Whispers of the Terracotta Warriors – A Five-Star China Journey

An east-to-west 2027 journey: Shanghai's waterfront, Suzhou's gardens, a new overnight in Wuxi, then high-speed rail north to Beijing's imperial monuments and Xi'an's Terracotta Warriors — five-star throughout.

11 Days • from A$2,999 per person (AUD) • including return flights from major Australian cities

Tour Highlights

  • Four cities in ten days: Xi'an, Beijing, Suzhou and Shanghai
  • Eight nights in five-star hotels, with breakfast every morning
  • Small-group touring: 20 to 28 travellers, with English-speaking guides throughout
  • Tiananmen Square, at the ceremonial centre of modern Beijing
  • The Forbidden City, with Temple of Heaven as the fallback if tickets run out
  • The Great Wall near Beijing at Juyong Pass, the quieter stretch
  • A Peking duck lunch, with vegetarian dishes for anyone who would rather
  • The Terracotta Army near Xi'an, and a workshop still reproducing it by hand

Itinerary at a Glance

  1. Day 1: Australia or New Zealand to Shanghai — Depart for Shanghai, the cosmopolitan gateway to your 2027 China journey. Transfer to the five-star hotel and keep the day free to rest and adjust. Shanghai is a fitting beginning: outward-looking and
  2. Day 2: Shanghai: old city, Yu Garden and the Bund — Begin among the pavilions, ponds and rockeries of Yu Garden before exploring the surrounding Old City, where traditional architecture counters Shanghai's modern image. Continue via Nanjing Road to the
  3. Day 3: Shanghai to Suzhou: gardens and canal quarters — Travel to Suzhou, a city shaped by gardens, waterways and centuries of refined Jiangnan culture. Visit one of the celebrated UNESCO-listed classical gardens — pavilions, ponds and framed views creatin
  4. Day 4: Suzhou to Wuxi: Lake Tai and Nanchang Street — A new overnight destination for 2027. Set beside vast Lake Tai, Wuxi offers a gentler landscape of water and gardens. Visit a selected lakeside scenic area (final choice per season and operations), th
  5. Day 5: Wuxi to Beijing by high-speed rail — Board a high-speed train for Beijing. The longer rail journey is part of the experience: the geography changes from the waterways of the lower Yangtze to the broad northern plains. Arrive, transfer to
  6. Day 6: Beijing: Tiananmen Square and the Forbidden City — Begin at Tiananmen Square before entering the Forbidden City, the vast palace of the Ming and Qing emperors. Move through monumental gates, courtyards and richly detailed halls, with time to read the
  7. Day 7: Beijing: the Great Wall, hutongs and Shichahai — Beyond the city, walk on the Great Wall where ramparts and watchtowers follow the ridgelines. Return in the afternoon for a different Beijing: the hutongs and Shichahai lakes, where narrow lanes and c
  8. Day 8: Beijing to Xi'an by high-speed rail: the ancient capital — High-speed rail to Xi'an — historically Chang'an, starting point of the Silk Road and political centre of powerful dynasties. After transfer, an easy introduction: the Bell and Drum Tower precinct or
  9. Day 9: Xi'an: the Terracotta Warriors and imperial legacy — Travel to the Terracotta Warriors — thousands of life-sized soldiers, horses and chariots created more than two millennia ago for the mausoleum of Qin Shi Huang, with individual faces, hairstyles and
  10. Day 10: Xi'an: the City Wall, then the flight home — A final morning on the ancient City Wall — one of China's best-preserved large-scale fortifications — looking across historic centre and modern city. Continue through the Bell and Drum Tower area per
  11. Day 11: Arrive home in Australia or New Zealand — Arrive home after an east-to-west crossing of China — Shanghai's waterfront, Suzhou's gardens, Wuxi's lakes, Beijing's imperial monuments and the Terracotta Warriors of Xi'an: five very different dest

What's Included

  • Return international flights with a full-service carrier, economy class
  • Two long-distance legs by high-speed rail, all one direction (or a domestic flight when rail seats are unavailable)
  • Eight nights in five-star hotels
  • Xi'an: the Sheraton Xi'an Hotel, with a comparable property substituted if it is full
  • Beijing: the Wyndham Beijing North, with a comparable property substituted if it is full
  • Suzhou: the Renaissance Suzhou Wujiang (a comparable property may be substituted)
  • Shanghai: the Radisson Collection Yangtze (a comparable property may be substituted)
  • Breakfast on each of the eight mornings
  • One lunch of Peking duck in Beijing
  • One dinner cooked in a hutong family home
  • Air-conditioned private vehicles
  • High-speed train travel between the cities
  • Airport transfers on the way in and the way home