SUMMER & FALL 2012 - VOLUME 3 - Senior Tours Canada

TENTATIVE ITINERARY FOR CHINADAY 1DAY 2DAY 3DAY 4DAY 5DAY 6DAY 7DAY 8DEPART. We depart for Beijing.BEIJING. We arrive in Beijing, China'spolitical and cultural centre, and transfer toour hotel. Balance of the day is at leisure.BEIJING. Our day begins at TiananmenSquare, where up to half a million peoplecan gather on special occasions. TheSquare is dominated by the Gate ofHeavenly Peace, the Great Hall of thePeople and the Chinese RevolutionMuseum. Further touring includes theForbidden City, formerly the residence ofthe Emperors, now a vast museum housingpriceless treasures from China's past. Wefinish off the day at the Temple of Heaven.This evening we enjoy a performance of thefamous Peking Opera.THE GREAT WALL. The Great Wall is oneof the great wonders of the world. Built in500 BC, it snakes its way across themountains for 3,600 miles. We will enjoy ourstroll on the Wall, and then proceed to enjoythe tranquility of the beautiful gardens at the12th century Summer Palace, consideredone of the most beautiful palaces in theworld with its lakes, arch bridges, jadepagoda and paintings. This evening will be aPeking Duck dinner at a local restaurant.BEIJING / XIAN. This morning we take aHutong rickshaw tour with lunch at a localrestaurant. In the afternoon we transfer tothe airport for our flight to Xian.XIAN. Today we see an incredible sight -the Buried Sculpture Legend of Qin ShiHuang. For his protection in the after-life,this 2nd century BC emperor buried withhim 6,000 life-sized clay figures of warriorsand horses. This amazing archaeologicalfind was just uncovered 30 years ago.Tonight enjoy a performance of TangDynasty dances.XIAN / HANGZHOU. This morning we visitXian's magnificent city wall and Wild GoosePagoda, Xian's most distinctive landmark.This afternoon we fly to Hangzhou.HANGZHOU. Today we enjoy a full day tourto West Lake. The serene peakssurrounding the lake made this area apopular imperial retreat. We also visit theLing Yin Temple, one of China’s mostDAY 9DAY 10DAY 11DAY 12DAY 13DAY 14DAY 15DAY 16famous ancient Buddhist temples, and thelively night market.HANGZHOU / NANJING. This morning wevisit the Long Jing Tea Farm beforetransferring to Nanjing by coach.NANJING. Today we visit Dr. Sun Yat-Sen'sMausoleum. Built in 1926 on a mountainslope, the Mausoleum is the resting place ofthe man still revered as the "Father ofModern China". Today we also visit thebeautiful Xuanwu Lake.WUXI. We transfer to Wuxi by coach. Uponarrival we take a cruise on beautiful TaihuLake, which is populated by 90 islets andornamental limestone rocks. Later we visitYuantouzhu, a lakeside scenic spot.WUXI / SUZHOU. In Wuxi we visit the LiGarden - a lovely, classical Chinese garden.We then transfer to Suzhou, an ancientcapital known as the "Oriental Venice" dueto its many canals.SUZHOU. Today we visit Tiger Hill, a scenicarea boasting 18 sites of natural beauty andhistorical fame. We also visit the LingeringGarden and the Master of Nets Garden.After lunch, we enjoy a cruise on the GrandCanal.ZHOUZHUANG / SHANGHAI. We beginwith a visit to the town of Zhouzhuang,which is renowned for its quiet and exquisitesurroundings. The canals are lined with oldhouses with courtyards and more than 60well-preserved carved-brick arches. In theafternoon we visit the Shanghai Museumwhich features 11 galleries of Chinese Art.After dinner this evening we enjoy anamazing acrobatic performance.SHANGHAI. Our tour begins at the Bund,known as China’s Wall Street, and then wewalk along Nanking Road, a colourfulshopping street. We’ll spend time in the OldTown Quarter - with its abundance ofrestaurants and shops this is the biggestand most lively “Chinatown” in the world.We later visit Pudong, a newer area withmodern attractions such as the OrientalPearl TV Tower and Century Park. Thisevening is our Farewell Dinner.HOME. We depart for home with AirCanada.47.