China Tour from Canberra

Today, you will arrive in Beijing after about 14 hours’ trip in air. At Beijing’s airport, your guide will meet you outside the customs area and take you to the hotel for check-in. The rest of the day is free for you to have a good rest for your coming tour.

Please note:
As there is no direct flight from Canberra to Beijing, you need to make a connection in Sydney or Melbourne. Please reconfirm your arrival time in Beijing with our travel consultant so that we can pick you up on time. Contact the travel consultant whenever you get problems.

Accommodation: Hotel New Otani Chang Fu Gong

This morning, we will walk the Tiananmen Square to approach the Forbidden City, aka the Palace Museum. On stepping inside the City, you will immediately be impressed by those red-walled, yellow-roofed imperial palaces. A solemn air will seize you - it’s the office and residence of Chinese emperors of Ming and Qing eras (1368 - 1911), after all. We will treat you to a visual feast in Treasure Gallery, where imperial-level treasures are on display.

After the morning's excursion, we will enjoy an a la carte welcome lunch (valued at CNY150.00 per person and included in our price) with roasted Peking Duck at a renowned local restaurant. Proceed to Yonghe Temple, a place of worship for Tibetan Buddhists, and then Temple of Heaven, where the Chinese emperors prayed for Heaven to bless his nation. Your will marvel at the Hall of Prayer for Good Harvests, whose each and every component was designed according to ancient Chinese beliefs in the divinity of Heaven, like its four columns that represent four seasons and twelve outer ones twelve months. A landmark of Beijing, an inspiration for the logo of Bank of Beijing and local Medicare card, it’s been a part of local life.

Immerse in Chinese traditional culture tonight. You will watch not only Peking Opera actors drawing lianpu, iconic facial designs of the art, but also a live Peking Opera show, at Liyuan Theatre.

Meals: Western buffet breakfast, A la carte welcome lunch

Today's itinerary starts with Mutianyu Great Wall (part of the Great Wall of China). A round-trip cable car is arranged for going up and down. Get ready to shudder before this sinuous ancient engineering feat! To highlight this moment, we will also clink glasses of red wine for a toast. Lunch is not arranged today, because restaurants nearby are not up to our service standard. You are advised to take some fast food for lunch.

On our way back downtown, we will stay for a while in front of the Olympic Stadium known as the Bird's Nest, for you to take some photos. Go on a rickshaw tour to weave though hutongs, or residential alleys, to discover Beijing’s traditional life. Your trip for today will end with a visit to a local family that dwells here.

Meals: Western buffet breakfast

After checking out of the hotel, we will drive you to the Panda House in Beijing Zoo. Then, visit Summer Palace, an imperial garden built in 1750, which combines traditional architectural features with natural beauty.

Around noon, have a local-flavor lunch. Later, your guide will take you to the airport for a flight to Xi'an. When you arrive in Xi’an, your local guide will meet you in the arrival hall and transfer you to the hotel.

Meals: Western buffet breakfast, Lunch
Accommodation: Crowne Plaza Xi'an

While in Xi'an, of course we won’t miss the Terracotta Army, commissioned by the first emperor of imperial China to guard his mausoleum. In the morning, we will head there to behold a tremendous array of lifelike pottery warriors. We will also spice this tour with a visit to the family of the discoverer of the first warrior, followed by a lesson to teach you how to craft a mini clay solider, which you will take home.

In the afternoon, proceed to Giant Wild Goose Pagoda. Constructed over 1,300 years ago during the Tang dynasty, it can be considered the Buddhist translation bureau of the central government. Perhaps we should complain less about our working time, if we realize those monks had even devoted the entire life to their toilsome work. Not to mention those civil servants working at the Tang court, who were only allowed to retire at seventy, and who had to get up at 1:00 am to traverse across half Xi’an to meet their monarchs.

This evening, we will feast on a traditional Dumpling Dinner as well as the classic Tang Dynasty Music and Dance Performance.

Meals: Western buffet breakfast, Dumpling dinner

► Friendly Tips:
Guests visiting in January, February, March and December need to arrange the dinner and evening activity on their own for this day, since the theater is usually not open at those periods.

Today, first go to City Wall Park, where locals do morning exercises, for you to experience local life. There, we will arrange for you a lesson to learn to do Tai Chi with a master. Later, ascend the famed Xi'an City Wall, the guardian of the city in years gone by. Biking is available on the wall (the rental fee is at your own expense).

We will have our lunch tackled at the Muslim Quarter, loved by both tourists and locals alike for its energy and street food. Later, you will be transferred to the airport for a flight to Zhangjiajie. Upon arrival, you will be met and transferred to the hotel by your local guide.

Meals: Western buffet breakfast, Local lunch
Accommodation: Pullman Zhangjiajie Hotel

The first stop of your tour in Zhangjiajie starts with an exploration through Zhangjiajie National Forest Park. Here, we will first take the famous Bailong Sightseeing Elevator rapidly up the mountain to Yuanjiajie Scenic Area, to find “floating mountains” depicted in the sci-fi film Avatar. While at Tianzi Mountain Nature Reserve, you will revel in from a peak the landscape nicknamed Monarch of the Peak Forest. Next, stroll along the Golden Whip Stream to see its crystal-clear water reflecting overlapping hills and luxuriant forests. Ten-Mile Gallery, a gorge, will fascinate you with grotesque peaks carved by the elements. These splendid sceneries in Zhangjiajie will offer you a memory to last for a life time.

Meals: Western buffet breakfast, Lunch

Today, continue to explore Zhangjiajie Grand Canyon, where we will walk the world's highest and longest glass bridge. Then, take a small boat to cruise on Baofeng Lake, Zhangjiajie's only water-themed program.

Meals: Western buffet breakfast, Lunch

In the morning, we will ascend Tianmen Mountain, the highest mountain in Zhangjiajie. A cable car ride is arranged for you to save climbing. Be ready for a spectacle that would take us half day to explore. We will have our blood pumping while inching on the iconic glass skywalk. 1,430 meters (4691 ft.) above sea level, four to five meters (13 to 16 ft.) jutting out from a cliffside, it’s dedicated as an outlook to daring travelers to step on it to capture the spectacular sceneries around.

After lunch, we will set off to the airport and catch a flight to Shanghai. When the flight arrives, your Shanghai guide will greet you at the arrival hall and transfer you to the reserved hotel.

Meals: Western buffet breakfast, Lunch
Accommodation: Radisson Blu Hotel Shanghai New World

Today, let’s start with Shanghai Museum, treasured for its well-organized displays of Chinese paintings, ancient bronze ware, ceramics... We will then explore Yu Garden, which represents classical Chinese garden, meticulously landscaped with stone bridge, pavilion, pond, rockery, and so on. Later, have a short walk at the nearby Yuyuan Bazaar.

At noon, enjoy an a la carte lunch (valued at CNY150.00 per person and included in our price) at a popular restaurant. In the afternoon, take a lift to Duo Yun Bookstore, 52 floors up in the tallest skyscraper of China, Shanghai Tower. Get your camera ready - through its window walls you will find a commanding view of Shanghai’s most charming areas. Then, head to the Bund, what spread the city’s fame to the world, from which you will embark on a cruise tour across the Huangpu River. Off the ship, explore the Bund on your own until the time comes for us to take you to your hotel.

Meals: Western buffet breakfast, A la carte farewell lunch

Your China tours from Canberra is coming to an end. After an excellent breakfast at the hotel, you will make your own way to the Pudong International Airport (PVG), usually where international flights take off. We suggest you hire a taxi to PVG, which costs about CNY 200 and takes around 1.5 hours. We wish you a safe journey home!

Please note:
Since there are no direct flights from Shanghai to Canberra, you can transfer in Sydney or Melbourne. After around 15-hour flight journey, you will find yourself at home.

Meals: Western buffet breakfast