Afternoon flight to Xian, capital of today's Shaanxi province and the ancient capital city of China for 11 dynasties (during the Mongols' Yuan dynasty in the latter 13th century Xian was visited by Marco Polo, as befits a city which in its heyday was one of the world's largest).
Having been a capital as far back as the Western Zhou Dynasty (l066-221 BC), Xian's extraordinary history and continuity have made the present-day city a true treasure trove of relics and monuments -- an importance only reinforced recently by the amazing archaeological discovery of the tomb of Emperor Qin Shi Huangdi and his attendant army of terra cotta soldiers. See the excavations, Huaqing Hot Springs and Banpo Neolithic Village. In evening, a Tang Dynasty dance show accompanied by dinner of local specialties
Morning visit to Big Wild Goose Pagoda:, Ming Dynasty City Wall, and Great Mosque of the Tang Dynasty plus other points of interest, including trying to see if time allows as much as possible of the extremely rich and well labeled collection of the Shaanxi Provincial Museum.inside the city's southern wall -- not to be missed by lovers of art, history and archaeology. Afternoon flight to Beijing.
Beijing (Peking, "Northern Capital"), a 3000 year old city which has been a center of advanced Chinese civilization going back at least 8 centuries to the era of Kublai Khan, is today the political, cultural and administrative hub of this immense modernizing nation facing the challenges of the 21st century. Today uou travel by motorcoach on a full day excursion to China's most famous landmark, the Great Wall, an engineering triumph of which 3750 miles still survive, then traverse the Sacred Way and Avenue of the Animals to view the fabulous Ming tombs -- of the 13, the 2 so far excavated reveal themselves to be in effect subterranean palaces..
Today is spent visiting 100 acre Tiananmen Square, the Imperial Palace (the golden-roofed "Forbidden City" as it was called) and the Summer Palace -- the actual shooting sites for the resplendent vistas in Bertolucci's epic film "The Last Emperor" detailing the pathetic end of the once mighty Manchu dynasty. Since 1651 the Square has witnessed many events central to China's history; and none more pivotal than the 1st October 1949 proclamation of the People's Republic of China: the date when, as Mao said, "China stood up." The evening is devoted to the local culinary chef d'oeuvre, a Peking Duck dinner.
Morning flight returns you from Beijing to Hong Kong.
To activate hyperlinks, please click on the texts or the graphics underlined in blue.
Webmaster@diatravel.com
Copyright 1996 DIA International Travel, Incorporated