Heart of China – A Journey Into Timeless Civilisation

Tour Highlights

• Zhangjiajie National Forest Park, the first of its kind in China, where quartzite columns stand through the valley in their thousands inside the UNESCO-listed Wulingyuan landscape
• Morning cloud at Yuanjiajie, when the columns show only their tops above it
• Ten-Li Natural Gallery, a walk beneath weathered cliffs where the rock reads as figures, animals and towers
• One-way travel by Ten-Li Gallery Monorail, covering the valley floor while the cliffs stay at eye level
• The high-speed train linking Zhangjiajie with Chongqing, about three and a half hours of smooth track between two very different cities
• Liziba Monorail in Chongqing, where the track runs through the middle of an apartment block that people still live in
• Hongya Cave lit up at night, its timber-framed stilt buildings stacked over the water with shops and restaurants on every level
• A boat trip past the Leshan Giant Buddha: 71 metres of Maitreya cut from the sandstone cliff, started in AD 713, finished in 803

Itinerary at a Glance

1. Day 1: Departure day: Australia or New Zealand to Changsha — Settle in for the long flight west to Changsha, with meals served on board. Our representative is waiting in the arrivals hall to drive you to your hotel.
2. Day 2: Changsha to Zhangjiajie — The drive west from Changsha climbs out of the Xiang River plain and into the sandstone country that made this corner of Hunan famous. Zhangjiajie National Forest Park was established in 1982 as the f
3. Day 3: A free day in Zhangjiajie — Nothing is scheduled, so the day can go two ways: rest, or take on one of the add-ons. Yuanjiajie Scenic Area, reached by the Bailong Lift, puts you above a valley where the columns stand clear of the
4. Day 4: Zhangjiajie to Chongqing by high-speed rail — The morning is free, and one option is the Zhangjiajie Glass Bridge, which crosses the Grand Canyon on a glass floor and is the longest and tallest glass-floored bridge in the world. Late in the after
5. Day 5: A day in Chongqing — A day in the city, with plenty of walking. It starts outside the Great Hall of the People, a 20th-century landmark that architects put among Asia's ten finest classical buildings. Next comes Liziba, w
6. Day 6: Chongqing to Leshan, then Emeishan — Leave Chongqing early and head south-west towards Leshan, where a river boat brings you up to the Giant Buddha: 71 metres of Maitreya cut from the sandstone cliff, started in AD 713 and finished in 80
7. Day 7: Emeishan to Chengdu — A slow start at the mountain. Forest paths above Emeishan City give you the quiet side of Mount Emei, and Baoguo Temple, the mountain's largest, stands where the climb begins; incense and bells are pa
8. Day 8: Chengdu: pandas and Kuanzhai Alley — Breakfast, then out to Chengdu's panda breeding and research base, where bamboo groves and quiet garden paths lead between the enclosures. The animals are the ones China treats as a national treasure,
9. Day 9: Flying home from Chengdu — You are driven to the airport in Chengdu for the flight home, bound for Australia or New Zealand. Rooms remain yours until noon, and the front desk will look after your bags if you are leaving later i
10. Day 10: Arriving home — Home again, after ten days that ran from the towers of Hunan to a river-cut Buddha in Sichuan and the hill streets of Chongqing.

What's Included

• International return flights, economy class, with a full-service carrier
• Eight nights in 4-star hotels
• Ramada Plaza in Changsha (comparable standard)
• Best Western Plus in Zhangjiajie (comparable standard)
• Winterless Hotel in Chongqing (comparable standard)
• Hua Sheng Hotel in Emeishan (comparable standard)
• AC Hotel Chengdu North (comparable standard)
• Nine meals, with breakfast every day
• One lunch in Zhangjiajie
• Air-conditioned private vehicles for road travel
• High-speed rail between Zhangjiajie and Chongqing
• Airport transfers both ways