Empire & Horizon – A Romantic Journey through China & Mongolia

Mongolia first: Ulaanbaatar's monasteries, ger camps under enormous skies and the Mini Gobi, then imperial Beijing, the Terracotta Warriors, the Shaolin Temple, Suzhou's gardens and a Shanghai finale.

18 Days • from A$5,999 per person (AUD) • including return flights from major Australian cities

Tour Highlights

  • China then Mongolia on one 18-day run: Shanghai, Hangzhou, Suzhou, Zhengzhou, Xi'an and Beijing, then Ulaanbaatar, Terelj, the Mini Gobi and Kharkhorin
  • Shanghai's History Museum, which traces how a riverside fishing village turned into a global financial city
  • Pudong's skyline seen from the Bund, across the Huangpu River
  • Yu Garden, laid out over four centuries ago, plus the old town lanes and Xintiandi
  • Hangzhou's West Lake seen from the water, a UNESCO World Heritage site
  • Longjing tea tasted at source, in Meijiawu Tea Village above Hangzhou
  • Suzhou's Lingering Garden, a classical Ming-era garden on the UNESCO list
  • A cruise on the Grand Canal, the oldest canal in China

Itinerary at a Glance

  1. Day 1: Australia or New Zealand to Ulaanbaatar — Depart for Ulaanbaatar, capital of Mongolia — some travellers depart the previous evening or connect through another Asian city. On arrival, transfer to the hotel and rest. The city itself is a fascin
  2. Day 2: Ulaanbaatar: monasteries and Mongolian culture — Begin at Gandan Monastery, the country's most important active Buddhist centre, with prayer wheels and the towering Megjid Janraisig statue. Continue to Sukhbaatar Square and a major national museum t
  3. Day 3: Chinggis Khaan Statue and Terelj National Park — Travel east across the steppe to the monumental Chinggis Khaan Equestrian Statue, an introduction to the leader whose 13th-century empire reshaped Eurasia. Continue into Terelj National Park for grani
  4. Day 4: The Mini Gobi and on to Kharkhorin — West across Mongolia's broad interior to Elsen Tasarkhai, the Mini Gobi — golden dunes stretching between grassland and distant mountains. Ride a two-humped Bactrian camel and feel the slower rhythm o
  5. Day 5: Kharkhorin: Erdene Zuu and the Mongol Empire — Visit Erdene Zuu, Mongolia's oldest surviving Buddhist monastery, built beside the ruins of Karakorum — walls, stupas and temple halls reflecting centuries of Tibetan Buddhist influence. Continue to t
  6. Day 6: Hustai National Park and back to Ulaanbaatar — Return towards the capital with a stop at Hustai National Park, internationally known for reintroducing the Przewalski horse — the takhi, the world's last truly wild horse. With luck, see them in thei
  7. Day 7: Ulaanbaatar to Beijing: the steppe to imperial China — Fly south to Beijing. The change is dramatic — Mongolia's open horizons give way to one of Asia's great historic capitals. Transfer to the hotel and keep the day intentionally easy; beginning China in
  8. Day 8: Beijing: Tiananmen Square and the Forbidden City — Begin at Tiananmen Square, then enter the Forbidden City — monumental gates, ceremonial courtyards and richly detailed halls of the Ming and Qing courts, with time to understand the architecture and r
  9. Day 9: Beijing: the Great Wall, hutongs and Shichahai — Into the mountains to walk the Great Wall, where ramparts and watchtowers follow rugged ridgelines, then back to the city for the hutongs and Shichahai lakes — lanes and courtyard neighbourhoods at hu
  10. Day 10: Beijing to Xi'an by high-speed rail — Board a high-speed train for Xi'an — a comfortable transition between two of China's greatest historic capitals and a look at modern China's transport network. On arrival, an introductory walk around
  11. Day 11: Xi'an: the Terracotta Warriors and the old city — Stand before the Terracotta Warriors, created more than two thousand years ago for the mausoleum of Qin Shi Huang — ranks of life-sized figures, each with individual faces, hairstyles and armour. Retu
  12. Day 12: Xi'an to Zhengzhou: Henan heritage — East by high-speed rail to Zhengzhou, capital of Henan and a gateway to one of the deepest layers of Chinese civilisation. Visit the Henan Museum (subject to opening days) — early bronzes, ritual obje
  13. Day 13: Shaolin Temple and the Songshan landscape — A full day at the Shaolin Temple area beneath Mount Song. Founded over fifteen centuries ago and famous for Chan Buddhism and martial arts: the principal temple halls, the Pagoda Forest of memorial st
  14. Day 14: Zhengzhou to Suzhou by high-speed rail — Board a high-speed train south-east from the Central Plains to Suzhou in Jiangsu — a long rail sector that moves the journey from northern heartland to the lower Yangtze. On arrival, a relaxed introdu
  15. Day 15: Suzhou: classical gardens and canal life — A day in Suzhou's elegance: one of the celebrated classical gardens, where pavilions, rockeries, ponds and framed views express a sophisticated approach to landscape, then a historic canal-side distri
  16. Day 16: Suzhou to Shanghai: the old city and the Bund — Travel to Shanghai for the final full day. Begin with Yu Garden and the Old City — a last connection to classical China — then continue via Nanjing Road to the Bund, where historic waterfront facades
  17. Day 17: Shanghai to Australia or New Zealand — Breakfast, then transfer to Shanghai's international airport for the journey home — an overnight connection possible depending on schedules. From ger camps and open steppe to the Great Wall, the Terra
  18. Day 18: Arrive home in Australia or New Zealand — Arrive home after a journey defined by contrast — nomadic and imperial, ancient and modern, desert and garden, grassland and megacity. Welcome home.

What's Included

  • Return international flights in economy class on full-service carriers
  • One flight within the trip: Beijing to Ulaanbaatar
  • Three long legs on China's high-speed network, with domestic flights as the fallback if rail is unavailable
  • 16 nights across 3-star and 4-star hotels and ger camps
  • Courtyard by Marriott Jiading in Shanghai (4-star)
  • Fubang International in Hangzhou (4-star)
  • Suyuan Hotel in Suzhou (4-star)
  • Aloft Hotel in Zhengzhou (3-star)
  • Metropark Huanyu Hotel in Xi'an (3-star)
  • Ramada Beijing North in Beijing (3-star)
  • Premium Hotel Ulaanbaatar (4-star)
  • Three nights in traditional ger camps
  • 28 meals in all, with breakfast every day and one meal shared with a family of Mongolian herders
  • Breakfast on 16 mornings
  • Six lunches, one of them the Peking duck meal in Beijing
  • Six dinners, among them a home-cooked meal in a Beijing hutong home and the Mongolian farewell dinner
  • Air-conditioned private coaches and cars
  • Three high-speed rail trips, or domestic flights where rail is unavailable
  • Transfers to and from the airport