Wed, 9/20: Depart Washington, DC Dulles Airport
Thurs, 9/21: Get into Beijing at 2:35pm (flying time from SF: 12.25 hours). Hotel: The Palace Hotel; 8 Goldfish Lane
Fri, 9/22: Great Wall & Ming Tombs.
Sat, 9/23: Forbidden City/Temple of Heaven/Summer Palace/Peking Duck dinner.
Sun, 9/24: Pedicab through Beijing's old hutongs. Fly to Shanghai. Hotel: JC Mandarin, 1225 Nan Jing Xi Lu.
Mon, 9/25: Bund/Yu Yuan Gardens/Children's Palace/new Shanghai Museum/evening Shanghai Acrobats show.
Tues, 9/26: To Zhouzhuang on Grand Canal; cruise Canal to Suzhou; dinner w/ Chinese music/dance at Garden of Master of Nets.
Hotel: Sheraton Suzhou, 388 Xin Shi Lu.
Wed, 9/27: Fly to Wuhan, tour city, dinner; bus to Shashi to board Victoria Cruise Line's Blue Whale for four-night cruise up Yangtze River.
Thurs, 9/28: Tour Three Gorges Dam construction site; pass through two of the Three Gorges; dock in Wushan & browse street market.
Fri, 9/29: Take small boat up Daning River to Three Small Gorges; take Blue Whale through final (big) Gorge.
Sat, 9/30: Cruise past farms and villages. Excursion to Wanxian, see student acrobats.
Sun, 10/1: Arrive in Chongqing. Bus through Sichuan countryside to Dazu, with reliefs portraying Buddhist life in 9th-13th centuries. Hotel: Chongqing Marriott, 77 Qing Lian Road.
Mon, 10/2: Tour Chongqing; fly to Xian. Hotel: Shangri-La Golden Flower, 8 Chang Le Road West, Xian.
Tues, 10/3: Terra cotta soldiers, city wall, Big Wild Goose Pagoda, Provincial Museum, Tang Dynasty dinner/show.
Wed, 10/4: Fly to the hills of Guilin. Visit Reed Flute Cave, take evening boat to see cormorant fishing. Hotel: Sheraton Guilin; Bing Jiang Nan Road.
Thurs, 10/5: Full-day Li River cruise, viewing karst scenery of layered limestone spires & rural villages. Motorcycle sidecar trip of Yangshuo countryside to see rural life. Ethnic show with dumpling dinner.
Fri, 10/6: Fly to Guangzhou (Canton). Tour city, then take 2-hour hydrofoil to Hong Kong Island. Hotel: Mandarin Oriental, 5 Connaught Road, Hong Kong.
Sat 10/7: Morning bus tour of Victoria Peak, harbor, Aberdeen floating village, Stanley Market. Rest of day on own.
Sun, 10/8: Hong Kong on our own.
Mon, 10/9: Fly home.