8-Day Wonders of China

Tour Route: Beijing - Xi'an - Shanghai

Travelers' rating: 4.9/5

Based on 144 reviews

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Day 1 Arrival, Beijing

Nihao China! When your arrival at the Beijing Capital International Airport, your private guide will meet and escort you to your hotel. The rest of the day is for you to relax on your own.
Overnight: Beijing
Day 2 Beijing
In the morning, your guide will pick you up from the hotel lobby at an appointed time and start the city tour from Tiananmen Square; then, be amazed by the imperial Forbidden City, the previous home to emperors. Take some selfies with the masterpiece of Chinese architecture.
After lunch, continue with a leisurely walking tour in hutongs to see how the common people lived in old Beijing and immerse yourself in the stories about cricket fighting from a cricket trainer.
Optional: In the evening, enjoying a Legend of Kung Fu Show at Red Theater will be a fabulous visual feast at an additional cost.
Overnight: Beijing
Meals: Breakfast, Lunch
Forbidden City

Walking Tour in Hutongs
Day 3 Beijing
Stretch your body in the exquisite Temple of Heaven. It makes a nice place to appreciate the elegance of its architecture as well as join in the locals to experience the locals' healthy lifestyle, for example, playing Tai Chi, dancing with a sword, singing Peking opera, or practicing Chinese calligraphy on the ground with a huge brush and ink.
Later, drive about 2 hours to travel the magnificent Great Wall at Mutianyu section. You will take a cable car up and down. Walk on the ancient ramparts, admiring the unbelievable constructions snaking across the mountains and taking in the splendid landscape.
Overnight: Beijing
Meals: Breakfast, Lunch
Temple of Heaven

Great Wall at Mutianyu Section
Day 4 Beijing - Xi'an
Before heading to Xi'an by high-speed train, you will be escorted to visit Summer Palace, which is an imperial garden with a number of lovely pagodas, man-made hills and lakes. In there, you will take a pleasant boat ride on Kunming Lake if the weather permits. Afterward, have a short visit to a pearl store before heading to Xi'an by high-speed train.
Arrived in Xi'an after 5.5 hours, be met and transferred to your hotel by your personal tour guide and driver.
Overnight: Xi'an
Meal: Breakfast
Summer Palace

Summer Palace
Day 5 Xi'an
The Terracotta Warriors make Xi'an famous around the world. Today, you will encounter the legendary Terracotta Warriors, which has guarded the first emperor of China, Qin Shihuang, since 210 BC. Although they have been buried underground for more than 2,200 years, these lifelike soldiers will tell you different stories through their facial expressions. Spend around two hours there, and then drive back to the city to visit the Ancient City Wall and a jade gallery.
Overnight: Xi'an
Meals: Breakfast, Lunch
Terracotta Warriors

Ancient City Wall
Day 6 Xi'an - Shanghai
After breakfast, wander through Muslim Street and absorb its sights, smells and sounds. Shaanxi History Museum will be next. There are thousands of historical arts and relics waiting for you to discover. Fly to Shanghai in the afternoon. Upon arrival, be met and taken to your hotel by your private guide.
Overnight: Shanghai
Meals: Breakfast, Lunch
Muslim Street

Shaanxi History Museum
Day 7 Shanghai
Your discovery in Shanghai includes Yu Garden - a classical Chinese garden built in 16th century, Yuyuan Market - a bustling bazaar near the Yu Garden, a silk workshop where you can see how the pale cocoons turn into colored silk cloth, the well-known Bund, former French Concession and Shanghai Tower - the tallest building in China and second only to the Dubai Creek Tower. From the top of the tower, you will get a great vista shot of Shanghai city.
Optional: At night, an amazing Acrobatic Show will impress your trip to Shanghai.
Overnight: Shanghai
Meals: Breakfast, Lunch
Yu Garden

The Bund
Day 8 Shanghai, Departure

Free at leisure before being escorted to the airport for your departure flight. It's time to say goodbye.
Meal: Breakfast

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Reviews on This Tour

Odyssey tours mentioned by some of our clients was the former name of Odynovo.
Durations might be different as each trip is customizable.

This tour rating 4.9 out of 5 based on 144 reviews.

December 30, 2019

We just returned from a 9 day trip to China with Odynovo Tours. They put together an awesome itinerary & we were able to see & do more than we had ever hoped possible. Our guides (Quintina in Beijing & Hong in Xian) were extremely professional & truly made us feel like we were travelling with family. Quintina & Hong allowed us to see everything we wanted to see & were flexible in modifying the itinerary based on how we felt & weather. We got to know them and their lives a little bit which was quite special. I felt we were really able to experience China a little outside of the ordinary. We have always made our own way on trips but having such outstanding guides plus all the pick-up & drop offs, hotels, show tickets, meals & transportation arranged in China was simply fantastic. I can absolutely recommend Odynovo. They are definitely a 5 star service.Day 1 -4 was in Beijing. In Beijing, we saw all the must see sites including Tiananmen Square, Forbidden City, Summer Palace & Lama temple . There were no waits as Quintina & our driver (Mr. Han) smoothly navigated us around Beijing. We were able to see 4 different shows (The Golden Mask, Red Theater Kung Fu, Peking Opera & Acrobatics) . The Golden Mask should not be missed. Quintina strongly recommended we see it and we were so glad that she made it happen. We were able to add these “on the fly” when we found we adjusted to jet lag better than expected. We also squeezed in a visit to the Olympic stadium at night to see the Birds Nest & Water cube. It is very cool to see. Beijing definitely is the ancient side-by-side with the & modern.On Day 3 we were able to see the Great Wall (Mutianyu) & it was spectacular. We took the chairlift up & toboggan ride down ( you have to try this !!). On the way to Mutianyu we walked the Sacred Road. We were able to rest in the car both going to the wall & coming back. We had booked an evening Hand Pooled Noodle Cooking Class on our own & Quintina walked us right to the door. It was in the Hutongs & even with GPS I would never have found it. She knew this and insisted on getting us there right on time.On Day 5, Quintina walked us right to the train as we travelled via bullet train to Xian. We have travelled overseas before but never in Asia. I was not prepared for the size, security and crowds in a Beijing train station ! This is probably when it really hit me that being escorted is the way to go. I had about a 100 word Mandarin vocabulary but navigating tickets and security without help would have been hard. Possible, yes, but Quintina & Hong made it easy and in doing so made us feel like family visiting them in their city. Hong was our guide in Xian and she met us right at the passenger exit. We learned that Xian is a bit smaller than Beijing (OMG - only 10 million people) & had only 3 subway lines versus 6 in Beijing !On Day 6 & 7 we had an amazing time in Xian. We saw the Terra Cotta warriors which are really remarkable to see in person. The warriors are so life like that it was easy to imagine the history as you gaze own at them. Hong guided us through and provided history & stories as we walked the site. We stopped for lunch and had a great lunch of Bang Bang noodles & Chinese hamburgers. We then had a shot of rice wine & broke our clay drinking dish on the pile of others. Apparently the warriors were fortified with rice wine going to battle! Hong suggested we stop at the store of one of the farmers who discovered the Terra Cota warriors when digging a well. He happened to be in his store & we were able to shake his hand. Discovering the warriors turned out to be his lottery ticket and he has lived extremely well & is somewhat of a “rock star”. This was not a tour that was in the guide books.We visited Drum Tower, the Big Wild Goose Pagoda, the city Wall, Muslim street & spent a few hours at the Shanxi history Museum. Hong strongly suggested we see the Silk Road Story production and it was absolutely stunning. Xian really provides a glimpse into the deep & rich history of China and its people. I am so glad the visit was part of our itinerary and we stayed to experience more. Hong’s tour of Xian really gave us a little glimpse into the deep & rich history of China and its people. I must not forget the delicious hot pot lunch that Hong arranged. We really loved the food in Xian.On Day 8, we said goodbye to Xian and Hong saw us right to the gate to board the bullet train back to Beijing. Quintina was right on the platform waiting for us. We checked back into the hotel & rested for about an hour. We then went for the famous Peking duck dinner.On Day 9, our last day in Beijing we were able to visit the Panda House at the Beijing Zoo. They house 7 Panda’s and they were very active on our visit. They are captivating animals and old, young, tourist & local were all mesmerized by their antics. We all literally ran from enclosure to enclosure to see the antics. It is easy to see why zoos across the world want to host the Panda’s. Everyone we saw left with a big smile & I suspect some kind of selfie with the bears. A quick stop in the 798 Art district and it was off to the airport. As we boarded the flight home I was already thinking about the next trip !

December 27, 2019

I heard about Odynovo from a friend so I decided to call them and give them a try on a upcoming trip to China. My service person is Maple Zheng. She has been very helpful in putting our trip together. I asked for multiple changes to our itinerary and she made the changes quickly with no fuss.She was very good with suggestions for our trip and the cost over all is very reasonable. The invitation letter she provided for us made getting our visa's very easy with no problems. I highly recommend Odynovo and Maple Zheng for a trip to Asia.

December 18, 2019

It’s been a pleasure planning our trip to China with Tom Zhou. He has been very patient and responsive to my multitude of detailed questions, requests, and modifications. I appreciate his thoughtful recommendations on sites, accommodations, and activities. We are very much looking forward to experiencing this same high level of expertise and service during our upcoming travel in China.

December 11, 2019

Maple from Odynovo was a wonderful help when we were planning our trip to China. She gave great advice and everything she organized ran true to plan. There were no extra unexpected costs. . The tour price was reasonable and the accommodation was fantastic. Would definitely recommend using her and the company.

December 4, 2019

I have recently booked a tour to China with Tom Zhou. Tom has worked with me to develop what I hope to be a fantastic tour. He has been very helpful, open to questions and quick to respond. I hope to be able to give another thumbs up rating after the tour in March.