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Chengdu The Ancient City of Culture

Highlights

Learn to cook the most popular Sichuan food step by step
Watch Sichuan Opera and explore the backstage
Know more about the lovely Giant Pandas and visit the Breeding centre
Enjoy Sichuan's unique natural scenery
Discover the Terracotta warriors of Qin Shihuang

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Overview

This tour makes you experience all the best that this important and renowned province of China has to offer in a way that encompasses all the most relevant aspects of this society. From cooking, food tasting and local markets to the Opera, traditional streets and buildings, natural scenery, Pandas and other creatures' preservation, sacred spots and Buddhist Temples. Visiting other exceptionally beautiful historical sites like the Terracotta Army make the experience even more unique.

Body:

Months	4 people	6 people	8 people	10 people	Single Room Price Difference
5-6, 11-12	£1727	£1493	£1363	£1259	£454
7-10	£1830	£1584	£1441	£1337	£493

Price Includes:

* Accommodation with breakfast as specified

* Transfers, transportation, meals and sightseeing as listed

* Services of English-speaking local guides

* Most air taxes

Not Included:

* Tips for driver and tour guide. 20 CNY*14 days=280CNY per person;

* International Flight UK-Chengdu, Xi'an-UK;

* Train Ticket Chengdu-Xi'an, reference cost 280 CNY per person;

* Fee for optional activities, Tram, trying Qipao or Cheongsam in Anren Ancient Town.

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Chengdu The Ancient City of Culture

Day 1

London - Chengdu

Pick up at Chengdu Airport and transfer to the hotel for a rest.

Day 2

Chengdu

After breakfast, go to a local market for shopping & bargaining, and then learn how to cook the most popular Sichuan food step by step. In the Afternoon, return to the hotel for tea and some relax. Back to the hotel after dinner.

Day 3

Chengdu

After breakfast, visit Du Fu Thatched Cottage. Du Fu is one of the greatest poets in the Tang Dynasty. The cottage consists of six important parts: the Front Gate, the Lobby, the Hall of poem History, the Water Pavilion, the Gongbu Shrine and the Thatched Cottage. In the afternoon, explore the Backstage of Sichuan Opera. See the whole process of opera actors wearing makeup, get to know better the Sichuan Opera and its history. Then attend 20 minutes of Sichuan Opera show. At last, visit Jinli Ancient Street, which is full of tourist shopping and leisure entertainment. Return to the hotel after dinner.

Day 4

Chengdu - Yingxiu - Dujiangyan - Qingcheng mountain

After breakfast, drive to the site of Yingxiu Earthquake. On May 12th 2008, a magnitude 8 earthquake happened here. Million cubic meters of rocks poured down from cliffs, causing turbulent rock flows. The mountains along the valleys forming a rock flow of nearly 3 kilometres. After lunch, visit the Dujiangyan Irrigation Project site. Continue to Guanxian Ancient Town, known as the "mountain and water into the mind, life Tao Chang". In this area you can shop and try many kinds of delicious traditional snacks. Return to the hotel after dinner.

Day 5

Qingcheng Mountain

In the early morning, get up early to a Tai Chi lesson in the hotel courtyard (optional). And then drive to the beautiful and evergreen Qingcheng Mountain Scenic Area (1260m). It is one of the birthplaces of Chinese Taoism. The existing temples were built in the late Qing Dynasty. There are also many precious relics and ancient trees there to complement the special atmosphere surrounding this place. After the sightseeing, return to the hotel for tea and dinner. Rest of the evening at leisure.

Day 6

Qingcheng mountain - Dujiangyan

After breakfast, pick up from your hotel to go to the Giant Panda Conservation and Research Breeding Centre to experience the joy of taking care of these lovely animals. Clean up bamboo for the giant pandas, sweep up their houses. Also, watch the documentary about how humans are learning to live along with Giant Pandas in harmony and without harming their habitat. Learn how to make the "nest head" for pandas under the direction of an expert nutritionist. Then, our staff will issue the Participation Certificates and souvenirs to you thank you for your help. Return to the hotel after dinner.

Day 7

Qingcheng Mountain - Anren Town - Emei City

After breakfast, visit Anren Ancient Town, a famous ancient town which preserves 27 ancient cemeteries such as Liu's Manor Group and Liu Xiang manors built during the Ming and Qing Dynasties. After lunch, you can take a featured tram in the ancient town and visit the museums. You will have also the opportunity to try on cheongsam and Chinese tunic suit, typical Chinese dresses for women and men. Later, drive to Emei city and have a rest at the hotel after dinner.

Day 8

Emei City

After breakfast, drive to visit the Mount Emei Scenic Area (3099m). Mount Emei has been considered a holy peak by Buddhists since the Eastern Han dynasty and it was here that Buddhism first gained ground and spread through China. There are many monuments and temples on the mountain that offer breathtaking scenery. At the summit (3,079 m), it is the opulent Golden Summit area where you can admire the sunrise, cloud seas and other atmospheric phenomena. It is is a must-visit place for many tourists and one of the key Buddhist temples in the Han region. Return to the hotel after dinner.

Day 9

Emei City - Leshan - Chengdu

After breakfast, drive to Leshan and visit the 8th century 71m tall Leshan stone Buddha in the Lingyun Temple. It is the largest stone statue on a cliff in China. After lunch, drive to the Tea Mountain, pick tea from a real plantation and visit a tea workshop. Learn how tea leaves are treated and preserved. Later, go to The Lost Town, where people still maintain the traditional way of life. You will visit some of the old traditional handicraft shops and listen to the stories behind the old houses in the town. After the visit and dinner go back to Chengdu.

Day 10

Chengdu - Xi'an

After breakfast, go to Xi'an by train. Visit the Bell and Drum Tower Square. On the Eastside of the square, there is a clock tower which is over 600 years old. On the Westside, it stands the largest drum tower in the country. The two towers are one of the most important features of Xi'an centre's landscape. Later, go to Huimin Street. Local residents always come here to eat snacks and shop. The entire street is full of restaurants where is possible to try countless local specialities. Various Halal restaurants and stalls are closely linked, including some of the most famous old shops. Return to the hotel after dinner.

Day 11

Xi'an

After breakfast, visit the Xi'an Ming City Wall, which is the largest and most complete ancient city wall in China. Then visit the Shaanxi Museum, it is a museum that integrates museums, historical sites, and urban gardens in Xi'an. After lunch, visit the Big Wild Goose Pagoda and the Great Tang Furong Garden which is the first large-scale royal garden in China to display the features of the Tang Dynasty. It covers an area of 1,000 acres, with 300 acres covered by water. Return to hotel after dinner.

Day 12

Xi’an - Huashan

After breakfast, visit Qin Shihuang Terracotta Army. In ancient times, slaves were the appendages of slave owners before their death. After the slave owner died, slaves were buried too. The Terracotta Army was made into a funerary object and each soldier and horse was shaped differently. After lunch, we go to Tang Huaqing Palace. It was a feudal imperial palace in the Tang Dynasty and was one of the four royal gardens in China. Back to the hotel after dinner.

Day 13

Huashan - Xi’an

After breakfast, go to Huashan Moutain Scenic Area (including sightseeing car, and the cable car) (2154.9m). It is one of the most famous five sacred mountains in China and the birthplace of Chinese civilisation. These landscapes inspired many poets' and artists' masterpieces. After enjoying the hike and the amazing views, go back for dinner and then return to the hotel.

Day 14

Xi’an - London

After breakfast, visit the Beilin Museum, which is the first museum created in Shaanxi. It focuses on collecting, displaying, and studying ancient inscriptions, epitaphs, and stone carvings, and throughout the years has become a unique art museum. Later, visit the Academy Gate, the late Ming and early Qing Dynasty-made large-scale construction. This street is named after the entrance to the Academy. In 1991, the street was preserved in the Ming and Qing styles as a cultural tourism street. After lunch transport to the airport for the flight back to London.

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