The Mighty Yangtze River and The Best of China

Day 1 London – In Flight
Titan’s VIP Home Departure Service® transports you from your front door to London Heathrow Airport in time for a direct, scheduled overnight British Airways flight to Beijing.

Day 2 Beijing
On arrival, we transfer to the well-located 4★ Landmark Hotel, our comfortable base for three nights. Our fi rst excursion this afternoon is to the serene Summer Palace, an imperial pleasureground set on the slopes of a hill overlooking Kunming Lake, northwest of central Beijing. This splendid collection of pavilions, halls, palaces, temples and bridges is the fi rst of many UNESCO World Heritage Sites that we visit on our journey.

Day 3 Beijing – Forbidden City
The morning is dedicated to the extraordinary complex of imperial palaces known as the Forbidden City, depicted with such vibrancy of colour in Bernardo Bertolucci’s fi lm The Last Emperor, that were home to Ming and Quing emperors for more than 500 years. Before lunch we visit Tiananmen, the largest city square in the world and one that has played host to monumental events in Chinese history, and then the afternoon is at leisure to perhaps explore the hutong, the labyrinthine traditional neighbourhoods of Beijing. We enjoy a show of Chinese martial art in the evening.

Day 4 Beijing – Great Wall
In the pine-forested mountains north of Beijing, a remarkably well-preserved section of the Great Wall of China is our memorable first stop. Voted one of the ‘New Seven Wonders of the World’ in 2007, the Great Wall is indeed a sight to behold – epic in scale, it took 2,000 years to build, it stretches 8,100 km from the sands of the Gobi to the mountains of Korea and, at its height, it was guarded by a million men. The Badaling Great Wall dates to the Ming Period, and we walk along ramparts little changed in five centuries or more. We also travel along the 7km ‘Spirit Way’ to the Ming Tombs, making a stop at the particularly impressive Changling Tomb, and savour a traditional Peking duck dinner at a local restaurant.

Day 5 Beijing – Xi’an
This morning is at leisure, perhaps to visit the Temple of Heaven, where emperors would pray on behalf of their subjects for a bountiful harvest. We then transfer to the airport for a domestic flight to Xi’an. Upon arrival, we transfer to the 4★ Grand Noble Hotel for the first of two nights.

Day 6 Xi’an
No visitor to China should miss the extraordinary Terracotta Warriors of Xi’an. More than 6,000 life-size terracotta soldiers and horses, arranged in battle formation to guard the mausoleum of the 3rd century BC Emperor Qin Shi Huang, have thus far been unearthed, now viewable in three large pits. The detail is phenomenal and, as with much associated with this vast country, the scale is breathtaking. Excavations are still ongoing here, undoubtedly one of the most important archaeological sites of the last century. We enjoy the famous Tang Dynasty Show this evening.

Day 7 Xi’an – Guilin
En route to the airport, we make a brief stop at the tomb of the Han Emperor Jing Di which, with its thousands of funerary figures, once adorned with wooden arms and silk garments, depicting all walks of life, provides an enthralling contrast to the overtly martial tomb of Qin Shi Huang. Following a domestic flight to Guilin, we transfer to the 4★ Park Hotel, where we stay for two nights.

Day 8 Guilin – Li River Cruise
The extraordinary natural beauty of Guilin region is best appreciated on a Li River day cruise, your vessel gliding serenely beyond spectacular karst rock formations and lush greenery. Lunch and free time is included in the town of Yangshou.

Day 9 Guilin – Chongqing
We head to the airport this morning for a domestic flight to Chongqing, perhaps little known in the west, but in fact the world’s most populous city with some 32 million residents in the urban area and hinterland. On arrival we enjoy a guided tour of the Old Town, and a visit to Chongqing Zoo, the most delightful and emblematic residents of which are the giant pandas. Having observed the pandas, we are taken to our overnight accommodation, the 5★ Hilton Chongqing.

Day 10 Chongqing – Yangtze (Fengdu)
We check-out this morning to make the transfer to embark the Victoria Sophia, a remarkable vessel configured to sail the remarkable journey from the mountainous Chongqing to Shanghai. We cruise leisurely downstream. This afternoon’s shore excursion is to Fengdu, set in a region of outstanding beauty and known as the ‘ghost city’ for its long association with the spirit world and the afterlife. Enjoy the Captain’s Welcome Cocktail Party this evening.

Day 11 Yangtze (Three Gorges – Danning River)
Another standout highlight of China and a genuine wonder of the natural world, the Three Gorges comprise the most spectacular and captivating stretch of the mighty Yangtze River. This morning, we sail through the first of these rock-cut masterpieces, Qutang Gorge, and disembark for an excursion to Shennong Stream, with it’s own attractive gorges. Returning to the ship at lunchtime, we continue our journey through the awe-inspiring Witches Gorge and Xiling Gorge, arriving at the locks of the Three Gorges Dam early evening.
Please note – a visit to Shennong Stream may be substituted if the Daning River is not accessible for operational reasons.

Day 12 Yangtze (Three Gorges Dam – Yichang)
A morning excursion to the Three Gorges Dam informs your opinion on this controversial enterprise, the largest water conservatory project ever undertaken. It flooded archaeological and cultural sites and displaced over a million people, yet it will create vast amounts of environmentally-friendly electricity. We rejoin our Yangtze cruise this afternoon.

Day 13 Wuhan
After another relaxing morning at sail, we arrive in Wuhan, capital of Hubei Province, surrounded by farmland productive enough to have inspired the saying ‘a good harvest in Hunan and Hubei would feed the whole country’. We disembark for a city tour and a visit to Hubei Provincial Museum, returning to the ship this evening.

Day 14 Huangshan
A full day excursion to Huangshan reveals why this ‘Yellow Mountain’ has so inspired artists, poets and photographers, earning it recognition as a World Heritage Site. In fact a range of glaciated peaks, Huangshan has been an ever-popular cultural subject: from the Tang to the Qing Dynasty, an estimated 20,000 poems were written about it and a school of painting was named after it. Huangshan even influenced James Cameron’s design of the idyllic world depicted in the film Avatar.
Please note – a visit to Jiuhaushan (Mountain of the Nine Lotuses) will be substituted if local weather conditions preclude a visit to Huangshan.

Day 15 Yangtze (Nanjing)
We arrive in Nanjing this morning, in time for an excursion to show you the highlights of the city that still has remnants of the eight dynasties that established their capitals here, including the grand mausoleum of revolutionary leader Dr Sun Yat Sen and the glorious Confucius Temple. We return to the ship for the Captain’s Farewell Dinner as we set sail for Shanghai on one of the most historic stretches on inland water in the world.

Day 16 Nanjing – Shanghai
We say farewell to Victoria Sophia as we disembark in Shanghai, a buzzing city with a fascinating past and one eye on the future. A morning tour introduces this stunning oriental metropolis, with views of the riverside colonial district known as the Bund, which has featured in countless books and films, but perhaps most memorably Empire of the Sun. Later, after lunch, we transfer to the excellent 4★ Salvo Hotel. An optional excursion this evening presents the opportunity to enjoy a spectacular acrobatic show.

Day 17 Shanghai
A day to make your own discoveries of Shanghai – perhaps browsing the exquisite collections of the Shanghai Museum or strolling the winding paths of Yu Yuan, a 16th century classical garden in the heart of the city. Or you may choose to join an optional excursion by train to the city of Suzhou, famed for its beautiful classic residential gardens including the Garden of Humble Administration, and take a short cruise on the Grand Canal, before returning this evening to savour a farewell dinner.

Day 18 Shanghai – London
We travel to the airport on the ultramodern Maglev train, covering a distance of 30km in a little over seven minutes. A direct, scheduled British Airways flight returns you to London Heathrow, where members of our airport team greet you and show you to your VIP Home Departure vehicle, waiting to take you home.

Important Tour Information
This tour requires a reasonable level of mobility in order to enjoy fully.

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Titan Travel strive to ensure that aspect of their holidays whispers quality, before you fly, you get to appreciate a comfortable, chauffeur-driven transfer from your front door to the airport with our peerless VIP Home Departure Service, check-in assistance and complimentary porterage. All international flights are with world-renowned scheduled airlines and cruises with acclaimed operators. Touring holidays are expertly designed by the product team to present a comprehensive, imaginative introduction to the destination of choice yet still offer plenty of time for relaxation. The services of a tour manager or cruise manager are included throughout. When you return to the UK, you are met in the arrivals hall of the airport and shown to your VIP Home Departure Service vehicle, waiting to return you to your front door.

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