Shanghai, 3 Gorges, Beijing Rail Tour

Day 1: Shanghai Independent arrivals in Shanghai, a fascinating mix of East and West Divided into two parts by the Huagpu River, the older town on the west bank is known as Puxi and the new development on the east side as Pudong. We stay at a centrally located hotel for two nights where we enjoy a welcome dinner in the evening.

Day 2: Shanghai Our full day tour includes the Shanghai Museum reputed to be ‘the best museum in the country.’ Other sites include The Bund; once the most important financial centre in Asia, it still retains a proud heritage with superb colonial architecture and Yuyuan Garden. Designed in the Ming Dynasty, this wonderful retreat is an ancient park of rock formations, pavillions, towers, and man-made lotus ponds.

Day 3: Shanghai/Yichang - Flights to Yichang After a morning of further exploration, we depart at lunchtime for the flight to Yichang. After a brief tour of the city we transfer to a five star Victoria Cruises river boat for our three day cruise through the spectacular Three Gorges.

Day 4: Three Gorges Cruise After visiting the Three Gorges Dam Project we rejoin our boat and climb more than 250 feet through five locks before departing through the eastern part Xinling Gorge, the longest of the Three Gorges at 43 miles (70 km).

Day 5: Three Gorges Cruise Cruising the Yangtze River, we enter the western part of the Xinling Gorge, and take a short excursion into one of the smaller gorges. Back on our main boat we continue into the 44 km Wu Xia Gorge, before passing though the 8 km Qutang Gorge, which is the narrowest and most spectacular of the Three Gorges.

Day 6: Three Gorges Cruise Today includes a shore excursion to either Shibaozhai, visiting the twelve storey Qing Dynasty 182 feet (56 metres) wooden temple that was built against a rectangular cliff or Fengdu Ghost City situated on Ming Mountain which is actually a man-made version of Hades telling the story of “sinners” who have been forced to live out their own personal hell for eternity. With its 75 temples and numerous sculptures, it is certainly a unique experience.

Day 7: Chongqing After an early arrival in Chongqing, famous for its spicy Sichuan cuisine and world renowned hot-pot, we spend the day touring the ancient city before we rejoin the waiting Shangri- La Express to continue our journey by rail.

Day 8: Chengdu Mid morning we arrive in Chengdu, capital of Sichuan Province and the centre for traditional Chinese medicine within this vast country. Also the home of the Giant Panda, we will have the opportunity to visit the Giant Panda Breeding Research Institute and get close to these remarkable rare creatures. This afternoon we can relax on board the train, socialise in the bar car or just watch the scenery pass by.

Day 9: Xian Breakfast arrival in the ancient city of Xian. Our tour takes in the highlights of the city including the Great Mosque, the 14 km city walls, Drum and Bell Towers and Big Wild Goose Pagoda. If there is time we can take a stroll through the historic Muslim quarter with its winding lanes and spend some time bartering for souvenirs. We dedicate several hours to visiting the world famous Terracotta Warriors, discovered by peasants barely 30 years ago. The 6,000 Terracotta figures, arranged in row after row of warriors and horses, are one of the greatest archaeological finds of the 20th century. This evening we see the excellent Tang Dynasty dinner show.

Day 10: Beijing Today we spend our last day enjoying the comfort and amenities on board the Shangri-La Express as we wind our way northwards towards Beijing, where we arrive in the evening. We bid farewell to our train crew and transfer to the five-star Peninsula Palace hotel (or similar) for a two night stay.

Day 11: Beijing Our first full day to experience the sights and sounds of this modern and confident capital city, today’s tour includes Tiananmen Square, the largest open urban square in the world and the site of several key events in China’s history, most infamously the student protests in 1989 and the magnificently restored Forbidden City, home to the Emperors and their numerous concubines. As no visit to Beijing would be complete with out one, we enjoy our farewell dinner at a famous Peking Duck restaurant and say our goodbyes.

Day 12: Beijing - Flight Departures After breakfast in the hotel, guests are transferred to the airport for international flight departures.