➤ Arrival Shanghai - Transfer to your hotel - Meet your guide:

➤ Itinerary: We will be greeting you at the airport from where you will be transferred by private car and English speaking guide to your hotel. The approximately 1 hour journey to your hotel is a perfect opportunity to ask the guide any initial questions you might have. The guide will provide assisstance with checking in to the hotel. The rest of the day is free to relax from the long flight or start to explore the city with the help of your personalised Trip Guidebook we send you before the trip.

Shanghai aims to be a vision of China's future and is hurtling towards it's goal of being China's financial capital and eclipsing its rival Hong Kong. There are few cities that are such a testament to China's phenomenal growth of the last few decades and what it perhaps lacks in historical sites it more than makes up with sheer energy and dynamism giving you a taste of the New China that is making it's mark on the world stage.

The area around your hotel is perfect for an introductory walk to soak up the local atmosphere.

➤ Overnight at the Renaissance Yu Garden Hotel 4*. Located in the heart of Old Shanghai this hotel combines modern comforts with a good atmospheric location.

➤ Meals included: None.

➤ Shanghai - Yuyuan Garden - Old Shanghai - Shanghai Museum - The Bund - Acrobats:

➤ Itinerary: Today you will be visiting some of Shanghai’s most famous sights. We will start with the Yuyuan Garden located in the heart of the Old City. The garden was established in 1559 by the son of a Ming Dynasty official who spent 20 years building it up in an effort to please his father. Today the garden showcases the architecture of this period with its pavilions, ponds and rock formations.

Surrounding the garden is Old Shanghai, an area that has been a vibrant commercial centre for over a century and which historically very much represented the “Chinese” part of Shanghai in comparison with the more European areas such as the Bund and the French Concession. Your afternoon finishes with a walk down the Bund along which the Huangpu River runs and where stands some of Asia’s finest colonial European architecture. Across the river rises Shanghai’s ultra modern Pudong Financial district whose skyscrapers dwarf the once dominant buildings of the Bund. All in all a superb introduction to Shanghai.

We round the day off with a visit to the world famous Chinese Acrobats for a show filled with colour and excitement. Return to your hotel and with the rest of the evening free.

➤ Overnight at the Renaissance Yu Garden Hotel 4*.

➤ Meals included: Breakfast and Lunch.

➤ Shanghai to Hangzhou by bullet train - Half day tour of the West lake on arrival:

➤ Itinerary: After breakfast a transfer to the station for the bullet train to Hangzhou. The journey takes one hour passing through the seemingly endless suburbs and industrial areas of Shanghai which merge into the city of Hangzhou.

At first glance Hangzhou looks like a huge modern urban expanse like so many east coast Chinese cities but it has one trump card, the stunning West Lake, the legendary beauty of which has been praised written and painted by the Chinese for centuries. You will be met on arrival and transferred to your hotel with time to check in and freshen up before starting a half day orientation tour of the West Lake. The lake has been one of China’s most important cultural areas through the dynasties of the last 1,000 years and represents the Chinese idea of man in perfection with nature. The many temples and gardens surrounding the West lake are designed to personify this relationship and over time became an Asian ideal exported to Japan and Korea. The tour will include a boat ride on the lake as well as visit the architecturally stunning residence of Hu Xueyan. At the end of the afternoon return to your hotel with a free evening.

➤ Overnight at the Crystal Orange Hotel 4*. With a fantastic location right by the famous West Lake - the reason to visit Hangzhou - this well regarded hotel offers both Asian style and Western comfort.

➤ Meals included: Breakfast.

➤ Hangzhou - Free day to relax and explore the beautiful West lake area before the train back to Shanghai:

➤ Itinerary: Today is a free day to explore Hangzhou’s sublimely beautiful West Lake with it multitude of temples and gardens. This area can be explored on foot or bicycle is a popular option. It is difficult to get lost as you can just follow the lake around and there are plenty of options to stop for food or a drink perhaps sampling some of the tea this area of China is so famous for.

Late afternoon transfer back to the station to catch a train back to Shanghai with a transfer on arrival to your hotel. Free evening and overnight hotel.

➤ Overnight at the Renaissance Yu Garden Hotel 4*.

➤ Meals included: None (breakfast needs to be paid directly to the hotel if required).

➤ Shanghai - free day to further explore this exciting city:

➤ Itinerary: Today will be a free day to further explore Shanghai. The city is China’s shopping capital and a good place to stock up on souvenirs. Another option is to wander the French Concession stopping at cafes and restaurants - another favourite activity!

➤ Overnight at the Renaissance Yu Garden Hotel 4*.

➤ Meals included: Breakfast.

➤ Shanghai - Maglev train to Pudong Airport - Departure from China:

➤ Itinerary: Your day is free until a transfer to the Maglev station for a ride on the world’s fastest train to Pudong airport to catch your flight out of China. Your transfer guide will buy a standard class Maglev ticket for you and make sure you get on the train which takes just 8 minutes to cover the 30km to the airport reaching a top speed of 430 km/hour (300km/hour before 9am). End of services on arrival at the airport.

➤ Meals included: Breakfast.

 ✘ International flight tickets are not included in this itinerary. We can arrange these for you if you wish.

 ✔ Shanghai to Hangzhou first class (bullet train 1 hour)
 ✔ Hangzhou to Shanghai first class (bullet train 1 hour)
 ✔ Maglev ticket to Pudong airport standard class (8 minutes reaching 430km/hour)

 ✔ 3 nights Shanghai - Renaissance Yu Garden Hotel 5* (deluxe room with breakfast)
 ✔ 1 night Hangzhou - Crystal Orange Hotel Yu 4* (deluxe room with breakfast)
 ✔ 1 night Shanghai - Renaissance Yu Garden Hotel 5* (deluxe room with breakfast)

 ✔ Shanghai - Airport to Hotel / Hotel to Train Station
 ✔ Hangzhou - Train Station to Hotel / Hotel to Train Station
 ✔ Shanghai - Train Station to Hotel / Hotel to Train Station for the Maglev train to Pudong Airport

 ✔ Shanghai - Full day private tour to the Yuyuan gardens, Shanghai Museum, Old City and the Bund.
 ✔ Shanghai - Evening visit to the Chinese Acrobats including transfers.
 ✔ Hangzhou - Half day private tour of the West Lake.

 ✔ Meals - As indicated in the itinerary.
 ✔ Support - Emergency numbers and contacts for each destination.
 ✔ Guidebook - Our exclusive Trip Guidebook personalised to your trip.
 ✔ Financial Peace of Mind - All monies paid to us are legally protected under UK law.

✘ International Airfare to and from China (we can book these flights on request).
✘ The Chinese visa (we can advise as to how best obtain this visa).
✘ Travel insurance to cover medical treatment in China.
✘ Discretionary gratuities to drivers and guides.