China's Imperial Triangle

Welcome to China! On arrival at Beijing Capital International Airport, you will be met and transferred to your accommodation in downtown Beijing, with the rest of the day at leisure.

Please note: A surcharge applies for airport transfers if arriving at Beijing Daxing Airport rather than Beijing Capital Airport.

Please note: If arriving on a Tuesday, a visit to Yu Garden in Shanghai on day 7 will not be possible as it is closed on Mondays. As there is only one full day allocated for sightseeing in Shanghai, the itinerary cannot be rearranged or swapped with other attractions.

This morning, our guide leads us to Tian'anmen Square, one of the world's most impressive public plazas and the site where the People's Republic of China was founded. From here, we continue into the Forbidden City, the largest ancient palace complex in the world and the best-preserved imperial palace in China. Those wanting to explore the Forbidden City's ticketed exhibitions can do so at an additional cost.
Please note: Daily spots to the Forbidden City are limited and based on first come, first-served, subject to availability.

Lunch today is at a local restaurant, followed by a traditional tea ceremony at a tea store.

The afternoon continues into Dongjiaominxiang, Beijing's longest hutong, stretching around 1.55 kilometres from Chongwenmen inner street to the eastern side of Tiananmen Square. Once the setting for the novel Midnight in Peiping, this is the only well-preserved block of early 20th-century Western architecture in central Beijing, an open-air museum of the city's modern history. From here, we visit the Shijia Hutong Museum, Beijing's first museum dedicated to hutong culture, housed inside a genuine two-section courtyard house. Inside, a large miniature sand table restores 130 ancient courtyard houses in their original layout, and we can listen to recordings of more than 70 vanishing old Beijing street sounds, from peddlers' cries to pigeon whistles and old workshop tools.

This evening, we enjoy a Peking Duck dinner together before transferring back to the hotel.

The day starts with a visit to the Mutianyu section of the Great Wall, a testament to Chinese engineering and ingenuity, set against dramatic mountain scenery. Those wanting to skip part of the climb can take the cable car at an additional cost.

Lunch is at a local Chinese restaurant. On the way back to the city, we drive past the Bird's Nest, Beijing's National Stadium, and the Water Cube, the National Aquatics Center.

Beijing - Xi'an. After breakfast, you have some time to yourselves.

We then transfer to Beijing West Railway Station, where we board a high-speed train to Xi'an, travelling in second-class seats. A packed lunch will be provided onboard during the train journey. On arrival, a representative meets us at the railway station and takes us to our accommodation in downtown Xi'an for check-in.

Dinner this evening is on your own.

In the morning, our guide takes us to the Xiaonanmen morning market, the definitive way to experience Xi'an's local life, before continuing to the City Wall Ring Park, a favourite spot for local residents to practise morning exercises and perform Qin opera. From here, we take a stroll along the ancient City Wall itself.

Next, we visit the Terracotta Warrior Museum, praised as the eighth wonder of the world and offering a fascinating insight into the ancient world. An educational visit to a Terracotta Warrior Factory follows, showing how the production process, unchanged since Qin dynasty times, still shapes these artworks today. Lunch today is at a local Chinese restaurant.

Following the museum, we head to the Tang Dynasty cultural block around the Big Wild Goose Pagoda, where Tang-style architecture, sculptures and parks recreate the glory of the ancient Tang capital. From here, the group returns to the hotel, or you can choose to stay for the night view of the Tang Dynasty Ever-Bright City and make your own way back afterwards, catching a fountain show if the weather permits.

We begin the day in Xi'an's Muslim Quarter, home to some of the city's best-known food stalls and generations of layered history. From here, we continue to Guangren Temple, the only Tibetan Buddhist sanctuary in Shaanxi. Inside, we find prayer flags fluttering overhead, forty prayer wheels to spin for good fortune, and a thousand-year-old gilded bronze statue of Green Tara, the only shrine of its kind in China. The temple also houses one of only two life-sized statues of the 12-year-old Buddha in the world, alongside Kangxi's original imperial stele.

A private transfer takes us to the airport for an afternoon flight to Shanghai. On arrival, a representative meets us and takes us to our accommodation for check-in.

Today, our guide leads a full day of sightseeing across Shanghai, beginning with the Yu Garden, a well-restored Suzhou-style garden created during the Ming dynasty and said to hold the most magnificent rockery of that era, a place of peace and comfort in the heart of the city. We continue to the Jade Buddha Temple, one of Shanghai's most renowned and active Buddhist monasteries, offering a serene spiritual escape from the metropolis around it. A visit to a silk factory follows, along with lunch at a local restaurant.

In the afternoon, you can try ordering a drink through a local delivery app and watch a drone complete the final leg of delivery, landing at a designated kiosk, at an additional cost. It's a practical look at how Shanghai is folding low-altitude logistics into daily life.

We also visit the newly opened Yushu (Unitree) Robot Store, globally known for creating the mechanical cyber-dogs and humanoid robots that have danced on China's biggest Spring Festival Gala stages. Inside, the robots dance, perform Kung Fu, and even complete a backflip on the shop floor.

Please note: If your tour commenced on a Tuesday, a visit to Yu Garden in Shanghai today will not be possible as it is closed on Mondays. As there is only one full day allocated for sightseeing in Shanghai, the itinerary cannot be rearranged or swapped with other attractions.

After breakfast, you check out of your accommodation before 12 pm. From here, you make your own way to the airport in time for your onward flight.