county that includes minority groups from all over Asia. We we will rent bikes and ride onto the country roads, lanes, and tracks, through the paddy fields orchards that surround the misty mountains. To cool off after our ride, we will float on bamboo rafts down the Yulong River. The languid river is surrounded by a primitive, but pure, natural landscape, along with green bamboo forests and rolling hills. Visitors to the area will delight in the picturesque scenes of simple rural life: bamboo waterwheels irrigating the paddy fields; village girls hand washing clothes outside of their cottages with smoke curling upward from the chimneys; old men fishing in the river; flocks of ducks swimming in the pond.

ths and legends of the Zhuang ethnic minority. She is incomparably beautiful, and has voice to match her beauty. In the 'Impression on Sanjie Liu', what you can see are the impressions derived from the daily life of the people living around the Li River, rather than the specific details of the stories. From these impressions, you will gain a realistic impression on the background of Sanjie's birthplace and understand the beauty of the folk songs' hometown. Additionally, there are in excess of 600 performers, all of whom are local people of the Li River. They present the reality of life for the people in Sanjie's hometown through their primitive and wonderful performances.

You’ll next be taken to the airport where you’ll make the short flight to Chongqing, where you will begin your Yangtze River cruise. The Yangtze River is the longest river in China and the third longest in the world after the Amazon and Nile. The Yangtze River along with the Yellow River is renowned as the "Mother Rivers of China" as it has nourished China's long and splendid culture. The evidence is seen in the varied cultural heritage along the river. Taking a Yangtze cruise is a popular way to discover China. There is an old saying: "on a slow boat to China". Well, why not relax on a slow boat in China, on the beautiful Yangtze River. A Yangtze River Cruise will take you through the center of China, while giving you the opportunity to see some of the most spectacular scenery imaginable.

The cruise will conclude with the enormous Three Gorges Dam. Construction was begun in the 80's, and was completed in 2008. It backs up the Yangtze River for 550km, making it the world's largest dam. Due to the fact that the water rises to a level of 185m behind the dam, millions of people have had to be resettled, bridges moved and historical relicts secured. The energy production capabilities of the dam are estimated at 84.7 billion kilowatts, equivalent to 18 nuclear reactors. The three single stage locks guarantee that ship traffic is not delayed.