China Tour from Melbourne

Please catch your flight from Melbourne to Beijing by yourself today. You will arrive in Beijing in about 12 hours.

Tip:
Melbourne and Beijing is directly connected with flights on Mondays, Wednesdays, Fridays, Saturdays, and Sundays. (You can book a connecting flight to depart on Tuesday or Thursday.) Please double check your flight arrival date and confirm with your travel consultant beforehand. We are glad to offer support if you get any questions.

Upon arrival at the airport, meet your guide after reclaiming luggage and clearing customs. Drive to your hotel.

Accommodation: Hotel New Otani Chang Fu Gong

Your China tours from Melbourne Australia starts today. Visit Tiananmen Square first, on which you will wander towards the Forbidden City, the next place on our itinerary. You are going to set foot on a land home to 24 Chinese emperors of the Ming (1368 - 1644 AD) and Qing (1644 - 1911 AD) dynasties, including the great Emperor Qianlong (reigned 1736 - 1796), known for kicking off an era of economic and cultural boom. A genius in both military and art, Qianlong was also the longest-living emperor in the Qing Dyansty. He died at 89, according to whom, one should do lots of deep breaths and exercises and keep a healthy diet in one life to achieve longevity. To discover the City’s most precious secrets, we will drop by the Treasure Gallery, which is included in our price.

Around noontime, we will serve you an a la carte welcome lunch with authentic Chinese food and Peking Roast Duck at a highly-rated restaurant.

Continue our journey to Yonghe Temple, a state-run lamasery since the Qing era, and Temple of Heaven, where Ming and Qing emperors prayed to Heaven for a good harvest. This evening, look forward to a Peking Opera Show at the time-honored Liyuan Theatre. We will set off earlier to wonder at the artists dressing themselves with lavish costumes and putting on stage make-up.

Meals: Western buffet breakfast, A la carte welcome lunch

This morning, head to a suburb to see Mutianyu Great Wall, one of the most essential sections of the Great Wall. As the restaurants near the spot do not meet our service standard, we will not arrange lunch today, and it’s suggested you bring some fast food or snacks to deal with noontime hunger (if you like to travel light, your guide is also glad to recommend some nearby restaurants for you to dine on site). We will arrange a round-trip ride on cable car up and down the wall, as well as a red wine toast to celebrate the unforgettable moment of your witnessing this Wonder of the World.

In the afternoon, go back downtown. We will have a brief stop at the Olympic National Stadium to photograph the fascinating bird's nest-like structure. The rest of the afternoon will see you touring hutong alleys via rickshaw and then mingling with locals at a courtyard house to experience local life.

Meals: Western buffet breakfast

Today's tour begins with a visit to the Panda House in Beijing Zoo. Then, visit Summer Palace, a UNESCO-preserved royal palace garden, where you will be fascinated by an ensemble of a vast lake, mountain views and classical Chinese buildings.

At noon, we will serve you a local-flavor lunch. Later, drive to the airport for a flight to Xi'an. Upon landing at the airport, meet your Xi'an local guide and head to the hotel for check-in.

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

After breakfast, your guide will accompany you to visit the Terracotta Army, made up of life-size terracotta warriors and bronze chariots and weapons, all funeral objects unearthed from the mausoleum of Emperor Qin Shi Huang (259 – 210 BC), founder of the imperial China. Go on to tap into the memory of the first discoverer of the Army at his house to learn about its discovery. Later, craft a mini clay solider with professional help and take it home, before we continue our itinerary to our next place, the Giant Wild Goose Pagoda.

A cultural extravaganza is in store for your dinner time: you will enjoy a splendid show of Tang Dynasty Music and Dance, which was listed as a National Intangible cultural heritage in 2011, over a feast of Dumpling Dinner, a Shaanxi specialty. You can pay special attention to the most famous program of Tage, or “Stomping to the Song”, in which lasses dressed in ancient costumes would appear to dance with lithe, cheerful steps, implying they are ushering in spring in the hope of a happy life.

Meals: Western buffet breakfast, Dumpling dinner

Tip:
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 times.

Today your trip starts from the City Wall Park, a popular place for locals to relax and do morning exercises. Here, we will invite a master to teach you Tai Chi, a meditative Chinese martial art practiced for health benefits (also for defense at ancient times). After that, let’s climb the City Wall to savor a bird’s-eye view of Xi’an’s cityscape. The bricks you can touch with your own hands were actually added centuries later after the wall was first built 600 years ago, when it was all of earth. The secret why it’s so tough as to survive to this day lies in the recipe of the earth fortifying the base and the upper part: it’s mixed with lime and sticky rice, a magical invention perhaps only less firm than ferroconcrete!

At lunch time, walk the busy snack streets at Muslim Quarter to sample local food, and continue with a tranquil stroll at the Great Mosque. Extend the tour to Shaanxi History Museum, a treasure trove storing hundreds of thousands of items, including murals, paintings, potteries, ancient coins, etc., which chronicle the histories of this land.

Meals: Western buffet breakfast, Local lunch

After breakfast, your guide will transfer you to the airport for a flight to Guilin. Upon arrival at the airport, meet your Guilin guide and head to the hotel for check-in.

After a short break, enjoy a half-day trip to Reed Flute Cave and Elephant Trunk Hill, karst marvels that contribute to Guilin’s fame.

Meals: Western buffet breakfast
Accommodation: Sheraton Guilin Hotel

Today, your guide will accompany you to cruise down the Li River to Yangshuo. Be ready to revel in the essence of Guilin’s landscape: you will find yourself sailing along a jade belt wrapped around grotesque green hills.

You will arrive in Yangshuo in around 4.5 hours. Disembark and go on a tour around Yangshuo’s countryside via rental bike or scooter to appreciate its rural charm. Along the way, pay a family visit to learn about local customs and culture. Drive back to Guilin.

Tip:
You might want to prepare some snacks to enrich your lunch, as the cruise company only serve a simple Chinese lunch box this noon.

Meals: Western buffet breakfast, Lunch

This morning, your guide will transfer you to the airport for a flight to Shanghai, the last stop of your China tour. Upon landing at Shanghai’s airport, join your local guide and transfer to the hotel. The rest of the day is left free for you. Enjoy a rest at the hotel or get familiar with Shanghai by walking around nearby.

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

Your guide will take you to Shanghai Museum, known for displaying art works of ancient China, especially for bronzeware, chinaware, calligraphies and paintings. Later, visit Yu Garden and let its famous granite Nine Zigzag Bridge leads you to a quaint pavilion stilted over a pond. Out from the garden, hang around its nearby traditional bazaar.

Around noon, an a la carte farewell lunch will be served to you at a reputable restaurant.

In the afternoon, experience the world’s fastest elevator which will lift you to Duo Yun Bookstore on the 52nd floor of Shanghai Tower, a vantage point to have a command of Shanghai’s cityscape. Then, go down to the Bund, a waterfront area to see colonial-era architecture and bustling commercial life in central Shanghai. Enjoy a one-hour cruise along the Huangpu River. At the end of the day, drive back to the hotel. Your guide and driver will say bon voyage in the lobby.

Meals: Western buffet breakfast, A la carte farewell lunch

Please head to the airport on your own. You might want to reserve a taxi at the hotel reception beforehand to save time. If you need an airport transfer, we are also very glad to assist. We wish you all the best!

Tip:
Shanghai and Melbourne is linked with daily direct flight, which will land at your hometown in about 11 hours.

Meals: Western buffet breakfast