Day 1

London/Beijing

Begin your unique holiday by making your own way to London Heathrow for an overnight flight to Beijing.

Day 2

Beijing

On arrival in Beijing transfer to the 4* Novotel Xinqiao Hotel for three nights. Welcome dinner.  D

Day 3

Beijing

Walk along one of the most dramatic sections of the Great Wall of China that snakes across the rugged mountain landscape. Also tread along the Sacred Road, the road to heaven that leads to the Ming Tombs where the emperors are buried. Back in the city, enjoy Beijing's most popular dish, a traditional Peking Duck dinner.  BLD

Day 4

Beijing 

From Tiananmen Square enter the Forbidden City, the imperial palace, and gaze around the grand ceremonial halls and peek into the private family quarters. Later stroll through the elegant gardens of the Summer Palace that were laid out for the empress with no expense spared. BLD

Day 5

Xian

Visit the magnificent red and gold Temple of Heaven that was built for the Emperor, the son of Heaven, to make sacrifices for a good harvest, then fly to Xian for two nights at the 4*Bell Tower Hotel.  BLD

Day 6

Xian  

See the 7,000 terracotta soldiers that have stood guard over China's first emperor for over 2,200 years, and they still stand in battle formation in giant exhibition halls erected around the pits where they were discovered in the 1970s. This afternoon see Xian's immense City Wall complete with towers and battlements, and tonight we are guests at the Tang Dynasty show, an enchanting performance of music and dance from another era.BLD

Day 7

Xian/Guilin 

Visit Xian's first-class Shaanxi Provincial Museum where 300,000 objects from every dynasty since a thousand years before Christ are displayed. Fly to Guilin and the 4*Guilin Bravo Hotel for two nights. BLD

Day 8

Yangshuo

Morning cruise along the Li River to Yangshuo through poetic rural landscapes, karst mountains rising steeply from the river valley, their peaks wreathed in mist, and below, oxen ploughing the rice paddies. Time for shopping at Yangshuo's handicrafts market before a spectacular open-air son et lumiere show, then return to Guilin BLD

Day 9

Shanghai

Visit the extraordinary Reed Flute Cave with its dramatic stalagmites and stalagtites, before flying to Shanghai and staying at the 4* Holiday Inn Shanghai Downtown Hotel for two nights. Tonight watch an amazing Acrobatic show, and marvel at the skill and daring of the performers.  BLD

Day 10

Shanghai 

Admire the very best of China's treasures at the Shanghai Museum and later stroll through Yuyuan Garden, an oasis of calm and beauty in the midst of the bustling city. Then visit Jade Buddha Temple with its lovely white jade statues and great incense burners, later stroll along the Bund, Shanghai's riverside promenade with futuristic skyscrapers on one bank and grand 19^th century European architecture on the other. BLD

Day 11

Shanghai/London via Beijing

Fly from Shanghai via Beijing to London Heathrow. B

Key:

B=Breakfast    L=Lunch    D=Dinner