Day 1 to 1 – Arrive Beijing
Included Excursions
Arrival & Departure Transfer
Accommodation
1 night(s) in hotels Yong An Hotel or similar
Day 2 to 2 – Beijing
For centuries the political heart of this hugely historic country, Beijing is an ever changing city and a looking glass between old and new, with an abundance of activities to enjoy.
Beginning the day with a pre-departure meeting, we soon head off on a guided sightseeing tour of the nation’s capital, host of the 2008 Olympics. For 800 years Beijing has served as capital for several powerful dynasties. We visit iconic Tiananmen Square, home to the mausoleum of Chairman Mao Tse-tung, the founder of Communist China and also the infamous scene of a student uprising and subsequent killings in 1989. On one side of Tiananmen Square is possibly Beijing’s most famous sight, the Gate of Heavenly Peace. The gate is the main entry to the Forbidden City. A vision in grandeur, this ‚city within a city‘ was once forbidden to anyone not on imperial business until as late as 1911. It is reported to house 9,999 rooms over 720,00 square metres. Later we take an exciting rickshaw ride through the Hutongs of Beijing, weaving through old back lanes, traditional courtyards and compact houses, gaining a fascinating snapshot of the city’s traditional way of life. This evening, we enjoy an eye boggling Chinese acrobatic performance. Swinging ropes, juggling hoops, spinning plates and human pyramids are just a few tricks these show stoppers pull out followed by a Welcome Dinner of Peking Duck at a city Restaurant
Included Excursions
Guided Tour of Beijing & rickshaw ride through the Hutongs,Chinese Acrobatic Performance
Accommodation
1 night(s) in hotels
Meals
1 Breakfast(s), 1 Dinner(s)
Day 3 to 3 – Great Wall of China from Badaling
The following morning we head out of town for the not-to-be-missed highlight that is a visit to the Great Wall. We travel to a place called Badaling, where we will walk along sections of the wall. No amount of photos can do justice to the sheer scale of the wall and the enormity of the undertaking in constructing it as a line of defence. The whole wall stretches for a seemingly-endless 7,000 kilometres over mountains and through desert all the way to the north-eastern corner of China. Now a UNESCO-protected site, the wall’s construction spanned 2,000 years and some 20 different dynasties. The vigorous walk up and along the wall provides a rewarding vista of the rest of the wall winding its way past the horizon and of the surrounding countryside. We then visit the Jade Carving center before heading to our hotel at the foot of the Great Wall at Juuongguan Pass
Included Excursions
Entry to Great Wall of China
Accommodation
1 night(s) in hotels Changjuyuan Hotel or similar
Meals
1 Breakfast(s)
Day 4 to 4 – Great Wall of China from Juyongguan Pass & Bullet Train to Luoyang
We rise early this morning and head to the Great Wall at Juyongguan Pass in time to beat the crowds. Heading back to Beijing we have some time to take an optional trip to the cavernous Pearl Market. This afternoon we take a bullet train to Luoyang. This train travels at up to 305km per hour and the journey is an experience alone!
Included Excursions
Visit Pearl Market
Accommodation
1 night(s) in hotels New Friendship Hotel or similar
Meals
1 Breakfast(s), 1 Lunch(es)
Day 5 to 5 – Shaolin Kung Fu Temple
Today we explore the Shaolin Kung Fu Temple,set on the foothills of the Songshan Mountain. Here you can watch a performance of Kung Fu before returning to Luoyang. This evening we visit Peony Square where you can get involved in one of the many exercise classes that are held here.
Accommodation
1 night(s) in hotels New Friendship Hotel or similar
Meals
1 Breakfast(s), 1 Dinner(s)
Day 6 to 6 – Xian
Today we visit the UNESCO World Heritage-listed Longmen Caves. Carved into the cliffs rising above the Yi River, 1,300 grottoes house over 100,000 statues of Buddha and his followers, carved during the Northern Wei Dynasty.
This afternoon we board another fast train to Xi’an. After checking into our hotel, we go on leisurely bike ride on Xi’an’s medieval city wall.
Meals
1 Breakfast(s)
Day 7 to 7 – Terracotta Warriors
Today we discover one of the greatest archaeological finds of the 20th century: Emperor Qin’s Terracotta Warriors. Made up of some 7,000 life-sized soldiers standing in military formation in excavated pits under what can only be described as a great big aircraft hangar. Made of local clay, no two soldiers‘ faces are alike, as each is said to be an individual portrait, which does little to make it any less eerie.
Emperor Qin’s army of 2,200-year-old soldiers was discovered in 1974 by local farmers digging a well. The reason for the warriors was that emperors were buried with their slaves, but slavery had been abolished by the time of Qin. To compensate, the emperor had the warriors made to protect him in the afterlife. Many of the soldiers are severely dismembered, said to be the result of a peasant revolt after the emperor’s death rather than the passage of time. The emperor’s tumulus (ancient grave mound) is located about a mile away and, according to folklore, contains untold treasures and so far nothing but a few exploratory digs have been attempted to find out. In the evening you have the option of a Tang Dynasty dinner and a performance of Chang’an music and dance, originally performed for the illustrious emperors.
Accommodation
1 night(s) in hotels Wan Nian Grand Hotel or similar
Meals
1 Breakfast(s), 1 Lunch(es)
Day 8 to 8 – Xi’an & Overnight Train to Shanghai
We begin the next day with a tour of the Big Wild Goose Pagoda, the enduring symbol of Xi’an, which was first built in 652 to hold sutras collected in India by a wandering monk. We then visit to the Muslim Quarter. The spectacular wall and moat is 15 kilometres in perimeter and dates back to the Ming Dynasty.
In the evening we catch an overnight train to Shanghai
Accommodation
1 night(s) on overnight sleeper trains
Meals
1 Breakfast(s), 1 Lunch(es)
Day 9 to 10 – Shanghai & Suzhou
The name Shanghai is synonymous with wonder and oriental decadence. Prior to 1949, the city was a magnet for fortune seekers, idle foreigners, explorers and the dispossessed. The reason for this laissez faire attitude to all things commercial and social was to do with the notion of extraterritoriality, which meant foreign nationals were not bound by any local laws but by the laws and norms established by their respective consuls. Basically anything went. Until 1949, foreigners dominated commerce, banking and industry, amassing huge fortunes and transforming the landscape of foreign concessionary sections of Shanghai. This all came to a spectacular end in 1949, when the People’s Liberation Army under Mao took power. One legacy of these heady times is Shanghai’s Bund, where several colonial buildings line the promenade.
During our first day in Shanghai we take a city tour that takes in the stunning Shanghai Plaza TowerTower tower, the Jade Buddha Temple, the charming Yuyuan Gardens as well as the Bund and Old City. After a day of seeing the city’s highlights by land, in the evening we board a cruise on the Huangpu River to get a different perspective of this fascinating city.
The next day we make the short trip out of town to the Suzhou water canals by high speed train. This ‚Venice of the east‘ is made up of a patchwork of canals and waterways. As well as cruise the Grand Canal, which at nearly 2,000 kilometres is the longest constructed waterway in the world. There will also be a visit to a silk workshop.
Included Excursions
Guided Tour of Shanghai
Accommodation
2 night(s) in hotels Ramada Wujiaochang Shanghai or similar
Meals
2 Breakfast(s), 1 Lunch(es)
Day 11 to 11 – Shanghai & Overnight train to Qufu
You have today as free time in Shanghai. In the evening we board the overnight train to Qufu.
Accommodation
1 night(s) on overnight sleeper trains
Meals
1 Breakfast(s)
Day 12 to 12 – Qufu
Qufu is the birthplace of Confucius and home to the Confucius Temple and is considered one of China’s architectural marvels. This morning you will get to explore the kilometre-long building and its 466 rooms, built in honour of the great thinker by his descendents, who lived there for over 2,500 years. Confucius’s family clan, the Kongs, rose to great power, and this is reflected in the opulence of the temple. After visiting the temple we take a rickshaw ride around the city wall and delve into the Confucius Forest. Much of the forest is an open cemetery, which lends to a slightly eerie nature of the area. Today, those with the family name Kong are still permitted to be buried here.
Accommodation
1 night(s) in hotels Queli Hotel or similar
Meals
1 Breakfast(s)
Day 13 to 13 – Bu Yang Village, Mt Tai Shan & Jinan
This morning sees a short drive to Bu Yang Village. The village provides an interesting insight into the communist revolution as the principles of communal work and land ownership are still in evidence. Along the way we have lunch in the home of Mr Peng, a serving Party member. Seated on the floor, Mrs Peng serves delicious local dishes and plenty of beer to go with them.
We immerse further into the local way of life with a visit to a local school, where we will no doubt be warmly greeted by a crowd of five-year-olds competing for our attentions. Later that afternoon we drive up to Mt Tai Shan, perhaps the holiest of the five Chinese holy mountains devoted to Taoism. There are more than 6,000 steps to the summit, and streams of devout pilgrims undertake the challenge. We however, will take the less painful cable car. There are many ancient temples dotting the slopes and we visit Heaven Street, Cloud Bridge and the Jade Emperor’s temple, as well as enjoy the wonderful view of the rocky gullies below. The day ends with a short drive to Jinan, where we spend the night.
Accommodation
1 night(s) in hotels Shungeng Hillview Hotel or similar
Meals
1 Breakfast(s), 1 Lunch(es)
Day 14 to 14 – Beijing
Today begins with a short sightseeing tour of Jinan before delving into a delicious, traditional hotpot for lunch. In the afternoon we board an express train back to the start in Beijing.
Accommodation
1 night(s) in hotels Yong An Hotel or similar
Meals
1 Breakfast(s), 1 Lunch(es)
Day 15 to 15 – Depart Beijing
Your adventure of a lifetime comes to an end today. If you have a late flight or have lengthened your stay by adding post tour accommodation you will have more time to explore the sights.
Meals
1 Breakfast(s)
