China's Celestial Capitals & River Kingdoms

The evening is free to unwind, with a welcome dinner introducing regional flavours. Wide boulevards and glowing lights offer a first impression of China’s capital, where modern energy meets imperial heritage. The hotel provides a calm retreat, allowing you to recover from travel while beginning to absorb the atmosphere of this remarkable city.

Hotel: Xi Zhao Temple Hotel

Meals: (D)

Continue to Coal Hill Park for elevated views across palace roofs and the city skyline. Ride a rickshaw through hutongs, discovering narrow lanes alive with daily life and hidden courtyards. Share a late lunch in a traditional family home, adding human texture to the imperial narrative and offering a glimpse into Beijing’s living traditions.

Meals: (B, L)

A Peking Duck dinner anchors the day with a culinary signature tied to Beijing’s identity, blending history with flavour and leaving a lasting impression of the capital’s cultural richness.

Meals: (B, D)

In the morning, visit the Temple of Heaven, observing locals practising tai chi and music among ancient cypress groves. Explore Maliandao Tea Street for a guided tasting of regional varietals, immersing yourself in China’s tea culture.

The journey to Xi'An folds imperial ritual into mercantile heritage and modern connectivity, linking past and present in one seamless transition across landscapes and traditions.

Hotel: Elegant Hotel Xi’an Bell Tower Yongningmen

Meals: (B)

Visit the Taoist Monastery of the Eight Immortals and the nearby antique market, adding spiritual and collectible threads to the city’s story. Join a cultural experience with shadow puppetry and calligraphy, connecting with artistry that has endured for centuries. Share a dumpling dinner, a regional speciality, closing the day with flavour and cultural immersion.

Meals: (B, D)

In the morning, Sample Xiaonanmen Morning Food Market for everyday flavours and local pace, where stalls brim with fresh produce and aromas. Walk the South Gate of the old city wall and browse Shuyuanmen Calligraphy and Painting Street, where artisans keep ink-and-brush traditions vivid. 

Hotel: Chuanxing Yinli Hotel

Meals: (B)

Continue to the Shu Brocade and Embroidery Museum, People’s Park, and Kuan Zhai Xiangzi, where craft, leisure, and heritage intersect. The day balances natural wonder, spiritual calm, and cultural vibrancy, offering a rounded view of Chengdu’s character.

Meals: (B, L)

The Chongqing city tour includes Eling Park’s stunning viewpoints, Liziba Station’s urban curiosity, Jiefangbei pedestrian streets, and Chaotianmen Square at the river confluence. See Hongyadong lit up, its tiered wooden façades glowing against the night, before boarding your Victoria Cruise river boat. The transition shifts from vertical cityscapes to the Yangtze’s wide water narrative, preparing you for days of river exploration.

Hotel: Victoria Cruise Boat

Meals: (B, D)

Onboard activities and scenic transits highlight engineering feats and natural vistas central to modern China’s story. The pace invites reflection, with changing bankside scenes and measured comfort creating a restful balance. The river’s scale and power are felt in every bend, offering perspective on both natural grandeur and human endeavour.

Meals: (B, L, D)

Onboard opportunities add context to navigation, hydrology, and regional livelihoods. The day’s steady flow underscores scale and transformation, placing landscapes and communities within the broader arc of the Three Gorges. The cruise offers both relaxation and insight, combining scenic immersion with cultural understanding.

Meals: (B, L, D)

This transition threads river heritage into the country’s most cosmopolitan city, preparing for contrasting architecture and modern pace. The day closes with anticipation of Shanghai’s blend of tradition and modernity.

Hotel: Pagoda Hotel Shanghai Baixia

Meals: (B, L)

Explore Yu Garden and the Bazaar, where classical design and bustling stalls combine. Visit the Jade Buddha Temple for quiet interiors and devotional art. Walk the French Concession’s tree lined streets, continue along Nanjing Road, and stand on the Bund, where colonial façades face a futuristic skyline across the Huangpu River.

Meals: (B)

Return to Shanghai for the Oriental Pearl TV Tower and Fun Collection Market, where contemporary culture and city views align. Share a farewell dinner to close the journey with a sense of completion and celebration, reflecting on the contrasts experienced across China’s landscapes, cities, and traditions.

Meals: (B, D)

As morning light touches Shanghai, the journey gathers into one flowing memory of palaces and temples, lantern lit markets, river cruises through karst peaks, pandas in bamboo groves, and skylines rising above ancient walls. Each highlight lingers as part of a connected story, carried with you as you transfer to the airport for your onward flight.

Meals: (B)