• 7 breakfasts, 3 lunches and 1 dinner including a Peking Duck dinner
•  5 nights 3 - 4 star hotels
• 2 overnight trains (soft sleeper cabin)
• Touring of Beijing, Badaling, Xi'an,Juyongguan and Shanghai
• Chinese acrobatic performance
• Rickshaw ride through Beijings' Hutongs
• Xi’an - bike ride on medieval City Wall
• Shanghai - Huangpu River cruise
• Tour Guide escorted for groups of 6 or more
•  Airport arrival and departure transfer on day1 and day 9
• English speaking specialist guides at localsights
• All relevant transfers and transportation inprivate A/C vehicles

Saturday.  Welcome  to  China  and  the  start  of your  holiday!  Upon  arrival  you  will  be  met at  the  airport  and  transferred  to  your  hotel for  check-in.  Spend  the  rest  of  the  day  atyour own leisure exploring China’s capital city. Vast squares, magnificent palaces and beautifulgardens  are  just  some  of  the  treasures  stillvisible  from  the  Beijing’s  imperial  past,  whiledown narrow alleyways one can find charmingtea  houses,  traditional  workshops,  and  quiet courtyards. Overnight – Beijing

First thing this morning we will gather for a shorta Welcome Meeting - your entrance fees and tipkitty will be collected at this time. After we willembark  on  a  guided  tour  of  the  city  centre.  Apatriotic vision of grandeur, Tiananmen Squareis  a  square  for  the  public  and  also  home  ofthe mausoleum of Chairman Mao Tse-tung andthe striking Monument to the People’s Heroes.In the square Mao’s gargantuan mausoleum in granite where since his death in 1976, he has lainin state in his crystal coffin. We’ll have a stroll onthe square, which attracts many tourists wishingto take photos, all under the watchful eye of thedutiful guards.

First thing this morning we will gather for a shorta Welcome Meeting - your entrance fees and tipkitty will be collected at this time. After we willembark  on  a  guided  tour  of  the  city  centre.  Apatriotic vision of grandeur, Tiananmen Squareis  a  square  for  the  public  and  also  home  ofthe mausoleum of Chairman Mao Tse-tung andthe striking Monument to the People’s Heroes.In the square Mao’s gargantuan mausoleum in granite where since his death in 1976, he has lainin state in his crystal coffin. We’ll have a stroll on the square, which attracts many tourists wishingto take photos, all under the watchful eye of the Butiful guards. Perhaps one of Beijing’s most famous sights isthe Gate of Heavenly Peace. Up above the gate and  looking  out  across  to  all  his  people,  is  afamous  colour  portrait  of  Chairman  Mao  Tsetung. Today, he is looking at a different Beijing,one that is quickly entering the 21st century. The Gate of Heavenly Peace is the main entry pointinto the  Forbidden  City.  A  vision  in  grandeur with  its  imperial  yellow  roofs  and  vermilion walls, the Forbidden City, forbidden to all those except  on  imperial  business  until  1911,  when Built  between  1406  and  1420,  it  served  as  the imperial palace for the Ming and Qing dynasties. We will enjoy a guided walk through the city’smany temples, grand halls and courtyards. The720,000  sq  m  lavishly  constructed  Forbidden City boasts 9999 rooms! This afternoon we will take rickshaws to explore the  Hutongs  of  Beijing.  As  our  trusty  rickshaw driver  peddles  us  through  the  network  of alleys,  old  back  lanes,  traditional  court yard sand compact houses we will gain a fascina tings snap shot  of  the  city’s  traditional  way  of  life. There  is  time  to  meet  a  local  family  and  take a  peek  inside  their  home,  before  returning to  our  hotel.  This evening, we will enjoy  an eye  boggling  Chinese  acrobatic  performance. Swinging ropes, juggling hoops, spinning plates and human pyramids are just a few tricks these show stoppers pull out followed by a Welcome Dinner of Peking Duck at a  local  restaurant. Overnight - Beijing

After a free morning to further explore the city, we drive beyond Beijing to Beading, where we can  walk  a  section  of the famous Great Wall. An enduring symbol of Chinese civilization and genius,  the  UNESCO  protected  Great  Wall of China  was built  as  a  defensive  structure.  The immense construction took place over a period of 2,000 years and followed different routes and building extensions as required. Snaking some 6700 kms across barren hills, deserts, mountains and plateaux,  the  now  partially  ruinous  Great Wall stretches east to west in northern  China. At one time perhaps nearly 9700 kms long, the wall was garrisoned by 1 million soldiers and featured over 1,000 fortified passes and 10,000 beacon towers. A little steep in sections, but the photo opportunities are worth a million dollars! This evening we spend the night at our quaint hotel at the foot of the Great Wall at Juyongguan Pass. We rate our accommodation this evening as ‘basic’.  Guest  rooms  are  clean  and  offer  onsite facilities, though furnishings and amenities are  outdated  and  somewhat  tired.  We  use  the Juyongguan  Pass  Hotel  due  to  its  exceptional location (with very few alternatives in the area) and  believe  that  waking  up  by  the  foot  of  the Great Wall and having the opportunity to enjoy a  leisurely  walk  along  the  wall,  without  the tourist masses, is the reward. Overnight - Great Wall 

Beijing - Xi’an. We rise  early  this  morning  and head to the Great Wall at Juyongguan Pass for first thing before the crowds arrive. Surrounded by rugged mountains, Juyongguan Pass was an important military stronghold from the  days  of  770BC!  This  part  of  the  Great  Wall is in good condition and offers those who want it,  a  quite  challenging  walk  to  the  top  –  but those  willing  to  give  it  a  go  will  be  rewarded with  magnificent  views!  This  part  of  the  wall has  a  number  of  Buddhist  temples  including the fascinating Cloud Platform which is famous for  its  Buddhist  inscriptions  and  carvings.  The ‘platform’ was originally the base for a number of Stupas. Later we visiting a Jade Carving Centre to learn about this ornamental rock and its importance in  Chinese  culture.  After  lunch  we  head  back to Beijing. Free time is offered in the cavernous Pearl  Market  -  a  multi  floor  shoppers  paradise with  clothing,  jewellery,  gadgets  and  much more, before travelling by express soft sleeper train to Xi’an in Shaanxi Province.  Overnight -Sleeper Train

Upon arrival into Xi'an we transfer to our hotel for breakfast and check in with time to freshen up. Today we visit the Big Wild Goose Pagoda, one of Xian’s most iconic landmarks, followed by the vibrant Muslim Quarter. Later  we  enjoy  a  leisurely  bike  ride  atop  the Xi’an  City  Wall.  Dating  back  to  1370  the  12m high walls are some of the few remaining urban fortifications  still  standing  in  China  today  and after extensive restorations the City Walls offer ample  opportunities  from  which  to  explore Xi'an. Tonight, we offer our Tang Dynasty dinner and show. Check out our Tang Dynasty Bolton for more details. Overnight - Xi'an (B, L)

Xi’an - Shanghai. Most famous for the Terracotta Warriors,  perhaps  the  find  of  the  20th  century and  only  just  usurped  by  the  discovery  of King  Tut’s  gold  laden  tomb  in  Egypt,  Emperor Qin’s  Terracotta  Warriors  comprise  more  than 7,000 life-sized soldiers which stand in military formation in excavated pits under the cover ofa modern protective hanger. Made of local clay, no  two  faces  are  alike,  each  is  said  to  be  an individual portrait. Emperor Qin’s army of 2,200 year old terracotta warriors  were  discovered  in  1974  by  local farmers  who  happened  to  be  digging  a  well. Previous emperors used to be buried with their slaves  but  slavery  had  been  abolished.  So,  to make up for this, Qin had the warriors made to be buried near him to protect him in the afterlife We  visit  a  workshop  where  you’ll  see modern-day crafts people producing terracotta warrior  figurines  before  continuing  on  to  the archaeological  site  itself.  We’ll  enjoy  an  early dinner this evening before heading to the train station  for  our  overnight  journey  to  Shanghai.Overnight - Sleeper Train 

Just the mere mention of ‘Shanghai’ conjures up mystery, romance and general decadence. Pre 1949, cosmopolitan Shanghai was a magnet for seekers of wealth, idle colonialists, explorers and the dispossessed.  The  city’s  oddities  were due  to  the  unusual  circumstances  of  the  city’s existence.  Written into  the  Treaty  of  Nanjing was  the  notion  of  extraterritoriality  ,  which translated as foreign nationals not being bound by  Chinese  law,  but  rather  by  the  laws  of their  own  consuls Basically  anything went. Until 1949, foreigners dominated commerce, banking and industry, amassing huge fortunes and trans forming  landscape  of  foreign concessionary sections of Shanghai. Everything went  belly  up  in  1949,  when  Mao  and  the communists took to power and swept the good times  and  rock  and  roll  away  rather  swiftly. A  legacy  of  these  heady  times,  is  Shanghai’s Bund  where  on  and  around  this  waterfront promenade  are  a  vast  series  of  grandiose pre-1949  buildings. After  four decades  of austerity,  economic  reforms  implemented  by Deng Xiaoping, reawakened Shanghai. Today our sightseeing of Shanghai will take in the Plaza Tower, charming Yuyuan Gardens, the Bund and Old City, before ending with a cruise on the Huangpu  River. Overnight  - Shanghai

Saturday. Shanghai.  Our  tour  will  come  to  an end  after  breakfast  and  hotel  check-out  at  12 noon.Your onward departure transfer will take you to the airport for your onward travel. (B)

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