Xi’an has been home to the capital of 13 kingdoms during the feudal period that occupied China for 2,000 years, and the city itself, named Chang An at that time, reached its utmost prosperity when it was the capital of Tang Dynasty (618-907 AD). It is the largest city in Northwest China and has gained its international popularity since the excavation of Terra Cotta Warriors & Horses.

The first stop on today’s itinerary is Terra Cotta Warriors & Horses, acclaimed as the biggest archeological find of 20th Century worldwide. It represents the supreme level of funerary art throughout the ancient civilization in China as well as in the world. Qin Shi Huang, the first emperor of China, ordered the building of his mausoleum to be started as soon as he ascended the throne, in the year 246 BC. The project eventually involved 700,000 workers and the warriors, chariots and horses made of terra cotta was designed, moulded and fired to its original sizes, and finally buried with the emperor to protect him in his afterlife.

Then you will head back downtown and explore the lively Muslim neighborhoods in the afternoon. The history of this Muslim quarter in Xi’an dates back to Tang Dynasty (618-907 AD), when Muslim merchants came and aggregated in Chang An via Silk Road. This enclave has been constantly expanded during the successive dynasties and half of the Muslim population in Xi’an currently resides here. This is one of the busiest places in Xi’an due to numerous food stands lining along the two sides of the roads within the enclave and the unique culture nurtured by its history.

The inner city of Xi’an is completely walled and the wall, known as Xi’an City Wall, stretches over a total length of 14 kilometers in rectangular shape. The wall was first built in the early years of Ming Dynasty (1368 – 1644 AD) to mainly serve the purposes of military defense and food storage. The wall fulfilled its function as the local residents took shelter there during the Second World War, when the Japanese carried out air bombings from 1937 to 1940. Having been refurbished and maintained from time to time within hundreds of years, the wall comes to its present existence. Along the top of the wall is a walkway paved with stones and bricks. As you walk on it, you can take in sight of various views of the city. The bicycle rental service is available on the wall and it offers another option of visiting the wall.

Your second stop today and the final place to visit in this ancient capital is Big Wild Goose Pagoda. It was built in 652 during the Tang Dynasty (618-907 AD) to hold sutras and figurines of the Buddha that were brought to China from India by the Buddhist translator and traveler Xuanzang. It represents the introduction of Buddhist architecture and culture into China from India and integration into Chinese civilization.

You will spend a leisure afternoon at Tangbo Art Museum, where you can browse the works of traditional folk arts, ancient paintings displayed as well as the exhibition of contemporary artists held periodically. You will attend a lecture about Chinese calligraphy and create your own masterpiece there.

At the end of the tour, you will be transferred to the airport to catch an evening flight to Guilin. Upon arrival, you need to pick up your check-in luggage first and proceed to the exit to find your guide, who is waiting there to transfer you to local hotel for overnight.

Ranking among China's most popular tourist destinations, the city has long been renowned for its scenery of karst topography.

You will spend the whole morning today on a 4-hour cruise along the picturesque Li River with embarkation from Zhujiang Pier and all the way down to Yangshuo, a small county surrounded by karst hills and peaks, rich in farming and fishing culture. The cruise takes in breathtaking sceneries: numerous hills and peaks flank along the river and reflect the shadows on the crystal water, while patches of fields decorate the banks on both sides.

You will disembark in Yangshuo around 2 pm and proceed for a leisure walk along the West Street, a 1,400-year-old street with traditional southern Chinese characteristics but showing unique international flavor at the same time due to the large number of foreign residents and visitors there.

After settling down at local hotel and freshening up, you will be re-picked up to enjoy a show entitled ‘Impression Liu Sanjie’, directed by a domestically famed director Mr Zhang Yimou and created by 67 more domestic and overseas outstanding artists. Li River is taken as the stage of the show and 12 hills as background. Coupled with the vast sky, they form the largest real scenery theatre in the world.

The guide will escort you on a 3-hour journey to Longsheng this morning.

Being the centralized hub for about ten ethnic minority groups in northern Guilin including Zhuang, Yao, Miao, Dong, and etc., Longsheng features one of the most spectacular rice terraces in the world as well but not widely known internationally.

The terraces stretch layer upon layer from the mountain base to its summit and as the name indicates, they resemble the backbones of a huge dragon, always illustrated as the symbol of power in Chinese mythology. From the 13th century during the Yuan Dynasty (1271 – 1368 AD), the local Zhuang people started to build the terraces and cultivate rice for food. Currently Dragon's Backbone Rice Terraces cover an area of 66 square kilometers (about 16,308 acres) and span an altitude between 300 meters (about 984 feet) and 1,100 meters (about 3,608 feet). Standing on the top and looking down, you will be delightfully amazed by the patches of fields and curve lines around the mountain ridges.

The day concludes with a visit to a village of Miao to experience the unique Chinese ethnic culture and then a check-in into a local hotel for overnight stay

In the morning, you will embark on a 2-hour transfer back to Guilin.

The next stop on your itinerary is the 180-million-year-old Reed Flute Cave, featuring natural limestone sceneries and multicolored lighting. There are a large number of stalactites, stalagmites and other rock formations inside the cave and more than 70 inscriptions written in ink, which can be dated back as far as 792 AD in the Tang Dynasty (618-907 AD). The brilliantly illuminated lighting effects make the place more extraordinary.

Then you will proceed to an exhibition of South China Pearl, uniquely produced in the pearl farms of Hepu Town, 500 kilometers away from Guilin. Owing to the clean water, gentle waves, enough sunlight, mild climate and rich planktons, the cultivation of the Hepu pearl can be dated back to more than 2,000 years ago. Pearls produced there have been chosen as the tribute to the royal family in the past successive dynasties.

Upon completion of the tour, you will be transferred to the airport to catch flight back home