13 Day Iconic China
Incl Return Airfares
Xi'an Beijing Hangzhou Suzhou Shanghai
www.inspiringvacations.com.au From pp twin $2,499share
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1 April 8 April +$500p.p 22 April 29 April 6 May 20 May 27 May 3 June 29 July Surcharge +$500p.p 12 August 19 August 2 September Surcharge +$200 p.p 16 September Surcharge +$500p.p 7 October 21 October 11 November
Day 1 New Zealand Xi'an
Board your international flight to China and get ready to be inspired by China and its ancient past. On arrival in the 3,000 year old city of Xi’an, you’ll be met and transferred to your hotel.
Hotel: 4 ★ Xi'an Grand Noble Hotel or Similar
“The overdressed traveler betrays more interest in being seen than in seeing, while the true traveler knows that the novel world about her serves as the most appropriate accessory.” Gregory Maguire Day 2 Xi'an
Today enjoy your first day of sightseeing in China. Your guide will begin by taking you to Wild Goose Pagoda. A UNESCO World Heritage site, the Pagoda was used by scholars to translate buddhist scriptures into Chinese. After, we make our way to the City Wall. An ancient fortification that surrounds inner Xi’an, it is the best preserved city wall in China and one of the finest examples worldwide.
Optional Tour: Tang Dynasty Show - The show is a living testament to the old art forms that existed in Xi’an around 600AD. A dumpling banquet is included along with the performance.
Hotel: 4 ★ Xi'an Grand Noble Hotel or Similar Meals: Breakfast, Lunch
Day 3 Xi'an
Being the most significant archaeological excavations of the 20th century and a UNESCO World Heritage Site, the Terracotta Army is no doubt a must-see for every visitor to Xi'an. Considered the eighth wonder of the world it was discovered by accident in 1974. We’ll drive to the excavation site to explore the army of over 7,000 soldiers individually created by one of China’s emperors to guard him in the afterlife. After lunch, wander Moslem Street, a laneway with a smorgasbord of food made by skilled street vendors in front of your eyes.
Hotel: 4 ★ Xi'an Grand Noble Hotel or Similar Meals: Breakfast, lunch Day 4 Day 5 Xi'an Beijing Beijing
This morning your guide will transfer you Today is a full day at leisure to get to to the train station to board the ultra- know Beijing at your own pace. modern bullet train to Beijing. With history stretching back almost 3 Optional Tour: Summer Palace - The millennia, the nation's ancient and largest royal park in China that looks modern capital holds China’s most over the stunning Kunming Lake and, for treasured history and some of the worlds hundreds of years, the summer biggest tourist attractions. Your guide residence of Chinese royalty and their will meet you at the station and transfer families. Today it is a UNESCO world you to your hotel. The remainder of the heritage site and, being the largest and day is at leisure. most well-preserved royal park in China, it greatly influences Chinese horticulture Hotel: 4 ★ Beijing Holiday Inn Temple of and landscape with its famous natural Heaven or Similar views and cultural interests, which also Meals: Breakfast has long been recognised as 'The Museum of Royal Gardens'.
Hotel: 4 ★ Beijing Holiday Inn Temple of Heaven or Similar Meals: Breakfast
Day 6 Beijing
Today, your guide will take you to one of the nation's most beloved treasures, the Forbidden City. Surrounded by a 52- metre-wide moat and a 10-metre-high wall of more than 8,700 rooms. The Palace for the emperor on earth was called the Purple City. It was forbidden to enter without special permission of the emperor. Hence its name, The Forbidden City'. Until 1924 when the last emperor of China was driven from the Inner Court, fourteen emperors of the Ming dynasty and ten emperors of the Qing dynasty had reigned here. Having been the imperial palace for some five centuries, Forbidden City houses numerous rare treasures and curiosities.
Day 6 (cont.)
Optional Tour: Hutong Tour - In the modern city of Beijing lies a place where you can still see the authentic old Beijing. The place is known as Shichahai Area where most local residents still live in traditional courtyard-styled houses dotted along old hutongs. Your Beijing trip is not complete without visiting Shichahai Area and you will go around those existing hutongs by rickshaw and enjoy a meal with a local family
Hotel: 4 ★ Beijing Holiday Inn Temple of Heaven or Similar Meals: Breakfast
“That’s the place to get to—nowhere. One wants to wander away from the world’s somewheres, into our own nowhere.” D.H. Lawrence Day 7 Beijing
Travel inland to the rugged hills outside of Beijing. Here, we’ll walk one of the greatest structures ever built by man, the Great Wall of China. Marvel at the construction as we walk between the ramparts and learn about the history of this defensive structure. As we return to Beijing, we stop to learn about the precious stone Jade and how it is crafted into ornate jewellery. On arrival in Beijing, we stop at the Olympic area where the architectural icons, the Bird Cage and Water Cube were constructed for the Olympic games. After your day of exploring, enjoy a complimentary oriental foot massage while learning about traditional Chinese medicine.
Hotel: 4 ★ Beijing Holiday Inn Temple of Heaven or Similar Meals: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner
“A good traveler has no fixed plans and is not intent on arriving.” Lao Tzu
Day 8 Beijing Hangzhou
Enjoy the morning at leisure or to explore Beijing one last time. This afternoon, you will be transferred to the station to board the bullet train to the southern city of Hangzhou. Hangzhou is one of China's seven ancient capitals and endowed with natural scenery and a rich cultural heritage. On arrival, you will be transferred to your hotel.
Optional Tour: Temple of Heaven - tour the Temple of Heaven and practice the martial art of Tai Chi. Tai Chi is an internal martial art system which places emphasis on the development and control of Chi energy (consciousness) within the body. The Temple of Heaven is a sprawling complex of religious buildings located in the southeastern section of central Beijing. The site was constructed by the emperors of the Ming and Qing dynasties who would host annual ceremonies of prayer for good harvest here.
Hotel: 5 ★ Hangzhou International Expo Center North Star Hotel or Similar Meals: Breakfast Day 9 Hangzhou
After breakfast, enjoy a city tour of beautiful Hangzhou. Long a major hub for trade and political influence over the course of China’s history, Hangzhou is considered one of the country's richest cultural centres. The city has abundant temples, pagodas and pavillions dotted around the central West Lake. Later today we visit a local tea plantation and learn about the harvesting and processing of one of the nation's favourite beverages.
Optional Tour: Romance of the Song Dynasty show - Boasting brilliantly colorful costumes, blinding laser lights, excellent stage props, and magnificent dancers and actors.
Hotel: 5 ★ Hangzhou International Expo Center North Star Hotel or Similar Meals: Breakfast, Lunch
Day 10 Hangzhou Suzhou
Today you will be transferred to Suzhou, considered by many as the “Venice of the East” due to its magnificent canals and waterways. On arrival, enjoy time at the Master of the Nets Garden. A typical Suzhou residential garden that is recognised as a UNECO World Heritage Site, is a stunning example of the exquisite gardens during the Song Dynasty. Explore the garden and admire the effortless cohesion of art, nature and architecture that has attracted thousands of visitors since 1140CE.
Optional Tour: Grand Canal - After lunch, you will have the option to take a boat trip along the longest canal in the world - Suzhou’s Grand Canal. Some sections date as far back as the 5th century BC and it is now a UNESCO World Heritage Site - there are many beautiful homes to admire along this impressive waterway.
Hotel: 4 ★ Suzhou Holiday Inn Huirong Plaza or Similar Meals: Breakfast, Lunch Day 11 Suzhou Shanghai
This morning we begin our journey to Shanghai, however not before we learn about the art of Silk Weaving. Witness the ancient process of tiny silkworms and their silk cocoons, all the way to silk weaving. After, we continue the drive to Shanghai, China’s beating economical heart. On arrival in the “Pearl of the Orient” we enjoy a walking tour of Nanjing District and discover the history and culture of Shanghai. We then continue to The Bund, famous for its Paris like colonial architecture before visiting the banks of the Huangpu River.
Optional Tour: Huangpu River cruise - Enjoy an evening on the river allowing you to take in the famous sites of Shanghai including; the People’s Hero Monument, the Bund, the Oriental Pearl TV Tower, the dramatic skyline of the Pu Dong business district.
Hotel: 4 ★ Shanghai Baoshan Delta Hotel by Marriott or Similar Meals: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner
“We understood that our vocation, our true vocation, was to move for eternity along the roads and seas of the world. Always curious, looking into everything that came before our eyes, not setting down roots in any land.” Ernesto Che Guevara Day 12 Shanghai New Zealand
Today, you will be transferred to Shanghai International Airport for your scheduled flight home or you may choose to extend your stay and continue to explore other mesmerising cities. We hope you enjoyed your journey to China with us!
Meals: Breakfast
Day 13 New Zealand
Arrive home in New Zealand today.
"He who returns from a journey is not the same as he who left." Chinese Proverb
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