➤ Arrival Beijing - Transfer to your hotel and 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. The area around your hotel is perfect for an introductory walk to soak up the local atmosphere.

➤ Overnight at the Jade Garden Hotel 4*. A good standard modern hotel with some character and an unbeatable location close to the East gate of the Forbidden City.

➤ Meals included: None.

➤ Beijing - Great Wall at Mutianyu and the Ming Tombs:

➤ Itinerary: Today we will be showing you one of China’s most famous sights - the Great Wall. At over 4,000 miles long there is a lot of Wall to see but we will be taking you to one of the better and less touristed sections at Mutianyu 70km from Beijing. The drive to the wall averages 2 hours and will take you from your hotel in the centre of Beijing through the rapidly expanding suburbs and on into the beautiful mountainous countryside to the north east of the city. The Mutianyu section dates back to the 6th century but was largely rebuilt in the 16th century during the Ming Dynasty. It is one of the best preserved sections of the wall largely due to the high standard of construction. The views from on top of the wall are spectacular and helped by Mutianyu having a high density of watchtowers which give a good idea of the scale of this section as it passes over the mountain ridges. Lunch will be in a restaurant close to Mutianyu village.

On the way back to Beijing we will stop at the Ming Tombs, the burial place of 13 Ming Dynasty Emperors between 1368 to 1644AD some of whom oversaw the construction the Great Wall section you saw earlier today. The tombs are approached along the Sacred Way lined with giant marble figures and animals who guard the tomb area. After you will be driven back to your hotel with the evening free.

➤ Overnight at the Jade Garden Hotel 4*.

➤ Meals included: Breakfast and Lunch.

➤ Beijing - Tiananmen Square, the Forbidden City, Temple of Heaven and Summer Palace before an overnight train onto Xian:

➤ Itinerary: Today you will see the main highlights of Beijing delving deeply into the city’s imperial past. We start with the vast Tiananmen Square, the largest city square in the world. The square is home to the Mao Mausoleum and monument to the People’s Heroes and is flanked by the Great Hall of the People (China’s parliament building) and the National Museum of China both built in the early 1960’s with help from the Soviet Union which shows in the architecture.

To the north of the square is the equally vast palace complex of the Forbidden City reached by passing under the Gate of Heavenly Peace (Tiananmen in Chinese). Built from 1406 to 1420 by up to 1 million workers it contains 980 buildings with 8,707 rooms and was the former home of the Emperors and their court. We’ll walk up the middle axis from South to North taking in the splendour of the most important central buildings before finishing in the relatively small garden by the north gate.
 
The much smaller Temple of Heaven is next but size doesn’t matter and this building is considered by many (including us) to be the most beautiful building in China. Perfectly symmetrical it was constructed at the same time as the Forbidden City and its primary purpose was as a prayer hall the Emperors visited to ask for good harvests. The temple is set inside a vast park giving a wonderful feeling of space in such a packed city.

The last stop today is at the Summer Palace to the west of Beijing built in 1750 by Emperor Qianlong. It is dominated by the Kunming lake which was hand dug. The lake is dotted with peaceful pavilions and gardens and is as popular escape from the city for todays Beijingers as it was for the Imperial court.

After the tour a transfer to the station for an overnight train onto your next destination of Xian.

➤ Overnight on board a sleeper train to Xian.

➤ Meals included: Breakfast and Lunch.

➤ Arrival Xian - The Terra Cotta Army, Big Wild Goose Pagoda & City Walls:

➤ Itinerary: You arrive early in the morning on the overnight train from Beijing. Your guide will take you to your hotel where you will have time to have breakfast, freshen up and, if a room is available, you can also check-in.

Today you will see one of the highlights of China - the extraordinary ranks of the Terra Cotta Army. Created by China’s first Emperor Qin Shi Huang - the fabled “Yellow Emperor” - to provide an imperial court and, of course, an army for the afterlife. Work began in 246 BC and at its height it is said that 700,000 people worked on the project. At some point however this vast undertaking became lost to time and was only rediscovered in 1974 by a farmer digging a well. Excavations have continued since and the three pits unearthed are thought to contain 8,000 soldiers, 130 chariots with 520 horses and 150 cavalry horses. Several thousand of the soldiers have been pieced back together and make for a uniquely impressive sight today even without their original paint. The Emperor specifically stated that no two soldiers should look alike and all are life sized.

In the afternoon we will visit a relic of the Tang Dynasty, the Big Wild Goose Pagoda, built in 652 AD and containing a large volume of Buddhist scriptures which were obtained from India by the eminent monk Xuanzang. After this we finish on Xian’s largest construction, the 13.7 km City Walls which are up to 18 meters thick at the base and 12 meters in height. The walls were constructed during the Ming Dynasty from 1370 AD and replaced an even larger wall. It is possible, if time, to hire bicycles and ride some sections of the wall.

Free time in the evening to explore the city perhaps eating in Xian’s vibrant Muslim quarter, a left over of the Silk Road which began or ended in Xian depending on which way you were heading!

➤ Overnight at the Grand Noble Hotel 5*. A comfortable hotel located close to Xian’s famous City Walls and considered one of the best places to stay in this city.

➤ Meals included: Breakfast and Lunch.

➤ Depart Xian by plane to Lhasa. Transfer to your hotel - Meet your guide:

➤ Itinerary: Early morning transfer to the airport for a flight to Lhasa. Welcome to Tibet! You arrive at Lhasa’s Gonggar airport after what has, cloud cover permitting, been a spectacular flight. Your guide will be meeting you at the airport for the 1 hour drive to Lhasa. Tibet’s capital is at a quite manageable altitude of 3,650 meters (12,000 feet) is a unique city and a highlight of China and, indeed, Asia. The setting, the history, architecture, people and contrasts all make for a very special travel experience. Free time to relax and adjust to the altitude or explore the fascinating area of the old Tibetan city your hotel is located in.

➤ Overnight at the Dhood Gu Hotel 3*. With a fantastic location close to Barkhor Square in the heart of the Old City this hotel is built and immerses you in the beautiful and colourful Tibetan style.

➤ Meals included: Breakfast.

➤ Lhasa - visit Drepung Monastery, Nechung residence, the Jokhang temple and Kora and Barkhor Square:

➤ Itinerary: Today we first head 5km out of Lhasa to Drepung Monastery, the largest in Tibet located on the Gambo Utse mountain. It was founded in 1416 and was the principal seat of learning for the Gelugpa school and at its height was thought to contain up to 10,000 monks (nowadays there are 300). About 10 minutes walk from Drepung is Nechung Chok which was the residence of the State Oracle of Tibet. This small monastery was also evocatively known as the ”Demon Fortress of the Oracle King.”

Return to Lhasa with time for lunch before visiting the Jokhang Temple, considered the most sacred and important temple in all Tibet. The temple is located at one end of Barkhor Square, a fascinating meeting point for pilgrims from all over Tibet. The temple itself was first constructed around 642 AD and despite or perhaps because of the hoards of visitors (mostly pilgrims) has an intense atmosphere infused with incense and devotion. You can sometimes get up onto the roof of the temple with good views over the old city. Surrounding the temple is the Barkhor Kora, a 1 km circular walk for pilgrims and locals as well as being a busy market selling all the goods a pilgrim might need on their travels. Free time to continue to explore the Old City for the rest of the day and evening.

➤ Overnight at the Dhood Gu Hotel 3*.

➤ Meals included: Breakfast.

➤ Lhasa - visit the Potala Palace, Tibetan Medical Institute and Sera Monastery:

➤ Itinerary: Today you will visit one of the architectural highlights of China, the vast Potala Palace, former chief residence of the Dalai Lama’s of Tibet. The palace started to be built in 1645 and has been added to over the centuries. It is 13 stories high and contains over 1,000 rooms, 10,000 shrines and 200,000 statues. Visitor numbers are restricted although it always feels busy inside. You will see some of the meeting rooms as well as the extraordinary chapels with their vast gold and jewel encrusted shrines to previous Dalai Lamas (the chapel of the 5th Dalai Lama has a stupa coated in 3,727kg of gold and 18,680 precious stones). The Potala dominates Lhasa not just from it’s size but also it’s location on Mount Potala and the views you get from the palace stretch right across Lhasa to the mountains that surround the city.

After the exertions of visiting the palace itself it is time for a trip to the Tibetan Medical Institute where a local Tibetan doctor will give an introduction about Tibetan traditional medicines - an area deeply rooted in Tibetan culture. This will leave you ready for another of Lhasa’s great teaching Monasteries - Sera. Spread over 28 acres at the base of Pubuchok mountain it was built in 1419. The highlights are the great assembly hall and some of the colleges located within the complex with their wealth of architectural features and shrines. Free time in the evening and overnight hotel.

➤ Overnight at the Dhood Gu Hotel 3*.

➤ Meals included: Breakfast.

➤ Lhasa - day trip to Ganden monastery with time to hike in the surrounding hills:

➤ Itinerary: Today you will have a full day tour out of the city to the huge Ganden Monastery. The journey there is as much part of the trip as the destination with the approach to the monastery up a spectacular high altitude winding road. Ganden is one of the 'great three' Gelukpa university monasteries of Tibet, located at the top of Wangbur Mountain 36 kilometers from Lhasa at an altitude of 4,300m. Founded in 1409 it used to be home to up to 6,000 monks but today there are just 170. After touring the monastery you will have time to hike in the surrounding hills with their amazing views across the valleys and mountain ranges. Return to Lhasa with free time in the evening.

➤ Overnight at the Dhood Gu Hotel 3*.

➤ Meals included: Breakfast and Lunch.

➤ Depart Lhasa for Shanghai by plane:

➤ Itinerary: Free time until a transfer to the airport for your flight onto Shanghai. Late afternoon arrival in Shanghai with a transfer to your hotel. There are few cities in China that are such a testament to China's phenomenal growth of the last few decades and what it to an extent lacks in historical sites it more than makes up with its sheer energy and dynamism providing you with a taste of the New China that is making it's mark on the world stage. A free evening to start to absorb this buzzing metropolis!

➤ Overnight at the Astor House Hotel 3*. Don’t be put off by the 3* rating - this gem of a hotel has a fantastic location at the end of the Bund and offers rare charm and character.

➤ Meals included: Breakfast.

➤ Shanghai - Half day tour of the Yuyuan Garden, Old Shanghai, The Bund - free afternoon:

➤ Itinerary: This morning 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. The morning 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.

Free time in the afternoon and evening. 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 Astor House Hotel 3*.

➤ 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.

 ✔ Xian to Lhasa economy class
 ✔ Lhasa to Shanghai economy class

 ✔ Beijing to Xian soft sleeper class (12 hour overnight trip) 1 berth each in a 4 berth cabin
 ✔ Maglev ticket to Pudong airport standard class (8 minutes reaching 430km/hour)

 ✔ 2 nights Beijing - Jade Garden Hotel 4* (standard room with breakfast)
 ✔ 1 night overnight sleeper train Beijing to Xian (shared 4 berth soft sleeper cabin)
 ✔ 1 night Xian - Grand Noble Hotel 5* (standard room with breakfast)
 ✔ 4 nights Lhasa - Dhood Gu 3* (standard room with breakfast)
 ✔ 2 nights Shanghai - Astor House Hotel 3* (deluxe room with breakfast)

 ✔ Beijing - Airport to Hotel / Hotel to Train Station
 ✔ Xian - Train Station Hotel / Hotel to Airport
 ✔ Lhasa - Airport to Hotel / Hotel to Airport
 ✔ Shanghai - Airport to Hotel / Hotel to Train Station for the Maglev train to Pudong Airport

 ✔ Beijing - Full day private tour to the Great Wall at Mutianyu and the Ming Tombs.
 ✔ Beijing - Full day private tour to Tiananmen Square, the Forbidden City, Temple of Heaven and Summer Palace.
 ✔ Xian - Full day private tour to the Terra cotta Warriors, Wild Goose Pagoda, City Walls.
 ✔ Lhasa - Full day private tour to Drepung Monastery, Nechung residence, the Jokhang temple and Kora and Barkhor Square.
 ✔ Lhasa - Full day private tour to the Potala Palace, Tibetan Medical Institute and Sera Monastery.
 ✔ Lhasa - Full day private tour to Ganden Monastery with time to hike in the surrounding hills.
 ✔ Shanghai - Half day private tour to the Yuyuan gardens, Old Shanghai and The Bund.

 ✔ Meals - As indicated in the itinerary.
 ✔ Tibet Travel Permit needed to travel in this province.
 ✔ 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.