Authentic China Exploration

Your guide will meet your group at the airport and, after picking up the luggage, will transfer you by private vehicle to a 4-star hotel. Upon arrival at the hotel, you'll enjoy some leisure time until your welcoming dinner at the Noodle Loft. Downstairs you can watch the cooks making the noodles by hand, starting from a small piece of dough and ending up with long strips.

After dinner, transfer to the hotel and overnight. Dinner included.

Pick-up from your hotel after breakfast. Drive to Tian’anmen Square, then visit the Forbidden City, the symbol of China, and former Imperial Palace during the Ming and Qing dynasties. You will then be transferred to a network of local alleyways, which are called ‘Hutongs’.

You will start your Hutong visit at a traditional delicacy restaurant on the north bank of Shichahai Lake named Jiumen Xiaochi, where you can find various Beijing delicacies.

After lunch, you will further explore the narrow alleyways by rickshaw, getting a better idea of the life of the common people, in many ways unchanged for hundreds of years. Time permitting, you will stop to visit a local family to see the typical layout of their living quarters. Then, the whole group will be driven to the Summer Palace, one of the best preserved summer resorts of the Royal Family. Overnight in a 4 star hotel. Breakfast and lunch included.

Today you'll trek along the Great Wall of China, covering portions which are of special architectural and/or historical interest, and spending time on those sections which are most stunningly beautiful and photogenic.

After an early pick-up from your hotel, you will be directly transferred to the Gubeikou section of the Great Wall, where your hiking adventure will begin. The panoramic view is wonderful. In the evening, transfer back to downtown Beijing to have dinner.

Overnight in a 4 star hotel. Breakfast and dinner included.

Today you will get up early to see the local people doing their morning exercises in the Temple of Heaven, where emperors worshipped and prayed for harvest during the Ming and Qing dynasties. Every morning, locals take some time to start their day doing Tai-chi, group aerobics, or even group chorus.

After that, you will be transferred to the airport and fly to Xian. Upon arrival, you will be taken to the Gao family courtyard to see the Chinese traditional shadow play in the afternoon. You will also have the chance to have a biking tour around the City Wall. In the evening, you'll enjoy a Chinese dumpling dinner with a Tang Dynasty dancing show.

Overnight in a 4-star hotel. All meals included.

In the morning, you will visit the magnificent Qin Terra-cotta Warriors. This place was built about 2500 years ago and contains more than 6000 warriors, soldiers and horses. Unesco listed it in 1987 as one of the world cultural heritages.

In the afternoon, drive back to the airport to the hometown of panda, Chengdu. Upon arrival, transfer to the hotel and after dark you can stroll around the local market and bar street, tasting local delicacies and enjoying nightlife with local people.

Overnight in a 4-star hotel. Breakfast and lunch included.

In the morning, you will go to Chengdu Research centre of Panda Breeding to interact with these lovely animals. Today, you will have the local hot pot for lunch, and visit Wenshu Temple in the afternoon.

Near the temple you can spend some time sitting in a tea house to enjoy a cup of tea and absorb the special atmosphere of Chengdu. In the evening, transfer to the airport to Lijiang, Yunnan. The driver will meet you at Lijiang airport and transfer you to your hotel.

3 nights in a 4-star resort. Breakfast and lunch included.

Today you will enjoy a cycling tour of Lashihai lake and Baisha village. You will first be transported by car to Lashihai Lake, stopping now and then to see the surrounding wetlands and a variety of birds.

Upon reaching Changshui Road, you will start your 1 hour cycling to Shuhe, an ancient trading post which once served a prominent role in supporting tea caravans between China and the Red Sea. It is also the former city center of Lijiang and has a history of more than 1000 years.

Continue by bike to Baisha Naxi village (30 minutes). The Liulidian Temple and Daobaoji Temple at Baisha village house 558 mural paintings on 12 walls dating back to the Ming Dynasty in 1385. Buddhism, Taoism and Lamaism murals manifest themselves together in an integration of styles from the Han Chinese, the Tibetan, the Bai and the Naxi people, a proof of exchange of politics, economy, culture and religion between the mainland and the frontiers of China. They are now rated as key cultural relics under national protection.

After visiting the temples, you may choose to leave your bikes with the luggage van and ride back to the hotel by car (15 minutes) or bike back to the hotel directly (40 minutes). Overnight in a 4 star resort. Breakfast and lunch included.

Free day at leisure. Recharge your energy and get ready for another 2-day hike in Tiger Leaping Gorge.

As an option there is a full day trip to Jade Dragon Snow Mountain and Yak Meadow. Jade Dragon Snow Mountain  consists of 13 peaks, the highest one is 18,000 feet above sea level. This area is a treasure of wild plants and rare animals. Yak Meadow (Maoniuping) is part of Jade Dragon Snow Mountain, where the Yi and Tibetan Minority Ethnic Tribes live. Yak Meadow is so called because the local people like to pasture their yaks here.

Overnight in a 4-star resort. Breakfast included.

You will drive for two hours to Qiaotou (which means “Bridge End” in Chinese) (elevation 1835m). After crossing the Yangtze River, you will trek for approximately six hours to the guesthouse where you'll spend the night. You will first trek two hours to Naxi family guesthouse, where you will have some rest.

Then you will trek upward another 2 hours making 28 steep bends along the way before you reach the top (2670m). A couple of hours later, you will arrive at your guesthouse, with its great view of Yulong Snow Mountain and overlooking the Jinshajiang River Valley. The guesthouse is simple but quiet and clean.

Overnight in the guesthouse (leave your belongings in the car with the driver while trekking). All meals included.

You will get up in the early morning, then hike down to Tina’s Guest house, passing a small but high waterfall on the way. From Tina’s you trek further, down to the Middle Tiger Leaping Gorge and back (about one and a half hours).

The Middle Tiger Leaping Gorge features a huge drop in water level. 6km away from the Upper Gorge is a waterfall where the river crashes down over 100 meters hitting the rocks in the river bed below, and creating violent currents in the water below. A short drive from Tina’s Guest House will take you to the lower part of the Gorge, where you walk for about half an hour to the bank of the river.

You will then hike further along to the lower section of the Gorge (about 1.5-2 hours) to see tons of water squeezing through a narrow passageway. Then you will climb back up to Middle Tiger Leaping and drive back to Tina’s for a local homemade lunch. In the afternoon, drive to Zhongdian (Shangri -La).

Overnight in a hotel in Shangri La (leave your belongings in the car with the driver while trekking). Breakfast and lunch included.

In the morning, you will once again have the chance to immerse yourselves into the Tibetan culture by wandering around the lovely Tibetan town of Zhongdian, located at about 3,400 meters. Many travelers use this picturesque town as a gateway into Tibet, either travelling many days overland from here to Lhasa by jeep, or by flying from the city's airport.

However, the town is a tourist destination in itself, primarily due to the nearby Gandan Sumtseling Monastery, Tiger Leaping Gorge, and amazing the Tibetan culture all around. You will spend the morning first visiting a Tibetan village known for making black pottery, then by going to see the local vegetable market.

After lunch you'll visit Songzanlin Monastery, one of the largest Tibetan monasteries in Yunnan province. You  will then go on a moderate hike to a nearby Tibetan village and visit a Tibetan family to try their yak butter tea.

Overnight in a hotel in Shangri - La. Breakfast and lunch included.

Today you'll fly back to Kunming, and take connecting flight to Beijing. Your driver will pick you up at the airport and transfer you to the hotel. Tonight, you will walk to Wangfujing Street (10 mins from the hotel) for souvenirs and maybe trying some insects, scorpions, starfish, or chicken claw from the famous Donghuamen night market.

Overnight in a 4-star hotel. Breakfast included.

Free time at leisure until the transfer to the airport. End of tour.