Your itinerary
Tour Information
Starts in:
Beijing
Ends in: Shanghai
Breakfast: 10
Lunch: 5
Dinner: 1
Hotel rating: 3 - 4 
Tour leader: Yes (for groups of 6 or more)
Local guide: Yes
Day 1: Beijing
Welcome to China and the start of your holiday! Enjoy an arrival
transfer to our hotel.
Overnight - Beijing
Day 2: Beijing - breakfast
This morning, we enjoy a Welcome Meeting. Then, it's time to set
off and see some of Beijing. The famous portrait of Mao Zedong,
China's communist father still looks out over gargantuan Tiananmen
Square from the Gate of Heavenly Peace, the main entry point into
the Forbidden City. To one side of the vast square is the Great
Hall of the People, whilst on the square is Mao's mausoleum, an
austere behemoth in granite where he lies in state in his crystal
coffin. We'll have a stroll on the square, which attracts many
pleasure seekers wishing to take photos, all under the watchful eye
of the dutiful guards. A vision in grandeur with it's imperial
yellow roofs and vermilion walls, the Forbidden City, once
forbidden to all those except on imperial business until 1911, when
the last emperor, Puyi, was turfed off his throne is a city within
a city. Beijing was always a walled city but the Forbidden City,
seat of the great emperors, was the innermost sanctum of the city.
We enjoy a guided walk through the city's many temples, grand halls
and courtyards. It is said the Forbidden City boasts 9999 rooms!
This evening, we enjoy a Welcome Dinner of Peking Duck at a city
restaurant.
Welcome Dinner and overnight - Beijing.
Day 3: Beijing - breakfast
Today, we travel beyond Beijing to Badaling, where we can walk (and
almost climb on some sections) on the Great Wall. No matter how
many pictures you've seen, the Great Wall of China is at once very
impressive. Following a ridge of barren hills through northern
China, it stretches as far as the eye can see - at least 6,700 km.
Continuing, we visit the tombs of the Ming emperors, where some 13
emperors were interred. The tombs are approached via a sacred
gateway and gate houses. We also visit a cloisonne workshop, where
we'll see firsthand the production of decorative items utilising
the techniques of this practised and ancient craft.
Lunch and overnight - Beijing
Day 4: Beijing - Xi'an - breakfast
A chance to cross a few palms with silver at Silk Alley markets,
where even the most hardened non-shoppers manage to walk away with
something they really desire! Set on picturesque Kunming Lake is
the Summer Palace. The buildings date back only to the turn of the
20th century, though the site goes back to the 12th century.
Perhaps most famous of all the structures at the Summer Palace is
the wonderful Long Corridor, a covered walkway 730m long, and
extraordinarily hand-painted with scenes from Chinese history,
legend and literature. An imperial folly is the solid marble boat
on Kunming Lake! Tonight, we travel by train to Xi'an in Shaanxi
Province.
Dinner and overnight - train
Day 5: Xi'an - breakfast
Arrive Xi'an and transfer to hotel. Most famous for the Terracotta
Warriors, perhaps the find of the 20th century and only just
usurped by the discovery of King Tut's gold-laden tomb in Egypt,
the Terracotta Warriors comprise more than 7,000 life-sized
soldiers which stand in military formation in excavated pits under
the cover of a modern protective hanger. Made of local clay, no two
faces are alike, each is said to be an individual portrait. We
visit Huanqing Hot Springs, then visit a workshop where you'll see
modern-day crafts people producing terracotta warrior figurines
before we continue to the archaeological site itself.
Lunch and overnight - Xi'an
Day 6: Xi'an - Guilin - breakfast
Today, we visit Xi'an's city symbol, the Big Wild Goose Pagoda,
first built in AD652 to hold sutras collected in India by a
wandering monk. An awesome sight, the City Wall and moat is over 15
km in perimeter and we embark on a bike ride, where there is no
vehicular traffic to mow us over! A legacy of the Silk Road,
Xi'an's Muslim population supports an enclave including known as
the Muslim Quarter, which we later visit. Later, we fly south to
Guilin.
Lunch and overnight - Guilin
Day 7: Guilin - Yangshuo - Guilin - breakfast
Renown for it's striking, if bizarre scenery: vast areas of karst
limestone outcrops that rise up from flat rice paddy fields, Guilin
is often the subject of Chinese painting. We undertake a relaxing
cruise down the River Li to Yangshuo passing an endless procession
of peaks and simple villages. The local fishermen use trained
cormorants to catch fish and local village boys paddle out to the
river boats with all manner of souvenirs. We spend some time in
charming Yangshuo, with its little shops and cafes. Back in Guilin,
we visit the enormous Reed Flute Caves.
Lunch and overnight - Guilin
Day 8: Guilin - Shanghai - breakfast
Today, we fly north to Shanghai. With its curious blend of
Anglo-Asian architecture comprising the Shanghai Bund, a waterfront
concoction that in some way resembles sections of London's
embankment minus the Houses of Parliament and the new city of
Pudong which comprises dazzling skyscrapers of cutting-edge design,
Shanghai is a blend of old and new. Today, we visit the Oriental
Pearl TV tower, Shanghai's highest building.
Dinner and overnight - Shanghai
Day 9: Shanghai - breakfast
Focus your eyes on Shanghai. Today, we explore the Jade Buddha
Temple, charming Yuyuan Gardens, the Old City where we can opt to
shop on Nanjing Road, the Shanghai Bund and this evening, a cruise
on the Huangpu River. It's when the sun sets, that Shanghai
dazzles. The skyline rivals Manhattan inn terms of lights!
Dinner and overnight - Shanghai
Day 10: Shanghai - Suzhou - Shanghai -
breakfast
Travelling west, we journey to Suzhou in Jiangsu Province. One of
China's most charming cities, it's fame rests on it's waterways,
and canals that are dotted with traditional bridges, houses and
gardens. A cruise on the Grand Canal exposes Suzhou's beauty.
Renown for it's silk, we also visit a silk workshop.
Lunch and overnight - Shanghai
Day 11: Shanghai - breakfast
Shanghai - breakfast. Hotel check-out and included onward transfer
to airport.
| Twn/Dbl |
Single Supp. |
| Tour Price |
GBP £949 |
GBP £299 |
| Extra Accomodation/Tour Upgrades |
Twin, Double |
Single Supp |
| High Season Supplement - Totally China |
GBP £50 |
GBP £50 |
| Being - Pre-tour accommodation |
GBP £35 |
GBP £30 |
| Shanghai - Post-tour accommodation |
GBP £39 |
GBP £30 |
| Optional Upgrades and Bolt-ons |
Price |
| Arrival Car Transfer - Beijing |
GBP £ 35 |
| Departure Car Transfer - Shanghai |
GBP £ 79 |
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2006
|
|
| 13 |
|
August |
| 27 |
|
August |
| 10 |
|
September |
|
| 24 |
|
September |
| 22 |
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October |
| 24 |
|
December |
|
|
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2007
|
|
| 22 |
|
July |
| 12 |
|
August |
| 26 |
|
August |
|
| 9 |
|
September |
| 23 |
|
September |
| 21 |
|
October |
|
| 24 |
|
December |
| |
| |
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