Beijing , China 's capital and one of the great travel destinations of the World, offers sights and cultural relics found no where else on Earth. The city has a character all its own; there are quadrangles, small alleys, tricycle, boiled mutton, roasted duck, arts and crafts, Peking Opera, The Great Wall, the 2008 Olympics venue and a vibrancy that is the distinctive flavor of Beijing. You can only really appreciate these unique features when you come to the city to see, hear and feel them all for yourself.

The biggest public square in the World, Tian'anmen conquers with its grandeur at first sight. A few steps away, come to visit the Forbidden City . It was the Imperial Palace for 24 emperors during the Ming and Qing Dynasties and is one of the largest, and certainly the most completely restored, ancient architectural complex in the world. Walk in the footsteps of Emperors; come to the museum and see with your eyes, and feel with your hearts; you'll begin understand what life in this richest of feudal realms was like for the Imperial Rulers, their concubines and their slaves.

Continue on to the Temple of Heaven . Departing from the Imperial vermilion and gold hues of the Forbidden City, the Temple of Heaven is decorated in blue, the color of the Heavens. The perfect harmony between the architectural environment and nature can be felt here; you might easily imagine the vivid spectacle of a great sacrifice to the Heavens for a good harvest.

In the evening, we offer you an opportunity to enjoy Peking Opera, China 's national treasure. Expert performers convey powerful emotions to the audience through song, dance, facial make-up, exquisite masks and costume, skilled use of body language and sympathetically integrated musical accompaniment.

Just 75km North-west of Beijing, along a smooth and comfortable highway is the Badaling Section of the Great Wall of China . The Great Wall is an internationally admired structure, symbolic of the cruelty of the ancient rulers, and the stoicism and determination of the Chinese people. The construction of the Great Wall began in the 5th century BC. The wall has a total length of 6,700 km, for much of its length following extremely rugged and mountainous terrain, clinging to incredibly precipitous mountainsides; it is truly an engineering masterpiece by any standard, ancient or modern. Starting in the east at Shanhaiguan Pass , it crosses Hebei Province , Beijing , Shanxi Province, Inner Mongolia, Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region, Shaanxi Province , and ending up in Jiayuguan at Gansu Province . It has been claimed that the Great Wall is the only man-made structure which is visible from the moon.   Badaling Section is one of the best preserved and most accessible parts, and in its splendour, captures the essence of the Great Wall of China.

Today visit the “most beautiful garden in China ”- the Summer Palace . If you think, “Oh no! Not another perfect garden.” then you are in for a very pleasant surprise. Originally known as the " Garden of Clear Ripples ", the Summer Palace is a magnificent imperial garden located 15 km north of Beijing City . This is the largest ancient preserved garden in China and a former summer retreat for Emperors and the chosen few! The site includes more than 100 ancient style pavilions, mansions, towers, halls, temples, bridges and an enormous clear water lake. What is most enjoyable about the Summer Palace , it is simply a gorgeous place to relax, escape the smoke and crowds of the city and spend an afternoon walking. It is said one could just as easily spend one week out here as one afternoon.  Here is a rare chance in Beijing , to lose the crowds and ‘clear away the cobwebs'.

If exploring the Forbidden City and the Summer Palace in past two days has improved your understanding of the lifestyles of China 's ancient Imperial Court , then this half-day Hutong Tour will give you an insight into the lives of ordinary Chinese people and reveal their social culture in today's Beijing City.

Xi'an , steeped in history and still giving up secrets, is your gateway to ancient Chinese civilization. In its 3,100 recorded years of evolution, it has been home to 13 dynasties.  Xi'an was also the end of civilization for those setting out on the famous Silk Road . Today's Xi'an is a vibrant, modern city, but surrounded by history, even underfoot! So there can be no underground railways due to the obligation to preserve the wealth of ancient treasure still awaiting discovery.

As an ancient capital city to 13 dynasties, Xi'an has a rich recorded history, frequently enhanced by the evidence of new discoveries, like the 1974 unearthing of the fabulous Qin Terracotta Army, the long forgotten army created to guard Emperor Qin Shihuang's tomb. In accordance with ancient beliefs, this grand project was mounted at enormous cost by the cruel and tyrannical Emperor, only to be attacked, plundered, burnt and buried after his funeral by the peasants who'd labored under the whip to build it.  Then, over two thousand years later, this “Eighth Wonder of the World” was rediscovered by farmers digging a well. The fine troops, horses and carriages in battle formation are a National ancient art treasure. Three excavation pits are now opened to the public and a fourth is nearing completion.  You can, like US President Clinton, now gaze in wonder upon this historic site, listed by UNESCO in 1987 as a world cultural heritage.

The pagoda was built in 652 during the Tang Dynasty and originally had five stories, although the structure was rebuilt in 704 during the reign of Empress Wu Zetian and its exterior brick facade renovated during the Ming Dynasty. One of the pagoda's many functions was to hold sutras and figurines of the Buddha that were brought to China from India by the Buddhist translator and travelers Xuanzang. Now this well-preserved holy place for Buddhist has been the symbol of Xi'an.

Continue the trip to the nearby Ancient City Wall. It is the most complete city wall that has survived in China as well as one of the largest ancient military defensive systems in the world.

This evening you could choose Jiaozi Banquet, which includes over 10 kinds of Jiaozi, whose shapes and flavours vary, such as rabbit, duck, shrimp, peanuts and so on.

Or you can choose to enjoy a Tang Dynasty Show with Dinner that was created for “emperors only” in ancient China . You'll enjoy the sumptuous dinner while watching a fabulous dancing and singing performance of the Tang Dynasty. This is not only a performance of Chinese traditional dancing and singing, but a re-enactment of Chinese ancient ceremony and culture.

Shaanxi History Museum is one of the first huge state museums with modern facilities in China . The museum houses over 300,000 items including murals, paintings, pottery, coins, as well as bronze, gold, and silver objects. The modern museum was built between 1983 and 2001 and its appearance recalls the architectural style of the Tang Dynasty. It is a showcase of the civilization from Emperor Qin Shihuang to the present day.

Chongqing , China 's largest inland city, is a booming metropolis located in the southeast of the Sichuan Basin at the confluence of the Yangtze and the Jialing rivers

Variously known as ‘mountain city', ‘foggy city' or ‘furnace city', Chongqing is surrounded by waters on three sides, and by the mountains on four sides. It has a moist climate with many cloudy days and moderate frost and snow. It holds distinction as being China 's largest municipality, with thirty-two million people living in Chongqing municipality; about six million in the city proper and the rest in outlying towns and rural areas. It is famous for its tongue-numbing, spicy cuisine. 

Fengdu is located on the northern bank of the Yangtze 176km downstream from Chongqing .  Known as the Ghost City , Fengdu is a very popular shore excursion site for tourists on the Yangtze River .  Fengdu received its reputation in the Eastern Han Dynasty. Two officials, Wang Fang Ping and Ying Chang Sheng, from the imperial court were bored with political life in the court and came to Mt. Minshan outside Fengdu city to practice Taoist teachings. Both of them later became immortals by carrying out self-cultivation. When combined together, their surnames Ying and Wang sound very much like King of Hell in Chinese. Hence the people began to call Fengdu the Ghost City .

To Chinese people, the social structure in hell is exactly like that in the real world. In hell, a spirit goes through the whole bureaucracy to be finally judged. Those pure of spirit will be rewarded and those sinful ones will be subjected to severe punishments. Different punishment would be given to different kinds of sins. The temples built on Mt. Minshan display punishing instruments and wild demon images, which vividly depict the Chinese people's imagination of Hell.

Landmarks on the hill bear horrible names, such as Ghost Torturing Pass , Tower of Last Glance to Home, No Way-out Bridge, and River of Blood .

This morning, rise early to see the dawn light the Yangtze River before the boat enters the first gorge- Qutang Gorge, the shortest (8 km), narrowest and the most dramatic one of the three gorges. Two mountains, Chijia Shan and Baiyan Shan, guard the entrance to this gorge like giant sentinels. It still being quite early, before full daylight, the majesty of the formations is viewed in semi-silhouette, imposing, with sloping green surfaces, ridges and valleys running down to the water. The walls of the gorge rise straight out of the water on either side, dwarfing the boat.  Watch for the Meng Liang staircase, built in the Song Dynasty period. The sunrise will add to the spectacle as the boat progresses through the gorge, so don't leave your camera in your cabin.

Be sure to have breakfast before you enter the second gorge, this is a spectacle you won't want to interrupt. Wu Gorge (44 km), the middle gorge is best known for twelve unique peaks; often veiled in swirls of mist, six line the north side of the river and six staggered peaks stand to the south. The cliff faces rise up almost 1,000m on either side of the boat.

Near Wushan are the Three Little Gorges (Xiao San Xia), referring to the three separate valleys of the Daning River; they are respectively, Dragon-Gate Gorge, Misty Gorge and Emerald Gorge. You can change to a smaller boat to enjoy these marvelous spectacles of nature. You may well find this spot more impressive than the Yangtze Three Gorges themselves, as the Daning river's waters are pristine, compared to the muddy Yangtze and the river is narrower and the cliffs embracing it are even steeper and higher than those along the major Three Gorges.  You might see monkeys in the trees on both sides of the river, and as the boat passes minority villages, you will be charmed by the spellbinding voices of the women singing traditional folk songs, and the haunting tones of the men's Flute music.

Halfway through the Xiling Gorge, you will stop at Sandouping, the site of modern China 's most ambitious engineering project; the Three Gorges Dam is 2,335-meter long, 185-meter high, 18-meter wide on the top and 130-meter wide at the bottom. The dam will raise the river to a level of 175 meters above sea level, creating a 600km long reservoir with storage capacity of 39.9 billion cubic meters extending from the dam site all the way to Chongqing . The construction has set many world records. As you pass through the five locks, which will lower your boat to the level of the downstream side of the dam in 1.5 km, you will be witness to some part of the overall achievement, and marvel at its scale and efficiency. The locks will permit annual one-way navigation of 50,000,000 tons of shipping between Shanghai and Chongqing , a five-fold increase. The dam will be the biggest water conservation project in the world, and will provide irrigation and much needed flood control, from the present level of preventing under-10-year floods to that of preventing 100-year floods. So 15 million people and 1.5 million hectares of farmland in the Jianghan Plain are relieved from flood threats and devastating plagues of massive death caused by big floods are avoided.  Its hydroelectric power plant, which will be driven by the world's largest turbines will have the generating capacity of 18 nuclear power plants.

The construction of the dam formally began in 1994. The body of the dam was completed in 2003, and the whole construction will be competed in 2009.

Today you'll find a Buddhism shrine - Jade Buddha Temple , located in a crowd of Shanghai City . It was first built in 1882 in Jiangwan on the southern outskirts of Shanghai . In order to make it convenient for the adherents to visit, it was bodily moved to Shanghai City at the present sire in 1918. It is named for its two bejeweled white jade Buddha. It receives thousands of visitors and worshipers everyday while keeps its sanctity and charming. Carved from a whole piece of white jade, the sitting jade Buddha statue is translucent with a solemn expression, displaying the excellent skill and extraordinary art of Chinese people.

Yuyuan Garden has a lot of stories for it was severely damaged in the 19th century and was restored in 1961. This garden was first built in the 16th century by provincial governor, Pan Yunduan, in honor of his father who was the then government minister. It has many scenic courtyards decorated with baroque rockery, pools, and flora that are all connected by corridors and passageways. The delicate design and exquisite layout of the whole garden reveals a strong impression of 'garden in the garden, whole in the part.'

Shanghai World Financial Center is a supertall skyscraper in Pudong New Area, Shanghai . It is a mixed use skyscraper which consists of offices, hotels, conference rooms, observation decks, and shopping malls on the ground floors. On 14 September 2007 the skyscraper was topped out at 492.0 meters (1,614.2 feet) and became the second tallest building in the world; as well as the tallest structure on mainland China , including Hong Kong . It is currently the world's tallest completed building by roof. On 28 August 2008, the SWFC officially opened for business.

Then it comes to the Bund, the showcase with the old buildings of colonial-era leftover along Huangpu River . The renowned waterfront district is the city's most famous landmark. The word BUND is of Anglo-India origin meaning embankment on the waterfront. It is also the popular site to enjoy the night view of the city.

Xintiandi is a car-free shopping, eating and entertainment area of Shanghai , China . It is composed of an area of restored traditional shikumen (stone gate) houses on narrow alleys, a modern shopping mall with a cinema complex, and some adjoining houses which now serve as book stores, cafes and restaurants. Most of the cafes and restaurants feature both indoor and outdoor seatings. Xintiandi has an active nightlife on weekdays as well as weekends, though romantic settings are more common than loud music and dance places. Xintiandi means "New Heaven and Earth", and is considered one of the first lifestyle centers in China .

Shanghai offers colorful recreations with rich contents and creative form. Your night may be filled with an interactive old form of art known as the Acrobatics. Those professional performers have been trained of as early as age six or seven so that they can play so well and excellent. It definitely will be an unforgettable night in your memory.