DAY 1:
Join the direct overnight flight to Shanghai.
DAY 2:
Arrival in Shanghai and a transfer to your centrally located hotel. Lunch will be served at a local restaurant. This afternoon you will enjoy a tour of the famous Bund, once the most famous street in Asia. Stroll down the tree-lined promenade along the Huangpu River, and take advantage of the excellent shopping opportunities. We will also visit the Jade Buddha Temple, the most famous Buddhist temple in Shanghai, which is still inhabited by monks.
Tonight you can join our optional Shanghai Evening River Cruise.
DAY 3:
After breakfast at the hotel, we include a visit to the magnificent Yu Yuan Gardens and the Children’s Palace, where Chinese children come to learn dancing, singing, music, painting and handicrafts. After lunch we will transfer to the airport for the flight to Xi’an, where on arrival we will transfer to the hotel for a two night stay.
DAY 4:
Embark on a full day tour of the amazing city of Xi’an, which dates back to 6000BC and is the starting point of the great Silk Road. We will visit Xi’an’s most famous attraction, the tomb of Emperor Qin Shi Huangdi and his terracotta warriors and horses, discovered by chance in a field outside the city in 1974. A lifesize army of 8000 warriors, with no two warriors the same, was built to guard the Emperor’s tomb and protect him in the afterlife. Thanks to the archaeologists who pieced together the terracotta fragments, it still stands guard today, more than 2000 years on, and is one of China’s most remarkable attractions. Other sights you’ll see on the tour include Wild Goose Pagoda, the city walls and Stone Forest.
DAY 5:
This morning we will join the flight to Peking where we have reserved three nights’ accommodation on a bed and breakfast basis (lunch and dinner included at local restaurants). This afternoon enjoy a tour of Tian’anmen Square, the world’s largest public square, covering 100 acres and bordered by the Qianmen Gate, Great Hall of the People and Gate of Heavenly Peace. Also included is a visit to the Temple of Heaven, a beautiful wooden structure used as a hall of prayer.
DAY 6:
Today, we include a full day tour of the Great Wall at Badaling. It’s hard to take everything in as you stand on this ‘Wonder of the World’ that follows the contours of the land for some 3000 miles across China. Originally designed to keep out invaders from the north, it is one of mankind’s greatest achievements and the only man-made structure visible from space. We also visit the Ming Tombs, the burial placeof thirteen emperors. The tombs, which were designed by the emperors before they died, are dotted around a valley and are reached by a ‘sacred’ road guarded by massive stone statues of animals and warriors.
This evening, join our optional excursion to the Peking Opera, regarded by many as a national treasure, with an impressive history of over 200 years. Peking Opera is the biggest kind of opera in China, with a richness of repertoire, number of performers and profound influence unparalleled anywhere else in China.
DAY 7:
An awe-inspiring day as we visit the 800 year old Summer Palace, boasting the largest and best preserved of all imperial palace gardens, and the magnificent Forbidden City - a vast complex of palaces and pavilions that is an architectural masterpiece. Trace the footsteps of the Chinese emperors whose golden throne room lies here, and see the Imperial Palaces of the Ming and Qing dynasties. You may also choose to join our optional excursion Peking by Rickshaw.
DAY 8:
This morning we include a visit to the impressive Lama Temple, the biggest Buddhist temple in China, before continuing to Peking Airport for the flight to Shanghai. Upon arrival we will transfer to your hotel. You will have the remainder of the afternoon at leisure, before dinner at the hotel.
DAY 9:
Transfer to Shanghai Airport for the return flight to the UK.
The order of the itinerary in China may vary as dictated by local conditions, however the actual content will always be as described. Please note that you should be reasonably fit when travelling to China; it may be rough underfoot and many monuments are reached only by flights of stairs.
HOTEL ACCOMMODATION
We have reserved accommodation at top quality 4* hotels throughout your stay in China. All hotels offer rooms with full private facilities, tea & coffee making facilities or minibar, telephone, TV and air-conditioning.
Nights 2 & 8: Holiday Inn Downtown, Shanghai
This 4* hotel boasts a prime central location close to the major shopping areas in Shanghai, and offers excellent facilities including two bars, karaoke lounge, shopping arcade, restaurants and a health centre.
Nights 3 & 4: Sheraton Hotel, Xi’an
The 4* Sheraton Hotel offers the highest levels of comfort and boasts many excellent facilities including two restaurants, lounge bar, indoor pool and pool bar and a night club.
Nights 5, 6 & 7: Capital Hotel, Peking
This 4* hotel is well located in the heart of Peking, ideal for shopping and sightseeing. Facilities include eight restaurants, several lounge/bar areas, gym, indoor pool, sauna and bowling alley. Your stay will be on a full board basis, with lunch and dinner generally being served in a local Chinese restaurant. European-style buffet breakfast will be served at the hotel.
Please note that hotels in China are subject to change. By the very nature of the Chinese systems of bureaucracy, this does happen from time to time. Alternative properties are always of the same standard as advertised and any change of this nature is outside of our control.
