12-Day Beijing-Luoyang-Xi’an-Chengdu-Shanghai Family Tour

On arrival into Beijing Capital International Airport (PEK) or Beijing Daxing International Airport (PKX) be met by your dedicated tour guide outside the baggage claim area. On the way to your pre-booked four or five star inner city hotel, your guide will point out the highlights and history of Beijing. Spend the rest of the day exploring this incredible city.

Meals included: None

After breakfast today explore Beijing with your guide who will collect you from your hotel. Visit the world’s largest city square, Tiananmen Square. Make your way across the road to the magnificent Forbidden City, a culturally historic landmark in China, which was the former residence of Chinese royalty for five centuries. After the Forbidden City tour, you will hop on a rickshaw for a Hutong Tour through this characteristic, maze-like Beijing neighbourhood. Experience Chinese culture and folk arts by learning Chinese brush calligraphy, facial designs of the Beijing Opera and kite making. Before heading back to the hotel, sample the famous local food market Sanyuanli where you can stock up on fruit and snacks for your next day’s trip to the Mutianyu Great Wall.

Meals included: Breakfast

Note: Your tour guide may adjust your itinerary due to closure of the Forbidden City each Monday.

Today after an early breakfast and hotel pickup, the first stop is the Mutianyu Great Wall, a less frequented part of China’s 1,400-year-old iconic landmark located approximately 70 kilometres from Beijing. Take a pleasant and comfortable round-trip cable car transfer over the picturesque scenery, then walk the wall to take in the Ming dynasty guard towers and sensational views. On return to the city in the afternoon, visit the Summer Palace. Appreciate the beautiful gardens and imagine the lifestyle of royalty who enjoyed this summer resort during imperial times. A stopover at Beijing’s stadium and pool – the Bird's Nest and Water Cube – built for the 2008 Summer Olympics and Paralympics – provides a modern contrast to China’s ancient history. After this epic day visiting these tourist hot spots you’ll be returned to the hotel to rest up before tackling another day of sightseeing on the following day.

Meals included: Breakfast

Begin another glorious day of trekking around China with a visit to the remarkable Temple of Heaven, where emperors from the Ming and Qing Dynasties performed ceremonies and rituals to pray for good harvests and blessings of prosperity for the country. Transfer to the Beijing railway station and be checked in by your guide to travel by high-speed rail to Luoyang. Approximately a five-hour trip (travelling at 300 kilometres per hour), you have plenty of time to relax and absorb the diverse landscape along the way. On arrival at Luoyang, your local tour guide will meet you and escort you to your four or five-star hotel.

Meals included: Breakfast

After breakfast you’ll set out to see the highlights of Luoyang. Enjoy an exhilarating drive of about 40 minutes to reach the grandeur of Longmen Grottoes. Upon arrival, take an escorted battery car ride along Yi River to access the scenic area where you’ll take in over 100,000 prominent Buddha sculptures. Due to hundreds of years of continued construction, statues here are variously featured in the different styles of Northern Wei Dynasty (386AD-557AD) and Tang Dynasty (618AD-907AD). Here you will find Wanfo Cave (Thousands of Buddha Cave), which is aptly named for the fifteen thousand Buddha statues carved on the northern and southern sides of the cave, each statue being roughly 4 centimeters in size. Fengtian Temple is the largest of the caves and houses some of the most truly exquisite carvings to be found anywhere in China. It contains one of the most representative Buddha figures, Vairocana Buddha, with a height of over 17 meters and an incredibly peaceful expression, this Buddha is a sight to behold. Before heading back, you have a chance to cross the bridge over the Yi River and take some stunning panoramic photos of the Vairocana.

Note: An optional tour of a short river cruise on Yi River is available, enabling panoramic views of the caves and the limestone cliff at Longmen Grottoes.

Sightseeing in the afternoon allows a viewing of White Horse Temple, the first Buddhist temple in China, which dates back to 68 AD. It boasts fantastic ancient architecture which has remained intact for over 1,900 years. Spoil yourself in the tranquility of the thousand-year-old temple and soak up the historic stories your knowledgeable guide will be happy to share. Travel aboard the comfortable van for approximately 1.5 hours travel time to reach Dengfeng, the location of Shaolin Temple. On arrival in Dengfeng, check in at your hotel and rest up before your next exciting day’s Kung Fu experience.

Meals included: Breakfast

This morning you’ll have an inspiring morning exercise experience with a one-hour Kung Fu class, held at a local martial arts school. After your Kung Fu experience, head for the world-renowned Shaolin Temple. Shaolin Kung Fu is one of the highlights of any trip to China and you’ll have a great chance to watch an exciting Kung Fu Exhibition here. Visitors rarely fail to be enlivened by the authentic athletic displays of Tongzigong, Mantis boxing and Monkey boxing. After the show, continue on through the mountain gate and walk along the paved path leading to the ancient temple complex. The Shaolin Temple has witnessed the rise and fall of many dynasties throughout the ages and is redolent of a bygone era. Simply immerse yourself in the history of the majestic halls, bell and drum towers, colorful murals and ancient stone tablets from Ming (1368 - 1644 AD) and Qing (1644 - 1911 AD) dynasties. About 300 meters west of Shaolin Temple, sits the peaceful Pagoda Forest, a cemetery of over 230 brick pagodas, where the ashes or bones of eminent monks are buried. The height and size of the graves vary in accordance with the monk’s Buddhist achievements or his merits and virtues. After this stroll through the silent forest you’ll travel back to Luoyang to take a high-speed train to Xi'an. Upon arriving at the Xi'an North Station, the tour guide will pick you up and escort you to the hotel.

Meals included: Breakfast

Note: Your local tour guide may adjust the sequence of arrangements to synchronize with the Kung Fu Show.

After the breakfast, you will explore Xi'an’s ancient City Wall, currently the largest and best-preserved wall of its type in China. Enclosing China’s former capital city and almost 14 kilometres long, enjoy your free time by exploring on a either a tandem or regular bicycle. Next destination is today’s sightseeing highlight, the world-renowned Terracotta Army. Recognized as the largest underground military base in the world, take in this extraordinary archeological discovery, which houses thousands of unique life-sized figures. Try making your own Terracotta soldier or horse by visiting a local villager’s workshop. Return to the city and for a change of pace, take in the quiet of Xi'an’s Great Mosque, located in the middle of the city’s old block. Built mid seventh century, the Great Mosque is the oldest and largest Islamic mosque in China. Mix with locals and find food of every flavor in Muslim Quarter, which is bustling with authentic eateries and souvenirs. Enjoy the shadow play in a traditional Chinese architecture, Gao’s Grand Courtyard, the former residence of an official in Ming Dynasty. Today’s final destination before returning to your hotel is Xi'an’s famous Bell Tower and Drum Tower Square.

Meals included: Breakfast

After breakfast and check out from your hotel, the tour guide will take you to the Xi'an  Museum where you’ll discover over 370,000 relics of Chinese history. Take in the Big Wild Goose Pagoda, one of two iconic Buddhist pagodas in Xi'an. You may have a chance to enter at the top of the pagoda and look out over Xi'an’s 1,400 years of history, then take a contemplative walk through the temple and gardens. Following on from the morning’s activities, you’ll be driven to the railway station for the bullet train to Chengdu. On arrival in Chengdu your local guide will meet and transfer you to your hotel, providing a brief introduction to Chengdu on the way.

Meals included: Breakfast

Note: Your tour guide may alter your itinerary as the Xi'an Museum is closed on Tuesdays.

Today, you will work as a panda volunteer when you visit the Dujiangyan Panda Base. In your role, you will clean the working area, prepare bamboos, make panda’s favorite food of “Wowotou” (steamed corn breads), learn scientific facts about the pandas, and closely watch the keepers feeding and training the pandas. Panda keepers will supervise your activities, with translation provided by your guide. A certificate will be provided as a memento from this very special day. Return to Chengdu’s city centre and enjoy a taste of Chengdu watching the Sichuan Opera with the ancient Chinese dramatic art, the magical Chinese mask changing (face changing) and try to work out the secret to this ancient art.

Note: For children under eight years who are accompanied by an adult can take the standard panda tour in the panda base, but due to the age restrictions, they are not able to be the panda volunteers.

All children who can be a panda volunteer must meet the health and safety requirements of the research base to preserve the health of the pandas.

Check out of your hotel and be taken by your guide to wander down bustling Jinli Street. Lined with unique regional street food and artisans, you’ll find yourself up immersed in typical local culture. Spend a relaxing morning strolling through bamboo at the Wangjiang Pavilion Park, then sip on traditional Chinese tea before driving to Chengdu airport for the flight to Shanghai. On arrival there, you will be picked up by your local guide and driven to your four or five-star hotel where you’ll be free to spend the rest of the day relaxing in comfort or spend time exploring this exciting city.

Meals included: Breakfast

Commence your tour of Shanghai with a visit to the Shanghai Science and Technology Museum. Start the exploration in the 11 different themes galleries and have fun with the variety activities. A special experience will be watching 3D,4D films in the Science Theaters. Walk Nanjing Road, the busiest shopping precinct in China. Change tempo and visit Yuyuan Garden, where you can marvel at the stunning gardens; then stroll around the nearby Yu Garden Bazaars. Make the most of your afternoon by wandering the quieter streets of Dongping Road or Sinan Road in the Former French Concession, where you will find the essence of classic Shanghai.

Meals included: Breakfast

Note: Your tour guide may alter your itinerary as the Shanghai Science and Technology Museum is closed  on Mondays.

Your tour guide will collect you at the hotel and drive you to the airport for your flight home. Alternatively, if your flight departures from Shanghai Pudong International Airport, depending on your flight departure time, your tour guide can accompany you to take the Shanghai Maglev (the fastest commercial high-speed electric train in the world) to the airport as a special experience while your luggage is transferred to the airport by the driver.

Meals included: Breakfast