Best of China with Yangtze Cruise

Visit China

Day 1

Say Ni Hao to China

Welcome to Beijing, China’s political and cultural heart and home to over 21 million people.

After landing you’ll transfer to your hotel and meet your Travel Director and fellow small group travellers. This evening you come together for dinner of typical northern Chinese dishes.

Day 2

Discover the Icons of Beijing

Join your small group and Travel Director for a city tour.

You’ll stand in Tiananmen Square, see the Great Hall of the People and walk through the gates of the Forbidden City. Later you visit the Temple of Heaven and see how locals use the surrounding park. This evening is free. You might ride the subway to explore the city further, browse Wangfujing’s snack street or walk past the illuminated landmarks along Chang’an Avenue. Or you may choose an Optional Experience to see the Legend of Kung Fu Show.

Day 3

Journey to the Great Wall

This morning you’ll join your Travel Director to walk a section of the Great Wall of China, then visit a jade workshop to see how craftsmen cut and polish this prized stone.

The afternoon is free in Beijing. You might visit the Summer Palace or climb Jingshan Park for views across the city. Or you could choose an Optional Experience traditional foot massage, rooted in Chinese reflexology and popular in Beijing after long days on your feet. In the evening you’ll share a Peking duck dinner, the city’s signature imperial dish. After dusk, join your Travel Director for a stroll through Qianmen night market.

Day 4

Explore Beijing’s Hutong and Onwards to Xi’An

You’ll ride by rickshaw through Beijing’s hutong lanes to see traditional courtyard homes, then enjoy a Small Group Exclusive visit to a small tea house for an introduction to Chinese tea.

Later you’ll join a local family for a Be My Guest experience and taste home-style Beijing dishes. In the afternoon you board a high-speed train to Xi’an and watch the landscape change outside your window. This evening is free. You might walk the ancient city walls, visit the Drum and Bell towers or try Xi’an’s famous dumplings, or choose an Optional Experience walk through the Muslim Quarter night market with tastings and local beer.

Day 5

Marvel at the legendary Terracotta Warriors Make Travel Matter

You’ll travel outside Xi’an to see the Terracotta Warriors and Horses, standing in silent ranks after more than two thousand years.

On the way back towards the city you’ll stop for a Chinese noodle lunch, tasting one of the region’s staple dishes. Later, visit the Wild Goose Pagoda and its surrounding temple complex, an important landmark on the old Silk Road. This evening is free. Take a chance to relax at the hotel or grab some food with your fellow Small Group travellers, or choose an Optional Experience Tang Dynasty Show with dinner.

Day 6

Take the bullet train to Chengdu Dive Into Culture

Start your day right with a Dive into Culture experience, joining a Local Specialist for a tai chi lesson in a city park and learning the slow, focused movements locals practise every day.

Later, board a high-speed train to Chengdu. After arrival and hotel check-in the afternoon is free. You might visit People’s Park for tea, wander Kuanzhai Alley or Jinli Ancient Street, or try classic Sichuan dishes in a local restaurant. In the evening you can explore at your own pace or choose an Optional Experience Sichuan Opera performance, with music, costume and the famous face-changing scenes.

Day 7

See the Giant Pandas and Discover the Cuisine of Sichuan Make Travel Matter

You’ll visit the Chengdu Research Base of Giant Panda Breeding with a Local Specialist on a MAKE TRAVEL MATTER® Experience, seeing how teams care for these endangered animals as you watch pandas rest, play and feed in leafy enclosures.

Later you’ll head to the Sichuan Cuisine Museum for a Dive into Culture cooking class. You’ll learn to balance bold Sichuan flavours as you chop, stir-fry and season classic dishes, then sit down together with your Small Group to enjoy the dinner you’ve helped prepare.

Day 8

Board your Yangtze River Cruise Dive Into Culture

You’ll start the day with a walk through Chengdu’s People’s Park, passing Chinese gardens, the lake and busy tea houses where locals spend their free time.

Later you’ll take the train to Chongqing. Join a city orientation with your Travel Director, stopping for a photo at Liziba, where the monorail runs straight through a residential building, before walking through the Jiefangbei area around Kuixinglou and Daijiaxiang. In the evening you’ll see Hongyadong lit up above the river then sit down to a Chongqing hotpot dinner at a local restaurant. Afterwards you’ll board your Yangtze River cruise, settle into your cabin and step out on deck to see the city lights along the river before your journey upstream.

Day 9

Cruise the Great Yangtze River

Take a shore excursion to Mountain Shuanggui near Fengdu.

Depending on river conditions, an alternate excursion may be substituted to Shibaozhai, with its impressive wooden pagoda. You may choose to visit Fengdu’s ‘Ghost City’ on an Optional Experience. Explore eerie temples and shrines depicting China’s vision of the afterlife and hear the legend of two officials-turned-immortals. This evening, another Optional Experience awaits. The Romance of the Three Kingdoms retells the epic battle for dominance between three kingdoms, with stunts, acrobatics and cutting-edge visual effects. Feel the excitement and intensity of the Three Kingdoms era come to life in this thrilling open-air show.

Day 10

Sail through the Imposing Three Gorges

Wake up to another day on the Yangtze.

This morning, choose one of two Optional Experiences: visit the White Emperor City, where rulers and poets once admired Qutang Gorge, or head to Chijia Mountain’s peak for sweeping views from the top of the Qutang Gorge. Return to your cruise and journey through Qutang Gorge’s towering cliffs, past Wu Gorge’s misty peaks, and into Xiling Gorge’s dramatic landscapes. Swap the ship for a small motorboat this afternoon and explore the Goddess Stream, gliding past sheer limestone cliffs covered in lush greenery—you’ll gain another perspective on this mighty river. Back on board, a Captain’s Farewell Dinner and show of local music, singing and dancing round off your final night on the river.

Day 11

Onwards to Shanghai Stays With Stories

Make an early start and head up to the top deck of your Yangtze cruise ship to see the vast Three Gorges Dam, the world’s largest hydropower project built over several decades.

Later you’ll disembark and fly to Shanghai, then ride up to the 88th floor of Jin Mao Tower for panoramic city views. This evening you’ll check in to your Stays With Stories hotel, The Kunlun Jing An, one of the first Chinese designed five-star hotels and once a base for visiting dignitaries. Your evening is free. You might find a local spot for classic Shanghai dishes or explore the bars and restaurants nearby, or choose an Optional Experience dinner at Spacelab, a space-themed restaurant where dishes arrive via looping metal tracks.

Day 12

Discover Vibrant Shanghai Stays With Stories

Join a city tour of Shanghai, starting at the Bund to see its historic riverfront buildings set against the modern skyline.

You’ll visit a silk factory to learn how silk is produced, then walk through Yu Garden with its classical pavilions, ponds and rockeries. There is free time in the Old Town to find your own lunch and explore the lanes. Later you’ll visit the Jade Buddha Temple to see its carved statues and active worship halls before heading back to the hotel. This evening, settle into an performance by the world-renowned Shanghai Acrobatic Troupe.

Day 13

Discover Shanghai Your Way

Today, you’ll have a full day to explore Shanghai as you please.

You might return to the Bund, shop along Nanjing Road, wander the lanes of Tianzifang or cross to Pudong to walk between its towers. You can also choose one of today’s Optional Experiences. Visit the Shanghai Museum and former Jewish Ghetto to see key artworks and streets linked to the city’s 20th century history. Or travel out to Zhujiajiao water town, crossing stone bridges and narrow lanes before lunch in a local restaurant. Tonight, sit down to dinner and raise a glass with your small group to your journey through China and along the Yangtze.

Day 14

Farewell to China

Check out of your hotel this morning, and transfer to the airport for your onward journey.

Say goodbye to your Travel Director and Small Group, taking with you the sights of China’s cities, the Yangtze River and the moments you’ve shared along the way.

Dining Summary

7 Dinner (D)

13 Breakfast (B)

4 Lunch (L)

Be My Guest

Beijing: Visit and have lunch with a local family in their home in one of Beijing's hutongs and gain a fascinating behind-the-scenes glimpse into their lifestyle.

Dive into Culture

Xi'an: Join a Local Specialist for a tai chi lesson in a city park, learning slow, controlled movements alongside local residents. As you follow the sequence you’ll see how this daily practice blends exercise, balance and focus, offering a calm window into everyday Chinese life.

Chengdu: Head to the Museum of Sichuan Cuisine and get stuck in with a cookery lesson. Try your hand at grinding chilli with a traditional pestle and mortar, explore centuries-old recipes and learn the secrets of bold Sichuan flavours. Finally, tuck in.

Iconic Experience

Beijing: Gain insights into this fascinating city during a sightseeing tour of Beijing. See the Great Hall of the People and Tiananmen Square before stepping through the south gate of the Forbidden City. 

Great Wall of China: Visit the Great Wall of China to marvel at the history of this renowned landmark. 

Beijing: Sit down together to share Peking duck, Beijing’s signature dish with roots in the imperial kitchens. Watch the crisp roasted duck carved then wrap slices with cucumber, spring onion and sweet bean sauce in thin pancakes.

Beijing: Hop on a traditional rickshaw and weave through Beijing's ancient alleyways.

Beijing: Step into a small hutong tea house for a hands-on introduction to Chinese tea. In your small group you’ll learn how to choose tea leaves, follow traditional brewing techniques and hear how places like this once refreshed local residents, as you share stories and questions with your host.

Beijing: Board a high-speed train to Xi’an, swapping city traffic for smooth, fast travel across the countryside. Settle into your seat, watch fields and townships stream past your window and arrive ready to discover this former imperial capital.

Fortifications of Xian: Visit the tomb of Emperor Qin Shi Huang and see the terracotta warriors. 

Xi'an: Visit Xi’an’s Wild Goose Pagoda, a key landmark on the ancient Silk Road. Walk through the surrounding temple complex, see the striking brick pagoda rising above the courtyards and hear how it once stored precious Buddhist scriptures brought from India, linking trade, faith and scholarship in one place.

Chongqing: You’ll get to know Chongqing, a major river city built on steep hills above the Yangtze. Busy shopping streets, high-rises and older alleyways sit side by side and hotpot restaurants are packed most evenings, showing you how people here eat, shop and spend their time.

: Visit the cliff-top temple Shibaozhai.

Yangtze: Cruise on a small motorboat through the magical landscape of the Goddess Stream. 

Shanghai: Soar to the 88th floor of the striking Jin Mao Tower and take in sweeping views of Shanghai’s futuristic skyline, where skyscrapers rise above the Huangpu River in one of Asia’s most dynamic cities.

Shanghai: Join a Local Specialist to uncover the contrasts of Shanghai, from its colonial past to modern marvels. Stroll along the historic Bund waterfront and wander through the tranquil classical pavilions and rockeries of Yu Garden.

Shanghai: Witness a spellbinding performance by the Shanghai Acrobatic Troupe, where precision, agility and imagination collide. From high-flying aerials to perfectly timed choreography, this world-class show celebrates the artistry and discipline of Chinese acrobatics with a modern twist.

MAKE TRAVEL MATTER®

Chengdu: At the Chengdu Research Base of Giant Panda Breeding, learn how your visit contributes to their conservation efforts to rescue and protect the endangered giant panda of which fewer than 2,000 remain. Your visit directly supports United Nations Sustainable Development Goal 15: Life on Land.

Must-see Highlights

Explore Beijing, Xi'an, Chengdu and Shanghai

Visit the Great Wall of China, Tiananmen Square and Forbidden City in Beijing, the Terracotta Warriors in Xi'an, the Research Base of Giant Panda Breeding in Chengdu, and the 'Bund' waterfront, Jade Buddha Temple and Jinmao Tower in Shanghai

See local people practicing T'ai Chi in the morning, the Three Gorges Dam and the Shanghai Acrobats

Cruise the Yangtze River and the Three Gorges

Trafalgar Difference

Shanghai: Opened in 1988 as Shanghai’s first Chinese-designed five-star hotel, The Kunlun Jing An has hosted state leaders, dignitaries and international guests. Exceptionally located in the heart of the city’s fashionable Jing An district, it’s just a short walk from the iconic Jing An Temple and West Nanjing Road.

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