Golden China

A superb value 10 nights, 11 days tour to Beijing, Xian, Suzhou and Shanghai, from $2,680 (Tour Code: EA)

Day 01 Australia/Beijing

Fly from Australia to Beijing, the dynamic capital of the People’s Republic of China. Once the imperial city of Mongol, Ming and Manchu emperors, Beijing today is still extraordinarily rich in historical sites and cultural relics. After clearing airport formalities, meet your local guide and transfer to your hotel.

Day 02 Beijing (B/L/D)

Tour the Tian’anmen Square, the biggest public square in the world. If permitted, we visit Mao’s Mausoleum. After lunch, visit Forbidden City, the vast complex of palaces, which was the home to successive emperors for more than 500 years. Included is admission to the living quarters, museum and jewellery sections. Tonight you will experience the famous Beijing Duck Banquet for your welcome dinner.

Day 03 Beijing (B/L/D)

Morning tour to the Great Wall, stretching almost 4,000 miles from the Pacific Ocean to the sands of Central Asia and befittingly crowned one of the ten wonders of the world. Along the way, you will stop at a jade carving factory where you can watch artisans at work. Continue to the Summer Palace, the largest and the best preserved of all imperial palace gardens, which boasts such delights as the famous Marble Boat and the ornately painted ‘Long Corridor’, and take a boat ride on its Lake Kunming if the weather permits. After dinner, you will witness the amazing Beijing Acrobatic Show.

Day 04 Beijing (B/L)

In the morning, enjoy a pedicab tour of the Hutong – the ‘old city’ with neighbourhoods of narrow alleyways and courtyard gardens. Here you will experience local life on a family visit and a kindergarten school. After our special lunch in a local family home, tour to the Temple of Heaven, the 500 year old Temple houses altars on which sacrifices and offerings were laid to the gods in a glorious setting of gardens, trees and sculptures. Visit a local market if time permits. Evening at leisure.

Day 05 Beijing/Xian (B/D)

Morning, transfer to the airport for a flight to Xian. Upon arrival, visit the Big Wild Goose Pagoda. Today you will sample the Xian dumpling dinner. Afterwords, you will see the traditional Tang Dynasty Show.

Day 06 Xian (B/L/D)

Morning tour to the greatest archaeological discovery of the century, the 2,000 year-old Terracotta Warriors interred with the Emperor Qin Shi Huang. In the afternoon, we will visit the Great Mosque, the best-preserved Islamic mosque in China and focus for the 30,000 Chinese Muslims of Xian.

Day 07 Xian/Shanghai (B/L/D)

Fly to Shanghai, the biggest commercial city in China. We will visit Shanghai Museum, which is one of the largest museums of ancient Chinese art in China. The museum’s style and presentation surround visitors with artifacts demonstrating ancient wisdom and philosophy. The exterior design of the round dome and the square base symbolizes the ancient idea of a round heaven and a square land.

Day 08 Shanghai-Suzhou-Shanghai (B/L/D)

In the morning, take a side trip to Suzhou, a small town famous for its classic gardens and often so-called ‘Oriental Venice’. You will visit the Master of the Nets Garden, Silk Spinning Mill. Afterwards, you will take a boat cruise on the Canal constructed over 1300 year ago in Sui Dynasty. If time permits, we take a short visit to newly renovated Shan Tang Street. Late in the afternoon, we will travel back by coach to metropolitan Shanghai.

Day 09 Shanghai (B/L)

In the morning tour we will visit the Bund, a popular promenade along the Huangpu River, where the old meets the modern in Shanghai. You may see the local people performing Tai Chi during your stroll along the bund. Afterwards, we will visit the Old Town with its winding alleyways, lined with shops, teahouses and restaurants, and then to the elegant and tranquil Yu Garden. Afternoon tour the Shanghai Xintiandi, which is a new tourist attraction in downtown Shanghai, featuring the city’s unique “Shikumen” houses and a maze of narrow alleys, which have been converted into cafes, restaurants, bars, art retail shops. Dinner will be on your own arrangement.

Day 10 Shanghai (B)

Today you will have a free day to explore Shanghai at your own pace.

Day 11 Shanghai/Australia (B)

Today you are free for some last minute shopping before being transferred to the airport for your flight back home.

Day 12 Australia

Arrival in Australia.