Legends of China: Warriors Through Time

Twelve days across China by high-speed rail: Beijing's Great Wall and Forbidden City, Xi'an's buried army, the gardens of Suzhou, West Lake at Hangzhou and the Shanghai Bund.

12 Days • from US$2,449 per person (USD) • land package, flights available on request

Tour Highlights

  • Six cities in twelve days: Beijing and Xi'an, then Wuxi and Suzhou, followed by Hangzhou and Shanghai.
  • Tiananmen Square, the enormous ceremonial space at the centre of modern Beijing.
  • The Forbidden City, begun in 1406 and finished in 1420, with Temple of Heaven standing in if tickets sell out.
  • A jade museum in Beijing, where carvers still work the stone the old way.
  • The Great Wall at Juyong Pass, the quieter stretch away from the coach crowds.
  • Lihu Park in Wuxi, where the city comes out to walk beside the water.
  • An introduction to traditional Chinese medicine, where the idea of balance is set out.
  • Tea tasting at Meijiawu Tea Village, one of the birthplaces of Longjing tea.

Itinerary at a Glance

  1. Day 1: Australia and New Zealand to Beijing — The trip opens with the overnight flight from Australia and New Zealand to Beijing. Our team is waiting when you land, then drives you to your hotel.
  2. Day 2: Tiananmen Square, then the Forbidden City with Temple of Heaven as backup — The day belongs to Beijing's ceremonial centre. Tiananmen Square opens it, a stretch of paving so wide that the buildings on the far side sit in haze, and the space around which modern Chinese public
  3. Day 3: The Great Wall at Juyong Pass — Three things shape the day: jade, the Wall, and old Beijing at walking pace. The jade workshop comes early, where you learn why this stone, known in Chinese as 'yu', has been prized for more than four
  4. Day 4: Beijing to Xi'an by rail — Breakfast, then an hour on traditional Chinese medicine. At a health centre, the reasoning behind acupuncture and herbal remedies is explained, along with the older principle beneath both: the body st
  5. Day 5: Xi'an's buried army and its horses — A slow start, then the drive to the pits. In three covered hangars, rank upon rank of life-size figures stand in battle order: infantrymen, archers, chariots and warhorses. Faces, hair and armour diff
  6. Day 6: Xi'an to Wuxi on the high-speed line — Today is mostly about the journey: after breakfast, a drive to Xi'an's railway station and the high-speed train to Wuxi, roughly six and a half hours of watching loess hills give way to canal country
  7. Day 7: From Wuxi to Suzhou — Lihu Park starts the day: green on the edge of the lake, bridges and footpaths, and the ordinary morning life of a city park, from tai chi to card games and kites. Then a pearl factory, where freshwat
  8. Day 8: Suzhou to Hangzhou — Suzhou has been settled since 514 BC, and its canals long ago earned it a reputation as China's Venice. The morning belongs to Lingering Garden, a classical garden listed by UNESCO, where rockery, wat
  9. Day 9: Hangzhou to Shanghai — Longjing tea is the morning's subject. At Meijiawu Tea Village, in the hills behind West Lake, a tea house explains the picking, roasting and brewing, and the cup you taste carries that fresh, faintly
  10. Day 10: Shanghai's History Museum and a half day in the city — Shanghai's History Museum fills the morning with the city's own story: a river port that turned into a metropolis, which makes the rest of your time here read differently. Then a half day on foot, tak
  11. Day 11: Shanghai to Australia and New Zealand — Your flight home to Australia or to New Zealand leaves from Shanghai, and the transfer is timed to suit it. Rooms stay yours until midday, and reception will hold your bags if your flight out is a lat
  12. Day 12: Home again in Australia and New Zealand — Home again, and twelve days of China behind you.

What's Included

  • Return international flights in economy class with a full-service airline
  • Two long-distance legs on high-speed rail (a domestic flight is used instead when rail seats are not available)
  • Ten nights in four-star hotels
  • Beijing: the Ramada Hotel North (a comparable property if it is full)
  • Xi'an: the Metropark Huanyu Hotel (a comparable property may be used instead)
  • Wuxi: the Mingdu Hotel (or a comparable property)
  • Suzhou: the Snowy Sea Hotel (a comparable property if it is full)
  • Hangzhou: the Fubang International Hotel (a comparable property may be used instead)
  • Shanghai: the Courtyard by Marriott in Jiading (or a comparable property)
  • Breakfast each morning
  • A Peking duck lunch in Beijing
  • Dinner cooked in a hutong family home
  • Private vehicles with air conditioning throughout
  • Two long-distance rail journeys at high speed
  • Airport transfers at both ends of the trip