Discover China

Fly overnight direct from London to Beijing.

A massive city of mesmerising contrasts, Beijing blends ancient ‘hútòng’ alleys of single storey houses with airy avenues of soaring glass structures. On arrival, transfer to the 4-star Park Plaza Wangfujing Hotel (early check-in), close to major city landmarks, for a three-night stay. Afternoon walking tour of the Hutongs. (B, D)

Beijing discovery begins at the formidable, 15th-century, Forbidden City, a monumental palace complex at the heart of the city; and visits Tian An Men Square, its recent history rather belying its name, which translates as ‘Gate of Heavenly Peace’; and the vast expanse of the Summer Palace, a complex of Qing dynasty gardens, lakes, bridges and palaces; enjoying a short cruise on the lake.
(B, L)

Visit the perfectly symmetrical and spirit-level flat Temple of Heaven Park, with its Echo Wall and 360m Red Stairway Bridge, leading to the park’s focal point, the namesake temple; continue to the Great Wall of China at Mutianyu, where three watchtowers oversee the structure as it undulates over the northern hills, taking the cable car for the ascent to the level of the wall and descent to its foot. This evening, enjoy a Peking Duck dinner.
(B, L, D)

Travel by high-speed train to Xian (4.5 hrs), the oldest of the four Great Ancient Capitals, at the eastern end of the old Silk Road. Smaller now than in Tang times, the city today has all the mayhem of modern commerce within its Ming Dynasty walls. Explore Xian’s ancient city wall this afternoon. Two nights at the 4-star Grand Noble Hotel (B, D)

Visit the 8,000-strong ranks of the life-size Terracotta Warriors, discovered in 1974, dating from 210BC, when they were sculpted and buried in the vast tomb of China’s first emperor, Qin Shi Huangdi, and all facing east, the direction from which his enemies came. Visit the Small Wild Goose Pagoda, the Tang Dynasty Buddhist tower less famous, but more tranquil, than its ‘Giant’ counterpart; and the ancient Great Mosque, its courtyards, pavilions and pagodas looking less ‘mosque’, more temple-like. Enjoy the Tang Dynasty Dinner & Show this evening.
(B, L, D)

Travel by high-speed train to Chengdu, where it’s said that “the young shouldn’t come, and the old shouldn’t leave”, as the young will be too contented to chase an ideal, and the old will have found it. Three nights at the 5-star Xizang Hotel Chengdu. 
(B)

Visit the Panda Breeding Research Centre, begun in the 1980s with the rescue of six starving pandas, and now, without taking a single animal from the wild, housing a population of over 200 of the Giant and Red pandas, in 66 hectares of rivers and forested slopes. Later, walk along ancient Jinli Street, the narrow pedestrian lane lined with artisan workshops and street-food stalls. Enjoy a performance of traditional ‘Sichuan opera’ music and dance.
(B, L, D)

Travel to Leshan to see the Giant Buddha, a 71-metre tall stone statue, built between 713 and 803.
(B, L)

Travel by high-speed train to Guilin, its scenic surrounds described by the Chinese as ‘the best under heaven.’ Overnight at the 4-star Bravo Hotel. Visit Reed Flute Cave, named for the reeds at its entrance, readily crafted into flutes, and known as ‘The Palace of Natural Arts’ for the cave’s fantastic ‘gallery’ of limestone rock formations, sculpted by nature over thousands of years, and now dramatically lit in bright colours.
(B)

Enjoy a half-day cruise on the lazy Li River. Running between fantastically photogenic scenes of sculpted hills and karst caves, this is where the ‘cormorant fishermen’ famously continued an age-old tradition of landing their catch with just a bird and a bamboo raft, sadly, now seen only in displays. The cruise will finish at Yangshuo, set amid the legendary landscapes but bringing a buzz to the riverbank with shops and stalls, and lining the sides of a little creek with two vibrant main streets. Overnight at the 4-star Green Lotus Hotel.
(B, L)

Travel by high-speed train to Chongqing, set at the confluence of the Yangtse and Jialing River, for a tour of the very modern metropolis. Embark on the MV Century Oasis, your vessel for a three night cruise.
(B, D)

Enjoy an excursion to Fengdu Ghost City. It is known for the culture of ghosts and integrating of Confucianism, Taoism and Buddhism with diverse Chinese traditions.
(B, L, D)

Sail into the 8km Qutang Gorge, the shortest of the Three Gorges, but the most magnificent and most precipitous, with mountains up to 1,500m high, and the river narrowing to just tens of metres wide, adding to the drama. Serene scenery lines the route of the 46km Wu gorge, zig-zagging past time-sculpted rocks and the Twelve Peaks of Wushan. Enjoy an excursion to the Shennv (‘beauty’) Stream or tranquil Lesser Gorges.
(B, L, D)

Disembark the vessel at Maoping, just upstream of the reservoir, and visit the massive, hydro-electric dam. Transfer to Yichang for a short orientation tour before continuing to Jingzhou for the flight to Shanghai, hemming the Yangtze River delta with colonial buildings in The Bund area, Parisian-style shopping streets, and a Pudong skyline to rival Manhattan. Three nights at the 4-star Hengshan Garden Hotel. (B, L)

Visit the ornate pagodas in Yu Yuan Garden; the atmospheric Old City area, perhaps the most Chinese part of Shanghai; the Jade Buddha Temple, built in 1882 to house two white-jade statues, the Sitting and Recumbent Buddhas, brought from Burma; and the Shanghai Museum of ancient Chinese art. Farewell dinner.
(B, L, D)

Your final day is at leisure for independent exploration, or perhaps to take the optional full-day excursion by road to Suzhou, geographically close to Shanghai but, in character, a world and several centuries apart. Straddling streams, peppered with ponds, cut through by the Grand Canal, and set in the centre of the Yangtze Delta, its lovely layout sees streets and rivers running side by side, and a downtown area luxuriant with classical water gardens (pre-bookable). In the evening transfer to Shanghai airport for the return flight to London.(B)

Early morning arrival in London.