Exquisite China – A Signature Journey

A sweeping journey through China's great contrasts — Shanghai's waterfront, Lijiang's snow peaks, the pandas, a downstream Yangtze cruise through the Three Gorges, Zhangjiajie's stone forests, and Beijing's Forbidden City and Great Wall.

20 Days • from A$4,999 per person (AUD) • including return flights from major Australian cities

Tour Highlights

  • Cross Tiananmen Square, the vast public space at the centre of Beijing
  • Walk a stretch of the Great Wall at Juyong Pass, away from the busiest sections
  • Spend half a day in Shanghai, from the Xintiandi lanes to the Bund
  • See the Terracotta Army's ranks of full-size figures outside Xi'an
  • Wander Kuanzhai Alley in Chengdu, Qing-era courtyards now full of cafes and small shops
  • Take a boat on the river below the 71-metre Leshan Giant Buddha
  • Bao Guo Temple at Mount Emei, the principal Buddhist site on the mountain
  • Explore Lijiang's old town in Yunnan, the heart of Naxi country

Itinerary at a Glance

  1. Day 1: Australia or New Zealand to Shanghai — Depart on your international flight to Shanghai. On arrival, meet the local representative and transfer to the hotel, with the rest of the day kept free to settle in after the long haul. Shanghai is a
  2. Day 2: Shanghai: classical gardens, old city and the Bund — Begin at Yu Garden and the surrounding Old City, where pavilions, ponds and rockeries offer a glimpse of Shanghai before the skyscrapers. Continue down Nanjing Road to the Bund, where grand early-20th
  3. Day 3: Shanghai to Lijiang: the old town — Fly to Lijiang in north-western Yunnan, where highland skies, snow-capped mountains and Naxi culture replace the Shanghai towers. After check-in, wander the UNESCO-listed Old Town at a relaxed pace —
  4. Day 4: Jade Dragon Snow Mountain, Blue Moon Valley and Baisha — A full day beneath Jade Dragon Snow Mountain: the cable car to Spruce Meadow above Ganhaizi, the vivid turquoise water of Blue Moon Valley, and the quieter Naxi settlement of Baisha with its historic
  5. Day 5: Lijiang to Chengdu: Kuanzhai Alley — Fly to Chengdu, capital of Sichuan and one of China's most relaxed, food-loving cities. Visit Kuanzhai Alley, where traditional courtyards now sit beside teahouses, snack stalls and cafés, then enjoy
  6. Day 6: Giant pandas and the Leshan Giant Buddha — Start early at the Chengdu Research Base of Giant Panda Breeding, when the pandas are most active, and walk the bamboo gardens of this conservation-and-research centre. Later, travel to Leshan and tak
  7. Day 7: Chengdu to Chongqing: board the Yangtze cruise — Travel to Chongqing, the mountain city built across the meeting point of the Yangtze and Jialing rivers. Depending on the rail schedule and embarkation time, there may be time for Jiefangbei, Hongya C
  8. Day 8: Yangtze River: riverside China — The first morning on the river as the ship works downstream from Chongqing — cityscapes giving way to river towns, green hills and the broad landscapes of China's longest river. The included shore exc
  9. Day 9: The Three Gorges: Qutang Gorge and Wu Gorge — The defining scenic day: sail through Qutang Gorge, the shortest and most dramatic of the Three Gorges, then into graceful Wu Gorge, whose misty peaks have been painted and poem-ed for centuries. Depe
  10. Day 10: Three Gorges Dam: disembark in Yichang — Reach the Three Gorges Dam region and join the cruise operator's scheduled visit to one of the world's largest hydroelectric projects — the engineering, the ship lifts and the navigation system. Disem
  11. Day 11: Yichang to Zhangjiajie: into Wulingyuan — Travel into western Hunan towards Zhangjiajie, the scenery turning increasingly mountainous as you approach Wulingyuan and its extraordinary concentration of quartz-sandstone pillars. Check in near th
  12. Day 12: Zhangjiajie: Yuanjiajie, Bailong Elevator and Tianzi Mountain — A full day inside Zhangjiajie National Forest Park. Travel into Yuanjiajie, where sandstone pillars rise vertically from forested valleys and cloud drifts between the peaks, ride the spectacular Bailo
  13. Day 13: Golden Whip Stream and Ten-Mile Gallery — The gentler half of Zhangjiajie: walk a section of Golden Whip Stream, where clear water winds beneath towering cliffs and dense forest on a mostly level path, then continue to Ten-Mile Gallery — a va
  14. Day 14: Zhangjiajie to Changsha: the Hunan capital — Leave the mountains for Changsha, the lively Hunan capital. After check-in, the evening is deliberately flexible: explore Huangxing Road, Taiping Street or Pozi Street and sample the bold, aromatic, g
  15. Day 15: Changsha to Xi'an: the ancient capital — Fly or take the high-speed rail (per the confirmed 2027 schedule) to Xi'an, eastern terminus of the ancient Silk Road and capital of multiple dynasties. After check-in, an easy introduction: the Bell
  16. Day 16: Xi'an: the Terracotta Warriors and the old city — Stand face-to-face with the Terracotta Warriors in their vast excavation halls — ranks of life-sized soldiers, horses and chariots made more than two thousand years ago for the mausoleum of Qin Shi Hu
  17. Day 17: Xi'an to Beijing by high-speed rail — Board a high-speed train across northern China to Beijing — comfortable, fast and a showcase of the country's modern rail network. After transfer to the hotel, keep the day light ahead of two full day
  18. Day 18: Beijing: Tiananmen Square and the Forbidden City — Begin at Tiananmen Square, then walk the Forbidden City's succession of gates, courtyards and grand halls — the political centre of the Ming and Qing dynasties — with time to read its scale and symbol
  19. Day 19: Beijing: the Great Wall, hutongs and Shichahai — The final touring day pairs two faces of Beijing: the mountains, where watchtowers and stone ramparts follow the ridgelines of the Great Wall; then the hutongs and Shichahai lakes, where lanes, courty
  20. Day 20: Beijing to Australia or New Zealand — After breakfast, transfer to the airport for the journey home. Over twenty days China has unfolded in progression — Shanghai's waterfront, Lijiang's snow mountain and Naxi lanes, Chengdu's pandas, the

What's Included

  • Return international flights on full-service carriers, economy class, with surcharges possible
  • Three domestic flights inside China
  • Fourteen nights in four-star hotels
  • In Beijing: the Beijing Friendship Hotel, and comparable properties
  • In Xi'an: the Metropark Huanyu Hotel, and comparable properties
  • In Chengdu: the Mercure Hotel Chunxi, and comparable properties
  • In Emeishan: the Hua Sheng Hotel, and comparable properties
  • In Lijiang: the Xianghe No.1 Holiday Hotel, and comparable properties
  • In Changsha: the Ramada Plaza Hotel, and comparable properties
  • In Zhangjiajie: the Best Western Plus, and comparable properties
  • In Yichang: the Riverside No.1 Hotel, and comparable properties
  • On the Yangtze: the China Goddess No.2, with comparable ships used as substitutes
  • In Shanghai: the Holiday Inn Shanghai Hongqiao West, and comparable properties
  • Eighteen breakfasts
  • Five lunches, one of them the Peking duck meal
  • Five dinners, covering every evening on the cruise plus the farewell banquet with the captain
  • Ground transport in air-conditioned vehicles, booked privately
  • Two high-speed rail trips
  • Transfers to and from airports and the cruise pier