Itinerary

Day 1

Day 1: Arrival in Beijing
You'll be greeted by one of our local representatives and taken to a traditional courtyard hotel in the centre of Beijing. Its small scale architecture, the magnolia trees and the colourful lanterns all add significant allure to this hotel and make it quite appealing. The staff at the reception area is quite well versed in English. There are several large streets filled with stores within walking distance. The afternoon is yours to spend as you please; if you like you can explore the hotel surroundings.

Day 2

Day 2: Beijing
Today you'll have a chance to discover Beijing by car with a driver and an English-speaking guide. You'll be picked up at your hotel around 8:30 in the morning. The first stop is Tian'anmen Square: the gateway to heavenly peace. You'll also visit the Temple of Heavenly Peace and the colourful Lama Temple. These are Beijing's most important temples. You'll walk among red pagodas, monks and prayer houses with the scent of incense and sandalwood all around you. Since you will have a guide accompanying you, you not only can ask him everything about Beijing, you can also ask him any practical questions you may have. For instance, when you're visiting Tian'anmen around 12:30 when your driver sends you on your way you can ask your guide to give you tips on the best places to visit for lunch.During the afternoon you and a guide will visit the Forbidden City where you'll take a peak at the emperors residence during the 18th century. After you've seen all you want to see your guide will help you catch a taxi cab back to your hotel. As its name indicates, Peking Duck comes from Peking (Beijing). If you wish, we can reserve a table for you at the restaurant that prepares the best Peking duck recipe in town.

Day 3

Day 3: Beijing
The Great Wall of China should be a part of every China trip. A hike over the wall from Jinshanling to Simatai, is the most enjoyable way to get a sense of the vastness of the Great Wall of China.
The 10km hike is quite strenuous; you'll be climbing and descending for about 4 hours over restored and original wall segments. Another alternative would be an excursion to the Great Wall of China at Mutianyu. During this excursion you can walk over the wall for about 3km and simply return to the starting point at the end of the walk allowing you to make your walk as short or as long as you wish. This part of the wall is a bit more commercialized and crowded than the part visited during the 10km hike; there are more souvenir shops and such. The segment of the wall at Jinshanling is quiet and peaceful.

Day 4

Day 4: Beijing - Xi'an
Today you'll have one more day to spend as you please in Beijing. Take a taxi cab to Beihei City Park with its classical Chinese gardens or visit the Summer Palace. This residence, about a 40 minute drive from Beijing or if you feel like spending your day more actively, go for a walk or bike ride through Beijing's old neighbourhoods, the hutongs.

Be sure to head back to your hotel around 15:00, you'll be picked up there around 17:00 and taken to the train station. We'll arrange a hard sleeper for you in the night train to Xi'an. Once on board, we fell asleep quite quickly to the rhythmic sound of the train on the tracks.

Day 5

Day 5: Arrival in Xi'an
You'll be awakened from your slumber before arriving in Xi'an (if you prefer not to travel by train, there are several daily flights to Xi'an). We'll make reservations for you in a centrally located, comfortable hotel. You'll be greeted in the arrival hall and taken straight to your hotel.

The rest of the day is yours to spend as you wish. You may want to have a look around the large boulevards and we would suggest visiting the charming Muslim neighbourhood. The heart of the city is the large Bell Tower in the middle of the traffic intersection. Nearby you'll also find the Drum Tower. If you climb the tower around 17:00 you'll have a wonderful view of the city, the Muslim neighbourhood and you'll catch a demonstration of Chinese kettle drums.

Day 6

Day 6: Xi'an - Terracotta Army - Chengdu
You'll be picked up at 9:00 this morning for a visit to one of China's most popular attractions. The Terracotta Army excavation site is located in a park about 40 minutes from the city of Xi'an. The site was discovered in 1974 by farmers. They found approximately 7000 clay soldiers, clay horses and clay chariots, which were commissioned by the then 14 year old king Zheng for his future royal tomb.

A visit to the Warriors will take up approximately 2 hours, however including transport you'll be out half a day. At around 13.00 you'll be back in Xi'an where you'll pick up your bags at your hotel. You'll fly on to Chengdu early in the evening where a transfer will be waiting to take you to your hotel in the centre of town.

Day 7

Day 7: Chengdu - Panda Research Centre excursion
China is the land of the endangered giant panda. You'll be able to visit them in a very natural, yet monitored environment at the Panda Research Centre in Chengdu. This green bamboo forest filled park also has a swan lake and is home to giant pandas that live in large fenced in gardens. It may be a zoo; however it is a very responsible and well maintained zoo. We thought it was definitely worth visiting; it's a once in a lifetime chance to see these animals and they are quite magical!

You'll be picked up at 7:30 in the morning so that you can arrive at the panda research centre when the pandas are fed. It's endearing to watch the pandas eating, playing and sleeping and if you visit the instructional panda museum you'll understand more clearly why the panda is an endangered species.
After an hour or two you'll have seen all there is to see at the panda research centre and the sight of these giant teddy bears forever engrained in your memory, you'll be back at your hotel around 11:30. The afternoon is yours to spend as you wish. We suggest spending time in one of the many tea houses where you'll see a variety of different kinds of people; young and old, side by side, enjoying a cup of jasmine tea.

Day 8

Day 8: Chengdu - village tour
A driver will pick you up at your hotel around 7:30 in the morning. You'll quickly leave the city and the morning rush hour behind you and the view from the car window will become greener. Around 9:30 you'll have reached the country town of Huang Longxi, located on the banks of the Ming River which is scattered with terraces. Visit the local market for household articles, food etc…. you won't know where to look first. Afterwards you'll visit the temples and picturesque streets in town. At around 11:30 you'll continue on through the countryside. You'll eventually stop at a farm where you'll have lunch with a farmer's family. Your guide will be available as translator and ask the family any questions you may have about life on this Chinese farm. After lunch you're free to help the farmer out on the land for a little while if you like. Depending on the time of year and what you would like to do you could for instance help harvest certain crops. At around 18:00 you'll be back at your hotel in Chengdu.

Day 9

Day 9: Chengdu - Guilin - Yangshuo
Your flight to Guilin will leave early in the morning. We'll arrange for a transfer to take you to Yangshuo; a 2 hour drive. This is probably one of the few areas in China where foreign tourists outnumber Chinese tourists. There's a very relaxed, laid-back atmosphere here and it's easy to meet people.

You'll stay in the centre of town and if you want you can stay at a country cottage in the countryside by the Yulong River (let us know if this is what you prefer by indicating it on your quote request form), where you can truly rest up and relax. The rooms have a partial view of the river, there are bikes for rent and you can ride a bamboo raft down the river.

Day 10

Day 10: Yangshuo - bike, bamboo boat excursion Yulong River
You'll start off the day with a bike ride along the Yulong River. The scenery here is every bit as beautiful as it is at the Li River and it features a dramatic array of karst mountains on the banks of the river. During your bike ride you'll leave the main roads and peddle over paths along the river, through farmland and rice paddies and you'll have the karst mountains as constant companions during your ride. After biking for a while, the bamboo raft will be waiting to take you down the river. You, your guide and other boats will sail through the peaks of the karst mountains. After a few kilometres you'll get back on your bike and peddle towards the 'highlight' of this trek, Moon Hill. You can choose to climb the hill if you wish. Eventually when you return to your hotel you can unwind with a beer or glass of wine on the terrace.

Day 11

Day 11: Yangshuo
Today you'll have the entire day to spend as you please; there is plenty to do in this area. You can rent a kayak from the hotel, spend another day on a bicycle to explore the area on your own or you can even take Kung Fu lesson for an hour. We'll gladly give you more options.

Day 12

Day 12: Yangshuo - Ping'an
At around 9:00 you'll be picked up and a transfer will take you north through Guilin to the Longji rice terraces. The village Ping'an is located in the middle of this area and is only accessible by foot. You'll be awaited at the end of the drive and someone will join you on the 20 minute walk to the village. You'll stay in a village of 800 inhabitants. Your accomodation will be a basic, well maintained guest house in the village. Electricity and warm water are available in the mornings and evenings. Your room will have its own private bathroom. The guest house has a large veranda where you can enjoy the view of the rice fields and mountains in the crisp clean air. In the afternoon you can walk through the village and explore your surroundings.

Day 13

Day 13: Ping'an - hike with a guide
At 9:00 you'll take off with your guide on a walk through the world's largest rice paddies, The Dragon's Bone or Long Ji. Your walk will be anything but ordinary. You'll climb and descend through marvellous scenic areas, past rivers, through wooded areas and through rice paddies where the Zhuang push their oxen through the blubber. Around lunch time you'll have a bite to eat and you'll rest up for a bit in the village before continuing on the two hour walk back to Ping'an. At around 15.00 a van will take you to the end of the road to Ping'an where you'll continue walking along the short path to the village.

In the evenings travellers usually gather on the veranda to sit, talk, drink or play a game until late in the evening.

Day 14

Day 14: Ping'an - Guilin - Canton - Hong Kong
Start off the day by enjoying the magical sunrise and the silence of the morning. The shrouds of mist surrounding the mountains will gradually pull away and while you have your breakfast on the veranda you'll see the sun climb into the sky. When time has come to move on you'll take your baggage to the parking lot where a transfer will be waiting to take you to Guilin airport (a 1.5 hour drive).

You'll fly to the city of Canton, which lies near Hong Kong. This flight is much less expensive than flying directly into Hong Kong. A transfer will be waiting to take you to the Guangzhou (Canton) train station. Your train ride to Kowloon will take another 2 hours.

Day 15

Day 15 - 16: Hong Kong
Today is free to spend exploring this fun city

Day 16

Hong Kong
Today is free to spend exploring this fun city

Day 17

Day 17: Hong Kong - UK
All good things must come to an end. Today, with a sigh, you'll return to the airport ( you can arrange a transfer at your hotel reception for just a few pounds) and catch your flight back to the UK.

Extra Information

Inclusions -

Transport, accommodation, 3 domestic flights, transfers and excursions as described below, Panda Research Centre entrance fee

Exclusions -

International flight, (airport) taxes, meals and drinks, entrance fees