China: The Middle Kingdom Revealed

Arrive at Beijing Capital International Airport and enjoy a private transfer to your hotel near Wangfujing or the Forbidden City. After settling in, take a leisurely stroll through the hutongs — Beijing's traditional narrow alleyways lined with courtyard homes, street vendors, and local life unchanged for centuries.

Welcome dinner at a celebrated Peking duck restaurant. Watch the chef carve the lacquered bird tableside and wrap slices with spring onion, cucumber, and hoisin sauce in delicate pancakes — Beijing's most iconic culinary experience.

Guided tour of the Forbidden City (Palace Museum) — the world's largest palace complex, home to 24 emperors across 500 years. Walk through the Meridian Gate, cross vast marble courtyards, and explore the imperial halls, gardens, and treasure galleries with your expert guide.

Visit the Temple of Heaven, a masterpiece of Ming-dynasty architecture where emperors prayed for good harvests. Walk through the surrounding park where locals practise tai chi, play traditional instruments, and dance — a living snapshot of Beijing's community spirit.

Explore the Wangfujing Night Market for adventurous street snacks, or enjoy a refined dinner at a courtyard restaurant in a restored hutong. Optional: attend a spectacular Beijing opera or acrobatics performance.

Private excursion to the Great Wall at Mutianyu or Jinshanling — less-crowded sections with restored watchtowers and stunning mountain scenery. Ascend by cable car and walk along the wall as it snakes across forested ridges, with views stretching to the horizon in every direction.

Continue exploring the Wall at your own pace, climbing watchtowers for panoramic photographs. Descend by toboggan run (at Mutianyu) for a thrilling finish. Enjoy a late lunch at a countryside restaurant near the Wall, sampling local specialities.

Return to Beijing for a free evening. Relax at your hotel spa or explore the 798 Art District — a former industrial complex transformed into Beijing's vibrant contemporary art hub.

Visit the Summer Palace — the former imperial retreat set around a vast artificial lake. Stroll the Long Corridor (728 metres of painted scenes), admire the Marble Boat, and climb Longevity Hill for sweeping lakeside views.

Fly from Beijing to Xi'an, the ancient starting point of the Silk Road and one of China's four great ancient capitals. Check into your hotel and walk or cycle atop the magnificent city wall — one of the best-preserved ancient fortifications in the world, offering a full 14-kilometre loop.

Dive into the Muslim Quarter — a vibrant maze of food stalls, spice shops, and mosques. Sample lamb skewers (yangrou chuan'r), roujiamo (Chinese "burgers"), biangbiang noodles, and pomegranate juice. The sensory overload is magnificent.

Visit the Terracotta Army — one of the greatest archaeological discoveries of the 20th century. Your guide leads you through three excavation pits containing over 8,000 life-sized warriors, horses, and chariots, each with a unique face, guarding Emperor Qin Shi Huang's tomb for over 2,200 years.

Return to Xi'an and visit the Big Wild Goose Pagoda, a 7th-century Buddhist landmark. Explore the Shaanxi History Museum for treasures spanning 5,000 years of Chinese civilisation — bronzes, jade, gold, and Tang-dynasty ceramics.

Enjoy a Tang Dynasty dinner show — a lavish banquet accompanied by traditional music and dance recreating the golden age of imperial China. The costumes, choreography, and cuisine are spectacular.

Fly from Xi'an to Guilin, in the heart of southern China's karst landscape. The scenery as you land is otherworldly — hundreds of limestone peaks rising abruptly from flat green paddies, wreathed in mist.

Check into your riverside hotel and take a guided tour of Guilin city. Visit Elephant Trunk Hill — the city's iconic symbol — Reed Flute Cave with its illuminated stalactites and stalagmites, and the scenic Sun and Moon Pagodas reflected in Shan Lake.

Dinner at a riverside restaurant overlooking the Li River and the illuminated Two Rivers Four Lakes waterway. Sample Guilin rice noodles (mǐfěn) — the city's beloved breakfast-to-dinner staple — and beer-braised fish.

Board a cruise boat for the spectacular Li River journey from Guilin to Yangshuo — widely considered one of the world's most beautiful river trips. Glide past a procession of dramatic karst peaks, bamboo groves, water buffalo, and fishermen on bamboo rafts.

Arrive in the charming town of Yangshuo, surrounded by some of China's most photogenic karst scenery. Rent a bicycle and ride through the countryside — past rice paddies, ancient banyan trees, and local villages. Visit Moon Hill for a short hike to a natural limestone arch with panoramic views.

Explore Yangshuo's lively West Street for shopping and snacking. Optional: attend the spectacular "Impression Liu Sanjie" outdoor light show, directed by Zhang Yimou, performed on the Li River with the karst mountains as a natural backdrop.

A final morning in the countryside. Join a hands-on Chinese cooking class at a local farmhouse — learn to prepare Guilin-style dishes using fresh market ingredients, then sit down to enjoy your creations amidst the karst scenery.

Transfer to Guilin airport and fly to Shanghai — China's dazzling financial capital. Arrive and check into your hotel on or near the Bund. Take in the jaw-dropping contrast of 1920s neoclassical banking houses on one side and the futuristic Pudong skyline on the other.

Evening stroll along the Bund waterfront as the Pudong towers light up across the river. Dinner at a refined Shanghainese restaurant — try xiaolongbao (soup dumplings), red-braised pork belly, and hairy crab (in season). End with cocktails at a rooftop bar with skyline views.

Visit Yu Garden, a classical Chinese garden of pavilions, rockeries, and koi ponds in the heart of the old city. Browse the surrounding bazaar for tea sets, silk fans, and calligraphy brushes. Walk through the atmospheric French Concession — tree-lined boulevards, art-deco villas, and chic cafés.

Ascend the Shanghai Tower — the world's second-tallest building — for vertiginous views from the 118th-floor observation deck. Explore the Shanghai Museum for its world-class collections of bronzes, ceramics, and Chinese paintings. Browse the trendy Tianzifang arts district for designer boutiques and galleries.

Farewell dinner at a Michelin-starred restaurant blending Shanghainese tradition with modern innovation. Toast to an extraordinary ten days with fine Chinese wine or a craft cocktail, as the Pudong skyline glitters beyond the window.

Enjoy a final Chinese breakfast — congee, steamed buns, and jasmine tea. Depending on your flight time, visit the Jade Buddha Temple, browse Nanjing Road's department stores, or pick up last-minute gifts of silk, tea, and porcelain.

Private transfer to Shanghai Pudong International Airport. Ride the Maglev train (the world's fastest commercial train, reaching 431 km/h) for a thrilling final Chinese experience. Depart with memories spanning millennia — from ancient walls to futuristic towers.