12-day Classic LGBT China Tour

Day 1Arrival in Beijing

Upon your arrival at Beijing's airport, your local guide will meet you and escort you to check in the hotel. The rest of the day for you to relax or explore the city.

Day 2Beijing

After breakfast, your guide will meet you and escort you to visit the incredible Forbidden City, home to China’s Emperors for over 500 years. After lunch, you will be driven to the exquisite Summer Palace, where you will marvel at the opulence of this imperial summer resort. In the evening you will visit the hottest gay bar in Beijing.

Day 3Beijing

Today you will start with a morning visit to the majestic Great Wall (Badaling Section). After lunch next to the Great Wall you will be driven to visit the Sacred Road, the road leading to the tombs of the Ming Dynasty’s Emperors. You will then visit the Ding Tomb, the only excavated imperial Ming Dynasty Tomb with underground palace. On the way back to Beijing downtown, you will have a stop for an outside look of two famous Olimpic site: Bird Nest (National Stadium) and Water Cube (National Aquatics Center).

In the evening you will be taken to enjoy a Peking (Beijing) Duck Banquet at the oldest and most famous Peking (Beijing) Duck restaurant in China.

Day 4Beijing/Xi'an

After breakfast, you will visit Beijing Hutongs - the old lanes and courtyard houses. Take a rickshaw or biking to explore Beijing's charming lanes. The visit to a local family, who've lived in the Hutongs for generations, offers a local perspective of history, and is a highlight of the Hutongs for most of tourists.

After lunch you will be driven to train station for the bullet train to Xian (5 hours), another of China's ancient capitals. Upon arrival in Xian, your local guide will meet you and escort you to the hotel for rest.

Day 5Xian

Today, your full-day Xi'an tour will start with a morning visit to the world famous Terracotta Warriors. Go on to visit the Daqin terra-cotta making factory see all kinds of models of Terracotta Warriors. After that you will go on a walk or a biking on the top of Ancient City Wall to get a bird's eye view of this ancient capital. Then visit Xi'an Muslim Street for a relax.

Option: In the evening you may choose to enjoy an Chinese Dumplings Feast and amazing Tang Dynasty Show, which bring the pageantry and music of the ancient Tang Dynasty to life.

Day 6Xi'an/Guilin

After breakfast, your local guide will meet you and escort you to airport for the morning flight to Guilin. Upon arriving in Guilin, you will be transfered to visit Reed Flute Cave. The cave's many bizarre stalagmites and stalactites make visitors feel like they have stepped into another world. You will then be driven to Elephant Trunk Hill, the symbol of Guilin, which offers commanding views of Guilin City and the Li River.

Day 7Guilin/Yangshuo

After breakfast at the hotel, our guide and driver will transfer you to the Zhujiang pier to board the ship for Li River cruise (4 hours) from Guilin to Yangshuo. It is one of the great waterways to admire the picturesque scenery along the river sides. Upon arrival at Yangshuo, you will have a stroll along the famous West Street. This is a vibrant place alive with cafes, pubs, restaurants and where many westerners gather.

Tips: Today we kindly suggest you have a larger breakfast at the hotel this morning as the lunch provided on the cruise is less than adequate. The cruise arrives at terminal Yangshuo at around 13:30 to 14:30 according to the different water flows. There are many cafes available in Yangshuo.

Optional activites for late afternoon:
1. Attend a Chinese cooking course in a cooking school
2. Learn Taichi for 1-2 hours.
3. Li River Beer Fish is recommended for dinner.
4. Night show options: Commorants Fishing or Impression Liu Sanjie

A cruise along the Li River from Guilin to Yangshuo is an unforgettable experience for stunning scenery. In Yangshuao, there's something interesting such as lumbering water buffaloes pulling carts or cooling off in the river, fishermen gliding along on their narrow bamboo rafts, and if you're very lucky you might see one of the famous fishing cormorants.

Impressions of Liusanjie performance. The Performance, directed by Zhang Yimou, China's premiere movie director and director of the Beijing Olympics' Opening Ceremony, is made up of hundreds of people and is performed on the Li River with the mountains as the backdrop. It is an unforgettable experience.

Day 8Yangshuo/Longsheng Longji Terraces

There are three options for morning enjoyment: Enjoy a countryside biking, a bamboo rafting on the Yulong River and a helicopter tour over Yangshuo.

An afternoon drive (about 2.5 hours) from Yanghuo to Longji Rice Terraces. And then you will enjoy the dusk/sunset view of rice terraces around Zhuang and Yao minority villages. The terraces look like ribbons as they wind from the foot to the top of some hills. The villages feature traditional wooden architecture where no nails are used in construction. The different ethnic minority customs and dress are especially interesting. Stayovernight at Ping'an Zhuang Village.

Day 9Guilin Longsheng/Shanghai

Get up early to take a morning walk around Ping'an Zhuang Village for a sunrise view of Longji Terraced Rice Fields. After breakfast, you will visit to Huangluo Yao Village to meet long-hair wowen and watch the ethnic performance.

Then you will be transfered back to Guilin for the afternoon flight to Shanghai.

Day 10Shanghai/Suzhou/Shanghai

In the morning, your local guide will meet you and you will be driven to Suzhou. In Suzhou, you will first visit the Pan Gate, the only surviving water/land gate in China. Originally part of Suzhou’s city wall, the gate is located in the center of an incredible area filled with gardens, traditional pavilions, and koi filled ponds. After visiting the gate, you will be driven to the No.1 Silk Factory, where you will learn how the humble silk worm’s cocoon is transformed into the shimmering fabric known around the world. After visiting the silk factory, you will be driven to the Humble Administrator's Garden. One of the most famous gardens in China, the garden is filled with incredible architecture, rockeries, and ponds. It is an unforgettable experience. After visiting the garden, you will be driven back to Shanghai

Day 11Shanghai

After breakfast, you will start a full day tour in Shanghai to visit the Shanghai Museum, Town God's Temple, Shikumen, Old Concession Area. Then you will have a bird view of Shanghai city on the top of Jinmao Tower and enjoy coastal sight at the Bund of Shanghai.

In the evening, you will be driven to Shanghai Studio, Shanghai’s hippest gay club.

Day 12Shanghai Departure

After breakfast you will be free relax until your local guide meets you and escort you to the airport for your flight to your next destination.