Welcome to Shanghai, a magic city full of oriental charms! Upon your arrival today, your private guide will warmly greet you outside the baggage claim area of the airport and transfer you to the hotel downtown. For the remainder of the day, have a good rest in the hotel to get refreshed for the following itinerary. Or if you arrive early, get a glimpse into the local life and culture from the nearby streets and specialty foods.

► Dinner Suggestion (at your own expense):

If you are hunting for authentic Shanghai cuisine, then Restaurant Shanghai 12 Lanes (People’s Square Shimao branch), only a 15-minute drive from your hotel, is definitely your ideal choice. The restaurant’s decoration is full of old Shanghai flavors, with fresh mint green as the dominant tone, and every detail reveals delicacy and cleanness. It also features a self-designed cartoon character, with different cheongsam worn in different seasons, attracting almost all diners to take an instagrammable photo with it. Besides, the open kitchen allows you to set eyes on how your dishes are made. How can you come to Shanghai without tasting locally famed soup dumplings? Maybe order a traditional Steamed Crab Meat Dumplings as your staple food. Be careful to take a small bite first to slowly suck on the juicy filling, to avoid being burned.

Average cost per person: CNY80 / USD 11

Address: No. 411-16, Building L4, World Trade Plaza East, No. 829, Nanjing East Road, Huangpu District, Shanghai

After breakfast, head out to Yu Garden, a Chinese south classical garden with a history of more than 450 years. It was originally a private garden built by an ancient government official, Pan Yunduan, for his father. He named the garden Yu, which means peace and safety, implying that he hoped his father would spend his old age in comfort here. With the passage of time, it has changed owners several times, but it has always maintained its unique charm. Now, it is one of the urban landmarks in Shanghai. Here, the buildings are exquisite and rich, characterized by the architectural style of the Ming and Qing Dynasties (1368 - 1911), including halls, pavilions, ponds and rockery. One of the highlights that will wow you is the Great Rockery, which is the oldest, the most refined and the largest of its kind in the South Yangtze River region. Yellow rocks from Wukang, Zhejiang Province, are seamlessly integrated with small waterfalls and streams, with no artificial traces can be seen. With our guide, delve into traditional Chinese culture and architectural aesthetic evolution through more structures. Out of the garden, let’s wander around the nearby Yuyuan Bazaar, where tradition and modernity coexist, interpreting China in the eyes of foreigners, Shanghai in the eyes of Chinese, and hometown in the eyes of Shanghainese. Into the bazaar, you will see rows of wooden buildings with well-carved brackets and eaves, and on both sides of the crowded and lively streets are century-old shops.

After that, we will come to the Shanghai Museum, one of the world’s top museums of ancient Chinese art, with a collection of more than 1 million cultural relics relating to calligraphy, currency, bronze, ceramics, painting and sculptures… Each exhibit is like a historical monument, telling the glory and vicissitudes of Chinese civilization and condensing the wisdom of ancients and their pursuit of beauty. Stop by the bronze Zi Zhong Jiang Plate, a blessing ware made by a master of the Jin Dynasty (265- 420) for his wife. The plate is large and beautiful, with three carved tigers supporting the bottom and two dragons climbing the rim to peer in. When there is water flowing, the 12 animals on the bottom will rotate 360°, looking vivid enough!

Our next destination is Nanjing Road, a symbol of prosperity and fashion since Shanghai was opened as a port. With the world’s largest stream of folk, it is the first commercial street in China. At its east end, marvel at the massive A-shaped Peace Hotel, which has been ranked among the 100 most luxurious hotels in the world since 1929. Walking into the chocolate museum, you will be greeted not by servers, but by a group of chocolate animals, who are really lifelike. Go further in, the chocolate sculptures of David, Venus de Milo and luxury bags will make your mouth open even wider. Along the road, there are also a variety of department stores, and our guide will explain to you their founding histories. A funny fact is that most of these stores are owned by Cantonese.

Then, continue our visit to the Bund, the first business card of Shanghai. This promenade on the west side of the Huangpu River is hailed as "an exhibition of world architecture", because it brings together 52 buildings of different periods and styles such as Gothic, Baroque, Romanesque and so on, making you feel like you are in multiple countries at the same time. The romance of the Bund must be accompanied by the ringing from the Customs Building on the hour. In the 1920s, the Building was designed by Wilson in a restrained classical style, simple and modern, and with a taste of the most fashionable art deco wind of the time. If we’re lucky, we will hear the music playing from it as well.

Finally, finish off this well-lived day with a cruise on the Huangpu River, to the east of which you will see modern skyscrapers towering in the clouds, including the so-called “Lujiazui’s three-piece suite”: the bottle opener-like Shanghai World Financial Center, the syringe-like Jinmao Tower, and the egg beater-like Shanghai Tower. You will also be awestruck by the Yangpu Bridge and Napu Bridge, which are like two dragons lying on the river. Together with the Oriental Pearl TV Tower in the middle, they form a huge picture of “two dragons frolicking with a pearl”.

Meals: Western buffet breakfast

Today, you are free to independently explore Shanghai. Seize your chance to discover more enchantments of the city. Make sure you get back to the hotel early in the afternoon, as we will escort you to the airport for an evening flight to Zhangjiajie. Once you arrive, another local guide there will pick you up and transfer you to the hotel near Zhangjiajie’s core scenic area that we will visit for the next two days.

► Recommended Activities for Your Free Time in Shanghai:

Perhaps take some time to wander around the Shanghai Xintiandi today. Call a taxi from the hotel, and you will be there in 15 minutes. Based on the distinctive Shanghai culture, it combines the old Shikumen residences and the new architectural complex, allowing you to experience not only the modern life, but also the artistic atmosphere of Shanghai. Take a stroll along the grey brick walkway to admire the mottled shadow of plane trees on both sides of the red-and-grey brick walls, and the heavy lacquered gates with lintels carved with Baroque coiled flowers. From time to time, the aroma of coffee and desserts in some houses, along with the soft music, floats out of the black lattice windows and into the air, seeming to take you back to Shanghai in the 1920s. Here, you can also find a number of toggeries, snack stores, art studios, bars and cafes, and almost all of them use English as the main text of their board and menu. Just come and seek your own travel delights.

Meals: Western buffet breakfast

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Today's trip will begin with a hiking tour in Zhangjiajie Grand Canyon, a natural spectacle that simultaneously owns diverse landscapes like karst peaks, valleys, caves, waterfalls and lakes, which is rated as a landform museum of Zhangjiajie. It is not only a heaven for adventures, but also a home for souls to pursue purity and tranquility. Here, the mountains are all covered with thick trees, like a green ocean, and whenever the wind blows, the rustling leaves sway like continuous waves. On the cliffs in the deep valley, waterfalls cascade, looking like silver silks waved by a fairy. The most amazing thing must be the world’s longest and highest Glass Bridge across the canyon. Standing on it, you can both enjoy an unobstructed view of the entire canyon and get a thrill from the abyss beneath your feet. If you are interested, there is also the world’s highest bungee jump for you to test your mettle (at your own expense). At last, let’s relax on a boat ride on Shenquan Lake, which is like a piece of jade, lying quietly in the heart of the canyon and reflecting the blue sky and the surrounding woods.

In the afternoon, head our way to Golden Whip Stream, which flows through a canyon praised as the world's most beautiful canyon. When reaching the entrance, what will attract you first may be the local “aborigines”, wild macaques. There are so many of them, jumping around you as if they are welcoming your visit. The stream is so crystal clear that you can see fish in it shuttling around the pebbles inside. See if you are lucky enough to spy a giant salamander, one of the specialties of Zhangjiajie. Along the way, you will also pass the Flower and Fruit Mountain and Water Curtain Cave, which is the home of Monkey King in the classic Chinese novel Journey to the West! Also be moved by a Chinese legend that a large rock we will meet next carries: a child named Chenxiang split the rock peak to save his mother. Golden Whip Rock also awaits you ahead. It is like a 350-meter-long whip straight into the ground, gleaming like gold under the sun, hence the name.

After that, our guide will take you back to the hotel. Have a good rest!

► Dinner Suggestion (at your own expense):

For dinner, perhaps walk 10 minutes or so from your hotel to Yehuaxiang Hunan Cuisine Restaurant, one of the representative eateries dedicated to Hunan cuisine in Zhangjiajie. It has a history of nearly a decade and has received countless eaters from all over the country and even abroad. Tujia Stewpot, a dry pot dish cooked with several kinds of vegetables and meat, is its signature, as well as a local specialty. Just give it a try! Also order a "Strike the Drumhead", a must-have at every table, made from the meat between the ribs of local cattle and stir-fried with red pepper, garlic and ginger, tasting chewy but yummy. A beer lover? Then expect what surprises Zhangjiajie Beer can bring you!

Average cost per person: CNY 55 / USD 7.5

Address: No. 98, Guihua Road, Wulingyuan District, Zhangjiajie

Meals: Western buffet breakfast, Lunch

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Today, let’s go sightseeing in Zhangjiajie National Forest Park. Our guide will first take you to ride the Bailong Elevator. This world’s highest outdoor elevator will climb 326 meters in just 88 seconds! Its transparent carriage allows you to enjoy the misty and rocky landscape of Zhangjiajie during the lifting. Out of it, we arrive at the Yuanjiajie Scenic Area. Legend has it that in the late Tang Dynasty (618 - 907), a solider surnamed Yuan came here to hide from the court after the failure of a peasant uprising and then lived in seclusion here and named the place Yuanjiajie. Hiking here, you can not only breathe in the fresh air, but also enjoy the super stunning scenery such as the No. 1 Bridge under Heaven, Enchanting Stage, and Qiankun Pillar. In 2009, the science fiction film Avatar swept the world, and the Hallelujah Mountain in it in particular amazed the public. Incredibly, this surreal mountain does exist, and it is the Qiankun Pillar in Yuanjiajie. In early 2010, it was officially renamed "Hallelujah Mountain", propelling Zhangjiajie onto the global stage.

Next, a shuttle bus ride will take us to Tianzi Mountain, which is covered with ancient subtropical primitive sub-forests and is a natural botanical garden with a large collection of rare animals and plants. Besides that, thousands of peculiar-looking peaks soaring into the sky, and occasional clouds and mists do add a touch of mystery to this peak forest. Imperial Brush Peak is one of the top ten sights here. According to the legend, after the defeat of the Tujia King, Xiang Dakun, he burned all his manuscripts and threw several brushes into the valley with grief and anger. These writing brushes were imbued with spiritual energy, so they turned into the Peak.

After coming down from the Mountain by cable car, let’s pay a visit to the Ten-Mile Gallery. It is worth mentioning that the world's first Chinese zodiac-themed sightseeing train tour was launched right here. Riding it through this long green space, numerous wonders carved by nature over millions of years will be shown to you one after another; for example, the Three Sisters Peak. On the left is the eldest sister with a baby on her back. The second sister is in the middle, holding a child in her arms. The peak on the right is the youngest sister who just got married and is about to give birth.

After that, your guide will see you off at Zhangjiajie’s airport or train station. Your 5 days Shanghai and Zhangjiajie tour will end here. We wish you a pleasant onward journey. We are always ready to provide you with customized services if you have other travel needs.

Meals: Western buffet breakfast, Lunch

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