The Splendors of China

You will be met on arrival at the airport in Beijing and transferred to your hotel where the rest of the day is spent at leisure.

This evening, we join together to enjoy a Welcome Dinner to meet your fellow tour members and your Big Journey Company Tour Director and learn about your adventure ahead.

We start our morning exploring some of Beijing, and China’s most famous sties.

The first stop of the morning is a visit to the Temple of Heaven, where past emperors performed rituals to ensure good harvests before passing on to the famous Tiananmen Square.

After lunch in a local restaurant, we continue on to the Forbidden City. This beautiful complex was the Imperial Palace of China's emperors for some 500 years!

This evening we enjoy a true Chinese and local food speciality, Peking Duck! We will enjoy this as part of a dinner in a typical courtyard restaurant.

Today is one of the highlights of your tour - a full day excursion to see the Great Wall of China.

The famous wall – notably one of the few manmade structures visible from space - stretches over 3,915 miles across China. A huge defensive line, the wall was built in sections to protect the people against attacks from the north and is classed as one of the seven modern wonders of the world.

After lunch and visiting the wall, we return to Beijing for an evening at leisure.

This morning, we check out after breakfast and first head to the Emperor’s Summer Palace, located in the outskirts of Beijing.

This UNESCO world heritage site is a feast for the senses with open water and natural landscapes interspersed with palaces and pavilions. Our visit of the gardens and pavilions allows us time to take in the beauty and history of the place.

After lunch we will transfer to Beijing West Station for the high speed train to Xi'an. Whizzing our way through over 700 miles of Chinese countryside, we will relax in 1st class seats as we travel at top speed and marvel at the recent advances of travel in China as we head to Xi’an, formerly the capital of China.

Upon arrival, we transfer to our hotel, passing by Xi'an's famous bell tower and drum tower.

Today we visit another of China’s most famous sites - an excursion to the famous Terracotta Warriors.

They numerous statues, depicting soldiers, as well as chariots, horses, officials, acrobats and musicians were individually created by China's first emperor in the 3rd century BC to guard his tomb for eternity. The figures were discovered in 1974 by local farmers. Varying in heigh depending on their rank, they are said to number some 8,000 soldiers, 130 chariots with 520 horses, and 150 cavalry horses. It really is a sigh to behold.

This afternoon, we will visit the old city wall of Xi'an, one of the oldest and most complete examples in China.

In the evening, we will enjoy a "Tang Dynasty" song and dance show, evoking the sights and sounds of the Tang Dynasty when Xi'an was capital of China.

We check out after breakfast and enjoy a morning visit to the Wild Goose Pagoda in Xi’An. A famous Buddhist landmark, the pagoda was build around 648AD.

Afterwards, we continue on to Xi’An Airport for our flight to Chongqing.

Upon arrival in Chongqing, we will take you on a brief city tour, passing visiting sights such as the endangered and much loved pandas at the local zoo.

This evening, we will enjoy a sumptuous dinner based on Sichuan Cuisine before we travel to the pier to join our luxury 5-star floating hotel to cruise along the famous Yangtze River.

Today, we get to spend a full day enjoying the stunning scenery of the Yangtze River.

We get the chance to relax and enjoy the luxury boat as we sail downstream through the Three Gorges. There will be shore excursions to enjoy together and plenty of meals board as we float along.

Another day enjoying the beautiful landscapes of the Yangtze River as we sail towards the Three Gorges Dam.

The Yangtze River is the longest in Eurasia, the third-longest in the world, and the longest in the world to flow entirely within one country. It is China’s principal waterway, and its basin is China's great granary and contains nearly one-third of the national population

We awake and after breakfast it is time to disembark our cruise along the Yangtze River cruise as we head to the Three Gorges Dam.

Five times larger than the Hoover Dam at 1.4miles long, the Three Gorges Dam was completed in 2006 and is the largest hydroelectric plant in the world and building of the dam displaced some 4 million people.

The cruise will arrive in the city of Yichang around lunchtime and after disembarkation, we transfer to the local airport for our flight to Shanghai.

Upon arrival, we will be transferred to our hotel where the rest of the evening is at your leisure.

We have an early breakfast today before we transfer to Shanghai’s HongQiao Station for our train to the Yellow Mountains.

China’s high-speed trains once again whisk us through the endless miles of countryside as we head to the city of Huangshan. Upon arrival, we will enjoy lunch in a local restaurant, before we continue on to the foothills and take the gondola up the Yellow Mountains, also called Huangshan.

Here we will have some time at leisure to walk as much, or little as you'd like to, enjoying the sights and soaking up the atmosphere as we watch the sunset.

We have dinner together and some time at leisure at the hotel this evening.

It is advised to rise early to enjoy the beautiful sunrise today as the rays peak over the Yellow Moutains.

We'll have breakfast at the hotel before a day exploring some of the peaks on the famous mountains.

Mid-afternoon, we head back down by gondola and transfer to Huangshan Town. Here we will visit the ancient street of Laojie before heading once again to the station for our fast train back to Shanghai in 1st class seating.

We will enjoy our dinner on the train as we head to the bright lights of the big city and on arrival in Shanghai, we will transfer to the hotel where we will be reunited with our large suitcases.

Today we enjoy an amazing full day city tour around Shanghai. China’s largest city, one of the biggest global business hubs, Shanghai has it all!

Our tour will take in the modern and all the buzz, but also the old and slow. Our first stop is the Yu Garden and Shanghai old bazaar - a classic Chinese house and garden in the old town district. The picturesque garden will seem a million miles from the glass and skyscrapers nearby.

This evening, we will cruise along the Huangpu River that flows through Shanghai, giving you the best view of the city's modern iconic and illuminated skyline.

After breakfast, we travel out of bustling Shanghai to the small 'water town' of Zhujiajiao, now situated on the outskirts of Shanghai.

The visit here makes for a very interesting contrast with the yesterday’s exploration of the busy world of Shanghai city. Old buildings line the alleys and a maze of canals are criss-crossed by elegant bridges.

We return later to Shanghai to explore Xintiandi. This is the former French Concession, where old tenements have been transformed into a lively area of upmarket bars and boutiques.

We join together one final time this evening for dinner to round off our two weeks in China.

This morning, it is sadly time to check out of the hotel and transfer to the airport to meet your flights home