China & Yangtze River Cruise with Hong Kong

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  • $ 2,899
  • 17
    Days
  • Average Tour Review
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BEIJING, XIAN, SHANGHAI, GUILIN, YANGTZE RIVER CRUISE AND HONG KONG

How can you begin to discover a country so vast, so ancient, so diverse? Our China tour with Yangtze River cruise doesn’t waste a moment, ensuring that you’ll experience the most intriguing, renowned sights on what is truly a trip of a lifetime. Count on your smarTours® guides to navigate the innumerable details of travel in China and add nuanced narrative to everything you’ll see—from Tiananmen Square to the Terracotta Army, the Great Wall to giant pandas. We’ll break the trip to meander along the fabled Yangtze, China’s longest river, on a scenic four-night cruise. And we’re not done yet! We wisely complete this escorted package with a visit to colorful, hectic, exciting Hong Kong.

For COVID-19 updates, please scroll down to our Before You Depart section.

Did you know that you can make this tour private? Find out about pricing and options for groups of 10 or more travelers.

Itinerary at
a Glance

  • 2 Nights in Shanghai
  • 3 Nights in Beijing
  • 2 Nights in Xian
  • 4-Night Yangtze River Cruise
  • 2 Nights in Guilin
  • 3 Nights in Hong Kong

Tour
Highlights

  • The Bund (Shanghai)
  • Tiananmen Square (Beijing)
  • Great Wall (Beijing)
  • Terracotta Army (Xian)
  • Yangtze River Cruise
  • Li River (Guilin)
  • Victoria Peak (Hong Kong)
  • Optional Macau Excursion

Activity Level: Adventurer 

Your Tour
Includes

  • Round-trip airfare from the Los Angeles (flights from New York-JFK at additional cost) (passengers may also book this tour without flights)
  • Airfare taxes, fees & fuel surcharges
  • All intra-China flights and ground transportation
  • Accommodation at deluxe hotels
  • Deluxe Yangtze River cruise aboard Victoria Cruises Premier ship in outside cabin with picture window and private balcony.
  • 35 meals: 16 full-buffet American breakfasts, 10 lunches, and 9 dinners
  • Comprehensive sightseeing tours, admission fees included
  • All shore excursions
  • English-speaking Tour Director and local guides

Tour Itinerary

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Map

Click the Day by Day itinerary above (or swipe on mobile devices) to see the experiences that await on each day of your tour.

Day 1: Depart U.S.

Day 2: Arrive in Shanghai

Day 3: Shanghai

Day 4: Shanghai/Beijing

Day 5: Beijing and The Great Wall

Day 6: Beijing

Day 7: Beijing and Xian

Day 8: Xian & Terracotta Army

Day 9: Xian/Yichang/Yangtze River Cruiser

Day 10: Yangtze River Cruise

Day 11: Yangtze River Cruise

Day 12: Yangtze River Cruise

Day 13: Arrive in Chongqing/Disembark Ship/Guilin

Day 14: Guilin & Li River Cruise

Day 15: Guilin/Hong Kong

Day 16: Hong Kong

Day 17: Hong Kong

Day 18: Hong Kong/U.S.

Guided Tour Pricing

We are working diligently to secure future tour dates and pricing for this itinerary. Please fill out the "Request a Future Date" form linked below and we will notify you once dates are available.

Request a Future Date

Optional Tours Customize your trip with these optional tours.

Enhance your trip with our recommended optional tours. Indicated optional tours are available to pre-book when you reserve your trip and can be added to your reservation up to final payment. This is the best option to guarantee your spot on your preferred optional tour! Optional tours require a minimum number of participants. Optional tours are non-refundable unless they do not operate.

Some optional tours can be purchased in-destination and may cost extra. The payment methods and currency information to purchase tours in-destination will be provided on final documentation.

Shanghai Acrobats Performance

Full-Day Hutong (Old Beijing) & Temple of Heaven Tour with Lunch

Macau Day Tour with Lunch

Reviews

Mayuri P

This was my second tour with this company. We went on sept 24 through October 1st. Some days was very humid. Flight was from LAX which made it very convenient. Loved the history of China. The tour guide ‘Ma’ was pretty knowledgeable. Being vegetarian the food was very good. Yangtze River Cruise was 4 days. Great natural beauty. The food and the service was awesome. Looking forward to take more tours with Smartours.

Leslie

My husband and I took this tour, our first with smarTours, in September 2019 and it was amazing! The sights were incredible, the hotels were first class and our group was great, which made the experience even more enjoyable! We want to thank our guide, Jo, who helped to make the trip so special. It was a tour with so many details and numerous travel arrangements, but she managed them with ease and precision! She was like a mother to us all, keeping us on track and together (which wasn’t always easy!) and making sure we had the best possible experience. She was always cheerful, helpful, entertaining and very informative. Her personal stories and insights gave us a much better understanding of Chinese culture and history. Thank you to smarTours for putting together such a wonderful tour, but especially to Jo for making our first experience of China so memorable.

Adam Z

The China and Yangtze River Cruise with Hong Kong hits in a bit more than two weeks the highlights we think about regarding China. The fully packed itinerary led by a knowledgeable tour leader covers a myriad of historic, scenic and urban locations including shopping opportunities. The tour is an unrivalled value for the money.

Judy S

Superb tour, with a wonderful guide (Oscar) and excellent sights, hotels and food--at a GREAT price...We couldn't have been happier and will absolutely use Smartours again and again...

Steven

Outstanding from start to finish. Oscar (Bo) was a wonderful guide and took care of everyone on the trip like they were family. We saw SO MUCH--for less $$ than the competing groups that we saw doing the same itinerary. The hotels were top-drawer, with excellent breakfast buffets...And, if you like Chinese the rest of the meals were very good. The Yangzte River cruise was wonderful. We arranged our own air and came in a day early to Shanghai and left a day late in Hong Kong and enjoyed the downtime from flight over and afterwards from the fast-paced trip. We had great local guides and could not have been more pleased--except next time we won't go over the May-Day holiday(:-) Highly reccommend Smartours

Ian a

We want to thank our guide, Harry, for making our recent China trip most memorable. Harry was so efficient, kind and helpful. Thank you Smart tours for providing a China trip that highlights the many areas of the greatness of China. It was a well rounded trip that covered all the sites one would hope to see. We would definitely recommend Smart Tours on this amazing trip

Donald

We would like to submit this review of our China trip leaving on Sept. 5, 2019. We enjoyed every aspect of this trip. The places visited were all very interesting to us. The Hotels and meals were good. Our Yangtse River Cruise was wonderful and we opted for an upgraded room . The most important part of this tour, was our Tour Director, Jo. She was very informative, courteous and friendly. She took great care to help us in every way. Jo was one of the best Tour Directors we have experienced with smarTours or any other Tour Company. As we mentioned in our review of our New Zealand/Australia tour taken earlier this year, this tour of China will be our last with smarTours due to our very bad experience with our New Zealand/Australia Tour Director. Donald and Susan Abrams

Cindy D

I have nothing but the highest phase for this tour and experience. What made it truly outstanding was our guide Harry Sun Lao. He and his crackerjack time of local guides made this a trip of s lifetime for my husband, grandson and I. The sites, the meals were great. Harry set expectations carefully and in his patient and serene manner handled all the various personalities. While it was hot ( summer in China of course), crowded with summer student visitors, we enjoyed learning so much about the country and its wonderful people. In particular Loved the Great Wall, Forbidden City, Li River and Hong Kong. My only feedback is that the smartour office appears disorganized and we got copies of documents with errors so we learned to review in detail. We are still trying to get our FF miles posted and resolved. I would strongly recommend this wonderful tour.

John

Excellent in many ways, especially our tour guide who went out of her way to make sure our needs were taken care of.

Amber T

Believe me. All that was said in the reviews are true. That 18-day trip to China was simply awesome. I do hand it to Smartours because everything was done to almost perfection - so well organized and thoughtful of us travelers. I don't think any other guide could have topped Harry. He was like a dad, hovering over us for every need and so genuine and caring. We all felt so protected. Thanks again Harry. We appreciate everything you did. You will always be remembered. I must mention the 4-day cruise down the Yangtze River - that too was like a bonus. We all felt we got our monies worth and then we still had to visit Hong Kong. China - you will never be forgotten - not a moment was boring. It was a last minute decision for our 25th Anniversary. No regrets. Just contact Smartours, pack and just go. Everything is arranged for you. We were always on the go. If you haven't been to China, take it from me - a trip of a lifetime- so many sites, different culture. I'm ready for another Smart tour, but Ill check the reviews first.

Christopher S

Terrific value. Guides spoke excellent English and were friendly and interesting. This is listed as the “adventurer” level in terms of physical activity but it’s not terribly difficult unless you have physical challenges. Climbing the Great Wall was the most strenuous but you can climb as little as you want. Our group was 45 people which is too many but I understand SmarTours is now lowering the number of people per tour.

Karen

This was our first Smartour we took on the recommendation of a friend who has taken several. You did not disappoint. Mark was our tour guide for the group of 13. We were more like a family who he led us through tours, flights, hotels. We never felt cheated with any sightseeing with 4 intro China flights. No time wasted. The hidden gem and highlight for us was Guilin. Beautiful city and extraordinary hotel. The only criticism would be the location of the Shanghai Crowne Plaza. It was 30 mins. Outside of the city. Luckily we did our own air because I knew I needed time to adjust after traveling 20 hours. The daytime tours were excellent but no other guests had the opportunity to see Shanghai at night. Our next stop, Beijing hotel was 2 blocks from Tianemen Square. All 13 of us walked to experience it lite up at night. Thank you for Mark, the itinerary and beautiful hotels. You are on my list of recommended travel tours.

Marge G

The China & Yangtze River Cruise w/ Hong Kong was truly amazing! Smartours had all arrangements down to a science, with all tours and transfers running like clockwork. Our tour director, Jason Hu, was a wonderful, caring young man who went the extra mile to take care of our group of 19....always with a smile. Our tour guides, Jennifer, Tom, Alun, Kenny, Linda and Kelly were very knowledgeable and smoothed the way for some interesting tours, as well as being very attentive. The Yangtze River cruise was wonderful and the scenery magnificent. We could not have asked for better accommodations or meals in China....all places were truly the best, as was the Hong Kong hotel. I would definitely recommend this tour to anyone seeking a top notch tour to see the highlights of China!

Martha

Julian and I are still talking and telling everyone we meet about the surprisingly wonderful trip we recently took. Our guide, Mr. Li Bo, Oscar, was our mother, father, savior, historian, bathroom locator and best friend throughout the entire trip. He seemed to have a second sense and was there when we needed him, either for a pharmacy, help with our luggage or credit cards and the ATM's. The local guides, especially Allie, in Shanghai were extremely helpful and knowledgeable. The hotels and Yangtze River rooms were excellent. All the shows, parks and extras and river cruises were wonderful. The food was pretty good but the hot pots and dim sum that we had when we ventured out on our own was sensational. It's an amazing country with beautiful and unusual sites. I look forward to more trips with SmarTours and I can only hope that they are as great as this trip was for us. Thank you Oscar.

Robert K

We were a group of 34 seniors departing from JFK on 12 Oct 2017. The itinerary was the same as the standard 17-day tour and it was well-paced for our group. Mark Ma was our Tour Director, and he was very helpful, friendly and made sure that everyone was safe and enjoying the trip. My group has been on several guided international tours, and this was one of the best. smarTours helped us set up the tour, get our visas and got us first-class hotels throughout the trip. I recommend that you consider them for your travel group. Ms. Suzanne Anderson at their NYC office was specially helpful. Thanks to everyone at smarTours for this excellent experience.
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