Itinerary of Rail Tour In China

This is the 4^th travel blog that I am writing and it is about a trip that my wife, Dorothy and I are planning to take on May 13, 2013 to China. With the improvement in digital technology, I now use blogs to keep my family informed when we are away on a trip instead of using postcards, letters, faxes and emails. Now that I am updating my travel blogs almost every day of our trip, not only are my family interested in our trips but as well, some friends including those of our friends as far away as Australia. The other recent travel blogs that I have written have been:

Bach Travel Diary – about our 37 day cruise around South America

Cons Soo Visit – about a 14 day car trip to Sault Ste Marie and Manitoulin Island in Ontario

Conbach florida visit – about our trip to Orlando, Daytona Beach and Freeport, on Grand Bahama Is.

Just Google the name of the blog and Google will find it for you.

This time our trip to China once we fly from Detroit to Beijing, will be mostly on high speed trains including a short trip on a maglev train in Shanghai. I particularly was interested in the recent development of the Chinese passenger trains that are able to travel up to 380 KM per hour and are presently the fastest trains in the world.

Chinese high speed train crossing viaduct.

Chinese high speed train.

 Our trip in China was prepared by Helen He, Sales Manager of Beijing Champagne International Travel Service located in Beijing. All the arrangements for the trip was made by email. Helen He put together the following rather interesting itinerary for our trip.

Itinerary of Rail Tour in China :

Beijing Xian Luoyang Suzhou Hangzhou Shanghai Beijing Train Tour package

Day 00: May 13 Leave Detroit (DTW) at 1:05 PM by Chinese Southern

Day 01: May 14 Arrive Beijing (PEK) at 2:40 PM

 Day 01: May 14th. Arrival in Beijing

Pick you up from the Beijing Airport, transfer you to your hotel. Free for rest of the day.

Day 02: May.15th. Free for the day.

 Day 03: May.16th.  Beijing ( B L D )

First visit Forbidden City, that symbolizes the imperial and traditional China. Then move on to Tiananmen Square, the heart and symbol of Beijing and is the biggest square in the world. After lunch go on with the visit to Temple of Heaven, the place where the emperors of Ming and Qing Dynasties worshipped heaven and prayed for peace and harvest. Then move on to Summer Palace, originally a royal garden and a temporary dwelling palace for emperors of Qing Dynasty. Back to your hotel. Peking Duck Dinner and Peking Opera Show in the evening.

Day 04:May.17th. Beijing ( B L )

Full excursion tour to Badaling Great Wall, symbol of Chinese civilization. Then, go on with the visit to Dingling ( Ming Tombs ), one of the Ming Tombs, where 13 emperors were buried in Ming Dynasty.  

Day 05:  May.18th. Beijing  ( B L D )

Panda House, Lama Temple, Confucian Temple, Hutong rickshaw tour, Drum Tower, Nanluoguxiang. 

Day 06: May.19th. Beijing to Xian ( D )

In the morning, transfer you to the Beijing train station to Xian. ( By bullet train) . Arrival in Xian in the Afternoon.  go to the Shaanxi Grand Opera House around 6:00pm and our tour guide will help you find your seat for Tang Dynasty Show over Dumpling Dinner.

Day 07:May.20th. Xian ( B L )

Shaanxi Provincial History Museum, Big Goose Pagoda, Forest of Stone Steles Museum, Great Mosque,and Bell Tower

Day 08: May.21st. Xian ( B L )

Full day excursion to Terra-cotta Army, a lifetime viewing of the extraordinary 2200-year-old terra-cotta Army of China's First Emperor Qin Shihuang. After lunch, drive back to the city center of Xian and visit Xian City Wall. The main magnet of Xian is the city wall, which is the most complete city wall that has survived in China as well as being one of the largest ancient military defensive systems in the world.

 Day 09 May.22nd. Xian - Luoyang ( B L ) by high speed train G2002(08:30-10:21)

Pick up from your hotel in Xian. Transferred to Xian Railway Station and take the high speed train G2002 (8:30-10:20) for Luoyang. Met by our tour guide in Luoyang. First visit the Longmen Grottoes. It is one of the three most valuable Buddhist cave and rock carvings in China. Then move on to Luoyang Museum. The Luoyang Museum is a city-level historical museum of China. After lunch, continue to visit theWhite Horse Temple, the first Buddhist Temple ever built in China! Then go on with a tour of Guanlin Temple, also called Warrior Guan Yu's Tomb, a site where the head of Guan Yu was buried. Stay in Luoyang.

 Day 10 May.23rd.  Luoyang - Shaolin Temple- Zhengzhou - Suzhou ( B L )

Luoyang - Shaolin Temple(Car) – Zhengzhou Car) - Suzhou by Bullet Train D184(14:41/21:07)( Transfer to Shaolin Temple by coach, the foundation of Chinese Kongfu. The tourists would see how the monks are practicing everyday. Then transfer to Zhengzhou Train Station by road and take the daytime bullet train to Suzhou. Accommodation in Suzhou.

 Day 11  May.24th. Suzhou - Hangzhou Bullet Train D5471(18:15-21:03) ( B L )

After breakfast, first visit  Linggering Garden, one of the best and most celebrated as a model Ming Dynasty Garden in all of Suzhou. Then move on to the Ancient City Gate and Grand Canal for outside looking. The Panmen City Gate is the oldest city gate in existence in Suzhou city. The Gand Canal is one of the greatest ancient projects in China and is the longest man-made canal in world. After lunch, then move on to Tiger Hill- one of Suzhou's famous site and symbol of Suzhou City. Then have a short tour of a silk spinning factory to see how Chinese silk has been produced since the 14th century before you are transferred to Suzhou Railway Station and take train D5471 (18:15-21:03) for Hangzhou.

Day 12 May.25th. Hangzhou - Shanghai by Bullet Train 5688( 19:46-21:18) ( B L D )

Pick up from your midtown hotel in Hangzhou and head to a wharf at West Lake. Finish your cruise at the Huagang Park Wharf. Move on to Huagang Park ( Fish Viewing at the Flower Pond Park ). It is a peninsula projecting into the lake. Continue to visit Leifeng Pagoda. Ascending to the top of the pagoda and looking down, one has a panoramic view of West Lake.
After local Chinese lunch, you are taken to Longjing Tea Plantation to experience the traditional method of making Longjing (Dragon Well) Tea as well drinking, picking, smelling or buying. Finally continue to vist Lingyin Temple

. After dinner, you will be transferred to Hangzhou Railway Station and take Bullet Train 5688( 19:46-21:18) for Shanghai. Met and tansferred to your hotel in Shanghai.

Day 13 May.26th.  Shanghai ( B L D )

Mornng is free on your own. After lunch, visit Yu yuan Garden, a classical Qing Dynasty garden with over 30 pavilions linked by a maze of corridors and bridges over ponds. Move on to the Old City God's Temple Bazaar from the Song Dyansty. In the evening dinner will be served. After dinner, you will be arranged to enjoy the fantastic Acrobatics show.

Day 14  May.27th. Shanghai ( B L )

First visit Shanghai Museum, the selection of over 112,000 Chinese cultural relics from the Old Stone Age to modern times. Then proceed to visit the "Pedestrians only" Nanjing Pedestrian Road, a walking bustling street that is always packed with people waching other people. Then move on to  The Bund, one of the most noted waterfront and architectural symbols of Shanghai. After lunch, go to Shanghai's new zone - Pudong ( east of Huangpu River) and ascend Jinmao Tower to have an eye-bird's view of Shanghai city. Finally take one hour cruising on Huang Pu River. Back to your hotel.

Day 15:  May.28th, Wuzhen tour( B L )

Day 16: May.29th. Shanghai

Morning – Maglev train from Shanghai to Shanghai Airport

Afternoon - Free for Shopping

Day 17: May.30th..Shanghai

Free time

Day 18 :May.31st. Shanghai - Beijing by bullet train.( B )

Transfer you to the railway station to Beijing. Our guide will transfer you to the hotel directly. Free for yourself.

Day 19: June.1st. Beijing

Free time.

Day 20: June.2nd. Beijing

Free  time.

Day 21: June.3rd.Departure Beijing ( B )

In the morning, our driver will transfer you to some shop area and take you to the airport before 2 pm .
  Day 21:June 3rd Leave Beijing (PEK) at 4:50 PM  by Chinese Southern
           June 3rd. Arrive Detroit (DTW) at 6:00 PM

                                                 

Map of  the total  Railway System in China.
Just click on the map to enlarge it.

                     

 

Part of Chinese railway system the Bach's will be travelling on.

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