The Very Best of China

AN EXCLUSIVE 21 DAY FULLY ESCORTED TOUR - PRICES START FROM £3,435

What qualities make a journey unforgettable? Is it seeing the latest thing? Or the oldest? Or the most beautiful? The biggest? Or the most astounding and unbelievable?

On the Very Best of China, you experience them all. First Hong Kong – with New York probably the world’s most dynamic city... a startling mixture of pure Chinese with a great big dash of unbridled Western capitalism. Then Beijing – seeing everything from the Forbidden City of long-dead emperors and concubines to the Great Wall and Tiananmen Square. Then you see those astounding Terracotta warriors – before your magical 3-night cruise on the Yangtze River through towering mountains and deep gorges. All culminating in frenetic Shanghai and, by contrast, tranquil, lovely Guilin.

TOUR HIGHLIGHTS

• Multiple night stays at every point

• Tram ride to Victoria Peak, Hong Kong

• Sampan boat ride around Aberdeen Harbour

• City sightseeing tours of Hong Kong, Beijing, Xi’an and Shanghai

• Visit to Tiananmen Square, Palace of the Forbidden City, Temple of Heaven and Summer Palace

• Walk along the Great Wall of China

• Terracotta Warriors

• 3 night cruise along the Yangtze River aboard the President 1

• Three Gorges Dam Project

• Yuyuan Garden, Shanghai

• Cruise on the Li River

• Reed Flute Caves

PRE-BOOKABLE HOLIDAY EXCURSIONS FROM £44 PER PERSON

Hong Kong - Lantau Island

Beat this! A beach, fishing village with houses on stilts, a monastery with a giant Buddha – and a vegetarian meal – plus a cable car ride with amazing views all in one day on Hong Kong’s largest island, a ferry ride away.

Prices From £61 per person

Zhujiajiao Ancient Town

The “Venice of Shanghai” is 1,700 years old with wellpreserved Ming and Qing architecture, over 30 old stone bridges, with many rivers and canals. Walking along the zigzag flagging of its narrow lanes, weeping willow on riverbanks and boats at anchor, is a dreamlike experience.

Prices From £83 per person

Beijing Hutong Tour

This unique evening includes a rickshaw ride through an old Beijing district starting with Lotus market. Then, private dinner with a Chinese family, which includes dumpling and kite making lessons, traditional music and a short demonstration of calligraphy.

Prices From £83 per person

Xian Private visit to exhibition of national treasures

“Exclusive” is the only word for this private visit to the storage-room of the Shaanxi Provincial Historical Museum.

You not only see twelve 1,000-4,000 year old precious pieces; you can even hold some with white gloves. They include pieces from two high points in China’s civilization – gold and silver wares and beautifully painted pottery figurines from the Tang Dynasty and original Han Dynasty silk fabric besides a Zhou Dynasty Bronze tripod.

Prices From £44 per person

EXTEND YOUR HOLIDAY 2 NIGHTS FROM ONLY £625 PER PERSON

Panda Experience

2 Nights - Sheraton Chéngdu

• Return flights and transfers.

• 2 nights Superior Room at the Sheraton Chengdu with daily breakfast.

• Morning visit to the Giant Panda Breeding and Research Centre.

• Afternoon visit to Ancient Street of Jinli.

You fly to Chéngdu where you’re at the Sheraton for two nights to see the Giant Pandas – and one of China’s most charming cities, full of tiny restaurants, treelined streets and parks where old men walk their song birds or hunch over a game of chess. Visit the Giant Panda Breeding and Research Centre, and watch these beautiful animals – then visit ancient Jinli Street to relax, admire the traditional wooden buildings and taste local snacks.

Prices from £625 per person

Day 1 Departure from London Heathrow

Your adventure starts at Heathrow. Here you meet your Tour Manager and companions whilst enjoying complimentary drinks and snacks in the Executive Lounge before your scheduled Cathay Pacific flight to Hong Kong.

Meals: Inflight

Day 2 Arrival into Hong Kong

You arrive at Hong Kong – the view before you land is amazing. The rest of your day is at leisure. Stroll round. If you’ve never been here before, you’ll be fascinated.

Meals: Inflight

Hotel: InterContinental Grand Stanford

Day 3 Hong Kong

A mid-morning get together with welcome drinks precedes a spectacular funicular railway ride to Victoria Peak. The view of Hong Kong skyscrapers, Victoria Harbour and the islands of the South China Sea is sensational. Then take a Sampan boat ride round Aberdeen Harbour to see the unique boat people who live afloat all their lives. In total contrast are Repulse Bay’s smart boutiques and hotels – which are utterly unlike Stanley Market, a bargain hunter’s heaven, lively too.

Meals: Breakfast

Hotel: InterContinental Grand Stanford

Day 4 Hong Kong

Today you are at leisure to do as you please. Enjoy the city or maybe choose an optional excursion.

Meals: Breakfast

Hotel: InterContinental Grand Stanford

Day 5 Hong Kong to Beijing

Your morning is at leisure until you transfer to the airport for your flight to Beijing which arrives later this evening.

Meals: Breakfast

Hotel: InterContinental Beijing

Day 6 Beijing

Your tour of the city begins at immense Tiananmen Square, dominated by Mao Tse-Tung’s giant portrait above the ‘Gate of Heavenly Peace’. Behind looms the Forbidden City. Within its massive gates, the pavilions and temples where China’s emperors lived in isolation. We then leave the city for the graceful pavilions and gardens of the Summer Palace, once the Emperors’ retreat, now China’s finest imperial park. Then, a cruise on Kunming Lake with magical views of hills, bridges and pagodas. This evening, a Peking duck dinner in a city restaurant.

Meals: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner

Hotel: InterContinental Beijing

Day 7 Beijing

Today you visit the 15th century Temple of Heaven, whose round shape symbolises heaven. In the afternoon and evening you’re free to relax.

Meals: Breakfast

Hotel: InterContinental Beijing

Day 8 Beijing

Today you see the Sacred Way and Ming Tombs where 13 tombs were built between 1409 and 1644 – your prelude to the Great Wall, whose impact is just as overpowering as you would expect. Walk along a stretch of the Wall, built to keep out barbarians who threatened the empire’s tranquillity. Your evening is at leisure.

Meals: Breakfast, Lunch

Hotel: InterContinental Beijing

Day 9 Beijing to Xi’an

Relax after breakfast before flying to lively X’ian where we visit the North Gate for a welcome ceremony exclusive to Journeys of Distinction. The rest of your day is free.

Meals: Breakfast

Hotel: Shangri-La Golden Flower

Day 10 Xi’an

Looking back you will find it hard to decide which was the highlight of your journey. But today will be another one – you visit the 7th century Small Wild Goose Pagoda in whose peaceful gardens locals practice their daily Tai Chi. After looking at the City Wall you will see one of the world’s most incredible sights – the ‘Terracotta Warriors’. This is an army of some 8,000 astoundingly realistic warriors, horses and chariots – all life size, and no two are the same. They were buried in pits – the burial grounds of Emperor Qin Shi Huangdi, the first emperor of unified China in the 3rd century B.C. This astonishing man is said to have begun planning his burial at the age of 13. You see a brief film and are guided round the pits. This evening, a wonderful meal and performance at the Tang Dynasty Dinner show.

Meals: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner

Hotel: Shangri-La Golden Flower

Day 11 Xi’an to Chongqing

In the early afternoon you fly to Chongqing, China’s capital during World War 2, where you dine at the Marriott Hotel by the quayside, before boarding cruise ship the President No. 1. At 10pm, your river adventure begins.

Meals: Breakfast, Dinner

Vessel: President No. 1

Day 12 Yangtze River

This morning, awake to the beauty of China’s longest river through your balcony window. After breakfast it’s time for your shore excursion to the mysterious Ghost City of Fengdu. Later on this afternoon experience views of magnificent Qutang Gorge as you continue cruising.

Meals: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner

Vessel: President No. 1

Day 13 Yangtze River

Sheer cliffs rise from the river, dwarfing the ship as it slips through Wu Gorge as the river twists and turns 25 miles. Its twelve peaks, often hidden in swirls of clouds and mist, are the subject of many legends, recounted in old carvings featuring mythical characters and creatures. Next comes Shennong Stream, a small river tributary, which also passes through breathtaking gorges. Here you travel upstream on wooden sampans pulled by skilled local men called ‘trackers’. Then on board you continue through Xiling, longest of the Three Gorges.

Meals: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner

Vessel: President No. 1

Day 14 Yichang to Shanghai

After breakfast you disembark in Yichang to see the site of the Three Gorges Dam Project – perhaps the largest feat of its kind ever attempted. Late afternoon we fly to Shanghai.

Meals: Breakfast, Lunch

Hotel: Radisson Plaza Xing Guo

Day 15 Shanghai

Shanghai, once called the ‘Paris of the East’, now has a population of over 13 million, and is fast becoming ‘the new Hong Kong’. This morning you see the Yuyuan Garden, an oasis of traditional Chinese beauty and symbolism – little lakes, bridges and gardens. It is a serene contrast to the vibrant, hectic modernity of most of the city, as are the streets of the old town surrounding it. You then visit the Jade Buddha Temple with its two precious recumbent statues and the monumental Bund by the river – once the heart of European settlements. This evening, say “how do they do that?” as you marvel at a performance by the world famous Shanghai Acrobatic Troupe.

Meals: Breakfast

Hotel: Radisson Plaza Xing Guo

Day 16 Shanghai

There is so much to see here! Perhaps take an optional excursion to the ancient town of Zhujiajiao or haggle for bargains along Nanjing Dong Road. Alternatively visit the superb Shanghai Museum.

Meals: Breakfast

Hotel: Radisson Plaza Xing Guo

Day 17 Shanghai

Another day free in this fascinating cosmopolitan city.

Meals: Breakfast

Hotel: Radisson Plaza Xing Guo

Day 18 Shanghai to Guilin

Relax this morning before flying to Guilin. Guilin’s beauty has inspired poets, artists and writers for centuries. After dinner, why not explore the city’s night markets next to our hotel?

Meals: Breakfast, Dinner

Hotel: Sheraton Guilin

Day 19 Guilin

This morning you cruise along the sleepy Li River. Hundreds of limestone peaks jut skyward, creating a stunning backdrop. Water buffalo patrol the fields, peasants reap rice paddies and cormorants catch fish for the fishermen in their boats. After a buffet lunch we disembark at the village of Yangshuo and return to our hotel by coach via Elephant Trunk Hill. This evening, enjoy a farewell banquet dinner with your fellow travellers in the hotel’s Chinese restaurant.

Meals: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner

Hotel: Sheraton Guilin

Day 20 Guilin

Following a free morning, en-route to the the airport, visit the Reed Flute Caves. Fly to London Heathrow via Hong Kong.

Meals: Breakfast, Inflight

Day 21 Arrival into London Heathrow

You land into London Heathrow, bringing this wonderful tour to a close.

Meals: Inflight

Destination introduction

There are over 1.3 billion people, countless languages and dialects and mind-boggling contrasts between the ultramodern and the medieval. How can you ever hope to understand China? But you will find it utterly fascinating – and overwhelming – on this, perhaps the most thrilling and extraordinary of all our journeys.

Did you know? Ice cream was invented in China around 2000BC when the Chinese packed a soft milk and rice mixture in the snow.