Whispers of the Terracotta Warriors – A Five-Star China Journey

Tour Highlights

• Four cities in ten days: Xi'an, Beijing, Suzhou and Shanghai
• Eight nights in five-star hotels, with breakfast every morning
• Small-group touring: 20 to 28 travellers, with English-speaking guides throughout
• Tiananmen Square, at the ceremonial centre of modern Beijing
• The Forbidden City, with Temple of Heaven as the fallback if tickets run out
• The Great Wall near Beijing at Juyong Pass, the quieter stretch
• A Peking duck lunch, with vegetarian dishes for anyone who would rather
• The Terracotta Army near Xi'an, and a workshop still reproducing it by hand

Itinerary at a Glance

1. Day 1: Australia and New Zealand to Xi'an — Xi'an, where this trip begins, sits in north-central China and grew up beside the Yellow River; it counts among the birthplaces of Chinese civilisation. Under its old name, Chang'an, it served as the
2. Day 2: The Terracotta Army and the reproduction workshop — A slow morning, then the drive out to the pits at Lintong, where farmers sinking a well in 1974 struck something far older. Thousands of figures have been recorded here, among them soldiers, archers,
3. Day 3: Xi'an to Beijing by high-speed rail — After breakfast, an hour or so at the pagoda in the grounds of Jianfu Temple, known in Xi'an as Small Wild Goose. Founded in the Tang dynasty and still standing after thirteen centuries, it appears on
4. Day 4: Tiananmen Square and the Forbidden City (Temple of Heaven if sold out) — Breakfast, then a walk across Tiananmen Square, among the biggest public spaces anywhere and the ceremonial centre of modern China. The Forbidden City opens off its northern edge, and its official nam
5. Day 5: The Great Wall at Juyong Pass, with hutong and Peking duck — Three things shape today: jade, the Wall, and a stretch of old Beijing at walking pace. The jade museum comes first, where the stone's long history in China is set out and carvers can be watched worki
6. Day 6: Beijing to Suzhou — Before Beijing is behind you, a session at Tongrentang, the traditional medicine hall, where the thinking behind the practice is explained: acupuncture, herbal formulas and an emphasis on keeping the
7. Day 7: Suzhou gardens and the Grand Canal, then Shanghai — Suzhou has been settled since 514 BC, and its canals once earned the city a comparison with Venice. You will see why within ten minutes. The morning's set piece is Lingering Garden, a classical garden
8. Day 8: Shanghai's History Museum and a half day in the city — Shanghai's History Museum fills the morning. It is the right stop early in the stay: the collection follows the city from working port to the skyline outside, which makes everything seen afterwards re
9. Day 9: Shanghai to Australia and New Zealand — Nothing is scheduled this morning except the transfer to Shanghai's airport for the flight home. Rooms stay yours until the midday check-out, and the front desk will hold bags if your departure is a l
10. Day 10: Arriving home in Australia and New Zealand — Home, ten days and four cities later. Unpack properly, and start thinking about where next.

What's Included

• Return international flights with a full-service carrier, economy class
• Two long-distance legs by high-speed rail, all one direction (or a domestic flight when rail seats are unavailable)
• Eight nights in five-star hotels
• Xi'an: the Sheraton Xi'an Hotel, with a comparable property substituted if it is full
• Beijing: the Wyndham Beijing North, with a comparable property substituted if it is full
• Suzhou: the Renaissance Suzhou Wujiang (a comparable property may be substituted)
• Shanghai: the Radisson Collection Yangtze (a comparable property may be substituted)
• Breakfast on each of the eight mornings
• One lunch of Peking duck in Beijing
• One dinner cooked in a hutong family home
• Air-conditioned private vehicles
• High-speed train travel between the cities
• Airport transfers on the way in and the way home