Itinerary

Day 1 Albany/JFK/Beijing
Board a bus from Albany to JFK International Airport for an non-stop afternoon flight to Beijing. Your adventure begins as you fly trans-Pacific aboard a wide cabin jetliner and cross the International Dateline.

Day 2 Beijing
Arrive in Beijing, the capital of China at 6 p.m. You will be met by your local tour guide at the airport. Arrive at the hotel after dinner.

Day 3 Beijing
Visit Tian An Men Square, the largest square in the world, and the Temple of Heaven, built in 1420 A.D., where the emperors prayed to the heaven for a good harvest. Sightseeing also includes the Palace Museum, also known as the Forbidden City, home of 24 emperors with a total space of 9,999 rooms, and the Summer Palace, known for the Long Corridor with painted gallery, Kunming Lake and Longevity Hill, Seventeen-Arch Bridge and Marble Boat.

Day 4 Beijing
Take a tour bus excursion to the Great Wall, the 4,000-mile long, 2,000-years old construction said to be the only man-made structure visible by the naked eye from the moon. Visit the Ming Tombs; one of 13 Ming Emperors’ Tombs fully excavated and open for exploration. A roasted Beijing duck dinner will highlight the evening.

Day 5 Beijing/Shanghai/Suzhou
Take a morning flight to Shanghai, then board a tour bus to Suzhou. Afternoon sightseeing includes the centuries old Lingering Garden, Tiger Hill and Hanshan Temple. Visit the National Embroidery Institute to see silk embroidery, an important local craft with a 1,000-year history. Enjoy an evening dinner show featuring traditional Chinese
music.

Day 6 Suzhou/Hangzhou
Board a tour bus for a journey to Hangzhou to visit an Economic Development Zone. Tour the centuries old Lingyin Temple, featuring the 64 foot-high camphor-wood carved Buddha.

>>Optional Excursion for Days 5 and 6.
Visit Xi’an to see the Teracotta Warriors, a 200-year-old tomb discovered in 1974 by a farmer. There is an additional cost of $450 per person to take the Terracotta Warrior excursion.

Day 7 Hangzhou/Shanghai
Enjoy a morning boat cruise on West Lake with relaxing stopover at jewel-like pagodas and tea houses. Afternoon tour bus trip of Shanghai.

Day 8 Shanghai
Visit the World Expo 2010. Sightseeing at the Yu Garden, a maze of marvelous pavilions, ponds, rocky works and over arching trees. Visit the Bund, a famous waterfront park along the Yangtze river and home to the “Wall Street of the East,” and the Pudong economic development zone.

Day 9 Shanghai/Beijing/JFK/Albany
Take a morning flight to Beijing. Afternoon flight to JFK, arriving at 1:30 p.m. on the same day and return to Albany by bus.