On the Grand Tour Through China you will see so much to inspire you. The great historical sites and incomparable archaeological and cultural relics of imperial China in Beijing and Xian are spectacular. The beauty of Suzhou and its famous canals and gardens. The famed granite peaks of Huangshan. The mystical wonders of Lhasa with its iconic Potala Palace and other great Buddhist edifices will enthral you. The beauty of Chengdu, Kunming, Dali and Lijiang with their topographical, climatic, artistic, plant and animal wonders (including the Giant Pandas) all present unique experiences for you. Not to mention the architectural and cultural offerings that will fascinate and entertain you along the way. You will wonder at the beauty of the area around Guilin which removes any sense of fantasy from the appreciation of classical Chinese painting. Finally in Shanghai you will grasp China’s rapidly arriving future in its vitality and economic vibrancy. This is the grand tour that you will never forget.
On arrival you will be met and transferred to your hotel.
Dominating the Yangtze Delta, Shanghai is the amazing pulsating commercial heart of China. You will walk along the famous Bund past the facades of the colonial buildings lining the Huangpu River and look across to the soaring TV tower and fantastic skyscrapers of the Pudong district on the opposite side. Following this you visit the beautifully maintained Yu Garden, an outstanding example of a classical garden dating from the 16th century. Later you will take a cruise across the Huangpu River to ascend the Shanghai World Financial Centre Observatory, one of the world’s tallest buildings, for an astonishing view over the whole city. Tonight you will be entertained by an acrobatic show. (B/L/D)
Today you travel by car to Suzhou. En route you visit Tongli, one of the many ancient water towns in the south of the Yangtze River Delta, which are famous for their ancient bridges and house complexes. You check into your hotel in Suzhou. (B/L/D)
Suzhou is home to China’s most famous gardens. It was once regarded as the Venice of the East on account of its ancient canals spanned by quaint hump-backed bridges. You will visit the Master of the Nets Garden, one of the most charming and tranquil garden scenes in China. In the afternoon you will enjoy a Canal Cruise to enjoy the bustling and unique canal scenery. Later you will visit another popular garden, the Humble Administrators Garden. This large garden was originally built in the early 16th century. You will be transferred to the station for your overnight train to Huangshan (B/L/D)
You transfer to Huangshan by cable car. This world famous range, with its jungle of lofty granite peaks, is one of China’s most famous sights. (B/L/D)
You travel by car to Tunxi airport for your flight to Beijing On arrival you transfer to your hotel. (B/L)
One of the world’s great cities, Beijing has a history dating back some 3000 years. Your orientation tour will start with a stroll in Tiananmen Square where you will look across this vast space to the Great Hall of the People. Then walk through to the Forbidden City, as the former Imperial Palace is called, where the magnificent marble courtyards, huge halls, gilded temples and ornate pavilions residence of the emperors and their families are now open to your wonderment. (B/L)
Today you will pace the ramparts of China’s famed Great Wall, originally built over 2000 years ago to keep northern invaders at bay. A Peking Duck dinner completes this special day.(B/L/D)
Your tour today is to the Summer Palace, the famed pleasure gardens of the Qing emperors, where languid willows and painted pavilions surround a scenic lake, across which are enchanting views to the pagoda-capped Jade Spring Hill and the mountains beyond. In the afternoon there will be a rickshaw tour of Beijing’s old Hutong district, a fascinating maze of narrow alleys and hidden courtyards dating from Yuan Dynasty times (14th century). (B/L)
This morning you will visit the Temple of Heaven, where the emperors, for the good of the empire, carried out the most important sacrifices and ceremonies of the year. Set in a huge park planted with conifers, the beautiful blue tiled buildings here represent the epitome of Ming architecture. You fly to Xian this afternoon and settle into your hotel. This evening you will enjoy the lavish spectacle of the Tang Dynasty Dinner and Show. (B/L/D)
This morning you will view the excavated Terracotta Warriors and Horses, buried over 2000 years ago to guard the tomb of the first emperor Qinshihuang who died in 210 BC.
Later you will walk along Xian’s massive City wall, one of the best preserved in China. (B/L)
This morning you will be transferred to the station for your overnight train to Lhasa. During today’s journey you will have the opportunity to enjoy the unique Tibetan landscape with its distant snow capped mountain peaks, verdant valleys planted with barley and extensive areas of desolate plateau that are part of a vast high-altitude desert. (B)
You will be arriving in Lhasa in the evening and then transfer to your hotel. Lhasa, the principal city of Tibet, has a rich traditional culture that continues to flourish beside modern developments. (D)
Today you visit the imposing Potala Palace, once the centre of Tibetan government and the winter residence of the Dalai Lama. Towering over the city, this enormous building, 13 storeys high and with thousands of rooms , chapels, shrines and statues, is one of the architectural wonders of the world. We go on to the 1300-year-old Jokhang Temple, round which Buddhist pilgrims follow the Barkhor, the holy path of transformation. Lining this circuit are fascinating shops, stalls and teahouses. (B/L)
Today you will visit Sera Monastery which was founded in 1419 by one of the eight disciples of Tsongkhapa, a famous Tibetan Buddhist teacher. The monastery became famous for its tantric teachings. (B/L)
You fly to Chengdu. The rest of the day is at your leisure. (B)
Today you will experience one of the most unique and special moments on this trip – a visit to see the pandas. Sichuan Province is home to China’s most celebrated creature. This afternoon you will find a spot in the shade at a teahouse, observe the local people’s customs and we will experience a 200 year old Sichuan. (B/L/D)
After breakfast, you will be transferred to the station for your overnight train to Kunming. The Chengdu-Kunming line which crosses over the eastern edge of China’s most forbidding mountain terrain and which was not completed until 1970 is one of the most fascinating train journeys in China. (B/L)
You will arrive in Kunming in the morning and be met and transferred to your hotel. Kunming on the shores of Lake Dianchi is now a bustling modern city. It has a mild climate year round and has come to be known as The City of Perpetual Spring. You go on excursion this afternoon to the Western Hills with the option of a chairlift ride to a high point and a walk down to the Dragon Gate from which there is a spectacular view of Lake Dianchi. (B/L/D)
You embark on a picturesque drive through the countryside today to the Stone Forest, situated 120km southeast of the city. Covering a huge area, the Stone Forest is an impressive collection of limestone pillars eroded by wind and rain. Like the mountains around Guilin, this is another of China’s natural wonders. (B/L)
You fly to Dali and transfer to your hotel Dali is a 600-year-old walled town picturesquely situated on the edge of Erhai Lake at the foot of the dramatic Cangshan Range. The region is the home of the Bai minority. After lunch, you will visit the Chongshen Monastery with the three tall pagodas for which Dali is famous. Later you will ascend to Zhonghe Temple amd enjoy a bird’s-eye view of scenic Dali. (B/L)
Today is a busy day. You visit Xizhou’s fascinating morning market and Zhoucheng which is renowned for dyeing fabric with indigo; soak up traditional Bai architecture; take a boat cruise on Erhai Lake affording wonderful views of the mountains; and visit villages on the eastern shore. (B/L)
You travel by car to Lijiang visiting Shibaoshan en route. The rock carvings at Shibaoshan are over 1300 years old and evidence the spread of Mahayana Buddhism into Yunnan from Tibet. You then travel through the mountains to Lijiang, lying at 2400m at the foot of the imposing Jade Dragon Snow Mountain, which rises to 5500m. (B/L)
In the morning you ascend the stunning Jade Dragon Snow Mountain by cable car. After lunch you visit the 18th century Yufeng Lamasery on the eastern slope. You later continue your tour visiting the small town of Baisha, where there are several buildings with fascinating murals depicting Buddhist and Daoist scenes painted in the 15th and 16th centuries in a style that fuses Tibetan, Naxi and mainstream Chinese elements. (B/L)
This morning you visit the Black Dragon Pool Park with its interesting plants, architectural features and stunning mountain backdrop. The rest of the day is at your leisure. (B)
Today you fly to Guilin, renowned for its fantastic landscape of limestone peaks, and visit the magnificent Reed Flute Cave. This is Guilin’s largest and most impressive cave, filled with stalactites and stalagmites, and gets its name because local people used to collect reeds here to make their unique flutes. You will also take a chairlift to the peak of Yaoshan and enjoy a spectacular view of the city’s limestone hills and peaks (B)
Today you visit Longsheng which was the earliest county established in southern China. The amazing scenery of the rice terraces, with minority villages scattered among them. There the coiling line spirals up from the mountain foot to the top, making the mountain look like a huge snail when seen from afar. (B/L)
This morning you embark upon an enchanting cruise down the Li River to the picturesque river town of Yangshuo. The cruise provides a unique opportunity to view the array of extraordinary peaks which rise side by side along the banks. Here you will also see picturesque villages, chestnut orchards, bamboo plantations and fishermen using cormorants. (B/L)
At your leisure. (B)
You transfer to the Guilin airport for your onward flight. (B)
| Daily Departure | ****/***** | |
| Twin Share | Single Supplement | |
| Apr, Nov 12 | $8245 | $2030 |
| May, Sep-Oct 12 | $8515 | $2225 |
| Jun-Aug 12 | $8245 | $2030 |
| Dec 12, Jan-Feb 13 | $7815 | $1690 |
The prices of above tour are based on the basis of a minimum of 2 persons travelling together.
For more details on what is included in this tour please click here