6 Day Shanghai City & Yellow Mountain Tour
Shanghai / Huangshan
Highlights
- Visit:
- Shanghai Urban Planning Exhibition Center
- Yu Garden & Bazaar
- The Bund
- Shanghai World Financial Center
- Jade Buddha Temple
- Yellow Mountain
- Tunxi Ancient Street
- Hongcun Ancient Village
- Xidi Ancient Village
- Hu Kaiwen Ink-stick Factory
- Experience:
- Have a bird's eye view of the metropolis Shanghai;
- Witness the fast development of Shanghai and see its future;
- Climb the No.1 mountain in China - Yellow Mountain;
- Explore the Hui-style culture in the ancient street and villages.
Sampling Itinerary Day by Day
Day 1 Shanghai Arrival
Ni Hao! Welcome to Shanghai, the largest and the most developed metropolis in the Chinese mainland! You’ll be met by our local guide at the arrival hall of Shanghai airport / train station and escorted to your hotel at downtown area by a private, comfortable and non-smoking vehicle. The rest of today is on your own to explore this city.
Optional Activity - Enjoy an entertaining Acrobatic Show to see the breathtaking “balls of death” acts, chair balancing, juggling of benches, walking in the air, and other breathtaking performances (usually 19:30~21:00).
Arrival Ideas: At present, Shanghai has many international and domestic flights. Besides, you can take high speed trains from Beijing (about 5~5.5hrs), Xian (about 6~7.5hrs), Suzhou (about 0.5hr), Hangzhou (about 1hr), Huangshan (about 4hrs), etc.
Day 2 Shanghai (B, L)
After breakfast, enjoy your full-day exploration of the Magic Shanghai with west-meet-east, modern-blend-tradition culture. Let's start with Shanghai Museum East, which collected many international-standard exhibits of bronzes, paintings, calligraphy, sculpture, ceramics, jade from more than 5,000 years ago to the Qing dynasty. An Audio Explanation Device will be prepared for you to help you learn about the history and facts about the relics in the museum easily.
Next, have an interesting walk at Yu Garden, a typical ancient Chinese garden in Jiangnan area similar to the classical Suzhou Gardens! This garden boasts traditional design of Chinese architecture with jagged pavilions with elegant decorations, glittering pools with roving fish, and pine trees sprouting to the sky, all designed to refresh your spirit. Adjacent to the garden is the Yuyuan Bazaar where you can savor local snacks and explore exquisite traditional handicrafts and artworks.
Continue to the No.1 tallest building in China - Shanghai Tower in Pudong New District. Ascend to the 118th floor (546 meters) for a breathtaking panoramic view of Shanghai's downtown, the Huangpu River, and neighboring skyscrapers. Later, go to Nanjing Road, another landmark of Shanghai, a shopping paradise as well as a great place for a nice walk to feel the modern vibes of Shanghai. Finally, take a delight stroll along The Bund with a rich array of buildings of diverse architectural styles. Soak in the perfect fusion of Chinese and Western cultures while appreciating the stunning Shanghai skyline!
Optional activities: Take a relaxing Huangpu River night cruise to see the city’s most significant edifices and streets sparkling under the atmospheric cover of darkness (about 50 minutes).
Day 3 Shanghai & Flights to Huangshan (B)
Want to deeply know the past, today and future of Shanghai? This morning’s visit to Shanghai Urban Planning Exhibition Center will show you everything about Shanghai. You will see the amazing transformation of Shanghai that was originally a small fishing village and now surprisingly a super modern world metropolis. Different usages of photography, models and interactive multimedia displays make your visit enjoyable and entertaining. The best features are the old rare photos of landmarks, such as the Bund, Nanjing Road, Yu Garden, during the international settlement, and the large scale model showing the detailed layout of Shanghai.
Then you will be followed a trip to Jade Buddha Temple, a famous Buddhist Temple peacefully situated in the bustling Shanghai downtown. It is famous for the two pieces of Jade Buddha - one is the sitting Jade Buddha of 1.95 meters tall and the other is the smaller reclining Jade Buddha of 0.96 meters tall. Besides appreciating the Jade Buddha, you can have a basic understanding about Chinese Buddhism by visiting the Buddhist halls.
After the tour, be escorted to the train stations to catch your high-speed train to Huangshan (about 2.5-3hrs). Upon arrival, the local guide and driver will pick you up at Huangshan North Railway Station and take you to your hotel in Huangshan downtown (Tunxi). The rest of the day is free at your own leisure.
Day 4 Huangshan Downtown - Yellow Mountain (B)
Today after breakfast, our guide and driver will pick you up at your hotel. Drive 80 kilometers (1.5 hour-drive) to Huangshan Scenic Area and take cable car at Yungu Station to the top of the mountain. After check-in and lunch, you will view Brush Pen Peak, tour Lion Peak and Xihai Grand Canyon, enjoy the sunset glow at the Cloud Dispelling Pavilion, etc. Stay overnight at the summit.
Huangshan Scenic Area: Mt. Huangshan (Yellow Mountain), a World Heritage Site of UNESCO, is the most beautiful & loveliest mountain in China. It is known for its “Four Wonders” – beautifully-shaped pines trees, fantastic rock peaks, sea of clouds and hot springs. Each vista is different and unique.
Day 5 Yellow Mountain - Huangshan Downtown (B)
Try to get up early in the morning to catch the magical sunrise, after breakfast, tour the Begin-to-Believe Peak to see the grotesque pine trees, after all the exercise, take the cable car at Yungu Station down to the foot of the Mt. Huangshan, drive back to the city of Huangshan to visit Tunxi Ancient Street. First built about 900 years ago, during Song Dynasty (960-1279), it is a 100% “old” street with well-preserved houses in Huizhou style.
Then, head to Hu Kaiwen Ink-stick Factory. First opened in 1782, Hu Kaiwen Ink Factory is the oldest and most famous factory for Hui Ink in China, where visitors can see the whole working process of ink sticks.
After the tour, you will be escorted back to the city of Huangshan, enjoy the rest of the day.
Day 6 Hongcun & Xidi & Huangshan Departure (B)
On this day you will be taken to Yixian County, about 1-hour drive from the city of Huangshan. You will visit the two ancient villages Hongcun and Xidi, both of them listed as UNESCO’S World Cultural Heritage Sites.
Being one of China’s top 10 charming villages, Hongcun has been named “a village in the Chinese painting” with 800 years’ history. One of the locations for the Oskar-awarded movie “Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon”. Xidi is the perfect place for visitors to see typical folk houses where residents have lived there for centuries. It will give visitors the rare opportunity to explore China’s ancient culture and arts.
After the tour, you will be escorted back to the city of Huangshan, where you will be transferred to the airport for your flight to your next destination. Service ends.
1. This price is for one person, based on a group of 2 adults sharing one standard double-bed room in a comfortable-class hotel and traveling with our private tour package in low seasons. The price will be much lower if your group has 4 or more members.
2. This price is subject to change according to your traveling season, month, and date. There may be huge price increasing during the public Chinese holidays, school summer holidays (usually 2 months, July ~ August), peak tourist seasons or some special dates. (Chinese Public Holidays 2026)
3. Other factors that may change the final tour price include your group size, hotel class, tour activities, real-time exchange rate, and so on.
4. This price is based on the exchange rate USD 1= RMB 7.00. The final price will be based on the exchange rate in effect at the time of agreement with our quotation.
5. This price is only valid from now to March 31, 2027.
6. This price is not the final price until the Confirmation Letter is sent.
7. The items included and excluded in this price are for reference only. The final services included, please refer to the Confirmation Letter sent to you by the travel consultant.
Price Includes:
- English-speaking guide with the professional license as listed in the itinerary.
- Entrance fees and other fees of the scenic spots as listed in the itinerary.
- Yangtze River Cruise ticket as listed in the itinerary.
- Accommodation (comfortable-class) based on two persons sharing one room with twin beds or a double bed.
- Meals as specified with “B” (for breakfast), “L” (for lunch) or “D” (for dinner) in the itinerary.
- Private Transfers between airports, hotels and scenic spots while sightseeing in each city or area by private air-conditioned vehicle with a licensed driver as listed in the itinerary.
- Transportation: Domestic flights (economy class) or trains (second-class seat) as listed in the itinerary.
- Airport / train station pick-up and drop-off service as listed in the itinerary.
- Luggage Transfers between airports, train station and hotels.
- Travel Service Charge of our travel consultant, including the planning, handling, operational and communication charges, etc.
Price Excludes:
- China Visa (We do not offer any visa service or charge any visa-related fee.)
- Scenic spots not listed in the itinerary.
- Optional activities or other sightseeing.
- Accommodation not as listed in the itinerary.
- Meals not listed in the itinerary.
- Flights or trains not as listed in the itinerary.
- Excess Baggage Charges.
- Personal expenses of a purely personal nature such as room service, laundry, drink, Internet charge, WI-FI, fax, telephone call, etc.
- Gratuities or optional tips to guides, drivers, bellboys, etc.
- Travel insurance. Please kindly note that the full coverage travel insurance from your country of origin should be purchased in advance on your own.
Read what other travelers think about this China trip / Yangtze cruise trip. We only accept reviews from actual, confirmed travelers who purchased the tour / activity from us, so you can be sure the reviews are unbiased and authentic.
Hi Elk,
"Yangtze River Cruises and more specifically Elk has been helping us organise a very good tour in China: we were aiming to visit Chongqing, and observing that this could be combined with a crude on the Yangtze River, we opted for this, and given that this cruise at this time of the year was only 4 days, I searched extension options on the company website, found 2 extensions of interest for me and my husband, namely in Chengdu (where the tour organiser is based) and in Zhangjiajie.
1. Organisation
Booking the tour, I was a little uncertain: there are so many scams online, that I was afraid we pay for that tour and end up with nothing... but it was not the case :-)
A few days before the start of our tour in Chengdu, Elk sent me the mobile numbers of the 3 guides that would be taking us through each station of our tour, and to my great pleasure, each of them was waiting for us at the agreed meeting point. All these scheduling and organisation elements were super well defined.
Elk also asked me which category of housing I wanted and booked for us hotels and cruise bedroom in the relevant category. I was pleasantly surprised in each location.
2. Comfort
Another special comment: the hotels and cruise ship have aircond, which is as expected, and also heating systems (which in December and January was very helpful as we visited Zhanjiajie under the snow). I specify this because some people told me before the trip that in these regions, considered South China, there is usually no heating system. It's true that in some restaurants and coffee shops, there was no heating, but al our hotels had some.
3. Food
In each location we had usually at least a breakfast and lunch included, plus dinner during the cruise. All was very good and to our taste: the guides asked us ahead what kind of food we can / cannot eat and esp. for us, it was "not spicy please" and we got it alright all the time.
4. Sightseeing and Guides
In each location we had a guide speaking well to very well our language and a driver; full comfort!
In Chengdu guide Ben took us to the panda reserve and visiting it has been great fun: they are so cute. Then we went for lunch in the old city in a delicious restaurant, and visited and old temple, the touristic area, and park... and he was also kind enough to propose to us to join the local theater show (not included in the tour), which was amazing... The following morning he took us to the train station from which we would join Chongqing. He insisted to take us up to the last passport check before the train platform... that's very useful for overseas tourists not familiar with Chinese trains. Many thanks to Ben!
Then in Chongqing, Jacques took us through the city museum and main places of interest before dropping us at the gate of the ship; here also, no chance to get lost :-)
During the cruise, the staff and guides speaking our language were taking care of us onboard and during the excursions. We also took the ship lift add-on at the 3 gorges dam, which I can also recommend, what an experience!
Finally in YiChang, our guide for Zhangjiajie was waiting for us at the cruise terminal to take us to Zhangjiajie. There she took us to the 2 famous parks there, the one with Avatar peaks, great even with overcast and rain, and then to the park of the Tianmen mountain, with the glass bridges and and the 999 steps... We visited that one under the snow and walking on snow, and it was amazing, even if we could not take as many glass bridges as planned, for safety reasons. Each day, we finished with delicious lunches, too much food actually, thus we did dabao.
Thus only one summary: fantastic tour, great organisation, we are looking forward to the next one!
The only thing that was a little less good was our guide in Chongqing, Jacques: he was always speaking very loud, like if speaking to a group of 20 people while we were only two. Otherwise, nothing to improve really, it was excellent!
Best regards,
Valerie
The following photos were shared by our customer Valerie:

Chengdu City Tour | Late December 2025 | Curated by Elk

Chongqing City Tour | Late December 2025 | Curated by Elk

Three Gorges Cruise Journey with Century Paragon | Early January 2026 | Curated by Elk

Two-Day Nature Escape in Zhangjiajie | Early January 2026 | Curated by Elk
- Valerie - January 8, 2026‚ ,
Hi,
Thank you for your email. The trip to China was great. I will update you when I get back to Spain. All the best to you.
Regards,
David
- David - December 25, 2025‚ ,
Hi Elk,
We had a wonderful experience booking our Yangtze River cruise through Yangtze River Cruise Company. Elk was especially helpful throughout the entire process - extremely communicative, responsive, and patient in answering all our questions, which made the booking smooth and stress-free for our family.
The cruise itself on Century Paragon was excellent. Everything was well organized, the facilities were comfortable,and we truly had a great time. Overall, it was a fantastic experience from booking to the actual cruise, and we would highly recommend both the company and Elk's services to others planning a Yangtze River cruise.
Chen
- Chen - December 22, 2025‚ ,
Thank you Rita,
The Cruise has been wonderful, everyone involved has been very helpful. My wife and I are having a good time.
Thanks again for the arrangements.
Joseph
- Joseph - December 22, 2025‚ ,
Here are recent candid photos of this China trip / Yangtze cruise trip. If you want to share your own tour photos, simply email your photos to info@yangtze-river-cruises.com with your Booking ID Number. Thanks in advance for sharing!
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Recommended Add-on Options
+ 1~2 more day to appreciate classical gardens & exquisite water town - Suzhou
With over 2,500 years’ history, Suzhou is super famous for its typical elegant Suzhou gardens most of which are listed as World Heritage Site, like the Administrator's Garden, Lingering Garden, etc. Besides, the poetic, quiet and picturesque water towns like Zhouzhuang and Tongli are the best places to appreciate Jiangnan feature and enjoy some leisure moments.

+ 4~5 more days to cruise on the magnificent Yangtze River
Taking a relaxing cruise sailing on the Yangtze River is a popular way to get a short break during your China tour. You’ll not only enjoy many colorful cultural activities and entertainment programs onboard, but also enjoy three to four shore excursions to deeply know the authentic life along Three Gorges and witness the world-famous Three Gorges Dam.
You can take: 1) 4 Days & 3 Night Downstream Cruise from Chongqing to Yichang; 2) 5 Days & 4 Nights Upstream Cruise from Yichang to Chongqing.

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