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 19 th 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.' Coming back from the nature, the shopping trip will begin in Nanjing Road which is starts at the Bund and runs westward, with People's Square in the middle. Renown for its bustling and modernization, Nanjing Road earns its reputation as the 'First Commercial Road in China', which is the good shopping heaven for your trip as the same as the Fifth Avenue in New York and Avenue des Champs-Elysées in Paris. Some of the traditional food and handicrafts of Shanghai can be found here. Then we 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. Standing at Pudong New Area at the east side of Huangpu River, Oriental TV Tower was completed on October 1, 1994. The tower has a height of 468 meters. With multi-functions of sightseeing, catering, shopping, amusement and accommodations, this tower has become the symbol of the city and a popular tourist attraction in Shanghai.

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.

Today you go to the Oriental Venice- Zhouzhuang to experience the 900 years-old water town in Jiangnan area. The town is surrounded by water with many branching streams, stone bridges and old residence with black tiles and white walls. You take a Chinese traditional boat in a group of 10 people at the most. The boatman slowly paddles along the river so that you could have a closer look at the ancient buildings of resident and bridges from a unique perspective.What makes you the most unforgettable is the Double Bridge which consists of two connected bridges built between 1573 and 1619. One aperture of bridge is with the shape of round while the other is of quadrate. In a whole, it looks like an ancient key knowing as Key Bridge. Chinese famous painter Mr. Zhang Yifei drew it as the memory of his hometown. In 1985, the painting was published on the first-day cover of stamps of United Nations. As a result, more and more International friends start to know the Zhouzhuang and are eager to see it.

In the afternoon, you visit two rich merchants’ houses in Zhouzhuang, who contribute the economic development to the ancient town and even today’s tourism. Shen's House consists of seven courtyards, five archways, more than 100 rooms of different size along two sides of a 100-m-long axis road, covering an area of 2000 square meters, offering a unique traditional Chinese architectural style. Zhang’s House has 6 courtyards and more than 70 rooms, covering more than 1800 square meters. After a wonderful trip today, you drive back to Shanghai to prepare tomorrow’s departure in the late afternoon.

Today you have so many highlights to see. After the first gorge you stop at Mt.Wushan and then change to a smaller boat for the Lesser Three Gorges. This is definitely the favorite part of the journey and the most impressive scenery. They are the 'Dragon Gate Gorge', 'Misty Gorge' and 'Emerald Gorge'. These gorges are far sheerer. You are incredible, majestic, humbling and wonderful to behold. If chances are, you will spot a few monkeys in the trees on both sides and also a few women singing and some guys playing something that sounds a bit like the bagpipes.

Return to the Victoria, you continue your wonderful trip. A few hours later you see the second gorge -Wu Gorge, known for its beauty, forest covered mountains and sheer cliff. The middle gorge is best known for twelve unique peaks. Often hidden in swirls of mist, six lines the north side of the river and six staggered peaks stand to the south. The cliff faces rise up almost 1000m on either side of the boat. You could stand on the deck for minutes to enjoy this pretty breathtaking sightseeing.

You see the third gorge- Qutang Gorge, the shortest, narrowest and the most dramatic one at last. It is impressive with sloping green surfaces, ridges & valleys running down to the water. The gorges rise straight out of the water on either side of you, dwarfing the boat. Two mountains, Mt. Chijia Shan and Mt. Baiyan Shan, guard the entrance to this gorge like giant castle doors.

Today you stop for an exploration of Shibaozhai, which represents one of the gems of Chinese architecture along the Yangtze River. From afar, the protruding 220-meter pagoda abuts against the north bank appears to resemble a jade seal. In Chinese myths, it is said that the creation of the pavilion is attributed to the goddess Nvwa, who caused a rockslide while she was redecorating the sky after a fierce battle between two warring dukes. A red pavilion abuts against one side of this rock. Its tall yellow entrance gate is decorated with lions and dragons. The pavilion itself is really impressive, clinging to the side of a sheer cliff face, as well as spread across the top of the hill. It takes a bit of time to get to the top, and there are some stunning views of Yangtze River when you get there. After return to the boat in the afternoon, you could enjoy your afternoon tea and share tales of today’s adventure with fellow travelers.

Or Fengdu, which is known as the 'Ghost City', remains hundreds of statues of ghosts and devils in a depiction of the afterlife.

The Farewell Dinner invites you to bid a fond goodbye to your new travel company. Thanks to the crews’ hospitality, you still have more fun to enjoy.

You say goodbye to all the crews with a good memory of the past four-day service.

After the short flight from Chongqing, Chengdu is before your eyes. The city is a very cultural city and has a lot of interesting and fascinating sights to offer in the city and also in its surrounding areas. You firstly visit Du Fu Thatched Cottage, which is a beautiful garden and museum to honor Du Fu, one of the greatest Chinese poets of all times. Even though you do not have a clue who Du Fu was and you couldn’t read the poems since all are only in Chinese, you have a great time there. You stroll through the huge garden area and find many awesome and picturesque places.Then you continue your trip to Wuhou Temple, which is another very beautiful spot. It also has a great garden and it is very graceful as well. It is special because it is a temple of honoring of an Emperor and his Minister. In Chinese history, there is strict grading between Emperor and Minister, who are not supposed to set together. Moreover you find a nice tea house in the temple and have a cup of tea to relaxing and watching the locals chatting, playing MaJiang and Chinese poker. The Sichuan tea houses really have a very unique atmosphere. You see many old people, who seem to spend the whole day there, some Western tourists, Chinese families and even sometimes young people meeting up with friends. It is always very nice and interesting to watch the people having a good time and enjoying themselves. Bamboo is the main food for lovely giant panda and Chengdu is a place where you find lot kinds of bamboo. The best example is your next destination-Wangjiang Park.

What you could not miss in Chengdu is the world famous Chengdu Research Base of Giant Panda Breeding which is located about six miles out of Chengdu City. This huge institution replicates the natural habitat of the giant panda and is dedicated to preserving and increasing their population so they will not become extinct. You are able to get real close-up to some pandas and photograph them as well as the so-called lesser red pandas which really look and act like raccoons. One of the biggest attractions is the panda breeding center where you can watch the baby pandas through glass in their playpens. You are not allowed to photograph the baby pandas, as the flash can hurt their eyes. Another highlight is the video you watch about the reserve and panda reproduction and learn how a panda gives birth to a baby cub. The baby just slides out and at the first time mothers don't know what it is, so it is common for them to accidentally kill the baby as they swat it around if the researchers can not help out in time. In all, it is nice to see all in the panda breeding center.

The guide will lead you to your next destination, Sanxingdui Museum, a modern theme museum which is 40 kilometers to the north of Chengdu. Quite different from the central culture of China, the ones showed at Sanxingdui Museum are precious cultural of mankind in south-west China existed between 2,800 to 800 BC. The museum houses some of ancient remains excavated near the present Guanghan City. Clues to this large and thriving culture were discovered by a farmer in 1929.

The big draw of Chengdu is delicious Sichuan Cuisine and local snacks. Fortunately, you will have a chance to taste Hot Pot in Sichuan Style at night. Sichuan is famous for its spicy food, and one of its delicacies is the hot pot. It's where you have a pot of spicy broth boiling in front of you and you choose which ever food to cook. The Sichuan hot pot is a bubbling cauldron of extremely hot oil and water. Dip all kinds of food into the pot including meats, vegetables and tofu. It's a very social meal. People sit around to enjoy it and make a long evening out of it. As the saying goes, 'When in Rome, do as the Romans do', your trip of Chengdu is completed with eating the traditional spicy hot pot. After dinner, an optional Sichuan Opera is waiting for you. The opera is staged in a tea house so during the show you could enjoy tea and peanuts. There are the music, opera (scene from the book Romance of the Three Kingdoms), some solo music, a bit of comedy, acrobatics, shadow puppets, and the face changing and fire spitting. It is nice to see the colorful costumes, hear the unfamiliar sounds of the music, and watch the amazing act of shadow play. The part with the mask changers is really cool. They change their masks so fast that you could hardly be sure that it really did change! They obviously are masters of 'sleight of hand'.

Tibet, the roof of the world, remained unknown to the world until the beginning of the 20th century. Located on the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau, this land is encompassed by some of the world's highest mountains, several rushing rivers and many crystal lakes. With an average height of 4,000 meters above the sea-level, Tibet covers a massive 1,220,000 square kilometers, which is about 13% of the whole China. Located in the valley of the Lhasa River, Lhasa is the capital city of Tibet. In Tibetan language, the city's name means holy land. Due to the sufficient sunshine, it is regarded as the sunshine city.

For this most mystery and paradoxical land in China, you must hold more expectations than any other cities. After arrival at the airport, the terrain you could see as you approach your hotel is pretty special. Mountainous, but stark, any growth on these slopes has camouflaged colors of those gray or greens. Some distant peaks are snow capped and the odd turquoise lake is visible. Beautiful, but it looks to be such a hard land to live in. For the rest of day, please do not hurry to do any sightseeing at once. Instead of, taking a half-day rest to adjust yourselves to the altitude sickness for tomorrow's trip.

Religion is such an important element of Tibetan life that it's hardly surprising most of the attractions are monasteries, temples and palaces. The awe-inspiring Potala Palace perched high above much of Lhasa, is definitely your good choice. The palace is a complex of political and religious function, which consists of the Red Palace, the White Palace and some attached buildings. The Red Palace contains various chapels and mausoleums for previous Dalai Lamas. The White Palace contains the living quarters of successive Dalai Lamas and their tutors. The offices of the old Tibetan government and their assembly halls are also located here. The Potala is full of elaborate artwork and frescos that tell many stories. They portray religious subjects as well as the customs and traditions of Tibet . Although you need to climb up, it will be richly rewarded for your efforts. Words may fail you to convey the scope of gold, pearls, carvings, gems, incense, monks, rooms, stairs that are in this incredible place. It is a pity that there are no photos allowed in the palace. However you would take photos by your eyes and embed them into your minds forever.

The local Tibetan lunch is very different from the previous cities, but you will find its specialist and enjoy it. In fact, the most popular cuisine in Tibet now is Sichuan Cuisine. Moreover there are also western-style restaurants in Lhasa. You will be delighted to eat what Tibetan eats in Tibet. Then you will visit the Jokhang Temple in the afternoon. According to Legend the Jokhang Temple was built on the former site of a lake. However, every time a temple was built, it would collapse later. Confused by this phenomenon, Princess Bhrikuti turned to Wen Cheng, the Princess of Tang Dynasty, for help. Being a well-educated woman, Wen Cheng told the Princess that the geography of Tibet was very much like a hag, with the lake at the heart. In order to build the temple, Wen Cheng advised they must demolish the hag by filling and leveling the lake using 1,000 sheep to carry soil from a mountain far away. When the temple was done, it was called Ra-Sa-Vphrul-Snang ('ra' meaning sheep and 'sa' meaning earth in Tibetan) to commemorate those sheep. It was built by craftsmen from Tibet , China and Nepal and thus features different architectural styles. The three-level roof of the Jokhang offers splendid views of the Bhakhor Streets across to the Potala Palace. The golden roofs are superbly crafted with many birds, beasts, bells and other intricate figures. The Tibetan people are absolutely beautiful - very warm, friendly and welcoming. There are so many impressions and interesting and bizarre things happened every day in Lhasa .

Then you will spend a whole afternoon exploring Barkhor Street. The markets in Lhasa are on a scale quite unlike anything else you have seen. You can buy anything Tibet-related, from sacks of incense, chunks of yak butter to monk outfits. When walking along the Barkhor Street , you need to follow the clockwise direction. You see many Tibetan pilgrims in town taking part in the various koras (pilgrimage circuits): the Nangkor, Barkor, Lingkor and Potala. Maybe there are even others associated with various monasteries. They are devout Buddhists who perform these koras as a part of their lives and a means of gathering merit. They are from different parts of Tibet but still have a distinctive look - heavy, colorful clothes, dark-haired, hair plaited and braided with beads. They travel in family groups with a prayer-wheel in constant motion. Among these various koras you see many prostrating themselves, some doing this repeatedly on the spot and others prostrating every 3 paces until they have circumambulated the route.

For the in-depth insight of this land and people, the morning will be spent to visit the Tibet Museum and Tibetan family. Tibet Museum has a rich collection od cultural relics, such as the objects of the prehistoric culture, hand copied classics in Tibetan language, colorful Tangkas, various musical instruments, handicrafts with distinctive ethnic characteristics, and pottery wares in unique style.

In the afternoon, Sera Monastery will be a good choice as well. Sera means ‘Hailstone' in Tibetan, and legend tells that it hailed during the foundation of this famous monastery. The Sera Monastery is the last of the three principal Yellow Sect monasteries built in Lhasa . It is destined to be one of the most enjoyable afternoons of the whole trip. The setting itself is very beautiful and there are many cobbled alleyways, temples and colleges on a hill. One chapel will be strike you in particular: it houses only statues and paintings of Dark Goddesses with devouring humans. A solitary monk sits inside the chapel, banging a big drum and sounding a gong. The highlight will be watching a monks debating inside the shady courtyard behind the main temple. Every day, hundreds of red-robed monks assemble in small groups and practice their debating skills. It is a highly entertaining spectacle, during which they strike poses not dissimilar to hip hop rappers. They are clap, turn, and finger point, whoop, holler, and throw their prayer beads about. In most cases, one monk sits on the floor, while another one stands, and between them, they argue about Buddhist rituals - immensely enjoying their debates. As tourists you are allowed to walk around the edge and observe the very dynamic and animated monks asking and answering questions like ‘why', ‘what came first the chicken or the egg' and ‘who is your favorite Buddha'. The spectacle is just so fun-filled and high energy. It's a bit like a Sicilian market place, or a football match, increasing in volume all the time, and some of the monks are really good showmen, sometimes mischievously involving you in their debates, as if trying to get you onto their side.

Shigatse, the second largest city of Tibet. It takes about 4.5 hours on the way from Tibet to Shigatse via Ganytse. The road condition can not be called good but the scenery on the way is really soul-stirring.

Yamdrok lake is surrounded by Mt. Kampala, Mt. Nyinchenkhasa, Mt. Chetungsu and Mt. Changsamlhamo. Befitting its mythical feminine origins, the turquoise blue lake has indescribable scenic beauty, promoting the Tibetans to compares it with the fairyland in Heaven. The lake is also called Coral Lake of the Highlands due to its shape, and on the surrounding expansive pasture, animals and birds flourish in huge numbers. The holy lake is also a pilgrimage site for Tibetans. Every summer, gangs of pilgrims trek there to pray and receive blessings. Pilgrims believe that its water can make the old young again, grant the middle-aged a longer life and make the children smarter. Being a sacred lake, the color of its water may be taken by the devout as having spiritual meaning. Then comes to Palkhor Monastery. This monastery is very different from other monasteries with its unique structure. It lies at the foot of Dzong Hill, 230km south of Lhasa and 100km east of Shigatse. The main assembly hall of Palkhor was built between the end of 14th century and the beginning 15th century. The ground floor of the three-story building is a Chanting Hall with 48 columns decorated with old silk ‘tangkas'. An eight-meter high bronze statuary of Maitreya is also on display and the gilded figure is made from 1.4 tons of bronze. On the second floor, ‘Bodhisattva Manjushri' and ‘Arhats' from the Ming Dynasty, were enshrined in the chapels. Its Arhat Chapel is famous throughout Tibet. On the roof, a chapel houses a collection of 15 ‘mandala' murals, which are three meters in diameter. The monastery collects about 100 robes and costumes worn in Tibetan opera, all of which were made of silk, embroidery and tapestry during the Ming Dynasty and the Qing Dynasty. Palkhor also features its Kumbum in Tibet. Deemed as the symbol of the monastery, the spectacular ‘stupa' consists of hundreds of chapels in layers, housing about a hundred thousand images of various icons, in total there are about 33,000 statues.

Tashilumpu Monastery is one of the six big monasteries in Tibet. Tashilumpu located at the foot of Tara's Mountain. It was found by the First Dailai Lama in 1447 and was expanded by the Fourth and successive Panchan Lamas. The monastery covers an area of nearly 300,000 square meters including the main structures of the Maitreya Chapel, the Panchan Lama's Palca and the Kelsang Temple. Tashilumpu is the seat of the Panchan Lama since the Fourth Panchan Lama took charge in the monastery, and there are now about 800 lamas. Standing on the entrance of the monastery, you can see the grand buildings with golden roofs and white walls. The remarkable Tangka Wall which is nine floors high, displays the images of Buddha on the 14th, 15th and 16th of May every year following the Tibetan Lunar Calendar. Besides this, Tashilumpu also treasures characteristic wall paintings. Because of the variety of shapes, resplendent colors and exquisite painting, the murals are considered to be another masterpiece of Buddhist art. Rare sutras, thangka, china and glass of Ming and Qing Dynasties are also invaluable assets found in the monastery. These are good relics of researching the history and society of Tibet .

Beijing, China's capital and a well-known tourist city of the world, offers sights and cultural relics found no where on earth. The city has its own individuality, that's the flavor of Beijing. The quadrangle, small alley, tricycle, boiled mutton, roasted duck, Peking Opera, arts and crafts you can see, hear and feel them all only when you come to the city yourself. After a good rest in a comfortable hotel TCT recommended, you are ready for the incoming rest tour with full energy. In coming two days, you will find it that Beijing is the perfect ending of your China tour.

As the biggest public square in the world, Tian’anmen Square conquers you with its grandeur at the first sight. You are quite glad to begin your first-day tour here. Then you are leaded to Forbidden City. It is the imperial palace for 24 emperors during Ming and Qing Dynasties and the biggest ancient architecture complex in the world. You walk in the museum to see with your eyes, to touch with your hands and fell with your hearts. Thanks to this wonderful visiting, you know how the richest feudal country was and how the top rulers and their concubines lived. After enjoyed a nice Chinese lunch , you continue your trip to Temple of Heaven. Different from the red and golden in the Forbidden City, the Temple of Heave is based on a color of blue, which stands the color of sky. You feel the perfect harmony between the architecture and nature and a circle and peace spirit of Chinese people. You even could imagine the vivid pictures of a great sacrifice to the Heaven for good harvest through the description of local guide.

At night, it is lucky that you'll have an opportunity to enjoy the opera of nation- Peking Opera. Skillful performers convey their exact feelings to you through various facial making-ups and featured musical instruments. The Chinese culture is completely revealed.

The Great Wall (Badaling Section) is located in the suburb 75km northwest of Beijing. The highway from Beijing to the Great Wall is smooth and comfortable. The Great Wall is the symbol of China and the wisdom of Chinese people. It is very unbelievable that Chinese succeeded in building such a great architecture with simple tools in ancient time. The construction of the Great Wall began in the 5th century BC. The wall has a total length of 6,700km, traveling up and down over numerous mountains and valleys. 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 is said the Great Wall is the only man-made project which is visible from the moon. Badaling Section is one of the best preserved and most accessible parts with the essence of the whole Great Wall.

The Ming Tombs are located in the northern suburbs of Beijing, consisting of 13 tombs of the emperors of the Ming Dynasty after the capital was moved from Nanjing to Beijing. Now there are only two tombs, Changling and Dingling, open to the visitors. The Lingsi Palace in Changling Tomb's second yard as really deserves a visit. This is unique as it is the only huge palace made of camphor wood. The ceiling is colorfully painted and supported by sixteen solid camphor posts. The floor is decorated with gold bricks.

Today's dinner should be a highlight of your tour if you desire to taste the most famous Peking Roasted Duck. From the whole roasted duck to the soup of duck tones, you'll enjoy a banquet of every part of duck. Moreover, the chef shows his skill of cutting the skin of duck on live. Not only your taste is fulfilled but also your eyes are entertained.