12-Day Private tour to Chengdu, Chongqing,Yangtze River, Zhangjiajie & Shanghai

In the morning, your driver and guide will meet you at 8:00am of your Chengdu hotel then transfer to Chengdu Panda Base, need 30 minutes driving, 15km.

First, you will visit the Chengdu's Giant Panda Breeding Research Base which is home to over 80 of China's iconic pandas. Most are of the familiar black and white variety, but the Base is also home to a number of the smaller, lesser-known red pandas. You'll view the animals eating and at play in a carefully maintained habitat that is as close to their natural environment as possible. You'll also learn how scientists and ecologists are working to protect the few remaining wild pandas and expand the captive population. On that last note, over 100 bears have been born at the Base since 1987. The Base became even more important after the Sichuan earthquake of 2008, with eight bears sent here from the badly damaged Wolong reserve. Your visit provides both moral and financial support for the ongoing conservation effort.

Next, go to Renmin Park and you know that park is a comprehensive garden for both the cultural heritages collection and entertainment. The locals in Chengdu often drink tea for relaxing here. You will never know what real lifestyle in the “Capital of Leisure” is like unless you visit Renmin Park. There are always crowds sitting in the shade of the park from when the sun rises. The best things to do here include going into a teahouse, ordering a cup of tea, reading for a whole afternoon, thinking about nothing, or chatting with some old friends. Enjoying the slow life in Chengdu, you may suddenly feel that you are leading a happy life.

After the lunch, take the private car to Jinli old street which is an impressive trip to the famous old street. Time steals away from you quietly while walking on the lively streets which are full of delicious local snacks, delicate artifacts, interesting folk shows, etc.

At the end, your guide will escort you to your hotel.

After breakfast at your hotel,our driver and guide will meet you at your hotel lobby of 09:00am then transfer to the Leshan and need 2.5hrs driving, 150km.

Experience the Giant Buddha of Leshan, one of Chinese Buddhism's holiest sites, on this amazing full-day tour from Chengdu. Dating from the 8th century, the Giant Buddha of Leshan is the largest carved stone Buddha and the tallest pre-modern statue in the world. It was cut from the cliffs of Lingyun Shan in the hopes of calming the turbulent waters of the three rivers that flow together under its gaze. Stairs are carved into the cliff that connect the area at the Buddha's feet with the land above, allowing you to view this astonishing sight from a range of vantage points. Views are stunning over elbows and knees, taking in the river scene and Leshan's skyline. Upon arrival in Leshan, you can have lunch at a restaurant within sight the Giant Buddha. You'll then explore the Giant Buddha and enjoy fantastic views of the surrounding landscape from atop the Buddha's head. Wen then pay a visit to Lingyun Temple and Museum and get a deeper insight into the history of this amazing Buddhist site and learn the story of the carving of the Giant Buddha.

Afterwards, take the private car to Chengdu East Railway Station, where a train to Chongqing is waiting for you. You may take the G1887 17:59-19:33. The train takes around 1.5 hours.

Upon arrival at Chongqing, you will be picked up on time and transferred to the Chongqing hotel(Driver only. no guide).

At around 08:00, your excellent tour guide will pick you up at your downtown Chongqing hotel for a 3-hour comfortable private vehicle drive to Wulong County.

Wulong, featuring peculiar karst landforms, boasts of jaw-dropping stone bridges, caves, pits, eroded sinkholes and gorges. Wulong becomes known to foreign tourists due to Michael Bay's hit movie – Transformers: Age of Extinction, which directly shows the majesty beauty of the Three Natural Bridges in Wulong. Besides the famous movie-site, other interesting nature objects are also in this area, like Furong Cave, Longshuixia Gap and Fairy Mountain.

After a hearty lunch at a local restaurant, your splendid Chongqing Wulong karst tour begins with the Three Natural Bridges, the essential scenic feature of this world heritage area. Exquisitely sculptured by the hands of god, the three giant stone arch bridges are real wonders that can't be seen anywhere else in the world. Inside the tranquil scenic area, you can embrace the rugged beauty of the mountain bridges and gorges by meandering along the narrow path on the valley's bottom. During the 2 - 2.5 hours visit, you will also stop by an ancient staging post near Qinglong Bridge, which was constructed during the Tang Dynasty (618 - 907) for handling official business and receiving guests. The wooden-structured courtyards are still well preserved with more than 20 rooms remaining. After some free time to wander around, your Wulong trip from Chongqing concludes. You will be transferred back to your hotel. Upon arrival at around 18:30.

At the end, your guide will escort you to your Chongqing hotel.

In the morning, your driver and tour guide will meet you at your hotel lobby at 09:00am then transfer to Chongqing city center for the city day tour.

Your first stop of this tour will be The People’s Hall of Chongqing, a landmark architecture completed in 1954 to memorize China's resistance war and establishment of new government. It is also one of the top 10 classic architectures in 20th century Asia.

Then, you will visit Chongqing Stilwell Museum - The Flying Tiger Memorial, which was once used as an important lodging place by the KMT government to accommodate VIPs during the war against Fascism.

After the museum visit, your guide will take you to taste authentic Chongqing Hot Pot (steam bowel) which is well known and popular in China. You will challenge this hot and spicy dish for lunch to appreciate its popularity. In the afternoon, you will visit Ciqikou old town. Ciqikou received its name from making of Chinaware in ancient time. It is also a good place to explore local folklore.

Your last stop in Chongqing will be the Eling Park, the highest scenic location where you could enjoy aerial views of the whole city.

Today, you will go to Dazu County for a whole day of sightseeing (your guide will meet you at 08:30 in your hotel lobby).

A famous world heritage site, the Dazu Rock Carvings refer to all the grotto sites in Dazu County, which cover several large scenic areas. Today, our guide will accompany you to tour the well-preserved Baodingshan Carvings. There are green buses taking you to Baodingshan directly. You will see that mountain cliffs are densely scattered with Buddhist and Taoist statues as well as celebrity figures from the late Tang Dynasty (618 - 907). You can wander at your own pace to have a close look at the precious grotto art.

After that,then transfer to the Chongqing Chaotianmen pier and helping you check in.Board the ship from 18;30 to 21:00 and departs Chongqing at 21:30.

Today will be a relaxing day for you. A Yangtze River cruise orientation will be given by the cruise guide after breakfast. Then you can choose to rest on the deck or participate in some activities in the schedule. An onshore excursion to Fengdu "Jade Emperor" will be arranged in the morning around 8:00am.After the excursion, you will continue the cruise trip and the Captain's Welcome Party will be held in the evening. P.S: About the Fengdu Jade Emperor Scenic Spot--The scenic spot is built along the mountains and river, use the Jade Emperor image as the overall shape. The construction of 30 traditional architectures here are based on four-image, five-element and eight-diagram, contained more than 200 elaborately sculpted statues of gods, revealing the traditional immortal culture and creating a solemn atmosphere of religious culture. Famous scenic spots are including Jade Emperor Hall, the Great Buddhist’s Hall, Land’s Hall, Domu Hall, Wealth Hall and Prayer Hall etc.If you are interested in the old structures and traditional Chinese culture and religions, do not miss this great place.

This day the Yangtze River Cruise Ship will first enter Qutang Gorge, the beginning passage of the Three Gorges, which is the shortest but the grandest one. Later, we will pass the Wu Gorge with famous lofty and misty peaks on two sides. It is the largest and the longest gorge along the way. This gorge is full of craggy grotesque rocks, and the entire pass looks like a winding natural gallery.

Afterwards, you will disembark at Badong for an excursion to the Shennv Stream, which originates from the south slope of Shennongjia. You will take a pea boat ride drifting along the crystal stream to have a close look at mossy rocks, verdant plants, plank roads, ancient hanging coffins and precious animals. Moreover, the unique songs of the local Tujia people will leave you a deep impression. After that, you will go back to the ship and continue the cruise to the west section of Xiling Gorge, which is famous for torrential water.

After breakfast, please pack your luggage and check out the cruise. The cruise company will arrange an excursion to visit the Three Gorges Dam, which is the largest water power project in the world. Then they will drive you to the Three Gorges Tourist Center in Yichang city.

Our local driver will meet you at Three gorges tourist center and transferred to Zhangjiajie by car, need 4.5hrs driving, 378km.

On this full-day tour your guide will meet you at 9:00am of your hotel lobby in Zhangjiajie city central or Wulingyuan hotel thenyou visit different mountain areas such as Tianzi Mountian, where the world's longest cable car ride carries you to the mountain's peak, and the unique platform-shaped Yuanjiajie Mountain. There are more than 500 species of wildlife and vegetation in Zhangjiajie National Forest Park, including rare monkeys, gingko trees and thousands of colorful birds. The most notable geographic features of the park are its hundreds of towering sandstone pillars. Fans of Hollywood blockbusters will instantly recognize the stunning landscape as the inspiration for the scenery of Pandora in James Cameron’s hit movie Avatar.

Wulingyuan Scenic and Historic Interest Area , lying to the north of Zhangjiajie City, is a charming tourist attraction. It is one of the 40 famous scenic spots in China. It is said to be 'The ampliative miniascape and the contractible fairyland' and was admitted to the 'World Heritage List' in 1992. The Wulingyuan Scenic and Historic Interest Area boasts of natural beauty where mountains, valleys, forests, caves, lakes and waterfalls exist in total harmony. Over 560 attraction sights can be found here. The strangely-shaped peaks, the absurd stones, the hidden valleys, the wonderful waters and the limestone caves form the 'Five Wonders' of Wulingyuan and they are really worth seeing. Covering an area of 690 square kilometers (266 square miles), Wulingyuan Scenic Area consists of four parts- Zhangjiajie National Forest Park, Suoxi Valley Nature Reserve, Tianzi Mountain Nature Reserve and the newly added Yangjiajie Scenic Area. Today our tour will visit the Zhangjiajie National Forest Park and Tianzi Mountain Nature Reserve area.

When you purchase the main park entrance tickets and you will take a shuttle bus(20 mins driving) to the Tianzi mountain cable station and need to walk up the 200 steps to reach the station.

After the 20 mins cable car ride, you will reach the top of the Tianzi mountain then you will take a shuttle bus again(5 mins driving) to the Tianzi Mountain central area which is provides stunning views of peaks, which rise one after another. It is known as 'the Monarch of the Peak Forest'. At the top of the mountain, visitors can see the full extent of the Wulingyuan Scenic Area. Beautiful scenes of the mountain greet visitors in different seasons. There are four wonders: the Sea of Clouds, the Radiance of the Moonlight, Rays of Sunshine and the Snow in winter.

After the Yuanjiajie(Avatar mountain), you will take a shuttle(15 mins driving) head to the Bailong Elevator. Bailong Elevator is very magnificent. The total height of it is 335 meters (1099 feet), of which the running height is 326 meters (1069 feet). 154 meters (505 feet) of the total height is in the mountain wells and the rest of 172 meters (564 feet) was composed of steel derrick and other components. The Elevator includes three exposure sightseeing elevators running parallelly. Each elevator can take 50 passengers every time and the speed is 3 m / s (the speed has been accelerated to 5m / s since 2013). If the three elevators run simultaneously, the amount of one-way passengers will reach 4,000 per hour.

You will hiking around one hour along the Golden Whip Stream then take a shuttle go out of the park and back to the hotel. Golden Whip Stream (Jinbian Stream) is famous for its pristine water, its verdant mountains, its steep cliffs and its serene valley. As a veritable “paradise” for plants, its pathways are adorned by an abundance of flowers, trees, and grasses. And it is also a kingdom of animals. Golden Whip Stream is named after Golden Whip Crag, its landmark spot, and runs from Laomo Bay to Shui Rao Si Men(water-surrounded gates).

Next, you will head to the Zhangjiajie Glass Bridge area, but you just see the bridge, there is no time for us to visit the Grand canyon. Zhangjiajie Glass Bridge, aka Zhangjiajie Grand Canyon skywalk, is the world’s longest and highest glass bridge, hanging over Zhangjiajie Grand Canyon. Looking from a distance, it looks like a piece of white silk floating between the clouds and fog, hence it is also called Yuntiandu, meaning “a way of clouds to the sky”. Standing on it, if dare to, you can have a bird’s eye view of the Grand Canyon.

At the end, drive you back to your hotel.

At 9:00am, your tour guide will meet you at the hotel lobby and transfer to the Zhangjiajie Tianmen park.

Today, you will spend 3-4hrs at Tianmen Mountain Park. You will using the cale car or shuttle bus go up of the hill, but it depends of the traffic. Tianmen Mountain, appears as the ”New Legend Of Zhangjiajie “. It’s the highest spot (1500m) in Zhangjiajie,where you can walk on super-exciting cliff-path and glass walkway and see the whole city and beautiful countryside with bird’s view. and the landscape there is totally different from, meanwhile, at the same level as the ZJJ national Park. Both are world-class scenery, so it’s a must-visit highlight of this city you should not miss. What is more Unbelievable? this single mountain holds 4 World Guinness Records in its small body. and any of them will be overwhelmingly impressive to any type of human being. Just an amazing experience you have never had before.

After lunch, you will transfer you to Zhangjiajie airport and flight to Shanghai and may take the Ho1046 19:15-21:20 for you.

Upon arrival at Shanghai, you will be picked up on time and transferred to the hotel(Driver only, no guide).

Your guide will pick you up at the lobby of your hotel at around 09:00 in the morning. You will be escorted to the well-known Urban Planning Exhibition Hall in around 20 minutes ride.

At Urban Planning Exhibition Hall, you can view many textual and graphic files and architectural models, which will help you get an overall understanding of the development of Shanghai.

Then, have a relaxing time rambling in the beautiful Yu Garden.Located in the old town, Yuyuan Garden is the most famous ancient site in this city for its ingenious layout and delicate architecture. The treasure of the garden, Yu Ling Long (an exquisite jade stone), an artificial hill, is considered as one of the three most well-known peaks in Southern China.

Next, visit the Yuyuan Bazaar, also known as Yuyuan Market, is outside the Yu Garden, in the heart of Old Shanghai City, and close to the Old City God Temple. There are many traditional Chinese buildings, which nowadays are used as commercial stores to sell local products, snacks, jewelry, souvenirs, antiques and so on.

Afterwards, go to the Shanghai World Financial Center and go up to the 100th floor for the panoramic views of the city. It is the world's 8th tallest building, and the 4th tallest structure in Mainland China. The 100th floor has a viewing gallery that is 55 meters long. It is the second highest observation deck in China. It is higher than the viewing platforms on the Canadian TV Tower (447 meters) and the Dubai Tower (440 meters).

After that you will come to the Bund area which is the quintessential of Shanghai area. Located on the bank of Huangpu River, travelers come to the Bund not only for the charming riverside scenery, but the unique western and gothic architectures also deserve a look. We will set aside some free time for you to stroll around the Bund and take some photos.

At the end, your guide will escort you to your hotel.

Your guide will pick you up at the lobby of your hotel at around 09:00 in the morning. You will be escorted to the well-known Zhujiajiao water town in around 60 minutes ride.

The Zhu Jia Jiao water town, is well-known throughout the country, with a history of more than 1,700 years. Covering an area of 47 square kilometers (11,614 acres), the little fan-shaped town, being regarded as Shanghai's Venice, glimmers like a bright pearl in the landscape of lakes and mountains. The three places in the water town deserve your visit: Kezhi Garden, Qing Dynasty Post Office and Fangsheng Bridge. Your tour guide will accompany you to visit these. Kezhi Garden was built in 1912 and contains various pavilions and buildings, lotus pond, stele corridors, bridge of nine turnings and different kinds of plants. You can see the calligraphy inscription of the literati in Ming Dynasty (1368 - 1644 AD) with high value of art in the stele corridor. In Qing Dynasty Post Office, you can see the precious old postcard and letters in Qing Dynasty (1644 - 1911 AD) and there is a post box with a carved dragon on it which is still in use today. Fangsheng Bridge, built in Ming Dynasty, is the largest and longest stone arch bridge in Shanghai with five arches. You will take a local featured wooden boat from Kezhi Garden and go ashore at North Street. The left time is for you to have a free visit to wander around the ancient streets. You will have an opportunity to get in close touch with the local people and their life.

After lunch, will take you to the Jade Buddha Temple. Built in 1882 for the two white jade Buddha statues from Burma, the Jade Buddha Temple is a famous Buddhist shrine and an active Zen monastery. The temple plays an important role in disseminating Buddhism through cultural means, including lectures and library service, Buddhist academic publishes as well as regular Buddhist cultural activities.

Then later will conclude at Tianzifang, an old-style cultural block featuring distinctive Shikumen buildings with art studios, themed cafés and bars, and handicraft workshops.

At the end, drive you to Shanghai hotel/airport/train station. End of your 12 days tour services.