China tour packages are offered by many tour companies but finding the right one to suit your taste and budget can be challenging. If you google “best tour agency for China” or “best China tour companies”, you’ll see a long list of companies claiming they have the best China tour packages. However, figuring out whether they can deliver on their promise may not be that easy.
If you are indeed looking for the best China tour packages, you definitely should look into Laurus Travel. We have been offering best China tour packages since 1998 with satisfied customers across Canada and the U.S. In addition to the large number of customer testimonials on our website, you can find lots of consumer reviews on Laurus Travel. Reading them may convince you that we have the best China tour packages around.
Consistently rated A+ by the BBB and recommended by Frommer’s, Laurus Travel boasts a reputation that is the envy our peers. Our tracking record in providing the best China tour packages should give you the confidence to place your trust in us for a great China travel experience.
Best China Tour Packages – How to Choose the Right One
We have many China tour packages available. If you are a first-time visitors to China, any of our China tour packages can be the right one for you. Deciding on the best China tour package means you should know how much time you have, what your budget range is, and anything in particular you must do such as cruising the Yangtze river or exploring Tibet. That would make your decision-making a lot easier. Please go to our China tour packages list for a look and let us know if you need help.
If you have no idea where to start, the 19-day China Odyssey tour package below is worth checking out. After all, it has been among our top sellers for over two decades.
Beijing – Xi’an – Chengdu – Yangtze Cruise – Yichang – Wuhan – Guilin – Shanghai
Explore ancient sites in Beijing and Xi’an, admire nature’s beauty in Guilin, sail through the majestic Three Gorges of the Yangtze, savour authentic Chinese cuisines of different regions – this China tour package gives you all that and much more! Trip highlights include the Forbidden City and the Great Wall at Mutianyu in Beijing, Terracotta Army in Xian, a 3-day cruise down the mighty Yangtze, hiking through terraced rice paddies and a day cruise on picturesque Li River in Guilin.
Important Features
- Small group size – average 15, maximum 20
- Outstanding guides handpicked by company owners
- Inter-city travel by high-speed train except for one city pair
- No annoying forced shopping of any kind
- Quality meals at non-tourist restaurants
- Unlimited supply of bottled water during group activities
- Deluxe cabin with private balcony on luxury Yangtze cruise
- Free Wi-Fi in all hotels
- Great Wall visit at Mutianyu with cable car rides
- Day hike at Longji terraced rice fields
- and so much more…
Options Available
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- Peking Opera show in Beijing
- Tang Dynasty cultural show in Xi’an
- Traditional face mask changing performance in Chengdu
- Half-day immersive tea farm visit in Guilin
Meal Code: B = breakfast / L = lunch / D = dinner
TOUR ITINERARY – dates, prices & hotel list following itinerary
Day 1/Thu: Departing for Beijing
The trip starts with your transpacific flight departing from a city of your choice. You’ll lose a day upon crossing the International Date Line.
Day 2/Fri: Arrival in Beijing
Meet the driver on arrival for transfer to the hotel. You’ll have the remainder of the day at leisure. The guide will get in touch with you tonight.
Day 3/Sat: Beijing (B/L/D)
The capital of China, Beijing is a world-class cultural and educational centre with a population of 21.9 million (2020), ranking it China’s second largest city behind Shanghai. Beijing is renowned for its opulent palaces, temples, and huge stone walls and gates – treasures that make it the most popular tourist city in China by the number of visitors it receives every year.
We begin today with a visit to the Forbidden City. Officially known as the Palace Museum, the Forbidden City was the place where the emperors of the Ming (1368-1644) and Qing (1644-1912) dynasties lived and carried out their administration. Construction of the Forbidden City took 14 years (1406-1420) to complete. The complex consists of 980 buildings and covers 72 hectares or 180 acres. It exemplifies traditional Chinese palatial architecture and has influenced cultural and architectural developments in East Asia and elsewhere. Though the Qing Dynasty was overthrown in 1912, the royal family was allowed to continue to live in the Forbidden City till 1924, when the last emperor, Pu Yi, was driven out of the imperial palace. One year later the Forbidden City was turned into a museum. Declared a World Heritage Site by UNESCO in 1987, this is the largest collection of preserved ancient wooden structures in the world.
Next up is Tian’anmen Square. Located in the heart of Beijing, the square measures 880 metres from north to south and 500 meters from east to west. Said to be the largest public plaza in the world, Tian’anmen Square has the capacity to hold one million people. The imposing Tian’anmen Tower sits at the north end of the square while the Monument to the People’s Heroes dominates the centre. The square is flanked by The Great Hall of the People (west) and the National Museum (east). Chairman Mao’s Mausoleum and Qianmen (Front Gate) are located in the south of the square. One of the top 16 tourist attractions in Beijing, Tian’anmen Square is also the witness of the Chinese people’s great struggles for democracy and personal freedom since 1919.
Afternoon sightseeing takes place at the Temple of Heaven, another UNESCO World Heritage Site. Situated in southeastern Beijing, the Temple of Heaven is China’s largest extant sacrificial temple where, during the Ming and Qing Dynasties, the emperors conducted the elaborate and most exalted sacrifices addressed to “the Supreme Ruler of the Universe.” Construction of the temple started in 1406, during the reign of the Ming Emperor Yongle, and took 14 years to complete. The temple was expanded under the Qing emperors Qianlong (1736-1796) and Jiaqing (1796-1820). Occupying 2.73 square kilometres (roughly 1,700 by 1,600 metres), the area of the Temple of Heaven is more than twice that of the Forbidden City.
The famous Hongqiao Pearl Market, the largest pearl market in the world, is right across the street from the Temple of Heaven. Recommended by numerous guidebooks for freshwater pearls, Hongqiao teems with domestic and international shoppers. If you are interested, please ask the guide to drop you off there. However, you’ll need to get back to the hotel by taxi, which costs about 8 US dollars.
Today we enjoy a delicious dinner at a popular Peking Roast Duck restaurant. Peking Roast Duck is a famous Beijing dish prized for the thin and crispy skin with authentic versions serving mostly the skin and little meat, sliced in front of the diners. The meat is wrapped in a thin layer of pancake (Chinese tortilla) together with shredded scallion, cucumber, and a sweet and salty sauce made of wheat flour. Condiments may also include pickled garlic and white sugar.
Day 4/Sun: Beijing (B/L)
After an early breakfast we embark on a full-day excursion to the legendary Great Wall at Mutianyu, 75 km northeast of the city.
Zigzagging over 6,000 kilometres from east to west along the undulating mountains, the Great Wall was built to hold off tribal invaders from the north. As history shows, the Wall failed the Chinese rulers miserably, especially in the case of Kublai Khan who and his men swept across China from the Mongolian steppe, thus the beginning of the Yuan Dynasty (1279-1368).
Construction of the earliest sections of the Wall started in the 7th century BCE. A major renovation started with the founding of the Ming Dynasty in 1368 and took 200 years to complete. The wall we see today in Beijing is almost exactly the result of this effort.
Day 5/Mon: Beijing – Xi’an (B/L/D)
We begin our sightseeing today with a visit to a traditional hutong neighbourhood. Hutong refers to an ancient alleyway with siheyuan or ”4-sided courtyard house” on both sides. The name hutong dates back to the Yuan Dynasty (1279 – 1368 CE). According to some experts, the word originated from the Mongolian language, in which it is pronounced as hottog and means “well.” In ancient times, people tended to gather and live around wells. So the original meaning of hutong should be “a place where people live around”.
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