China In Crystal

Tour Highlights

• Beijing at its most photographable: Tiananmen Square, then the Forbidden City (the Temple of Heaven when palace tickets have gone) and a Peking Duck banquet to finish
• The Great Wall at Juyong Pass, quieter than the sections nearer town, with snow lying along the ridges
• Zhangjiakou, which staged the snow events when China hosted the 2022 Winter Games, and the Chongli resort district built around them
• The Terracotta Army in Xi'an: thousands of clay soldiers standing in formation, no two faces alike
• Xi'an's city wall, unbroken around the old town and broad enough on top to cycle
• The food streets of the Muslim Quarter, and the Silk Road trade that once began here
• Ice and Snow World in Harbin, where buildings are carved from river ice and lit from inside after dark
• Central Street and Harbin's old Russian quarter: European in everything but location

Itinerary at a Glance

1. Day 1: Departure day: flying to Beijing from Australia and New Zealand — Long-haul travel west, with the first night booked in Beijing. Someone from our local team will be at arrivals to collect you and bring you back to the hotel. Four things worth knowing. Some passenge
2. Day 2: Tiananmen Square, the Forbidden City, the Temple of Heaven as the alternative — Beijing's two essential sights sit minutes apart, and the morning takes in both, beginning at Tiananmen Square. Few public spaces anywhere are larger, and standing on that paving is the only way to gr
3. Day 3: The Great Wall at Juyong Pass — The Wall is the anchor of today, and the route there comes in stages. The first stop is a jade museum, where you hear why this stone has mattered so long in Chinese life and watch carvers shape a roug
4. Day 4: Beijing to Zhangjiakou and the Chongli mountains — The morning belongs to Beijing and the afternoon to the mountains, with the road northwest to Zhangjiakou in between. Before leaving the capital there is a stop at a health centre, where a practitione
5. Day 5: A free day at the Chongli resort — The day is left open on purpose. Chongli's slopes are on the doorstep if you want to ski, and there is a choice of other snow activities to book, all at your own cost. Otherwise, take the cold air and
6. Day 6: Zhangjiakou to Xi'an by high-speed rail — After breakfast you are taken to the station and the country starts sliding past the window: Xi'an by high-speed rail, or by air when the fast-train seats have gone, since tickets on those services ar
7. Day 7: The Terracotta Army at Xi'an — The size of the pits is the first surprise. The Terracotta Warriors and Horses Museum covers the ground where the figures were found, and the ranks go back row upon row: thousands of soldiers at full
8. Day 8: A pagoda, the city wall and the Muslim Quarter — The Small Wild Goose Pagoda starts the day: a brick tower that has stood for over thirteen centuries, listed by UNESCO as World Heritage, inside the old Jianfu Temple grounds where the gardens stay qu
9. Day 9: Xi'an to Harbin, the ice capital of the north — A short flight north brings you to Harbin, the city the rest of the country calls the Ice City and the host each winter of the Harbin International Ice and Snow Festival. From the airport you go firs
10. Day 10: Winter swimmers, the tiger park and a night at Ice and Snow World — First stop is the Songhua, frozen over for the winter, where a hardy group of locals go winter swimming in water close to zero. It is a long-standing ritual here, and a fair illustration of what this
11. Day 11: Snow sculptures on Sun Island, then dinner at Madie'er — Sun Island's snow sculpture expo works in a single material, snow packed hard and carved, and the sculptors come from China and overseas. What they produce is enormous and finely detailed, drawn from
12. Day 12: Flying home from Harbin — The transfer out to the airport in Harbin is included, and the international flight home leaves from there. Check-out is midday; if you fly later in the day, the front desk will look after your bags.
13. Day 13: Back home in Australia and New Zealand — Home at last. Some passengers land a day later than others.

What's Included

• Return international flights on a full-service carrier, economy class
• One flight inside China, from Xi'an up to Harbin
• Eleven nights in four-star hotels
• Beijing: the Ramada Beijing North (a comparable property may be used instead)
• Zhangjiakou: the Fulong Ski Resort Hotel (comparable standard)
• Xi'an: the Metropark Huanyu Hotel (a comparable property if it is full)
• Harbin: the Hampton by Hilton Harbin Zhongyang Street (comparable standard)
• Breakfast every morning
• A Peking Duck lunch in Beijing
• One dinner cooked by your Hutong hosts
• A Russian-style dinner in Harbin
• Private vehicles, air conditioned, with a driver
• Zhangjiakou to Xi'an by high-speed rail
• A domestic flight up to Harbin from Xi'an
• Transfers between the airports and your hotels, in both directions