12-Day Beijing, Xi'an, Guilin, Shanghai Tour for Your Summer Vacation

Say hello to Beijing as you start the first leg of your summer vacation. Your private English-speaking guide will help you check-in at our well-selected hotel, which has a good location. It is convenient for you to walk around.

Hotel options:
Novotel Peace Beijing

Start your day at the Temple of Heaven in the morning. It used to be a holy place of worship and is now the perfect place to immerse yourself into local life because lots of people do their exercises there.

Walk through Tian'anmen Square to explore the mysterious Forbidden City, the largest imperial palace in the world. Hundreds of years ago, the royal families who stayed at the palace had clever ways to find relief from the summer heat. Your guide will unveil the secrets to you.

Afterward, relax in a nearby coffee shop and chat with your guide leisurely.

Your hotel has perfect location, you can walk around Houhai area at night to meet hutongs and bars.

summer tour in the Forbidden City

There's no need to get up too early so visit the Summer Palace in the late morning, have lunch, and then drive to Jinshanling, which is the best place to enjoy a sunset from the Great Wall in summer, the best season.

Arrive there at about 3:30pm to avoid the hottest time of day and ensure there are no crowds around you. Jinshanling is an unrepaired and quite well-preserved section of the Great Wall. You'll see golden sunlight and green trees at the beginning, then the glow from the sunset dyes the sky purple and the moon rises slowly in the distance. The Great Wall is just like a huge dragon that has fallen asleep quietly.

Your guide will prepare a picnic dinner for you. Drink a toast to this summer experience of a lifetime!

Hotel options:
Dhawa Jinshanling (As a sister brand of Banyan Tree Hotels and Resorts, this is a newly-built stylish resort at the foot of the Jinshanling section of the Great Wall. )

Jinshanling Great Wall

Do not in hurry, you have enough time to pack and have lunch and get on a comfortable bullet train to Xi'an and take a journey from the current capital to a capital in ancient times. Have a sound sleep and get ready for the next day.

Hotel options:
Grand Noble Hotel Xi'an

The High-speed Train

Get ready and head to the highlight of the day's trip. Admire the proudly unflinching, life-sized Terracotta Army, which was built 2,200 years ago. Discover more information about the first emperor of China that you won't be able to find in a history book.

Visit a traditional cave dwelling and make your own terracotta warrior together with your host to unveil the secrets of ancient technology.

After lunch, take a rest in your hotel to avoid the heat and crowds. Then start the night tour at about 7pm to discover a new area that you may not know about. Different from the bustling city wall area, it becomes sultry and charming when it is lit up. Have a stroll around a lake and walk through the golden Tang Dynasty Culture Square to see Xi'an from other angles.

The Terracotta Army

Cycle on the well-preserved ancient city wall in the morning to see views of the city from different directions. Move to the 1,300-year-old Muslim Quarter where hundreds of types of local food give you an eye-opening experience. Pick one or two snacks to satisfy your taste buds and curiosity.

In the afternoon, wander around Big Wild Goose Pagoda, which was built to hold sacred Buddhist texts and artifacts brought back from India over 1,000 years ago in the Tang Dynasty.

Catch a 2-hour flight to Guilin, a city full of landscapes.

Cycling on the Ancient City Wall

You have a whole day in Longsheng - a place where you can enjoy traditional agriculture and minority cultures.

Drive to the Longji Terraced Fields (about 1.5 hours). Explore the minority villages on the mountainsides. Enjoy magnificent views of the rice terraces and understand how local people make their living on the mountains.

Have lunch with a family from the Zhuang minority, learn how to make bamboo rice, or try their refreshing oil tea.

Yao Minority at Longsheng

Embark on a comfortable star-rated boat trip and enjoy the 4-hour cruise from Guilin to Yangshuo. With clear water and green peaks along the two banks, just immerse yourself in the Chinese landscape painting.

Disembark in Yangshuo around 1:30 pm. Head to your hotel, which has a perfect location near the Yulong River. Relax in the outdoor riverside garden and try Chinese landscape painting with the help of a teacher. Slow your pace and enjoy the moment.

Hotel options:
Yangshuo Mountain Retreat

Li River Cruise

There is no need to hurry on this day as you only have one activity - to discover a cool and authentic karst cave that is not decorated with man-made colorful lights.

Drive for about 40 minutes and then a professional English-speaking outdoor expert will join you. Put on a headlamp and ride in a small boat to enter the cave. See the original colors and touch the growing stalactites. This is a refreshing and cool experience in summer.

Get away from the touristy section of Yangshuo and have fun on a SUP and enjoy the stunning view of the Karst formation

Have fun on a SUP

Nothing could be more meaningful than getting a glimpse of people's lives from a totally different culture. Experience the daily lives of the local farmers on your last day in Guilin to see another side of China.

Drive through the villages where there are almost no other tourists. You might meet someone on his way to a field with a water buffalo or someone working in a paddy field. The locals will be happy if you say hello to them and are interested in their work.

Continue to drive past the rice paddies after saying goodbye to the villagers. Then take a ferry and a local farmer's taxi to the market in a small town on the other bank of the Li River.

Take a flight to Shanghai, which is a modern metropolis.

Hotel options:
Sunrise On The Bund

Explore the picturesque countryside

Shanghai is a window through which to see China's development. It is a city full of energy while also retaining traditions.

Start your day at a local market. Your host will tell you about his/her daily life and favorite summer vegetables.

Then cook the summer ingredients with your host and learn how to make chilled wontons and other dishes. Your host will be happy to show you the special seasoning used in Shanghai. Have lunch there and enjoy the food that you have cooked.

Instead of just walking around the Bund in the afternoon, your guide will take you to enter some aged and historical buildings, telling you the area's story from the very beginning in 1844.

Half-Day Customized Icing-on-the-Cake Experience

After traveling in China for around 10 days, you might want to do something different at the end of your tour. Do you want to have some relaxation time? Do you have any unfulfilled trip wishes? In the magic city of Shanghai, your private guide will make your wishes come true!

Whether you want to relax, experience fashion, appreciate art, explore folk customs, or shop; from having fun in fancy bar to exploring an art center, trying nail beauty, testing your popularity in the marriage market, or just buying some lovely gifts, we will make it happen. Just tell us what you're interested in.

If you don't know what you want, just let your guide make the arrangements. You will not be disappointed!

The Bund

This is the last day of your trip. Looking back on your summer vacation, we hope you have enjoyed the season's experiences.