China Explorer, Private Tour

Explore China in this comprehensive twelve-day tour. Discover the Shamian Island in Guangzhou: a well preserved colonial area with its period architecture, tree-lined avenues, and laidback appeal offers a break from the mayhem and fast developmental Guangzhou. Visit Hakka House, Mulan’s home in the latest Disney movie, built by Chinese Hakka people who emigrated from northern China to the south. Literally earthen buildings, the living structures are uniquely designed for defensive purposes. Cruise on the Li River Cruise to see one of China's natural masterpieces, listed as one of the world’s top ten watery wonders by America National Geographic Magazine. Discover the Water Great Wall: the only section of the wall that is submerged into water, it’s one of the most scenic yet less touristy parts of the great wall for a hike or a brilliant view. Visit Tiananmen Square, with the iconic portrait of Mao Zedong looming over the Tiananmen gates, this public square is one of the largest in the world and has been the site of numerous historical events in China. Visit the Huanghuacheng Great wall, Beijing has more than 600km of Great Wall, found mainly in the mountains north and northeast of the city. Most of Beijing’s Great Wall dates to the Ming Dynasty (1368-1644), but there are remnants of much older wall section to be found, too.

TOUR HIGHLIGHTS

Guangzhou: formerly known in the West as Canton, it has long been China's busiest trade hub, establishing connections with the outside world dating back to the 16th century.

Xiamen: formerly known in Western circles as Amoy, this island city is emerging as southern China’s most sophisticated city.

Guilin: Guilin's natural endowments will amaze you, yet, thanks to imperfect urban planning, there is a pervasive feeling that the city is past its prime.

Shanghai: home to the world's second-tallest tower and a city with a diverse architectural heritage is like no other cities on earth.

Beijing: From ancient walled capital to showpiece megacity in barely a century, it spins a breathless yarn of history, culture and innovation.

Day 1: ARRIVAL GUANGZHOU – SHAMIAN ISLAND – GUANGZHOU (45km – 1hr)

Welcome to Guangzhou! Upon arrival, you will be greeted by the guide and driver at the arrivals hall. Then hop on the transfer to Shamian Island if time allows (the recommended arrival time to enjoy this excursion is before 3:00 pm). It’s a well preserved colonial area. There’re approx. 150 old buildings on Shamian Island and more than a third were built during the island's 19th-century colonial period. Explore on foot, admire the sturdy Victorian houses, wrought iron gates, and generous gardens, and listen to your guide’s stories before you are escorted to the hotel for check-in. Rest of the day at leisure.

Overnight in Guangzhou.

Day 2: GUANGZHOU – XIAOZHOU VILLAGE (25km – 1hr) – XIAMEN (4.5hrs by high-speed train, included)

Breakfast at the hotel, and then meet your tour guide at the hotel lobby. Admire the exquisite woodcarvings, copper-iron castings, and handcrafts at Chen Family temple, a memorial to the Chen people of Guangdong Province. The temple was also a learning and living place for generations of the Chen family who came to the town to take the imperial examination. The temple has a typical ancestral temple layout in the province. Lunch at a local restaurant (included). Immerse in Xiaozhou Village, a hidden centuries-old local village still inhabited by locals. Cafés, art studios, alongside stone streets, bridges and gardens, are all nestled into an active, vibrant neighbourhood of long-time locals. Transfer to high speed train station in 2nd class high speed train for Xiamen, alternatively known as Amoy in Hokkien pronunciation. It was an important port for foreign trade for centuries and now a perfect mix of urban energy and laid-back vibes. Upon arrival, transfer to the hotel. 

Overnight in Xiamen.

Day 3: XIAMEN – HUA’AN – ZHANGZHOU – XIAMEN (245km – 4hrs)

After breakfast we will be on our way to visit the highlight of this trip, Hua’an Hakka house clusters. A Hakka house is a large, enclosed and fortified earthen building in rectangular or circular shape usually seen in south-eastern China. Rated as a UNESCO World Heritage site, it’s inscribed as "exceptional examples of a building tradition and function exemplifying a particular type of communal living and defensive organization in harmonious relationship with their environment". After lunch at a local restaurant (included), we head to Zhangzhou downtown to visit the old city of Zhangzhou, an important port for foreign trade in the Ming Dynasty (1368-1644). The city boasts a rich cultural legacy and colourful folk customs and one of the birthplaces of the Hokkien culture. Drive back to the hotel in Xiamen.

Overnight in Xiamen.

Day 4: XIAMEN – GULANGYU ISLAND (20min by ferry)

Breakfast at the hotel. Take a ferry to Gulangyu Island. Gulangyu Island, literally “the islet of drum wave” supposedly the sound of the ocean waves crashing on the rocks like the thundering of mighty drums. Lunch in a local restaurant (included). Just 2 square km, the pedestrianized islet is a tiny gem nestled in the embrace of Xiamen Island with historic architectural treasures that date from the days when Gulangyu was an International Settlement. The island was one of the five original treaty ports opened up to trade in 1842. Along with bizarre colonial architecture and a curious number of Christian churches, there’re some residential houses among which Shuzhuang garden is a perfect example of the three most important characteristics of Chinese gardening. Built in 1931 by a wealthy Taiwanese businessman. Gulangyu is colloquially referred to as “Piano Island”. You would be amazed to know with a population of just 20,000 there’re 5,000 pianos. Come visit a piano museum. It exhibits more than 40 old pianos, including a gilded piano, a piano with four corners, the earliest one in the world, and a mechanical piano operated by pumping pedals. Although we enjoy refined cuisine and elaborate meals at restaurants, it’s often our street food quests around the world, raw on-the-ground journeys that convey authenticity, that yield some of life’s most revealing moments and enlighten us in unexpected ways. Xiamen is known for its fresh seafood, abundant tropical fruits and lively street food scene. Pick your like and savour your taste buds (own expense). Take the ferry and transfer back to the hotel. 

Overnight in Xiamen.

Day 5: XIAMEN – GUILIN (105min by flight, included) – REEF FLUTE CAVE – ELEPHANT TRUNK HILL – GUILIN (50km – 1.5hr)

Breakfast at the hotel. Head to the airport for a flight to Guilin. Greeted by guide and driver, you’re on your way to Reef flute cave, a massive limestone cave over 180 million years old and a top site in Guilin. Its name comes from the lush green reeds growing outside that are hollow and can be made into flutes. Being forgotten for almost about 1000 years, the cave was rediscovered in the 1940s by a group of refugees fleeing from Japanese troops during WWII. Gaze in awe at a cave filled with dazzling stalactites, stone pillars and ever-changing formations that are created through thousands of years of water dripping and erosion into the cave, walk past illuminated stone pillars, stalactites and stalagmites, marvel at the mesmerizing cave, you would feel like stepping into a wonderland. Lunch at a local restaurant (included). Stop at Elephant trunk hill, a signature of Guilin. It’s named after its shape of a giant elephant stretching its trunk to Li River. (Photo stop, entrance fee excluded).

Overnight in Guilin.

Day 6: GUILIN – LI RIVER (4hrs by cruise) – GUILIN

Breakfast at the hotel. Float down the Li River, to see one of China's natural masterpieces, listed as one of the World’s top ten watery wonders by America National Geographic Magazine. Verdant hills, bamboo forests, crystal clear water, fishing boats with cormorants standing on board and ancient villages sit along the river, composing charming views. Li River Cruise starts from Zhujiang Wharf to Yangshuo Town taking nearly 4 hours to complete the journey. Simple lunch included on board Amble down West Street – Yangshuo's oldest street turned lively shopping area, a great place for souvenirs (own expense). Drive back to Guilin.

Overnight in Guilin.

Day 7: GUILIN – SHANGHAI (100min by flight, included)

Breakfast at the hotel. Transfer to airport, fly to Shanghai, the face of modern China, is teeming with energy and activity, and offers travellers a true diversity of areas and experiences. You’ll be met and greeted by the guide and driver after arrival in Shanghai. Lunch on own arrangement. Find your way to the Shanghai propaganda poster museum (closed on Mondays), a hidden gem of a museum, although small, it gives an absorbing insight into China's recent history. It houses a vast, private collection of propaganda posters of Mao-era communist revolutionary propaganda artworks charting post-war Chinese history. Many rescued from recycling centres and rubbish bins and spanning the '40s through the late 1970s. Walk along the Bund, This riverfront location is a time-honoured symbol of Shanghai and shows pieces of the city’s Neoclassical European imperial past. (Offers a glimpse into Shanghai's earlier interactions with the West.) Dinner at a local restaurant (included). 

Overnight in Shanghai.

Day 8: SHANGHAI

Breakfast at the hotel. Drive to Yu Garden, wander the maze of pavilions and arched bridges of Yu Garden, one of Shanghai’s premier sights. The Pan family, rich Ming Dynasty officials, founded these gardens, which are a fine example of Ming garden design. The adjacent bazaar was originally a temple (the city god temple) built in the 16th century. Today the area is also home to a lively market that specializes in traditional Chinese arts and crafts. You can peruse antiques, silk fans, bamboo articles, shell carvings, paintings, or simply try some Shanghai Xiaolongbao (soup dumplings), vegetarian buns and chicken soup (own expense). Followed by a visit to Jade Buddha Temple, the temple is an active site of worship and home to a couple of famous Buddha statues that were brought from Burma in the 1800s. It took ten years to complete its construction. Lunch at a local restaurant (included). Take a walk in the French Concession Quarter, home to the city’s most stylish streets. The former Shanghai French Concession was a region under French control from 1849 until its return to the hands of the Chinese government in 1946. While this Shanghai neighbourhood is no longer of French ownership, the area is still ruled by a laid-back attitude and European architecture. Now one of the most vibrant shopping districts in Shanghai, the former French concession is where much of Shanghai’s disposable cash is splashed. 

Overnight in Shanghai.

Day 9: SHANGHAI – BEIJING (5hrs by high-speed train, included)

Breakfast at the hotel. Morning Transfer to high speed train in 2nd class seat for Beijing, upon arrival visit Temple of Heaven, situated in southeast Beijing, was built in the first half of the 15th century, for the use of Ming and Qing Dynasty emperors to worship the heavens and pray for a good harvest. The main architectural themes are: “on the earth” which is represented by the square-shaped 'Palace of Abstinence' in the west, much like The Forbidden City but on a smaller scale; whereas the circular-shaped Qinian Dian (Hall of Prayer for Good Harvests) and Huanqiu (Circular Mound Altar) are thought to be connected with heaven. The park serves as a recreational ground for local people. Dancing, fencing, flag waving and Taichi may be seen at any time. Transfer to the hotel.

Overnight in Beijing.

Day 10: BEIJING

Breakfast at the hotel. Meet your tour guide at the hotel lobby. Drive to Tiananmen Square, gaze across it and take in the full weight of its historical and cultural significance. People travel from all over the world to see Mao’s portrait and visit his mausoleum, which lies on the opposite end of the Square. Walking towards to Forbidden City, where emperors ruled, concubines fluttered their fans, and eunuchs schemed for five hundred years. It is a life preserved in chambers, where emperors ruled, gardens, where empresses and concubines strolled and in the palace where the emperor's courtesans lived for centuries behind the towering red walls. Lunch at a local tourist restaurant (included). In the afternoon, venture to one of Beijing’s few remaining ‘hutongs’ or traditional lanes in the backstreets of the city to gain a perspective into fascinating and authentic ‘old’ Beijing. Hutongs, the narrow alleys and lanes first laid out during the Yuan dynasty (1268-1364AD), and the siheyuan, traditional courtyard homes that border these leafy streets, define old Beijing. Here, we can get an idea of what the entire city once looked like and experience the traditional way of life, the silhouette of imperial dynasties, Chinese local lifestyle, the impact of western countries. Visit the Buddhist Miaoying Temple, which has an iconic White Stupa that was completed in 1279, under the leadership of Kublai Khan.

Overnight in Beijing.

Day 11: BEIJING

Breakfast at the hotel. Drive to Huanghuacheng Great wall. Literally the Yellow Flower Wall, is considered one of the most scenic sections of the wall, and a great place to go for a not-too-strenuous hike along the country's most iconic landmark. At either end of this stretch of the Great Wall are two lakes, made by dams built in the 1970s and ‘90s. Up on the wall, you’ll have unobstructed views of both lakes from high above, with the Great Wall dipping majestically down into the water. Lunch at a local tourist restaurant (included). After lunch, delve into the heart of Beijing’s contemporary art scene at the 798 Art District, based rather ironically within an abandoned industrial complex, built by East Germans in the 1950s, Chinese contemporary artists moved in the 1990s, transforming this decommissioned factory district into a hotspot of modern art, culture and design. From avant-garde galleries to cutting-edge food and drinks, make sure you set aside some time to explore what this area has to offer. 

Overnight in Beijing.

Day 12: DEPARTURE BEIJING (30km – 30min)

Breakfast at the hotel. A leisure time before transferring for your departure flight. 

Comfortable and light clothing is best suited to travel in the warm months and warm clothing in the colder months in China. Visitors should not wear sleeveless shirts, shorts, short skirts or sparse clothing when visiting temples, religious or official buildings. Sun protection, sunglasses and a hat can be very useful during your stay.